Macchiato(Lisa T) One morning Latifa had herself on the motorcycle, held her brother’s waist while he brought her along the city street in high speed. The sun was still hiding behind the mountain, and the morning breeze blew so cold that Latifa should tighten her jacket. It was not a big business, but she had to ride to the city center. The second test was waiting and she was pretty anxious.

Few meters after the crossroad, the left road that Latifa’s brother had chosen brought her to pass a university. It was a big green building with the height was more than 4 floors. The roof was colored with dark chocolate with big white words in the middle, read “ISUI”—the acronym of “Islamic State University of Indonesia”. The yard was large, making a wide gap between the gate and the building’s luxury glass door.

Latifa somehow felt a small trembling after reading the acronym. Her anxieties strangely fade a bit. Though it was not the university she went to, but the fact that the one she knew the most went there made she felt a strange tingling. The motorcycle brought her away, further and further from that place, but the acronym was big enough to be seen, and she couldn’t face away.

“He must have worked so hard to get there,” Latifa whispered weakly to herself, and then couldn’t hold her smile to form inside her nose mask.

The motorcycle kept bringing her away, and the acronym finally left away in disguise among other hundred buildings. Latifa turned her face away, faced the road she in, and in few minutes she arrived at the university she left for, a nurse university.

--0—

Hours had been leaving since the last time Latifa see the acronym, and now she was at home with her niece. The clock strike 2 pm. It meant, it was time for her favorite TV program to air.

Latifa controlled the remote to go to the program she had been waiting. It was a special Ramadhan month program, a competition program where children were competing for a trip to Arab by memorizing Koran verses. And when Latifa switched the program, it was already begun.

“Ash! Auntie! Just keep my program!” her niece protested.

“No way!” Latifa replied with her stubbornness. “It’s better than watching that bitch drama!”

Latifa’s niece grumbled, and then she unwillingly watched the program. However, when the first contestant started to recite the verses, magically Latifa saw her niece’s facial expression turned out positively. She smiled. She thought that might be her niece was stunned in awe seeing a boy in the same age could memorize the Koran verses more.

The first contestant had done his performance, and it was time for the second. Latifa waited patiently. But, later after the host decided the surah the contestant should recite, she gasped. It was The Cheaters, the surah she usually heard from him when they were at last grade of high school.

--0—

“Hey, Latifa! Are you menstruation today?” suddenly Joseph, the boy Latifa always used to be with, showed in front of her who was shockingly threw her drink bottle.

“You!” Latifa yelled angrily after saw Joseph just smirked after jumped in front of her face surprisingly. “I almost spill my water!”

Joseph laughed lightly. “I’m sorry. By the way, are you menstruation today?”

Latifa shook her head. “What’s the matter?”

“Can you help me?” Joseph asked while showed his puppy eyes. “As usual....”

“Memorizing, huh?” just in seconds, Latifa had knew Joseph’s will, and then lifted her shoulders and smiled. “Well then!”

Few minutes later, using the spare time of the teacher absence, the couple had took their seat in front of the school mosque. Latifa was reading Koran without any voice, while Joseph sat in front of her and recited.

“Hey, it’s ‘illiyyiin,” Latifa warned.

“Uh? Not ‘illiyyuun?” Joseph asked.

“That’s for the next verse, bro,” Latifa answered, and then laughed. “Go back to the first, then!”

“Alas!” Joseph sighed, and then inhaled deeply. His face showed his tiredness. “How much have we done this?”

“Dunno,” Latifa lifted her shoulders. “I didn’t count. Wanna rest?”

“Good idea,” answered Joseph, and then laid his back down to the floor and breathe in relief. “I need some air.”

Latifa shut the Koran and held it, and then moved next to Joseph, sat and spread her feet in relax. “Do you always memorizing at home?”

“Yes,” answered Joseph. “Usually after Maghrib pray, I use the spare time memorizing.”

“You have been memorizing for how long?” Latifa asked again as her curiosity grew.

“Um...” Joseph mumbled, lifted his vision upward. “I don’t remember. Maybe it is since our first semester in this 12th grade.”

“Wow,” Latifa responded, amazed. “It’s almost the end of our last semester. I guess you’ve memorized so many surah, then!”

“I don’t know,” Joseph shortly answered, and then laughed.

“So, approximately, how much surah have you memorized?” Latifa asked again.

“Approximately, huh?” Joseph thought. “Yeah, I think, it’s almost all surah in chapter 30.”

Latifa’s eyes instantly widened. “Seriously? All in chapter 30?”

“Approximately, remember?” answered Joseph, then laughed and got up. “And it’s not as much as you think.”

“But still, it’s amazing!” Latifa still praised with her eyes opened widely. “So, you can recite surah Big News?”

“Yes,” answered Joseph confidently.

“How about surah Plucker?” Latifa asked. Her amazement was still filling her eyes. She somehow couldn’t believe that Joseph had memorized the surah that she thought had the longest verses ever.

“Yes,” answered Joseph. “But, first we have to memorize this Cheaters. Come on! Can we start?”

Latifa didn’t answer. She just opened the Koran and searched for surah Cheater, then gave a sign to Joseph to start. Later, while listened to Joseph and corrected with the original in the Koran, she thought endlessly about how great her friend was. He was the truly religious boy she had ever known. Yes, he was Joseph.

Listening to Joseph’s wonderful voice while reciting the verses, Latifa’s heart trembled. She just got Joseph’s entire soul in it, and it touched her heart so much. She felt that the verses Joseph recited were not only verses, but also a pure soul of a religious, down to earth man who was nothing to his God. She felt warm and saved deep in her heart as long as Joseph recited. Such a comfort, though, that she almost let a drop of tears flow down to her cheek. Right at that moment, she realized that she was nothing compared to him. Her nasty feeling toward him was just a trash. In addition, she enjoyed this moment so much while held her stunned, bleeding feeling.

“Not at all—but rather their earnings have heaped rust upon their hearts. Yes indeed—they will be deprived of seeing their Lord on that day. Then indeed they have to enter hell. It will then be said, ‘This is what you used to deny.’”

Suddenly, a voice of noisy hand claps woke Latifa’s soul up. She saw her TV with her wet eyes. She got up, rubbed her eyes, and then inhaled deeply and sighed. She realized that she was daydreaming. The last verses she heard had brought her to her past, where Joseph was still in contact. The nostalgic time had done, but the fluttering feeling was staying still in her chest.

“Oh, my God...” Latifa rubbed her eyes once again, and then laughed heavily. Luckily, her niece wasn’t there anymore, so none caught her crying. “That verses, that moment.... Gah! This feeling actually stay here....”

Latifa just stayed still on her place. Her mind wasn’t completely back. The nostalgic feeling still wrapped her heart up, made her thought how weak she was. For once again, she couldn’t fight for her love. However, somehow she felt like this feeling was better than before. He was the one who care about her, about everyone, and about everything especially about religious thing. He was the one who firstly gave his hand whenever she asked for help.

Latifa knew, though it was wrong to love Joseph, but loving Joseph wasn’t a big wrong. She was sure that Joseph was a great person, the one who was good not only in appearance but also in inner side. Though she felt she was nothing to him, but because of this believe, she could bear with the bittersweet of loving him. Joseph had brought the light to her life and led her to a better life. Loving him was a great memory, and that was why she didn’t want to forget him so soon.

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