NEW FAMILY

The voice of Mr. Hasan, who is the host, echoed the call to prayer, Azan. His voice was listened to quietly by the congregation, including Barra and his three colleagues.

Barra turned to the right when he felt someone passing from behind him. It turned out that Mrs. Laila and her daughter walked past them and sat in the back row.

Barra smiled seeing the daughter and mother sitting waiting for the prayer time complete with their mukenah. Barra was reminded again by her late mother who was always ready with a white mukenah and sat waiting for prayer times or while reading the Al-Qur'an.

'They are like mothers who always ask me to pray…' Barra said sadly in her heart.

Barra's daydream ended when Ganesa and Galih, the sons of Mr. Hasan, sat beside Wirawan and listened to the call to prayer.

The Maghrib prayer in the congregation begins and ends with prayers, as well as when the Isya prayer returns in the congregation and is accompanied by praying together.

After finishing the Isya prayer, it seemed that Mrs. Laila was having a hard time bringing food to be eaten by the congregation who were present even though Gita and Galih had assisted her.

Seeing this, the four young men took the initiative to help until the food was served and ready to be eaten, while Barra was still in the kitchen listening to the conversation between mother and daughter.

"Gita… you eat first! You often forget to eat your dinner and when mom finds out, you've fallen asleep on top of your textbook! Please call your brother too, okay!" said Mrs. Laila to Gita.

"Later, Mother. I haven't finished writing down my lessons for tomorrow. Tomorrow there will be a math test, Mom..." Gita replied, who was reluctant to be asked to eat dinner while she was still focused on studying, "Can I eat later? Yes, Mom?" Gita persuaded her mother.

"Well, just call Galih in his room! He's not studying, is he? And don't forget to eat, your stomach will hurt again! Why do you like stomachaches so much?" replied her mother somewhat annoyed.

"Hihihi, don't be angry, my dear mother..." Gita replied teasing her mother, "Galih... come and eat your dinner! Mother is calling for you!" continued Gita half shouting calling her younger brother named Galih.

Seeing this scene, Barra remembered his late mother who was always annoyed when he told him to eat.

"Hey, why don't you come to eat? They've all started eating, you know!" said Mrs. Laila, interrupting Barra's dreaming thoughts.

"Ah, yes… I'm still full because after work and before I came here I had already eaten. Thank you, Madam…" Barra replied politely.

"Oh, you already ate… What did your mother cook earlier?" asked Mrs. Laila casually.

"My mother just came home from work and is still tired so I haven't had time to cook. I eat in the office canteen before coming home from work!" replied Barra.

"Why is your mother still working? Aren't you old enough to work? Your mother should just stay home and rest at home, right?" asked Mrs. Laila who didn't know what Barra's family was like.

"The mother who is at home is my stepmother, Madam. She has been working since she was a girl until now even though she is married. And my biological mother died when I was in junior high school," answered Barra with a smile.

"Ah, I'm sorry! I don't know and it makes you feel sad. I'm sorry..." Mrs. Laila was surprised to hear Barra's answer.

Barra then told the story to Mrs. Laila until Mrs. Laila understood the child's sadness.

"Well, don't be sad anymore! From now on, just think of me as your mother. You can also come here to meet me or my husband. There is also Gita and Galih who you can consider as your brothers too!" said Mrs. Laila gently.

Now the Barra family has grown. Barra even more often came to Mr. Hasan's house to discuss religious matters. And when he was with Mrs. Laila, Barra got the warmth of a family-like when his late mother was still around.

Besides that, Barra also got to know the little girl better.

'What's it like to have a sister like this? It turned out to be fun too!' Barra muttered to himself.

Day by day Barra is getting closer to Hasan's family, he also often stays there until his family, especially Barra's father, becomes angry.

"Barra… Why don't you often come home now? I heard that you often stay at Mr. Hasan's house. Is that true?" asked Barra's father.

