Rian smiled in relief, rubbing his hijab-covered little sister's head with his left hand as the car stopped at a red light. “Good. Remember, Big Brother's little sister is precious. Don't let just anyone make you cry again.”
Zainab nodded firmly. But when she turned her gaze back toward the window, watching the city lights beginning to come on, a brief image from the cafeteria suddenly flashed through her mind. The gaze of that bespectacled man with curly hair—the gaze that had suddenly turned flustered when he realized she'd caught him watching—made her chest flutter strangely.
Zainab slowly shook her head, quickly pushing the image away. No, Zainab. Don't start again, she whispered to herself, firmly rebuilding her defenses.
“Many wounds long to heal, but not every wound can heal again. Some can only fall silent in a world without sound.” ❤️🩹
“Big Brother.” He turned toward me with an incredibly sweet smile. No wonder so many women were drawn to him. If I weren't his sister, I would've fallen in love with that killer smile too.
“Ugh... Big Brother, don't smile at girls like that, okay? Especially not at Caca—she'll be even more head over heels. Can't you just smile normally? Make an ugly face. Look grumpy. Or something. Girls already misunderstand that face of yours, so don't go adding a smile like that too... please!” My annoyance made Big Brother chuckle.
“Big Brother's little sister gets even cuter when she's angry.”
“Jeez... answer my question.”
“Hmm... how should I put this, Nab? You've been handsome since you were in the womb. It can't be changed. No matter what kind of face you make, you'll always captivate anyone who sees you. Hahaha... When Big Brother acts cool, it only makes women more curious. So what else am I supposed to do?”
He had a point. Ugh... now I was just giving myself a headache.
“Put yourself in a box, Big Brother, so no one can see you,” I said curtly, crossing my arms in annoyance. The man beside me just shook his head again at his little sister's antics.
“What’s wrong with you, Nab...?”
“Have you ever been in love? How come you're still single in your thirties? Have you never thought about getting a girlfriend? Or are you just too perfect and looking for some specific criteria?” My questions came one after another. You already know what he's like, right? Exactly as I said earlier.
“Here's the thing, sweetie. First, I don't have much time for face-to-face interaction. I'm only active in my college and school alumni groups. At my age, I don't want to look for a girlfriend anymore, but a future wife. I don't have any special criteria. She just needs to share my faith, be kind, and be ready for me to be away on assignments because of work like this. Hey, why am I the one being interrogated? I should be the one asking you what’s going on. Seems like... hmm?”
That afternoon became my me time with Big Brother. He was the eldest child, and I hardly ever got to see him. Big Brother worked for a foreign-owned oil and gas company.
With Jakarta's traffic around us and the sound of rain in the background, I thoroughly enjoyed the moment, even though my heart was unsettled.
My lecturer sent me a message earlier that afternoon.
“Is this the number of a student named Zainab Salsabila Khairunisa?”
I was afraid to fall in love, afraid of being disappointed and hurt. .
The black wrought-iron gate swung wide open as Rian's car turned into the yard. The two-story house, with its lovely grounds filled with ornamental plants, belonged to my late mother and had always been the safest place for Zainab. A place where she never had to pretend to be a perfect grown woman.