TWELVE

Father did not wake up from his sleep. He was fast asleep but his breathing could be heard in the all-white room.

  Riri moved her palms as she uttered one word silently.

  "Don't!" Riri said silently. She prevented Ibu Kartika from waking him up.

  Mrs. Kartika's child was crying. Suddenly Ibu Kartika immediately left the room so that her husband would not wake up from his sleep.

  Now Riri sat on a chair right beside the patient's bed. She looked at her father with glazed eyes. It felt like her heart was being scratched deeply. It hurt so much to see her father in that condition.

  Riri remembered well her days with her father. She wanted to repeat her time with her father. Moreover, her mother. Riri really missed her mother.

  "O Allah, you are the all-powerful one. You are the one who gives health. Please, God, heal your father. I really hope you can be healthy again. Please lift all the diseases that exist in the father, O God." Riri said softly while looking at her father.

  The father opened his eyes to hear his daughter's voice. The eyeballs caught the face of his daughter who smiled sweetly.

  "Riri..." called the father in his weak voice.

  "Yes, sir." said Riri trying to pull her lips together.

  "Are you well, son?" asked the father, throwing a smile in front of his daughter.

  The two humans both tried to hide their sadness.

  "Alhamdulillah sir, Riri is healthy." Riri replied by stroking her father's hand.

  "Did you have breakfast?" asked Riri then looked at the food on the table that was still intact.

  "Oh my God, that's still a lot of breakfast sir. Riri bribe me, sir." said Riri with her soft voice and then grabbed the food on the small table near the wall.

  Father just looked at Riri with tears in his eyes. He remembered his foolishness in the past who had gotten drunk and yelled at Riri harshly. Now his daughter repaid him by taking care of him sincerely.

  Father shed his tears with a deep sense of guilt towards his son.

  "The food is delicious, sir. There are boiled eggs, capcay vegetables, and vegetable soup. The fruit is watermelon." Riri explained in an excited voice. She placed the tray containing the food on her thighs. She held a plastic spoon in her hand and scooped out some rice and capcai.

  "Read the prayer first, sir. Allah humma bariklana fimma rozaktana wakina adza bannar." Riri said quickly. Then landed the tip of the spoon on his father's lips. The father opened his mouth slowly and chewed his food.

  Seeing that, Riri smiled.

  "The food in the hospital turned out to be like this. Isn't it delicious, sir?" said Riri, making her father smile.

  All this time Riri had never entered a hospital. This was the first time her father was hospitalized.

  Riripun slowly fed her father again. Father did not speak much. He had difficulty speaking. Maybe it was because he felt weak.

  "Drink first, sir," said Riri, putting the straw into his mouth.

  "Already, Ri." said the father with a face like whimpering.

  "Eh! only two bites sir, more ah. There's really little breakfast. Again?" Riri showed a mouthful in front of her father.

  Her father shook his head sullenly.

  "Come on, sir, will you eat? If you don't want to eat. Let's just go." Riri said looking away. She threatened her father with annoyance.

  "Eh, don't go home, just stay here!" said the father as if whining to his daughter.

"Alright then Riri bribe again, huh?" said Riri bringing her spoon closer to the father. And the father began to chew his food again.

  Riri was very grateful that the father's breakfast was now finished. She hoped that he would recover completely soon.

  "Alhamdulillah, I finally finished my breakfast. Would you like me to bribe you with some watermelon?" said Riri with her hand holding a piece of watermelon.

  Father smiled as he said,

  "Yes, I want watermelon," he said softly.

  Riri slowly fed him the watermelon. In a moment, the door opened. Mrs. Kartika entered the room.

  "Have you eaten yet? Alhaamdulillah, finally you want to eat too," said Mrs. Kartika who was holding her baby patiently, her son was now asleep. She was happy to see that the food on the table was gone.

  "It's a good thing you're here, Ri. You haven't wanted to eat since you've been here." Mrs. Kartika complained.

  Riri just smiled to hear it.

  "Mom, aren't you tired? Let Riri carry it," said Riri looking at Mrs. Kartika who was carrying the baby.

  "Ri, please stay here. I want to go home. I feel sorry for my child." Mrs. Kartika pleaded with a worried look on her face.

  "Where is her house, Mom?" asked Riri feeling worried if Mrs. Kartika's house was far from the hospital. She was also confused about whether to return to the evacuation center or stay at the hospital.

  "Mom's house is close, Ri. Behind this hospital there is a small road, there will be an alley called spoon alley number two. My house is green, in front of it is a gray gate. That's my house." Mrs. Kartika explained in a hurry.

  "Oh, that means it's close, just walk, then Riri can stay here with me." she said with relief.

  Riri took Mrs. Kartika's hand to shake. Mrs. Kartika was her stepmother after all. She had to be polite to her.

  "Mom will be here tomorrow morning." Mrs. Kartika said after kissing the back of her hand by the hooded girl.

  Mrs. Kartika immediately said goodbye to her husband. Then she walked out of the room.

  Riri just realized, she didn't bring anything when she went to the hospital. Her clothes and toiletries were all in the evacuation center.

  How could she take a shower later in the afternoon? She whispered while scratching the back of her head and her eyes swept around.

  Father noticed his son's concern.

  "What's wrong, Ri?" asked the father in his soft and heavy voice.

  "Riri didn't bring a change of clothes, sir." replied Riri looking at her father with a frown. The father smiled at his daughter's behavior. As a father, he really missed his first child.

  "Alright, you don't have to take a bath in the afternoon. Even if you don't bathe, your daughter still looks beautiful," the father praised his daughter while showing his teeth.

  Seeing the father who looked cheerful after breakfast. Riri was very happy, she felt like she found something that filled the void in her heart.

  "Well, you can do it, it smells bad if you don't bathe," said Riri with a smile.

  "If so, you go back to the evacuation center first, then take all your stuff there," said the father with tenderness. His tone and voice were very fatherly. Riri really liked hearing it. She felt very cared for and loved.

  "But, sir! Riri doesn't have the money to go there," Riri said softly.

  "You can take the money in your bag," said the father with his eyes looking for his bag.

  "Where's your bag?" asked Riri, looking around the room.

"Try opening the table!" said the father.

  Riri opened the table beside her. She bent down to open the table. Her eyes saw a black backpack, then she lifted the bag.

  "This is it, sir." said Riri showing the bag belonging to the father.

  "Just open it, Ri. Open the small zipper," said the father still lying on his bed.

  Riri's hand opened the zipper, she found a wallet. Then handed it to the father.

  Father took it and opened the wallet. He gave a blue bill to his daughter.

  "Most of it, sir, just ten thousand is enough," said Riri, frowning when she saw the fifty thousand.

  "It's okay, Ri. Just take it, it's your father," said the father with a smile.

  It had been a long time since Riri received money from her own father, making her a little awkward.

  "Alright, sir. Thank you!" said Riri politely and then grabbed the money in the father's hand.

  Then Riri immediately went out after saying goodbye to her father.

  Riri was now outside the hospital. She didn't expect to leave the evacuation center so soon.

  "It's sad to leave the evacuation center. I'm sad that I won't see my friends. Especially with Akbar. I will definitely miss that guy." Riri said in her heart.

  Now she entered the angkot which was quite full of passengers. She chose to sit in the front with the driver.

  The angkot drove along with the refreshing wind. Riri could feel her veil twitching because of the wind that entered through the window of the angkot door right beside her.

  "Ya Allah, thank you for all your favors. I'm glad to be back with you. Heal your father too, O Allah. Only you can heal me. I hope you get well soon." Riri said in her little heart.