“SITI DRYA ANNISA”, my teacher called my
name.
“That’s me. Come on Mom!”, I whispered on
her left ear while getting up to walk forward. I let my Mom to go first so I
walked behind her to the front of classroom. I had finished my final semester test
which meant my second grade of senior high school. And it was the time for my
school to give me, especially to my Mom, the report of my one year study.
“Apa kabar, Bu Lina? (How are you, Mrs.
Lina?)”, my Mom greeted her in Bahasa.
“Ibu Maria, silahkan duduk. (Mrs. Maria,
have a sit please.)”, she pleased us.
They were shaking hand while I started
to sit first with nervous. I’d tried so hard this year but I wasn’t sure about
my scores. I thought, maybe it would be worse than the semester before. I just
laid down my head, trying to hear carefully what they were talking about,
wishing for good news.
They were talking in Bahasa. Though my
school was an International Islamic School which used to speak in English and
Arabic, Mrs. Lina always preferred to talk in Bahasa with my Mom. I didn’t know
why but my Mom was very good in Bahasa.
“Are you ready?”, Mrs. Lina said.
I felt my heart stopped. I wasn’t sure about
my heart now, it’s beating so fast. I was too afraid to know. I had study hard
but just for helped me to forget my sadness. I never wanted to know my exam
score, until I had to, which meant now. I tried to look her eyes, wishing for
my heart fitness, wishing I was ready for the worst. She said nothing but she gave
me my report book without any clues.
“Don’t worry Drya, you are so much
better this year” Mrs. Lina noted.
I was too happy to say anything. I could
feel my Mom’s hands held my shoulders, knowing that I was ready to scream and
jump.
“Good
job sweet heart.”, my Mom complimented.
“Thank Mom, thank Mrs. Lina.”, I still
wanted to jump anyway but I tried to behave with putted just a simple normal smile.
I used to get out of the best five, but for the first time, I got the second
place. It was a record.
“So, when you will leave?”, Mrs. Lina
asked. I could hear a bit of sadness in her voice.
I looked at my Mom. “We take the last
flight. They’ll take off on 4 o’clock.”, My Mom informed.
“Oh, we
will miss you.”, Mrs. Lina stared at me sadly.
“I will miss you and everything here
too.”, I almost cried but I hid. I didn’t want Mom be worry about me. I was
happy though I knew there were some tears holding inside.
We walked out and stopped just right by
the opened door. I turned aside to my classroom’s friends, trying to say good
bye in cheerful intonation. “See you later guys!”, I said with great and took
one breath again, “Assalamu’alaykum.”, my voice trembled while one tear was running
away on my left cheek. I couldn’t control that one. A holding hand on my
shoulders reminded me to wipe then.
Faela, one of my best friends ever, came
to me. “Yes, see you soon too Drya.”, she hugged me with a fair smile.
Faela tried to calm me. She knew that I
had to not cry. She knew that I loved my Mom so much and was be the only one
reason for me to leave this country.
“Here”, she gave me a note book. “It’s
from us, remember us okay?”.
“Sure.”, I nodded, almost cried again,
seeing all the photograph of all of my friends and reading their notes one by
one. “Thank guys.” I looked at them all and raised the note book up.
“Take care Drya, Assalamu’alaykum.”, She
held her right hand to me.
“Wa’alaykumsalam, you too okay?”, I
preferred to give her a hug than just a shake hands.
Mom had sold our car and planned to buy
the new one in America. She had taken over of all, includes my cloths, and left
me my own black one belt school bag. I filled it with my cute blue notebook
that I bought by myself from my novel’s royalty, my phone and its earphone to
listen privately my playlist mp3, my prayer’s
wear’ packet bag, my Al Qur’an pocket, my purse, a mini compass and a note
paper of prayer’s time in places we were going to transit off.
