“All right, sir. Thank you for the information.”
“Yes, bro. You’re welcome.”
“In that case, I’ll be going now, sir,” Bram said as he took his leave from the security guard.
“Oh... yeah, bro, go ahead,” the guard replied.
After saying goodbye to the security guard, Bram quickly disappeared from sight and turned his car around.
On the drive back to his office, Bram kept thinking about how he could find Laras. It was truly difficult for him to find Laras again. Bram no longer knew how or where to look for her. He had already visited several of her old close friends, but they didn’t know where Laras was now either. In short, all his efforts had come to nothing.
When he arrived at the office, his personal secretary greeted him with questions that only gave him a headache.
“Please, Ana. Don’t bother me for now. I want to be alone, and one more thing—try to handle all the work yourself, okay? You can bother me if you really, really need me,” Bram said with a rumpled expression as he massaged his head.
“All right, sir,” Ana replied spontaneously.
Bram closed the door to his office. He shut himself away and didn’t want anyone to disturb him. He kept thinking and thinking about how to find Laras. He tried contacting his old close friends from high school again.
(The atmosphere at Santa Theresia Convent)
Santa Theresia Convent was the convent where Laras lived, in an area of Yogyakarta. She was no longer called Laras there, but Sister Laras.
(“Sister” comes from the Dutch word “Zuster,” meaning a female nun. Long ago, the term Zuster was brought by missionaries and envoys from the Netherlands, and eventually the title developed into the term Sister.)
In the office of the head of Santa Theresia Convent, the head nun called for Laras to report to her immediately. The head nun’s name was Sister Margaretha, though everyone called her Sister Retha.
Knock... knock... knock...!
Laras knocked on the door to the head nun’s office.
“Come in,” a voice called from inside.
Laras opened the door and entered at once, finding the head nun inside. She appeared to have been waiting for Laras to arrive for some time.
“Sister Retha called for me?” Laras asked, remaining standing where she was.
“Yes, please sit down,” Sister Retha said, inviting Laras to sit beside her.
“How are the children under your care?”
“There are more of them every day, Sister. It feels as though the space we’ve provided can no longer accommodate them. There’s a lot of interest because the education we offer is free, so children who can’t afford to continue their schooling come to the foundation we run, Sister—especially street children who are eager to learn,” Laras explained to the head nun.
“I have some good news for us,” the head nun said, lifting Laras’s spirits.
“Good news? What good news, Sister?” Agatha replied, asking Sister Retha in return while furrowing her brow in confusion.
“Yes, good news. I just received a letter from a philanthropist. He has a charitable foundation intended for neglected children who truly need financial assistance. He isn’t alone—there are many donors behind him. He’s simply the foundation’s largest financial backer, so he’s the one responsible for it.”
“How did he find out about our place, Sister?” she asked again.
“The Church told him. A little while ago, I happened to complain to the Bishop about the difficulties we’ve been facing, so the Bishop found a donor for our service work.”
(The Bishop is the highest-ranking leader, like a head who oversees the Churches in each province.)