The Moon Embracing the Night

In a crowded city, where the number of vehicles is greater than the number of people, there lived a lone man who was busy cleaning his guitar. The guitar is a silent witness to his life, his very valuable treasure, which he loves more than anything in this cruel world. He continued to rub the guitar where he had rubbed so many times. As if the guitar will issue a genie who will grant all his wishes.

It was 9:30 a.m. in the morning when he established the last stroke of the strings on his guitar. He then stepped outside, ready to start his new adventure. Wearing a plain white T-shirt and jeans that were deliberately cut above the knee, he continued walking with his guitar slung over his shoulder.

Arrived at the area where he usually performed his rituals. A small food stall located near the sidewalk, with customers enjoying their food, and having fun talking to the person beside them. Not bothering, as if like a soldier pulling out a sword from its scabbard, he also prepared the guitar to a position ready for combat. He hugged the guitar and his fingers touched the string with his left hand which formed the chord of C. Dangdung's song Ani chanted out of his little mouth. Very melodious, sad and seductive. He continued to sing even though no one was listening.

There wasn't half a song yet, but someone generous had already put the metal chips in the small tin he had provided.

"Ah, my first dime." He thought happily

He is still singing and is now moving from one seat to another.

"Why did you give it? His voice isn't very good either. " A woman's voice came in protest from behind him.

“It's okay because it's so noisy, I can't stand it. right now he's gone. " Replied the man who had given him the coin.

The man heard the husband and wife's brief conversation. But he didn't care, he just smiled as he sang the Ani song he sang.

It's been more than an hour since he was singing around the food stall. Being tired, he decided to rest for a while. He took out drinking water from his bag and took a sip. He then calculated today's income. Collected 60,000 Indonesian Rupiah.

"Alhamdulillah." He said gratefully.

After half an hour of rest. He finally restarted the battle to both. This time he moved to a city bus that was parked waiting for passengers. He stepped inside, Bus still empty. He sat on one of the bus seats, waiting for the other passengers to arrive because it was useless if he sang now, no one would listen. He waited for a long time but the passengers were not there. He then got up from his chair and stepped off the bus. He just realized that someone followed him off the bus. A childlike 13 years old, with an innocent face and wearing flip-flops. The boy continued to follow him wherever he went. He knew but pretended not to notice

"Just leave it, later will go too." He thought to himself.

But the child continues to follow him everywhere. He was getting annoyed and looked at the boy with a look of abandon

"Why are you following me?" He says a little annoyed.

The boy just shook his head and looked down in fear. He also continued his journey to move to the next place. When he arrived at a market, he then looked for a place that could potentially generate money. He chose a food stall with busy customers.

"Ma'am, can I sing here or not?" He asked the owner of the restaurant.

"You can, but the song is a song for young people, bro, don't be dangdut music." Reply to the shop owner.

"Ok ma'am, thank you." While walking towards the nearest table.

He then thought of a song. Songs that are trending now, songs about betrayal, all young people must know the song.

“Katakanlah sekarang bahwa kau tak bahagia, aku punya ragamu tapi tidak hatimu…” For a moment his attention was drawn to the entrance. The kid is still following him. The kid who got off the bus with him. The boy saw her back.

“…kau tak perlu berbohong kau masih menginginkannya, kurela kau dengannya asal kau bahagia.” He continued his song which had been cut off.

He saw the boy was watching the food that was arranged on the table.

After finishing singing the song for the youth, he walked over to the boy.

"Are you hungry?" He asked the boy.

The boy nodded miserably

"Here, come with me." He led the boy to one of the dining tables that were still empty. The boy ran over to him with joy.

"Ma'am, eat one, OK?" He shouted at the shop keeper

"What's the side dish, bro?"

"It's up to you."

The lady also came with a plate of rice with side dishes of rendang and curry sauce. The child then ate heartily without paying attention to the surroundings.

"What is your name? Why are you hanging around alone? Where are your parents? " Asked the man.

The boy was silent for a moment, then continued eating. In a moment the rice runs out. The boy looks very happy.

"You're very hungry, huh." The man continued his questioning.