I had already to go. I wore my sky blue
overall dress. Its cut is A line and has big knot on back like kimono. I mixed
and matched it with long sleeve grey shirt inside. I used the same blue color
of hijab and pinned it with my black cute ribbon brooch on the left side. I
picked my favorite blue bluster socks and my paint full sneaker shoes that I
painted by myself with sea’s ecosystem theme, ‘sea’s ecosystem hopefully seemed
like’ theme. I stood and leaned against wall, looking at my black sporty watch
on my right wrist with belt’s bag crossed my chest already.
“What time is it Drey?”, My Mom asked me
while checking some documents. I thought those must be our visa or other kinds
of important things that we should bring on.
“Almost
two..”, knocked door interrupted me.
“That must be Pak Nandar.”, she walked
to the door and let him in.
Pak Nandar was our best neighborhood. He
was so kind and had helped my family a lot during we’re living here. My Mom
asked his help to take care of our house. We were going to rent this house. So,
we needed someone to handle it. Of course we had talked about the payment
before.
My Mom talked to him in Bahasa because
he only spoke in Bahasa and Sundanese, and we couldn’t understand the Sundanese
as well as he couldn’t understand the English.
After all, Mom showed him the switch
button of front lamps and gave one of our duplicate house’s key.
“Berangkat jam berapa Neng Drya? (What
is time you will go Drya?)”, Pak Nandar asked me in Bahasa but full with
Sundanese’s dialect.
I looked at my watch before answered him.
It was two and thirty o’clock. “Sekarang Pak. (I think it’s the time Sir.)”.
We had six big suitcases. Four of the
suitcases were mine. Most of those were my wear things, from head to toe, from
colorful hijab to colorful socks. My Mom wasn’t sure that I could find a store
and bought my wear stuff in America easily like in here.
Pak Nandar helped us brought some
suitcases out of the house. While Mom was locking the door, I heard sound of
klaxon, twice.
“DRYA!!”, a yelling voice called my name
from a black car in front of my gate’s house. They were Faela, Safa and Dilla.
“I said see you soon, right?”, Faela
came out from her car while two man walked behind her to me.
I knew who were they, Faela’s driver and
Dilla’s driver. “Two cars?”, I asked her by surprised with two drivers.
“I don’t want to hold your suitcases on
my lap anyway”, she explained her logic reason.
We put in all of suitcases in Dilla’s
car and everybody but Dilla’s driver, were in Faela’s car then. It was one hour
of fun farewell car party before we arrived at Soekarno-Hatta Airport. A lot of
photo session and ice cream party along the way. It felt like we were going to
a picnic than what the real was. That was better for me, too realizing of being
apart with them would be deeply hurt. They were my friend, my best friend, ever
and forever.
The last time I went to Maryland was
when I was seven years old. It was a beautiful autumn in there. The Maple’s
leafs were in yellow and orange and some of them were falling softly with the
wind. Everything was so much beautiful but Mom. She wore a black dress with
rain of tears around her blue eyes. It was my grandparent’s burial day.
“Thank
dears.”, My Mom hugged them.
“Take care Mrs. Maria.”, Faela said.
“Will you back to Indonesia again?”, she asked then.
“Of course but maybe not every month.”,
My Mom joked. “How if you three kids, visit us there?”
“Good idea.”, Faela nodded with small
smile while Safa and Dilla were chuckling, doubting about that visit idea maybe.
It was a silent moment for minutes. Everybody
laid down her head, forbade their self to cry, to make me cry. They always did
it, cheered me up, along this year. I didn’t know how I would be without them,
drowning in pain and more pain. I knew they would worry about me for doing the
wrong things there. The things when I couldn’t ask them to help, to advise, to
hug, to warn, to support, to be with, me, anytime like here. I would miss them
so bad.
“Okay, I will send you a lot of emails,
so check your inbox often guys.”, I tried to be cheer.
“Never
mind. I will reply all for you”, Faela assured me.
“Yes,
don’t worry Drey. I will always turn my internet connection on. So, I will know
when your message come”, Dilla said.
