The bright morning at Dinda's family's modest home looked cool and peaceful, just like any ordinary morning. But the crisp morning air couldn't cool Dinda's temper as she chopped vegetables in the kitchen.
It wasn't the cooking routine that had Dinda frowning. It was her mother's nagging, already sounding like firecrackers going off right beside her ears.
"Did you see Sita, Din?" Mom asked in a soft voice that was nevertheless full of emphasis.
"What's up with Sita?" Dinda asked, already guessing where her mother's conversation was headed.
"She's getting married again next month." Mom's voice was dripping with sarcasm. Dinda knew exactly what she meant. What else could it be? She was telling Dinda to get married too.
This was all about finding a soulmate. If Dinda hadn't found hers yet, what was she supposed to do? Hold a matchmaking contest? That would be great if anyone actually wanted her. What if she only became everyone's laughingstock?
Just imagining it made Dinda shudder. Wouldn't it be better to just keep doing this? Work, hang out with friends, enjoy some me time, help Mom, and so on. Her soulmate was already being arranged by fate, after all, so why make things complicated?
"Well, good for her. At least she didn't stay widowed for too long," Dinda replied casually, as if her mother's sarcasm meant nothing. And she was right, wasn't she? What was wrong with Sita getting married again? What did it have to do with her?
"Honestly, you... Sita's younger than you, you know. She's about to have a husband for the second time, and you're going to let her beat you?"
"My soulmate is already being arranged, Mooooom... Maybe my soulmate is still in school, or maybe he was just born." Dinda answered jokingly. She didn't want to argue. It was still early; she might as well let her mother nag.
Ugh... Marriage, marriage, marriage. Honestly, Dinda was tired of hearing about it. It wasn't that she didn't want to get married, but she had to be selective. Just look at Sita's life. Her first husband was a gambler and quick-tempered and abusive. There was no way Dinda wanted a husband like that.
"But I want grandchildren. I married your late father when I was nineteen, and you're already twenty-four with still no sign of it. What are you waiting for?"
"Things were different, Mom... Don't compare your time to mine. These days, you have to be at least twenty years old to get married before the civil registry will accept it."
"You always have an answer whenever I bring up marriage. Every once in a while, bring your prospective partner home. You're beautiful, and yet you never seem to have a boyfriend."
"What's the point of dating? It's a waste of time. I'd rather work and make money. Once I find someone who's right for me, I'll just marry him. Dating first would only make things complicated, Mom."
"Fine, then. Bring your prospective partner home."
"Yeah, sometime."
"Wheeeen? I want to see you get married already."
"Oh my God, Mom, the vegetables are burnt!" Dinda screamed when she saw smoke billowing from Mom's pan on the stove.
"Oh my God, Dindaaa! I forgot!" Mom panicked too as the flames flared up around the pan.
And so the marriage conversation ended because of the burnt-pan incident. Dinda was relieved, though she was also afraid the whole house might catch fire. This whole mess was a lot to handle.
"Grab a wet towel, Din! Hurry!"
"Here, Mom, here!"
The two of them worked together to put out the flames on the pan. Because of the incident, smoke began filling the kitchen and spreading into the living room. Of course, the burnt smell drifted through the entire house too.
In the living room, Ardian, Dinda's younger brother, had just returned from jogging and was startled to see smoke filling the room. He ran toward the source and almost burst out laughing when he saw that Mom and his big sister's faces were black with soot.
"Pfft... What's going on?" Ardian asked, struggling not to laugh.
"What's going on? Help us, idiot!" Dinda snapped. Of course she was angry. The situation was critical, and her little brother's smug, irritating face was making it worse. If she hadn't been too limp with panic, Dinda would have slapped Ardian right then and there.
"Mom forgot she was cooking, Dian. Oh my God... Thank goodness it didn't catch fire," Mom said, clutching her pounding chest. She and Dinda sat limply in their chairs.
"Where did you two go that you let it get burnt?" Ardian asked, inspecting the stove and the pan, which was no longer burning, to make sure there weren't any sparks or anything like that left.
"We didn't go anywhere. We were just talking with your sister."
"Talking?" Ardian's brow furrowed in confusion. How could they have gotten so caught up talking that they forgot about the food? It was incredible.
"That means you shouldn't bring up marriage with me anymore, Mom. Right?" Dinda said.
"Oh, please. You still have to bring your prospective partner home. End of story!" Mom replied, then walked away. She trudged toward her bedroom, and Ardian quickly moved to support her, just in case she suddenly fainted.
Meanwhile, Dinda started cleaning up the mess. In the end, she ordered food through GoFood that morning. What else could she do? She had no energy left to continue cooking.