solonne

Aqila’s Apartment, 1 May 2022 Narrations are written in english and indonesian

As soon as Aqila arrived at her apartment, her eyes immediately landed on her mother’s figure, who was standing in front of the door.

“Mama…”

The woman, who she referred as her mother, turned around with a smile growing on her face as she saw her daughter.

“Aqila,” she called. “Kamu baru pulang? Habis dari mana?”

Aqila tidak menjawab meskipun ibunya bertanya dengan sangat halus. Malah, dia membuka pintu apartmentnya dan masuk tanpa mengajak wanita itu.

But of course, her mother let herself in. She took it as a sign that Aqila wanted to talk inside instead, as it would be much more comfortable.

Padahal, Aqila justru tidak ingin bertemu apa lagi mengobrol dengan ibunya.

“Mama ngapain ke sini?” tanya Aqila sembari melepaskan sepatunya. Ia melirik sang ibu yang tidak menjawab pertanyaannya, ternyata wanita itu sedang sibuk melihat-lihat apartment anaknya.

“Ma, aku nanya mama ngapain ke sini–”

“Kamu kok belum cuci piring sih?” she interrupted, walking to the kitchen with a distrubing look on her face. “Kamu tuh udah gede, Aqila. Masa cuci piring aja gak bisa? Mama kan udah bilang, kalau habis makan, piringnya harus langsung di cuci. Jangan tunda-tunda, nanti jadi kebiasaan buruk. Terus ini sampah bekas makanan instan– astaga, kamu makan makanan instan berapa banyak ini? Memangnya kamu gak bisa masak? Aqila, kalau kamu tau kamu akan tinggal sendirian, setidaknya kamu belajar untuk masa–”

“Ma.”

“Apa?”

“Mama ke sini buat apa sih?” Aqila merebut plastik bekas makanan instan yang ada di tangan ibunya. “Dateng ke rumah ayah tanpa bilang, terus dateng ke apartment aku langsung omel-omelin aku. Ya emangnya kenapa kalo aku hidup kayak gini? Lagian aku rencananya habis balik dari perpustakaan bakal beres-beres kok. Gak usah sok peduli sekarang. Toh, biasanya kalo aku ngapa-ngapain mama juga diem aja.”

Wanita itu terdiam sebelum menghela nafas panjang. “I just wanted to see how my daughter is doing, can’t I do that?” she said.

“After how you neglected me and how you treated my dad?” Aqila sneered, crumbling the plastic in her hands. “I’d rather have you forget about our existence and live with your soon-to-be new family. Apa jangan-jangan, kalian udah menikah sekarang?”

“Haruna Aqila Audine I demand you to apologize right now.”

Aqila mengabaikannya, ia rasa ucapannya tidak salah and she doesn’t feel like she has the need to apologize. If anything, she thinks her mother should apologize instead.

Her mother sighed heavily. “Mama mau kasih kamu ini.” Kedua mata Aqila jatuh kepada kertas yang ada di tangan ibunya, alisnya menyatu begitu ia membaca tulisan yang tertera di kertasnya.

“I’m getting married.”

“Yeah,” Aqila menutup suratnya. “Aku bisa baca kok. Aku cuman heran aja mama bisa-bisanya ngasih aku undangan pernikahan mama ke aku, when you know I won’t take it well.”

“Kamu udah 20 tahun, Aqila. Kamu harusnya udah cukup dewasa buat mengerti posisi mama.”

“Mama yang gak ngerti posisi aku!” protes perempuan itu. “Sejak mama kenal sama pria itu, mama jadi beda. Benar-benar bukan kayak mama yang aku kenal waktu masih satu rumah sama ayah. You ignored me, you were never there waktu ambil rapot, mama juga gak pernah dateng waktu pelantikan OSIS. Aku daftar OSIS dengan harapan mama bakal bangga sama aku, tapi ternyata mama aja gak dateng ke acara pelantikannya.”

Hening. Tidak ada respon dari ibu maupun suara dari anaknya lagi. Aqila tidak menangis, ia justru menatap ibunya dengan penuh amarah dan kecewa. Sedangkan wanita itu tidak berani melihat mata anaknya, dan malah memalingkan wajahnya dengan kedua tangan menggepal.

“Then don’t come.” Itulah kata-kata terakhir yang diucapkan ibunya sebelum seorang laki-laki membuka pintu apartment Aqila.

“Qil gua bawa pizza nih sisaan tadi makan bareng Zaki kagak abis– eh anjing eh maksudnya maaf gue– saya ganggu ya?”

Hayes.

Laki-laki itu melihat ke Aqila lalu ke ibunya Aqila lalu kembali ke Aqila lagi. “Apa gue lebih baik pulang aja? Makannya besok a–”

“Enggak,” potong wanita itu. “Kita udah selesai. Mama gak akan ambil lagi undangannya, but if you don’t want to come, then don’t.”

Aqila tidak membalasnya.

Right when her mother left, she felt her legs weakened and she fell to the ground, surprising Hayes who was still standing in front of the door.

Hayes buru-buru menghampiri sahabatnya dengan khawatir. “Qil, lo gapapa? Eh itu pertanyaan bego sih, maksud gue, itu tadi nyokap lo ya? Gue udah lama gak liat dia, jadi beda ya. EH SORRY BUKAN GITU cuman…ya…lo gimana?”

Aqila menyenderkan kepalanya di pundak Hayes, kedua tangan laki-laki itu memegang Aqila agar ia tidak terjatuh.

Even though Aqila never really said anything, Hayes knew she has been holding back. He could feel her tears on his shoulders, and it made him feel relieved knowing she was letting it all out now. Aqila hated crying in front of people, but if it were Hayes, she doesn’t mind shedding a tear or two.

Hayes was the first and only person Aqila has ever relied on. He knew her better than anyone else, maybe he knew Aqila better than herself. Aqila would agree.

It took Aqila years to open up to Hayes, but she never regretted doing so. If it weren’t for Hayes, who knows where she’ll end up now.