Mayra lowered her head again after voicing what she was thinking at the moment.
The couple exchanged glances before staring intently at Mayra. Hutomo took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled.
"Huh? My guess was one hundred percent right after all. See? What did I tell you? Big sister didn't believe me. It was so obvious and predictable that Ustadz Fahmi would find a match for you, Big sister."
Mayra shot Mila a brief glance.
"Ustadz Fahmi isn't the one who found someone for me, Mila. He said the man came to Ustadz Fahmi and asked him to pass the message along to me."
"It's basically the same thing. The point is, you're being matched with some guy by Ustadz Fahmi, and who knows who he is. Wait ... have you met him yet? Is he handsome? Is he rich? Or ..."
"Mila! Don't bombard your sister with questions like that."
Mila pursed her lips at Hutomo's reprimand.
The middle-aged man then gazed intently at Mayra. A long sigh escaped his lips.
"I can't believe how grown-up you've become, May. A man is already interested in making you his life partner."
Mayra merely lowered her head shyly, her cheeks flushed.
"We've taken care of you since you were a baby, and perhaps it's time for us to let you go," Santi added.
Mayra didn't understand what her mother meant. Something felt strange, and it made her curious. Still, Mayra remained silent, waiting for her parents to explain.
"May, it's time you learned who you really are. I'm sorry if it seems like your Dad and I were hiding this from you. We hope that even after learning all these secrets, you won't change your attitude."
Mayra's heart began pounding even harder.
"Ahem, May ... the truth is, you're not your Dad and Mom's biological child," Hutomo said carefully.
Boom! It wasn't merely as if lightning had struck—there really was thunder booming outside, accompanied by heavy rain. It was as though nature itself understood how Mayra felt at that moment.
Mayra lifted her head and looked from one parent—correction, adoptive parent—to the other. She saw no trace of a joke on their faces. So it was true. She was only an adopted child, and Mila was the only biological child of the couple.
Plop. A single tear slid down Mayra's smooth cheek.
"Then where are my parents now, Dad, Mom?"
Mila, sitting on a single sofa in the family room where they had gathered, stared in disbelief when she heard that Mayra wasn't her biological big sister. She had always been jealous of Mayra's perfection in other people's eyes, but hearing the truth Hutomo had just revealed filled Mila with pity.
"Your parents have passed away, sweetheart. They were in an accident on their way to the hospital. Your father died at the scene, while your mother made it to the hospital. She passed away after giving birth to you. They were both only children and had no other relatives. Your father was my best friend, so I took care of you from infancy with my wife. We'd been married for a long time, but we hadn't been blessed with a child."
"Sob, sob. So the two graves we always visit are my parents' graves?"
"Yes, sweetheart. Forgive us for only telling you now. We had no choice but to lie because, to be honest, remembering your father—who was like a brother to me—was too painful. But now that you're going to get married, I have no choice but to tell you."
Mayra sobbed harder as she took in the truth that she was an orphan, yet at the same time, she was deeply grateful to the two people who had cared for her all these years. Mayra stood, then knelt before them.