“Can you hear me? I asked what is your name? Why are you wandering alone in the city? ” As if he didn't care, the boy just stayed silent and looked at the man.

"Ah never mind. Come back to your house. Your parents must be worried, I'll go first. " The man stands over to the cashier and pays for the food.

The man walked out of the restaurant.

“Looks like enough for today. I've already raised money for dinner tonight. " He thought to himself.

He was getting ready to go home, put his guitar back on. And continue his journey.

He arrived home and looked for the key he had put under the vase. But how much he saw someone standing behind him. The boy followed him again.

"Gosh, what are you doing here? Didn't I tell you to go home? " The man asked with a shocked face.

It's useless, the boy still doesn't want to talk. He just remained silent, standing in his place.

"Are you lost? Don't you know the way home? "

The boy nodded.

"Sigh, never mind. Come on in, looks like it's going to rain. Tomorrow I will take you to the police station, who knows they can help you. " He invited the boy in.

"Sit anywhere, I'll make you hot tea." The man walked into the kitchen and started boiling water. The boy just stayed there. Sit neatly without being distracted. He didn't even know where he was right now. This man could be a kidnapper or a murderer. But the boy didn't seem to care.

"Drink, you must be tired all day following me." Said while serving hot tea to the child.

The boy then accepted it with pleasure and started blowing it.

"Are you really speechless or something?" The man asked for the umpteenth time.

But the boy still ignored his question.

"My room is only one, you rest inside, I'll sleep here."

The next day arrived. This man is already at the police station, hoping the police can find his parents. He filled out several files to serve as evidence.

"For the time being this child will still live with you, okay? You see, we don't have any vacant rooms here. Later, after his parents contact us, I will pick him up at your house. Do not mind?"

"Well, never mind. But you better try hard, I'm not the one who can afford to feed him any longer. I'm just a busker. " Replied the man.

"We will try our best."

The young man then came out of there with the child at his side

"I can't possibly take you home. You also can't stay at home alone, anyway. " The man asked the boy "Are you singing along with me?" The child nodded in agreement.

“Fine, but you can't complain. It will be very hot today. "

They then moved to the location where this man usually sang.

"You sit here." While giving the chair “Don't go anywhere. Remember?"

Once again, the boy nodded in understanding.

The man started the action, this time with another dangdut song. Looks like the child really doesn't want to be quiet. He then stood up and picked up the tin that held the change, and started going around asking for donations. The man was very shocked at what the child was doing. He wanted to stop it but it seemed like the boy didn't want to be stopped. The man then let the boy do what he was doing.

"Smart boy," he thought with a smile.

They sing all day long, with the child who is increasingly agile moving around asking for donations. It was getting late in the afternoon. They are getting ready to go home.

“That's just for today. Tomorrow you won't help me busking anymore, you understand? I don't want to be mistaken for exploiting minors. ” The man said to the child.

But as usual, the boy still didn't answer and just smiled.

It seems it took the police a long time to find the parents of this child, two weeks have passed. The child remains with him in this house. They are getting closer. The child now not only nods and smiles, he is laughing as well. The child is still singing along every day. As if he didn't want to be banned, the boy still helped the man busking, he went around with the can in his hand. The man no longer tries to stop her from doing that.

Time passed, their relationship grew closer. Several times the man told an old joke about the mouse deer tricking the lions, and the boy would laugh happily at that.

This child is like the moon illuminating the darkness of this man's nightlife. Thanks to this child, the man is no longer lonely. Even though the boy didn't say anything, this man was satisfied. Just hearing him laugh made this man's heart calm.

When the child gets sick. This man stayed up all night looking after him. He didn't even busk for the sake of being around the child.

The man goes to the supermarket to buy medicine. He paid for the medicine with the money he made from busking and actually the money was for breakfast tomorrow morning. But that's okay, you can think of breakfast tomorrow, what is clear is that the child must recover.

The man arrived home, he was surprised that there was a luxury car parked in front of his house, and also a police car.

"Sorry sir, what's wrong?" The man asked the police who were in front of his house.

