Greenlight

"What else?" answered Akira in an unfriendly tone. "Thank you," Ayla said with a thin smile, very thin, but Akira could see it. Akira returned Ayla's smile, she knew, Ayla was trying to cover up her sadness. Since her mother's death, Akira has never seen Ayla cry, even at her mother's funeral, Ayla showed her best smile. But after that, there was only Ayla who was quiet and flat-faced. Akira misses her cheerful friend. Akira knows that Ayla will not just drink coffee and then go home, she will sit there even until the cafe closes. Akira does not know how to talk with Ayla anymore. Ayla used to be a very talkative person, without being asked she would tell anything that happened in her life. But now, even when asked, she only says a word or two. Ayla is also the type of person who smiles easily and is very friendly and cheerful, but now, even smiles can be counted on one hand, therefore, seeing Ayla's thin smile now is a miracle.

It's been the fourth day that Ayla has not come to school. This time, Ayla just stayed in her room, lying on a 120x200 bed wrapped in a dark blue bed sheet with an outer space pattern. Next week there will be final exams at school, but she does not care about that. The girl got up from her bed, walked out of her room, down the stairs, and opened the refrigerator. After getting all the ingredients for the dish she was about to make, she started cooking two meals for herself and her brother. The clock on the wall showed it was already midday, her sister had to go home soon. Ayla may look apathetic, but she is not. She still pays attention to small things such as household needs, cooking food, washing dirty clothes, and cleaning the house. Even though she does not talk much now, she still cares about her family, as small as preparing food for her father, who often comes home late since her wife died. She also noticed changes in her father who smoked more often at home, rarely ate breakfast, stayed up all night, and did other small things. Her younger brother also changed, becoming more rebellious, and unruly, and several times he got into trouble at school. 

"Why are you here?" said a man whose voice Ayla knew well. Ayla turned towards the source of the sound, slightly surprised to learn that her father was not working that afternoon. "I'm not feeling well"

"This morning you were fine"

"I'm not feeling well at school so I can go home first" Ayla replied calmly. Ayla is not a child who is good at lying, her chest is now rumbling. Her heart was pounding like a marathon runner who had just finished his run. Tanweer did not reply to Ayla's words anymore, the man with the thin mustache chose to open the refrigerator and took a bottle of cold water, and left.

The next day, Ayla decides to go to school after four days of skipping class. But it seems, this is an unlucky day for Ayla. Mrs. Moureen asked Ayla to meet her at her office after school hours. This is Ayla, in a beige room with light brown furniture. She was sitting in front of a middle-aged woman who was staring at her sharply. Mrs. Moureen handed her a rectangular envelope with the school's official stamp on the bottom right and told Ayla to take her parents to school to meet Ms. Moureen. Ayla did not stop by the coffee shop today. She immediately went home, then went into her room, and locked herself. She thought of how to tell her father that Mrs. Moureen wanted to meet him. Of course, what will be discussed is the problem of her skipping class. Of course, she'd be in trouble.

Ayla's guess was right, Mrs. Moureen wants to meet her father to talk about Ayla's absence which has been very chaotic this term. Ayla could not graduate from school if she kept skipping class. It is not just about school attendance, Ayla's grades have also been dropping, dropping a lot during this semester. At the beginning of the semester, her grades were stable, but starting in the middle of the semester, Ayla's grades chart decreased drastically. This is Ayla's last year of high school. Ayla should have increased her grades so she could get into her dream college, but Ayla seemed to have no motivation to continue studying. After meeting with Mrs. Moureen, Ayla went back home with her father. The atmosphere in the car was very awkward. No one started the conversation. Ayla held back her tears from falling freely from her eyes. Ayla knew, her father was holding anger beside her. The atmosphere that Ayla felt was so tense, even to move her finger, Ayla did not have the courage. 

The sky had turned dark, decorated with a sprinkling of twinkling stars. Completely beautiful. However, this beauty does not apply to Ayla's mood. Especially after her father knocked on her bedroom door. Ayla opened the white door of her room slowly, allowing her father to enter her room. "So you skipped class again yesterday?"

"You don't want to finish school, Ayla? What do you want to be? I didn't tell you to do anything else, just go to school and graduate with good grades, is it difficult, Ayla? Tell me, what do you want? I'm so sick of your attitude. That's it. Now whatever, whatever you want," Tanweer said loudly and quickly left Ayla's room. Ayla just silently watched her father leave. Her brain was still processing what had just happened. Her father scolded her. No wonder. Ayla was not upset by that. However, Ayla was disappointed that her father did not allow her to speak and convey her feelings. Ayla was not listened to, not even questioned.

Three days had passed since Mrs. Moureen met her father and what happened in Ayla's room. During those three days, Ayla did not even speak to her father, and vice versa. It's nothing new, ever since the queen left the house, the atmosphere of the house is like there is no life. Everyone went about their activities, without disturbing each other. Today is the first day of final exams at Ayla's school. After fighting with more or less a hundred questions in two subjects, Ayla visited a coffee shop that she had not been to for several days. Ordered an americano and listened to music through her headphones while watching the bustle of people outside where she was sitting. While enjoying her time, someone tapped Ayla's shoulder lightly which made Ayla focus her attention on her, Akira. "Why?" Ayla asked with a confused face. "Come on, let's pray, it's already Ashar," Akira asked her friend. "Can you go out?" asked Ayla again "Yes, the mosque is near here," Akira replied smiling. Ayla had forgotten the last time she prayed. It feels so long ago. It seems that after the death of her mother, she never does her five daily prayers. Ayla felt awkward when she entered the mosque and prayed there. "When was the last time you prayed?" asked Akira while they were tidying up their prayer equipment. "Huh?"

"When was the last time you prayed? I noticed that every time you were at my coffee shop all day, you didn't get up to pray, even for once. So when was the last time you prayed?" asked Akira more clearly. "I don't know?" Ayla's response was with her innocent face. Akira sighed, again and again trying to understand the situation Ayla was in. Losing someone very important and loved is not easy. Akira knows that. Akira tries to understand Ayla's behavior after her mother's death. However, this one must be fixed, Ayla cannot be left like that, or she will be further away from God. "Ay, can I say something?" asked Akira carefully.