BARRA DWIKARSA SANJAYA
The call to prayer echoed through the still dark sky. There was no other sound other than the call to prayer from the mosque near his house and the crowing of his stepmother's pet rooster.
Slowly Barra opened his eyes after hearing the melodious voice that became his alarm every day. Get out of bed to go to the bathroom and clean up. Do not forget to perform ablution in preparation for the morning prostration.
"Allahu Akbar!" said Barra echoing Takbir while raising his hands, the beginning of his morning prayer began.
Bara Dwikarsa Sanjaya, a 23-year-old young man born from a simple family. Barra and an older sister live with Pak Dani Sanjaya and their surrogate mother named Wulan. Their biological mother died when Barra was in the third grade of Junior High School.
Four years later, Mr. Dani remarried a middle-aged woman who was still a girl.
Abandoned by his biological mother leaving a deep sadness. In addition, Barra and his sister must be in the same house with his father's new wife, making Barra an independent, pious, and persistent man.
Barra always instilled in his heart, 'Mrs. Wulan is also my father's wife. She takes care of my father's needs so she is also my mother. When my father is happy, I am also happy…'
However, unlike Barra's character, his older sister, named Luna, really hates Mrs. Wulan. Who from the very beginning of their father's marriage, there have always been problems. There was always commotion and fighting.
After Barra finished Senior High School, he immediately worked in one of the factories owned by foreign investors in Indonesia in the city where Barra lived.
The company is one of the world's leading manufacturers of household cleaning products and products for home storage, air handling, pest control, and shoe care, among other professional products.
Besides being in America and Indonesia, the company where Barra works is also located in many other countries such as Argentina, Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Czechia, Egypt, France, Germany, Hungary, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico and many more.
One year working in the Indonesia branch, Barra was transferred to the Malaysia branch with better promotion. Of course, it was because of Barra's hard work and compliance with company regulations.
And for the past two weeks, Barra was sent to return to the Indonesia branch for a few months to stabilize the operation of the production machines in the Indonesia branch, because Barra is the manager who handles the problem.
While in Indonesia, Barra, who grew up in a religiously devout family, kept him-self busy by attending recitations after finishing work.
His heart is calm when he gathers with older people who discuss religious sciences, rather than lying down tired after working at home and listening to the noise of his sister and his stepmother.
Barra invited four of his colleagues, Adly, Faisal, and the same Wirawan assigned from Malaysia to Indonesia, to attend the recitation with him. The four friends seemed preoccupied with listening to Islamic stories taught by the lecturer. Several times came to the mosque, Barra and his colleagues were the youngest among the fathers and the older people there but they were not awkward at all mingling with the old people there.
And tonight was different when Barra saw it, Mr. Hasan and a little girl maybe around fifteen years old who was Mr. Hasan's daughter. The little girl looked calm listening to the recitation and joined the congregational prayer behind the men's row, along with the mothers who came to the recitation assembly.
At the end of the event, Mr. Hasan said goodbye to the recitation congregation while shaking hands and hugging as if to show affection between the recitation congregations.
Barra saw the little girl standing alone while waiting for her father to say goodbye to the recitation congregations.
"Waiting for your father?" asked Barra, "Ah, soon Mr. Hasan will be out!" continued Barra, "If I may know, what is your name, little sister?" Barra asked again.
"My name is Gita, Brother!" replied the girl.
"You're a sweet little girl. Aren't you ashamed to join the old folks here? Aren't you studying or playing with friends your age?" continued Barra while rubbing the head of the little one who was wrapped in a hood.
"I don't like going out at night. And my homework is done too. I just want to go with my dad!" replied the little girl then went to follow in her father's footsteps.
The little girl looked awkward. Ah, to be more careful with people he just met.
Meanwhile, Barra is very happy to see teenagers who have the initiative to take part in Al-Quran amid the current free association.
Where the other children were watching TV or playing with their peers, the girl joined the recitation with her father.
Quirky teenage girl? Yes of course.
Barra endlessly followed Mr. Hasan's figure and left with his daughter until they were no longer seen. Barra and his colleagues returned to their respective residences.
Barra was already sitting at the not-so-big desk in his room. Barra seemed to be looking for something in the desk drawer and his hands stopped when he found a folded sheet of paper.
Barra unfolded the paper and smiled. Barra's mind was drawn to remember a unique incident about two weeks ago when Barra had just arrived in his hometown.
In the afternoon on the outskirts of the city park which is visited by many parents who bring their children to play.
A teenage girl sitting on a park bench looks down. The girl was too focused on the scribbles of her hand in a drawing book.
The girl's smile grew wide when she saw the finished drawing. The pencil strokes will soon form the figure of a mother with a happy smile hugging her baby who is also laughing very funny. The girl only had to tidy up the scribbles around the mother and child image she had made.
The girl's concentration was diverted by the arrival of the young man beside her and asked the girl.
"Hi, sweet sister! Is there a mosque around here or a place that can be used for prayer?" asked the young man.
The teenage girl did not answer the young man's question. Her face looks annoyed, maybe because their fun activities are interrupted and maybe also because the girl was too wary of strangers.
Of course, her vigilance had a reason. Of the many visitors, why did the young man have to ask her? Wasn't that young man very deliberately asking her? And it looks even more like teasing her.
The girl was still silent as her hands were seen scribbling roughly on a drawing paper.
The confused young man could see the scribbles of the girl's hands forming directions that ended in the mosque that the young man asked about earlier.
Just as the young man was about to say thank you, the sweet girl had already gotten up and left the young man alone.
"You were the girl back then… By talking like that, wouldn't it be sweeter to you, sweet sister?" Barra muttered while smiling looking at the scribbles of directions on the paper and when Barra turned the paper over, the painting of the mother and baby made Barra's heart so calm and comfortable.
"This painting is very beautiful. I'd love to keep it to myself, but this painting belongs to that cute girl. I have to return this painting when we meet again…" Barra muttered again.
And very coincidentally, the next recitation was held at Mr. Hasan's house, which held a recitation event for the third anniversary of the death of Mr. Hasan's mother.
Barra went with three other colleagues to Mr. Hasan's house.
It didn't take long on their journey to arrive at Mr. Hasan's house.
"Assalamu'alaikum!" greeted four young men including Barra in turn while greeting the elderly who were sitting in a row in the house.
Barra and the others sat down with the other guests. But Barra looked lost. Maybe Barra was tired after work or tired from hearing about her sister and stepmother fighting again.
"Barra, stop daydreaming! Come accompany me to the toilet!" Wirawan called Barra while patting Barra's left thigh which made Barra wake up from his daydream.
"Don't startle other people like that!" Barra grumbled but he also stood up to accompany his friend.
The two of them headed to the kitchen of the house and looked confused about where the bathroom was.
Wirawan and Barra looked around the inside of the house, it was quite spacious. There seemed to be three closed doors and they were sure the three doors were bedrooms. Then a slightly different door appears which is believed to be the bathroom door.
When they were about to go to the bathroom, they were surprised by the greeting of the hostess.
"What are you two looking for?" asked Mrs. Laila, Mr. Hasan's wife, to the two young men.
"We'd like to take a ride in the bathroom, ma'am. Could you please show us where the bathroom is?" Barra answered with another question.
"The bathroom is by the blue door. Come inside, it looks like it's empty!" show hostess.