"Bro, this is the one who found the child, right? We have succeeded in contacting the biological parents of the child. That's them."

A husband and wife got out of the luxury car, he saw the child was already in the back seat of the car, leaning weakly.

"I thank you very much, for taking care of my child. At that time he wanted to meet his father in the office without my knowledge. He then left the house. And since then we didn't know where it was. Until the police contact us. " The young woman said.

"Oh. Yes, that's okay, I'm happy to be able to take care of him, but right now he's sick. I just bought medicine. " The man gives the drug to the woman.

"Oh! It's okay, we will take him to the hospital, once again I would like to thank you, he must be very difficult to live here so he fell ill. " Replied the woman.

"Can I see him for a moment?"

"Of course."

The man walked to the car and saw the child was still sleeping weakly. His body is still hot. The man stroked the boy's hair and looked at his face deeply because maybe he would never be able to see this child again.

"If I may know, what is his name?"

"Reyhan." Answer the mother

They left, leaving this man alone.

The man looked around the room. Quiet. Usually, the child is there with her, sitting neatly reading the comic that the man bought. But now everything is gone. The comics were still neatly arranged on the table. Untouched. This room feels stuffy at once. It was as if the Moon, which had been lighting up its night, was lost in the dark clouds

"Reyhan." The man's lips spoke.

19 years later.

"Has everything been prepared?" A woman talking to her subordinates

"It's already booked, everything is finished. Can I go home now? "

"Go, there's nothing more needed, I'll take care of the old man."

"Okay." The woman said as she left.

A spacious room with a neatly arranged bed, a table beside the bed on which there is a lily with a glass vase. You can see an old middle-aged man looking out the window. His face was tired as if to describe what he had been through when he was young.

"Are you all right? Let me help you to bed. " The woman said softly to the old man. "Someone wants to meet you, he said he was your friend. Can I invite you in? "

The man nodded.

The woman went out for a while and came back with someone. A handsome young man, with a clean and well-groomed face wearing an Army uniform, stepped in. The young man's smile broke out in a friendly manner, the dashing young man immediately grabbed the old man's hand tightly, his face conveyed an extreme longing.

"Do you still remember me?" The young man asked softly.

The old man only glanced at the young man's face then looked away, a sign of disinterest.

With tears in his eyes, the young man sang

“Katakanlah sekarang bahwa kau tak bahagia, aku punya ragamu tapi tidak hatimu…” The young man wanted to continue singing but could not, his tears fell unconsciously, sobbing sadly.

Hearing the song, the old man was stunned, looked closely at this handsome man, and he began to shed tears. The longing he kept for the child who had followed him off the bus, it came out, all overflowing like the tide of the sea. The old man hugged the young man tightly. A child who could not even speak and was confused on the bus now turns into a handsome young man in an Army uniform.

"I've been looking for you everywhere, I went back to your previous house where you lived, but that house was already occupied by someone else, I didn't know where to look for you anymore, I gave up and gave up until a friend suggested me To look to a nursing home, I checked every nursing home in the city until finally, I found you. " The young man could no longer hold back his emotion, he spoke with tears still streaming down his cheeks. "I'm sorry sir, I'm sorry I didn't look for you earlier."

"Reyhan." The old man said softly

"Yes sir, my name is Reyhan. I haven't had time to tell you, I'm really sorry. " The young man bowed and embraced this old man's feet.

"Your kindness has inspired me, you take care of me, a person you don't know, I never give up on all the problems I face, because I know how difficult your life is, compared to my life, your struggle is very meaningful and painful. " The young man was still crying lightly.

"Get up, don't prostrate. I still want to see your face, you've changed a lot. But not with this face — while stroking the young man's face — yours still implies innocence. The same face I saw 19 years ago on that Bus. " The old man struggled to hold back his emotion.

The young man once again embraced the old man with affection, like a child who has finally met his biological father.

The kindness of the young man who had saved him led the child to a better life. The search for the child finally ended. He managed to find the person he wanted to meet the most. Thank you profusely for saving him.

And now the Moon, which had once sunk with black clouds, now appears again with a light that fills the whole world and returns to embrace the dark night.