BEST COUPLE

The far end of the room, next to the kitchen, is occupied by Mas Bilal and his wife who is 5 months pregnant with their first child. Mas Bilal is a photographer and Quran teacher. His voice is good and he also likes to sing.

Since this pandemic season, Mas Bilal has switched professions to become an entrepreneur of Alat Pelindung Diri (APD), or Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).

He collaborates with convection entrepreneurs - Usaha Kecil Menengah (UKM) or Small Medium Enterprise (SME) in this place to supply PPE requests outside Java.

His wife has just resigned from her profession as an honorary teacher.

Working from home too long makes her reluctant to return back to work, plus the cravings like nausea caused by her pregnancy, Baby's excuse.

Mas Bilal and his wife enjoy staying inside the room. They sing happily and joke every day making everyone jealous. They repeated in response to the song of Aisyah. A dream of husband and wife life.

It seems that they both had aspirations to become famous singers that were not achieved, fortunately, they were brought together with life partners who shared the same passion. So they became the happiest people in this boarding house, spending their days singing together in the room even without fans. They both vibrate positive energy in the place.

Last night, his wife was cooking. Surprise, Hira thought.

Usually, it was Bilal who cooked, during pregnancy Bilal treated his wife like a queen, and almost all the work was done by Bilal himself. His wife was not allowed to do anything. But it seems his wife is lazy to do anything. Maybe because she was pregnant. That's why it was strange for Hira to see Bilal's wife in the kitchen. It's been an hour since she cooked spaghetti and hasn't been done yet.

Ah, apparently they were having a photo session.

Mas Bilal photographed his wife who was cooking while showing off her fat belly in front of the stove. Cooking while pregnant.

Hira smiled alone in the background.

Curious about the caption he made on their social media ...

What a Beautiful atmosphere.

It seems this house is a collection of happy people. Bilal's voice also sounded cheerful even though he was singing a mellow song...

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Mungkin aku bukan yang pertama di hatimu

Tapi cintaku yang terbaik untukmu

(Although I'm not the first in your heart

But my love is best for you)

***

"Oh, my gosh, how come there are beautiful beauties, so dirty? The opposite to their appearance which is metallic and smells good" grumbled Bibi commenting on the occupants of the upper room who had just moved out.

Hira imagined a young couple who always went out together, they were like Partners in Crime, always united in terms of clothing and everywhere always together, the man wearing a leather jacket and tight pants with a chain around his waist. The woman was all dressed up, even though sometimes it was broad daylight, her hair was always neatly straightened, and her boots were like she was going to a gig. All with shades of black. If they pass by, the smell of perfumes leaves a trace.

"How come wet underwear is thrown in the trash? They may be too lazy to wash it. The mukena*) borrowed from Bu Yulia was long not returned, it turned out to be piled up in the corner, and it smelled of sticky urine that had been pee from a cat." Bibi grumbling to be continued.

A Jay just silently cleans the room and tidies it up. It was his duty indeed.

"Ibu told me to throw the mukena away, but it's a pity, all the embroidery, so I just soaked it for three days." Bibi continued, punctuated by her distinctive, bitter laugh.

But actually, Hira was not surprised. Once she passed by their room and the door was slightly open, Hira caught from the small gap, various kinds of things scattered on the floor. Bras, irons, shoes, shoelaces, chili sauce, sarongs, etc. Hira couldn't stand it either.

Surely they never used to do anything at home; once they leave the house and live independently, they can't take care of themselves.

Sometimes Hira feels grateful for being raised by old conventional parents who used to be disciplined, organized, orderly, clean, and tidy. Now she can easily adjust anywhere without any objections or causing noise like this tenant who just left. In an instant, a brand was attached to the figure of the young—the Dirty couple.

Maybe it's not entirely their fault; their parents must have contributed to making their children like them. Luckily, they met the same dirty ones, so they had a chance to be a happy couple.

This house indeed consists of a group of happy people.

***

*) Mukena is a prayer outfit for Muslim women typical of Indonesia