Between Mr. Ustadz's Son Or Office Child
Chapter 1: The Difference

🍒

Having parents who have different beliefs, makes Arafah Valencia under pressure. Even at the age of nineteen, he had not been able to determine. Mama or Papa's beliefs that he must follow.

Ara, that's how people call her, a cheerful smile-smarting girl and always looking happy but harboring a million hard sorrows to tell.

Ara, feels if she always lives in trouble and she does not know how to overcome the problem. As a result of what Ara did was to do everything, he would pray if he intended, even going to church on Sunday. Ara understood, what he was living at this time was not a thing that deserves to be exemplified, but what he always thought, that God would understand his purpose and purpose, that God would not judge him. Ara always believed God was all good and one day, she would be guided to be able to determine belief.

Almost two years, since both parents invite to move in the housing complex today, almost every day as well, Ara is always not left behind for the Magrib and Subuh prayers at a Mosque not far from her home.

But this morning something was different, Ara saw a young man, wearing a basic pants suit and a simple white T-shirt, looking solemnly reading the Qur'an in his hands. Out of curiosity, Ara hesitated to approach the man.

"Emmmh, Hay, good morning," Ara greeted confidently.

"Wa'alaikumsalam," the man said.

Ara raised her eyebrows sideways, then ventured to ask. "Sorry, who are you? because as long as I pray here, we haven't even met."

"First, if you say hello to me, you must say the greeting correctly. Second, I don't know you, third, this is a public mosque so anyone can pray here, understand." said the man loudly and clearly, making Ara's face suddenly pias.

"O-okay, I'm wrong" Ara was obviously nervous, if only people knew her heart was racing, she had never felt this big before. "Then let's get acquainted, my name is Ara."

Seeing Ara extend a hand, the man did not heed. "My name is Chicio, just call me Chio!" he replied without looking at Ara's face in the slightest, which was even more annoying, Chio completely ignored as Ara invited her to shake hands with the introductory sign.

Although Chio seemed very annoying, it made Ara even more curious, he would make sure, if there would be further meetings and sure enough, somehow the story, Ara and Chio really met often, she said, they were suddenly very familiar.

Chio taught Ara the good and true prayers, and also taught Ara the letters of the Qur'an. Long story short, the girl finally felt very comfortable.

Chio was an adult male with the age of entering twenty-seven years, his face was handsome, even just looking at him, Ara as if getting shade. Chio the son of the owner of the mosque where Ara has been performing prayers every day. The man, almost seven years studying at Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt, clearly Ara never saw him. The thing that makes Ara comfortable, Chio always patiently guides her in many ways, especially deepening the science of Religion.

"If you like someone, you should immediately apply, he will be taken by someone."

Hearing Dad's words, making Chio's feelings unfavorable, the fact is that he is indeed liking a girl, who else if not Arafah Valencia, the girl he almost every day met.

"Revealing feelings, it's not as easy as turning the palm of the hand, Well," Chio replied with a pounding mind.

Once the father said that, it made Chio even more dizzy. How could he express his feelings towards Ara, while getting to know the girl more deeply alone never, as Chio knew, Ara the girl who was not yet twenty years old, had, he only knew Ara to the extent that he knew, so Chio decided to try to approach Ara in his own way.

* * *

Ara who almost every day comes to the Mosque belonging to the Chio family, today shocked by an accidental encounter with the love of his past, someone who once filled the niche of Ara's heart for almost two years when both sat on the bench of High School.

"Ara," the boy's eyes glazed over.

Ara was silent and could not even open her voice, unexpectedly, there was no hatred that the young man showed. Her gaze remained sincere, even greeting Ara very subtly, when she should have been angry or hateful, because Ara left her unexcused two years ago.

"To-witness," certainly Ara suddenly trembled. "What are you doing here?"

The young man named Kenan Argantara, did not reply to Ara's question, he turned to ask, because many things Ara had to explain, why he used to be left without saying goodbye.

"What happened, why did you leave me? When I really need a helper, when I'm totally devastated. You just add to the list of people who ruined me,"

Hearing Kenan's words just now, all of Ara's joints suddenly went limp, if necessary she would cry in front of Kenan, that what she did two years ago, was the best for them.

"We're on different paths, Ken, and we have different beliefs, while your parents, you don't give permission for our relationship, because they think I'm a person who doesn't have religion."

Kenan was speechless, his tongue suddenly twisted there was no right answer to Ara's explanation just now. Besides they were still in High School, the condition of Ara who had not determined Religion was the reason, her parents did not approve of their relationship. Long story short, Ara chose to leave. Unbeknownst to Ara, during the two years of separation many things changed from Kenan's life, his parents died in an accident and when Kenan needed support, Ara left. Truly it was not all Ara's fault, but the wrong destiny that did not understand them.

An unexpected meeting this morning, not Kenan wasted, he asked Ara to give a WhatsApp no and asked Ara to tell the Home address.

"This is my home address, because I'm also going to stay here."

After saying so, Kenan immediately passed from before Ara and entered the courtyard of the Mosque. Question is, what does Kenan do? Isn't he non-Muslim? That's the question that had terbesit, but Ara tried to behave in the bodo period and did not want to know.

To be sure, that day was not the last day Kenan and Ara met, in fact this man was still the same, always able to make Ara smile and laugh, even when Kenan should have hated, in fact, this man was still the same, always able to make Ara smile and laugh, even when she should have hated, but he still gave Ara more attention. The man he always called the son of the official, still showed complete love for Ara.

TB