Forty-five minutes later, she got off. From the bus stop, she had to walk a little to enter the village. The roads were busy, even at night. And Zahwa felt safe.
Meanwhile, Fathan had just driven out of the village road. He had just dropped Zaidan off at Grandma Lila's house. Zaidan had left earlier by riding with Habibi.
"Help!!! Pickpocket!!!" A woman's scream shattered the evening on the road leading to the neighboring village where Grandma Lila lived.
Acting on instinct, Fathan immediately hit the gas. He chased the figure running away with a bag.
Thud!
The pickpocket slipped. The bag flew to the side of the road. Staggering, he tried to climb onto his friend's speeding motorcycle.
Without a second thought, Fathan got out of the car and grabbed the pickpocket by the collar.
The pickpocket fought back. His punch landed on the corner of Fathan's mouth.
"Ow! My handsome face!" Fathan groaned, then was shoved aside and fell against his car.
Right then, a group of residents arrived.
"Hey! You're bleeding!" The voice belonged to Zahwa.
"Wow, he really had the nerve to do that here. We've got to protect our neighborhood," one of the residents exclaimed.
"Yeah! We can't let criminals like that have a place here!" another shouted.
"Let us help you." A man approached, intending to help Fathan into the roadside shop.
"Just help me into the car, sir. There's a first-aid kit inside."
They guided Fathan inside.
"Where's the first-aid kit, Fathan?" Zahwa asked in a panic. She did not even care about the bag's contents still scattered everywhere. She had also entrusted her groceries to the women who had joined the chase.
Fathan grimaced as he reached for the first-aid kit. Zahwa immediately took over. "Let me help you."
Seeing their hero being treated, the residents gradually dispersed.
"Sweetie, here's your groceries." One of the women handed Zahwa her shopping bag before leaving.
"And here's your bag, too. I cleaned it up. But your phone is shattered, sweetie." Another woman handed Zahwa her bag.
"It's okay, ma'am. Alhamdulillah, I got everything back. Thank you." Zahwa smiled in relief.
"You're welcome, sweetie." The two women left, leaving Zahwa and Fathan alone in the car.
"I'm fine, really."
"But the corner of your mouth is bleeding."
"It's just a small scrape. Check your things first. Hopefully nothing's missing."
Fathan took the first-aid kit back. Just being alone in a car with a woman already made his heart pound. Being tended to by her was even worse. He was afraid he might slip up.
"Alhamdulillah, everything's here." Zahwa closed her bag.
"Where are you headed? Want me to call you a motorcycle taxi?" Instead of offering to drive her, Fathan offered to call a motorcycle taxi.
Understanding what the young man meant, Zahwa nodded. "Just take me to the motorcycle-taxi stand up ahead, okay, Fathan? The one I passed earlier while chasing the pickpocket."
Fathan only backed the car up a little. His job was done. After thanking him repeatedly, Zahwa and Fathan parted ways at the motorcycle-taxi stand.
No one knew it. That evening's meeting was the beginning of the first crack in the chain binding Zahwa to Reihan.
Dusk slowly crept over the Haidar family's home. The living room, usually filled with noise, was now drowning in silence. Only the rustle of a knife in the kitchen broke the quiet.
There, two women from different generations were weaving the evening together through their cooking.
A girl with shoulder-length hair moved her nimble fingers over the meat.
"Umma, let's make the chicken skin with fried chili sauce later, okay?"
"Sure, whatever Maryam wants," Umma Liana replied gently, her fingers still busy sorting the wet vegetables.
When she was finished, Maryam took a bottle of water from the refrigerator. She sat at the dining table and sipped it slowly, until the sound of Fathan's car engine broke the silence.
"Umma, Bro's home. Grandma Lila sent over a pineapple earlier. Perfect timing, right? We can cook it with the chicken skin." Adjusting her bergo hijab, Maryam stood up.
"I'm going outside for a minute to get the pineapple."
Umma Liana nodded, her smile warm.