When She Sings In The Night Rain

It was her father's words that made her heart even shattered. "Nak, leave your job. All your life is now controlled by your husband. After all, you are not appropriate to sing and be watched by men. You look like a teasing woman."

Swayu realized that she often experienced unpleasant incidents. At that time, some old women went to her house to give invitations to recite the Quran in a mosque. At the end of her conversation, one of the old women blurted out, "Later, when it comes to recitation, you don't have to dress up and have a full face of makeup. There are no men to deal with." The old woman ended her words with a little laughter.

Swayu's eyes began to tear remembering the words of her parents yesterday. Swayu did not expect that her own father would agree with the opinions of people out there. Even after twelve years she became a dangdut singer and supported her family's finances from this job, her parents were never proud or happy about her achievements. Even after she was good with everyone, it never made her worthy to be labeled as a good woman.

A man walked closer to the place where Swayu was sitting. He then sat in the empty space next to Swayu. His rough hands tried to touch his head to fix his prayer cap. "Oh, it turns out I was sitting next to a beautiful woman. Such luck for me." The man tries to start a conversation with Swayu.

Swayu's forefinger hastily wiped away the tears that were under her eyes. Swayu turned and nodded at the man who had spoken earlier. The man caught Swayu's eyes which were red and slightly tearing. "Woah, you are crying after singing? What happened? Hey, just looked at me. I even never cried after divorce. But you are so weird, you cried after singing?"

Swayu was a little surprised to hear the response from the man sitting next to her. Whether the man looked joking or serious, Swayu was interested in his story about his divorce. She replied to the man by asking questions about his divorce.

The raindrops were still battling one another. The blue tent in front of Mbah Darmi's terrace turned into a mess. Mbah Darmi still talked with the women who cook catering for the wedding party. They occasionally stared angrily at Swayu who was talking to that man.