6. About Our Father

Clarissa's eyes widened when she heard her sister's answer. It turned out that his suspicions were correct that Gerry had come here, not just missing him.

"What I said just now is true right? That means you lied to Grandma. How big is the problem, Gerry? It's not like you usually run this far," Clarissa snarled, it was clear on her face that she was very worried.

"So you know, right, I'm in my final semester now. Right now, when I'm busy working on my thesis, I have to go to campus, meet lecturers, look for references, just really busy. That's why I rarely go home, I'm often at my friend's apartment, sometimes when I go home it's often too late. It all made Daddy very angry with me. And you already know, how will it go without me having to tell you again, "said Gerry.

Clarissa listened to Gerry's story carefully, she nodded her head after understanding what the problem was, "You should say, what is the reason you are often late coming home. Did you just stay quiet when Daddy scolded you?" Clarissa asked.

"Do you think I don't have a mouth? I told you, but Daddy still doesn't want to accept my reasoning because Daddy said, back then, when Daddy did the thesis, it wasn't like I did now," replied Gerry, he shrugged his shoulders with a bitter smile.

"Then you're all right, right? Let me see." Clarissa began to carefully trace every inch of her sister's face.

"This must be the wound," Clarissa pointed at Gerry's temple which looked slightly blue. And only answered with a nod of his head by Gerry.

"My God! Has this been treated or not? I can't stop thinking about Daddy, when will Daddy change," Clarissa lamented.

Gerry took a deep breath as he lay down on the sofa, "How do I know, maybe until the time when the goat lays eggs it can change," the boy laughed to himself. "You know, Daddy always compares his experiences, achievements, achievements, and his past life with ours now. all of that cannot be used as a benchmark for us, "said Gerry.

"Yeah, I know. Even though I live more here than in Indonesia, the past five years have been enough for me to understand how Daddy educates his children. Maybe it's true, Daddy's success now is because his parents used to be strict and disciplined. But still, even though we are both children, we are different from Daddy. We're not as smart as Daddy and we can't be as strong as him." Clarissa replied.

Clarissa remembered one incident when she lived in Indonesia for five years there, the pressure from her father was frustrating. He couldn't imagine how his brother could survive there.

"Perhaps he becomes mentally tempered, likes to play with hands, and can't control his emotions. Yes, because of the effects of his parents' strict upbringing, Papih made him like this. And all of that has an impact on us as children," continued Gerry.

Clarissa looked down while massaging her forehead which suddenly felt very dizzy, "Why, Mammy didn't ask for a divorce just the same ...," Clarissa hadn't finished speaking, but Gerry had cut her off.

"Hush, don't speak too loudly, Grandma will be able to hear our conversation." Gerry put his index finger to his lips.

"Eh, yeah, sorry, I got carried away." Clarissa hastily covered her mouth with her hand.

"Why do you think? Yes, because Mamy doesn't want her children to grow up without a father," explained Gerry.

"I'd rather not have a father than like this. It's useless, even though there is a father, but I have never felt the love of a father." Clarissa almost burst into tears saying it.

"You still have me." Gerry clasped his brother's two hands.

"Yeah, I'm lucky because I have a big brother like you because you're not only a big brother but also a father to me. Even though we always live far apart, I was here since childhood and you were there, and now I'm here again. But because of you, for five years I lived there, so there was someone to protect me, someone to defend me, and I never felt a lack of a Father's love. Because of you too, I didn't become a child of a broken home and mentally I'm fine until now." Clarissa immediately hugged her sister, she leaned her head on Gerry's shoulder. Clarissa's tears just fell uncontrollably.

Gerry returned the hug of his sister with great affection. She is happy because her goal has been achieved so far, but her struggle is not over as long as Clarissa has not met the right man for her to trust in taking care of her sister.

Bram – Clarissa and Gerry's father never allowed their only daughter to live in Singapore, but because his wife persisted, he finally agreed. Emilia – Evans' wife doesn't want her daughter to grow up with mental illness, she thinks Gerry is a boy so he must be strong even though he has to live under his father's pressure. But Clarissa is a girl, she certainly won't be as strong as Gerry.

After graduating from junior high school in Singapore, Bram came to pick up Clarissa, he wanted her to continue her high school there. The reason was that Bram wanted to see what his daughter's character would be like when she was approaching adulthood. But unfortunately, everything is not according to Bram's expectations. The culture in Singapore is certainly different from Indonesia, and no doubt, Clarissa was under more pressure from Bram during her stay there.

Luckily Clarissa still has an older brother like Gerry, who always protects her. Gerry thought, let him alone bear all this, all the pain, feeling the lack of love from a father. But, not for Clarissa. Gerry wants Clarissa to grow up like children who have a harmonious family. Therefore, Gerry always tries to set a good example for Clarissa, he always tries to be the best sister. Don't let Clarissa know what she is doing to relieve all the burdens that are crushing her. Let Clarissa think that she is the best man on earth. Although in reality that is not the case.

"Well, don't cry. Instead of mellowing out like this, we'd better go for a walk," said Gerry, he hastily put on an enthusiastic face so that Clarissa wouldn't think too much about it.