Bad News

After eating, Grandma Uti ordered me to wash all the dishes on the dining table. I carried the plates to the side of the house to wash them. Suddenly, a female student, Mbak Uswatun, saw me washing the dishes.

"Let me do it, Ning," Mbak Uswatun said. She was one of the female students at Abah Islamic Boarding School.

I declined her offer because from afar, I was being watched by Grandma Uti. "No, Mbak, let Kayla do it," I replied.

Reluctantly, Mbak Uswa left me since she was forbidden to help me, even if it was just a signal from Grandma Uti that was enough to make her wary.

Suddenly, from behind, Kang Ali startled me, and my plate almost fell and nearly broke. Fortunately, Abah hadn't replaced the ceramic tile I stepped on. If it had broken, my fate would have been sealed.

"Let me help you," Kang Ali said, sitting beside me, rolling up his sarong. He helped me wash the dirty dishes.

Suddenly, Kang Ali splashed water on my face, and I retaliated, ending up with my hijab half wet. His clothes also got wet because of my retaliation. He was always up to something; didn't he realize that I was in trouble now? But I was happy that Kang Ali was always there for me in situations like this.

Soon, my punishment was over, and we went back inside the house, only to face Grandma Uti's anger again.

"Allah, washing dishes, and playing with water!" Her voice thundered like a lightning strike in my ears.

"I'm sorry, Grandma Uti, don't scold Kayla, Ali is the one at fault," Kang Ali defended me in front of Grandma Uti.

"You're all at fault. Change your clothes now!" Grandma Uti ordered.

We went to our respective rooms to change our clothes. Although changing clothes, too, meant wearing the same kind of clothes. We were inseparable from the piece of cloth that was the characteristic of the students and the Islamic Boarding School, a sarong set.

I was still curious about the meaning of the poem "Lir-ilir." I noticed that Kang Ali was no longer in his room. Where could he be now? He was always disappearing like an uninvited guest who shows up when least expected.

I heard the Ashar prayer call in the mosque. Yes, that seemed to be his voice. Kang Ali's distinctive voice, singing praises and sholawat burdah. When would he switch to another sholawat? He could use "Lir-ilir" or "Sholawat Nariyah," always Burdah. It seemed that Kang Ali really liked the Burdah poem. The praise of Burdah was always recited from the mosque's microphone.

Abah Islamic Boarding School was a traditional boarding school steeped in the teachings of the Quran and the yellow books written by scholars.

I performed ablution and put on my prayer gown or "mukena." It was a distinctive one-piece mukena worn by the female students at Abah Islamic Boarding School. Umi said it wasn't complete if we didn't wear the one-piece mukena because if we wore a two-piece mukena, the aura might be revealed, and the prayer would be invalid.

I walked towards the mosque, and the female students followed me from the left and right. We entered the women's row. I stepped forward to the front row because Umi was there. Annoyingly, Grandma Uti was beside her. Automatically, I would be beside her.

Umi hugged me. My eyes still shot towards Grandma Uti. "Kayla, don't do that!" I then diverted my gaze to Abah, who was now leading the prayer.

Shortly after, the Ashar prayer began. Abah recited Surah Al-Insyirah and At-tin. Abah's voice was beautiful, just like mine. Abah was one of the alumni of a pesantren in East Java.

Although our boarding school was made of wood, the mosque was not. It was impossible for a wooden building to accommodate so many students.

After the Ashar prayer, I headed to the boarding house. Suddenly, Kang Ali called me, and I turned towards him. Kang Ali approached me.

"Do you want to continue, Ning?"

"Yes, Kang."

Kang Ali took my hand and led me to the students' cottage, where students would recite their Quran verses, review, and relax. I saw two female students sitting there. After seeing our arrival, they left.

That's how an "ndalem" family is, highly respected and revered by its students. Kang Ali continued his story.

"Earlier, where did you get to?"

"Temanten Anyar."

"Okay. 'Cah angon' means a shepherd, someone capable of leading himself towards improvement, then leading his people and his country, like a shepherd herding his cattle. 'Daya Angon' is the ability or capability to lead oneself, one's nation, and one's country. A person who can lead himself is someone who can prevent himself from following his desires or desires that harm other creatures. Such desires are a source of evil.

'Panjatlah belimbing' means 'climb even though it's slippery.' Climb with effort, strive to avoid His prohibitions, obey His commands. Seek knowledge, explore the truth until you can reach the belimbing.

'Kanggo mbasuh dodotiro' means 'to wash your clothes.' Dodot is a long piece of cloth used to cover the lower part of the body, whether it's a man or a woman, it's called 'aurat' or one's dignity as a human. If the 'aurat' is left exposed without a cover and displayed to every person, there will no longer be a difference between a human and an animal.

I listened until I fell asleep.

"Dek, Dek Kayla," Kang Ali woke me up.

"Is it finished, Kang?"

"Not yet, your eyes are red, dear. You can go back to sleep," he said to me.

I went to the main house and slept in my room. I looked at the crown made by Kang Ali hanging on my room's wall.

My daydream wandered aimlessly. What was I thinking about? The scent of kencur was still in the air, and I was already thinking about something that adults should be concerned about.

I got up from my nap and performed ablution, then prayed in my room. Hearing Abah's call from afar, I followed him as if I was praying behind him.

After performing the single prayer, I opened the Qur'an in front of me. I read even though I didn't understand the meaning. Sometimes, a Quranic memorizer