"Yes, Dad. I like it there. It's very quiet there. While in this house it's quiet, and once there is a sound, it's just the sound of Sis Luna and mother arguing. You are also often not at home, right? You should know better what I feel, Dad..." Barra replied calmly.

Hearing his son's answer, Mr. Dani understood that his son needed attention that he could not give because he had to often go back and forth out of town for work.

Mr. Dani works as an assistant to a tourist bus driver at a tourism travel company, who will certainly often travel to take tourists on vacation.

"Yes, I do. I understand your feelings, but I hope this doesn't invite the scorn of neighbors who think you don't get along with your mother like Luna, who openly hates her!" smart dad.

"I'm not like that, Dad. I can understand mother's attitude from the first, she's not the woman who gave birth to us so there's no way her affection will be the same as our late mother. And I also can't say anything about Sis Luna's attitude to mother. Sis Luna has a different feeling from her point of view." replied Barra tactfully.

The conversation between the father and son became silent when discussing the disharmonious relationship between Mrs. Wulan and Luna. From the beginning of his father's marriage until now, the situation seems to be unable to be conditioned properly.

Barra went back into his room after Barra was sure that his father had understood the reason why Barra preferred to be at Mr. Hasan's house.

Barra comes and plays with Gita more often than with Ganesa and Galih. Ganesa, Gita's older brother, is often not at home due to work, and while at home, Ganesa spends most of his time playing PlayStation with Galih, his youngest brother.

Barra understands the attitude of Gita's two brothers and even Barra often sees Gita playing PlayStation with his two brothers. Barra is even more impressed to see Gita's behavior is different from other teenage girls out there. Gita is rarely seen going out of the house and prefers to hold a textbook or game console than holding a cellphone.

Barra's closeness with Gita causes affection for his new sister. Barra enjoyed the feeling of thinking about his little sister which had never happened to Barra before. Barra always wants to make Gita smile by protecting Gita wherever and whenever he is not working.

Barra becomes more frequent in taking Gita to school when his shift doesn't collide during Gita's school time.

The two also often exchange stories about their daily lives when they meet. Barra talked about his family and work and even talked about religion. Talking to Gita is like talking to a friend of her age because Gita can understand what Barra is talking about.

In addition, three of Barra's colleagues from Malaysia have been recalled to the Malaysian branch of the company. Only Barra hadn't been summoned there yet.

Gita also always talks about her school life, which she loves to get reprimanded for by her teacher. And sometimes stories to her made Barra excited.

Gita is very enthusiastic about telling Barra her pranks at school, maybe because Gita feels more listened to when talking to Barra than talking or chatting with her two brothers, because the three brothers will only have one frequency when discussing their favorite cartoons and about Playstation.

"Gita… that girl should be gentle and not like fighting, you can bring a lot of enemies with your attitude like this..." Barra protested with a smile.

"I can't let them act unfairly and pretend to be cool. And when I can fight them because I didn't do anything wrong, why should I keep quiet? Is it a must if a woman has to always give in? You're wrong, Bro! I'm not a woman like that!" replied Gita by protesting Barra.

"Yes, if that's what you want. You'd rather seek commotion and punishment from your teacher than stay quiet and sit still, don't you?" said Barra to the Gita.

Gita smiled and nodded. And when Barra saw Gita's smile, his heart became warm and happy.

'Oh my God… why is Gita getting more and more excited every day when I see her behavior and smile? Take good care of my sister, Lord…'

Don't know what kind of love Barra feels when he is with Gita. Barra only knew that when he was with Gita, his tired thoughts could go away somewhere. Either because Barra just needs attention and affection that has not been felt from his own family for a long time. But what made him confused, why did Barra get that comfort from Gita?

Gita… What is it about her that makes Barra pay more attention to her? Who knows?

***

Note: Mukenah is a long and large veil that covers the entire body from head to toe. And Mukenah is used by Muslim women during prayer.