"May, wait up!" The shout from a girl in a hijab made several people turn to look at her.
The girl being called "May" immediately turned and saw Aisyah running after her. Mayra beamed as she waited for Aisyah to catch up.
"You walk so fast. I've been calling you for a while, but you didn't answer," Aisyah said between breaths as she tried to catch her breath.
The beautiful girl's broad smile was enough to make anyone who saw it smile too. Dimples appeared on both sides of her face.
"Sorry, Syah. I didn't hear you. Here, drink this first. You must be tired from running."
"Wow, thanks. You knew I was so thirsty," Aisyah said as she opened the cap on the bottle of guava juice.
"Drink it while you're sitting down."
"Oh, right. Hehe."
Aisyah sat on a concrete bench nearby. Mayra kept watching her friend with a smile.
"Thanks, May, for the drink."
"You're welcome. Sorry I left you behind earlier. I wanted to get home as quickly as possible."
"Why are you in such a hurry? What are you going to do at home? Your Mom's probably going to make you do every chore in the house. That Mila has it so good, getting spoiled and never being told to do anything."
"It's okay, Syah. Besides, it's my duty to make my parents happy."
"But I feel like they're being unfair to you, May. Like they treat you differently."
"I don't feel that way, Syah. I'm the eldest, so I have to set a good example for my little sister."
Aisyah nodded, trying to understand her friend's point. The two girls finally reached the motorcycle parking lot, where a beautiful girl was sitting on Mayra's scooter.
"What took you so long, Sis? I've practically grown moss waiting for you here."
"Sorry, Mil. I just finished my class. You must be tired from waiting for me. Come on, let's go home now."
Mayra put on her helmet after hanging the bag she'd been carrying on the hook at the front of her scooter. Grumbling under her breath, her little sister climbed onto the back seat. Once they were ready, Mayra drove off and honked as she passed Aisyah.
"May, May, I can't get over how patient you are with a spoiled girl like Mila. If I had a little sister like that, I'd pinch her to death."
"Who are you going to pinch to death, Syah?" A man's distinct deep voice came from behind her.
Aisyah turned and found a twenty-six-year-old man looking at her mischievously.
"Bro, you just butted into my conversation out of nowhere. Wait, there's no one else around, right?"
Aisyah looked left and right, then rubbed her chest in relief when she saw no one else in the parking lot besides the two of them.
"You're safe, Syah. You still haven't answered my question. Who are you going to pinch to death?"
"My friend's little sister, Bro. She's so adorable to watch. She's spoiled, always ordering her big sister around, and so damn chatty. Ugh, she really gets on my nerves."
"Hahaha, as if you're not spoiled with your big brother."
"Okay, maybe I am, but I've never gone so far as to boss you around, Farhan. Do you still have class?"
"I'm done. Why, do you want to go home together?"
"Sure, if you don't mind, Bro. Unless you're going on a date."
"Hahaha, you're hilarious, Syah. I don't have a girlfriend, okay? Well, there is someone I'm pursuing. Just pray that I win her heart."
"Ooh, who is it? Come on, tell me, Bro."
"Later, once I know for sure she'll say yes. I did send my résumé to Ustadz Fahmi, though, so he can pass it along."
"Are you going to pursue a ta'aruf?"
"Yeah. I don't want to just date. I'm sure about her, so it's better to ask for her hand directly, right?"
"Yeah, that's good. Better than letting someone else snatch her up. Come on, let's go home, Bro."
Farhan nodded and drove his sports car out of the row reserved for faculty vehicles. No one on campus knew about Farhan and Aisyah's relationship because they acted differently when other people were around.
Mayra had just parked her scooter in front of the house when she heard her mother scream. The girl rushed inside without realizing she was still wearing her helmet.
"Mooooom... where are you?" she shouted when she didn't see her mother in the living room or kitchen. She immediately headed for the bathroom inside her mother's bedroom.
Mayra stumbled as she ran when she saw the middle-aged woman she called Mom lying helplessly on the bathroom floor.
"Oh, God, Mom, what happened?" Mayra cradled her mother's head in her lap. She didn't care that her clothes were getting wet from the splashing water.
"Mila, Mil, call a doctor. Mom fell in the bathroom."
With a bored expression, Mila, who had followed Mayra into their mother's room, took the phone from the bag slung over her shoulder.
Mila swiped across the screen and called their regular doctor, asking him to come to the house.
"Sis, let's move Mom to the bed first."
"Yeah, poor Mom must be freezing."
"I'm fine, sweetheart. I just slipped. The bathroom floor was wet."
"Come on, Mom, let me help you. Mil, please get a towel to dry Mom off."
Mila nodded and took a towel folded inside her mother's wardrobe.
"Where's Dad, Mom?" Mila asked.
"Your dad hasn't come home since this morning. He probably still has a lot of work at the store. I wasn't feeling well, so I didn't go to the store with him."
Mayra carefully dried the middle-aged woman's wet body. She also got some dry clothes and helped her mother change.
"I'm going to take a shower and change clothes, Mom. I've been wearing this sweaty outfit all day," Mila said.
"All right, go ahead. Mayra can help me," the woman ordered.