Family

Apartment

Zaidan stopped his car in front of the apartment lobby. The young man looked at Azzahra, who had been silent since they left campus. Luckily, Azzahra knew, and the girl looked at her friend. 

"Zaid... thank you for understanding my feelings and taking me to the apartment." Azzahra, who was able to control her emotions, spoke to Zaidan.

There was a sense of shame in the man, remembering what had just happened on campus earlier.

"Just relax, Zahra... we are not other people, right? I won't chase you with stupid questions. But I hope you can solve your problem yourself, Zahra." After sighing, Zaidan responded to Azizah's words.

"Thank you, Zaid. You are my best friend. Please forgive me; I didn't ask you to stop by my apartment. I need to calm down". Before opening the car door, Azzahra said goodbye.

"No problem, Zahra. Go straight to your room and rest. Tomorrow I will come back here..." Zaidan smiled, and after seeing Azzahra get out of his car, the man immediately stepped on the gas pedal.

The car slowly left the apartment lobby, and after the vehicle was out of sight, Azzahra rushed into it. As soon as she entered, She went straight to the elevator door without looking left or right.

"What happened to you, my beautiful sister?" Azzahra was surprised to hear a man's voice behind her. For a moment, the girl stopped, and her brain immediately responded.

"Like Zizan's voice... am I not hallucinating?" Azzahra tries to convince herself. The girl's heart was beating fast.

"It's me, Ning Zahra... your brother Zizan." The young man admitted that Gus Zizan wanted to avoid ensuring his younger brother understood.

Making sure that the male voice calling her was her older brother's, Azzahra turned her body backward. When she saw Gus Zizan standing with his arms outstretched, Azzahra ran into her older brother's arms. A few moments later, Gus Zizan smiled and rubbed his younger brother's back and head lovingly.

"We immediately climbed onto Zahra. Umi and Abi are waiting for you in the living room..." Gus Zizan told Azzahra, remembering their parents waiting.

"Is it true, bro... Zahra misses you all. Thank you, bro..." Hearing her brother's words, Azzahra's face lit up.

"Yes... calm down. Let's enter the elevator first while the door is already open." Gus Zizan took Azahra, and they immediately entered the elevator.

Like a girl who met her lover, Azzahra leaned her head next to her brother's shoulder. Gus Zizan just smiled and accepted Azzahra's indulgence.

"By the way... who was the one who took you home, Zahra? Looks like my sister's eyes weren't wrong. I saw a handsome man accompanying you earlier. Even if you just glance at him, looking at how he looks at you, he seems like a good guy." Azzahra straightened her head again when she heard her older brother's question.

"Mmppphh... no one, bro. That was Zaidan, Azzahra's college friend. He is very kind and has always helped me along the way." So that her older sibling wouldn't misinterpret her, the girl explained who Zaidan really was.

Gus Zizan was silent, but they had to get out immediately when the elevator doors opened. The man took his sister's hand and hurried out of the elevator. Seeing her parents' backs sitting on the sofa, Azzahra ran towards them.

"Umi.. abi.." Azzahra screamed and immediately hugged her mother.

Kyai Ameer smiled and shook his head at his daughter's behavior. Gus Zizan rushed to his abi. The two men looked at the two women in front of them.

*********

At night.

Azzahra and her family gathered in the girl's room. They deliberately spent time there to enjoy their togetherness. Even for dinner, Azzahra ordered food online.

"So your husband rarely comes here to visit Zahra...?" Kiyai Ameer asked his daughter.

"Abi... Gus Azzam works, Abi. Besides that, Gus Azzam still has to take care of the Islamic boarding school, helping Abi Latif and Umi Hamidah. Besides, Azzahra is also studying, and during the holidays, Zahra has a lot of college assignments to complete." Azzahra tries to cover up what really happened in her marriage.

"But it shouldn't be that extreme, Zahra. You two are married, and your husband has to visit you here on holiday. So not by living alone like this..." Umi Camelia added and supported Kiyai Ameer's question.

Gus Zizan remained silent. It seemed that the man felt that his sister's married life was not going well. However, the man did not want to interrupt the conversation to upset his sister's feelings.

"Thank you, Umi, Abi, for your attention to Zahra. In the future, Zahra will talk to Gus Azzam to increase the intensity of our meetings." Finally, to end the conversation about herself and her husband, Azzahra gave in,

"Well, that's better, Zahra. Umi and Abi want to hold their grandchildren soon, and our hopes are for you, dear." Umi Camelia seemed to agree with her daughter's statement; the middle-aged woman smiled.

"Umi, let's start... Zahra is still studying, Mom... Zahra doesn't want to hold the baby yet. After finishing college, Zahra started thinking about having a baby, Mom.." Hearing the word baby, Azzahra immediately protested her mother's words.

Kiyai Ameer sighed after hearing his daughter and wife's conversation. The man's gaze turned to the television screen in the room. Meanwhile, Gus Zizan lay down on the sofa.

"Abi... this Azzahra refuses to have a baby now." Hearing her daughter's refusal, Nyai Camelia complained to her husband.

"Halah... never mind, umm. "Just leave it alone, Zahra will definitely give me grandchildren when the time comes." Without looking away, Kiyai Ameer responded.

Azzahra smiled happily, hearing her brother's defense.

"Abi and Zahra are the same. It doesn't give Mum any pleasure..." Nyai Camelia looked sulky.

"Ha… ha.. ha.., umi sulked. Thank you, Abi, for understanding Zahra..." Azzahra laughed at her mother, who was like a child.

The arrival of her parents and older siblings comforts Azzahra amid her troubled condition. Her husband's indifferent attitude and lack of attention from Gus Azzam could be forgotten momentarily. Since her arrival from campus earlier, her brother had been observing her behavior without the girl realizing it. It was as if a question was addressed to him, but the man seemed to delay saying it.

"Zahra... this city is famous for its typical Yogyakarta boiled noodles. What area is Zahra in? Why do you suddenly want to eat noodles?" Gus Zizan's voice was heard asking the girl.

"There is one near here, bro..., on Jl. Wonosari. If you want, we'll just go there tonight..."

Wanting to provide a banquet for her family, Azzahra immediately responded to her brother's question.

"Umi and Abi want to rest tonight. If you want noodles, just the two of you will go." Nyai Camelia answered her two sons' conversation.

"Okay, mom. Come on, Zahra. Let's go together. "Umi and Abi can just rest, and then we'll pack noodles for them." Gus Zizan immediately got up from his lying position.

Azzahra agreed to her brother's invitation and immediately stood up following her brother's actions. The two young people immediately took their wallets and said goodbye to their parents.