The next day, on Friday afternoon, Aliff and Razak had just finished the school assignments given by their sister Sarah - some math problems and writing exercises that had drained their energy.
"Uff... finally done," Aliff sighed in relief while stretching his sore arms.
Suddenly, his mother's room door opened. Aliff looked over and saw his mother stepping out, looking different than usual - wearing a light blue baju kurung and a neatly arranged hijab.
"Huh?! Where are you going, Mom?" Aliff asked curiously, his eyes widening at his mother's beautiful appearance.
His mother smiled at her youngest son's curiosity. "Hmm... what's up? Do you want to go out with me?"
"I want to go!" Without thinking twice, Aliff jumped from his chair, tossing his books on the table.
"Really?" His mother chuckled. "Let's go."
Aliff ran to his mother, gripping her small hand tightly. They both left the room and walked down the stairs together. Along the way, Aliff couldn't stop asking questions.
"Mom, where are we going?"
"I'm going to buy something at the night market," she replied gently. "But remember, don't let go of my hand when we're there. It will be very crowded."
"Okay!" Aliff nodded obediently, gripping her hand even tighter.
The night market wasn't far from their flat, only about a ten-minute walk away. Along the way, Aliff could see people heading in the same direction - it seemed the night market was quite popular in the area.
Near the night market, there were several shops. There were all sorts of shops, from clothing stores to mobile phone shops, and many more.
"What is that smell, Mom?" Aliff asked, sniffing the air. "It smells so good!"
"That's the smell of satay," his mother explained. "Do you want to try some later?"
"Yes!" Even though he could hear various animal sounds in his head—from birds flying above the market to cats wandering between table legs—Aliff began to get used to ignoring them. He also started to understand one thing: he could clearly hear what animals thought, and he could talk to them through his mind, so he didn't need to speak; just by thinking, the animals would understand what he was saying.
They stopped at a busy satay stall. His mother ordered 50 sticks - 25 beef and 25 chicken. Aliff proudly carried the satay package in his right hand. After that, his mother paid.
When they were about to buy some cakes from the stall next to the satay seller, Aliff spotted a familiar face.
"Oh, I didn't expect to see you here!" someone exclaimed. It turned out to be Naim, his new friend.
"Do you know him, Aliff?" his mother asked, noticing Naim behind the pastry counter.
"He's my new friend, Mom."
"Oh, I see," she nodded warmly. "Can you get me 5 donuts and 5 karipap?"
"Oh, of course! Please wait a moment, Ma'am," Naim replied politely, rushing to prepare the order.
A few moments later, Naim handed over the neatly arranged pastries. "Thank you," Aliff's mother said. After that, she paid Naim.
"You're welcome, Ma'am," Naim smiled, then turned to Aliff. "By the way, Aliff, are you going to play over there later?"
"Of course!" Aliff nodded. "I'll be at the usual place."
"Oh, great! See you there later!"
"Yes!"
"If you're going to play, finish your homework first, okay?" a firm voice from behind Naim was heard. It was his mother, who was arranging the cakes in the display.
"Wow," Aliff's mother smiled, "he's still very young but already helping his mom. Unlike my son here..."
"Why do you say that, Mom?" Aliff pouted.
"Alright, alright," his mother chuckled, fixing Aliff's hair. "Don't be mad at your mother. That's not good, you know."
"Aliff knows..."
"Let's buy some drinks first, shall we?" she suggested. "You want to play with your friends later, right?"
"Okay!" Aliff nodded, and they looked for a drink seller.
***
When Aliff and his mother returned to their room, she organized some groceries on the table while Aliff immediately devoured the satay they bought at the night market. The sweet and slightly spicy peanut sauce made him eat heartily. A few minutes later, he had already finished five sticks of chicken satay.
"Mom, I'm done eating. Can I go play now?" Aliff asked while wiping the sauce off his fingers with a tissue.
His mother turned to him, "You want to go again? You just got back."
"I promised Naim I would play," Aliff replied.
"Alright," she finally nodded. "But don't come home too late. Be back before dark, okay?"
"Yes, Mom!" Aliff smiled widely.
"Hey, Aliff!" called Sarah, his older sister, from the living room. "Do you want to go alone? Should I come with you?"
Aliff gently shook his head. "It's okay. I know the way," he replied calmly.
Sarah and Ina exchanged glances. They knew Aliff had an incredible memory. He could always remember the way home even in new places he visited for the first time. However, he only did this for important things; if it was something unimportant, he would forget it.
"Alright. But be careful, don't talk to strangers."
"Okay, Aliff is going to play now!" he said, waving his hand as he stepped out.
Aliff opened his room door and stepped outside. Just at that moment, the door to the adjacent room also opened. From room number 46, two familiar figures appeared—Aina and her brother, Bima.
"Wow, I didn't know you lived next door!" Aina looked a little surprised, her eyes widening at the sight of Aliff.
"I'm surprised too," Aliff replied, equally astonished. "Are you going out to play too?" he asked curiously.
"Yes!" Aina nodded. "We were just about to go. How about we go together?"
Bima, Aina's brother, observed quietly.
"Alright," Aliff agreed.
And after that, the three of them walked together and went down the stairs to play.
***
At that moment, Ina was about to step out to throw the trash in the garbage bin outside the flat, but when she opened her room door, she suddenly ran into someone she recognized.
"Wow! Long time no see, Ina," said the person. Her name was Arina, Aina's mother.
"Oh, what a coincidence, right?"
"How's life in Kluang? Are you doing okay?" she asked.
"Wow! It's been a while, Arina. I'm doing fine there," replied Ina.
"What about you? Are you doing well here?"
"Oh, me? Of course, I'm doing fine. Are you also going to throw the trash? How about we go together?"
"Sure, let's go. It's been a while since we met. Ina was actually born in Klang but had to move to Kluang because her husband works there. Arina and Ina have known each other since they were 15 years old and had to part ways back then.
They both headed toward the stairs.
(Maybe some of you are wondering what the flat looks like? The flat is long and has rooms on both sides. If it's not clear yet, you can look up the shape of a flat on Google. Please note that the flat I wrote about is slightly different from the actual version because I slightly forgot about the place. I used to live there with my mother.)
"Hey, Ina, you know after you moved, I had a daughter, but she's playing now. But, well... I only have 2 kids, unlike you who can have many kids at the age of 23." Ina and Alik got married when they were 20 years old, and Arina married a year later.
"What are you saying? But I'm the same, I have one son there," Ina replied.
"WHAT!!! You have another child?" Arina was surprised to hear what she said.
(Just for clarification, Aliff was born in Kluang, while his older brother and sister were born in Klang. Aliff is the only child born in Kluang.)
"Is it wrong to have another child?"
"No, I'm just surprised," Arina replied.
"But... this is a coincidence, right? I hope your child and my child can meet and become good friends."
"You're right, I hope they can meet and become good friends, just like we used to," Ina replied.
"By the way, how old is your son now?"
"My son is 7 years old. How about your daughter?"
"My daughter is also 7 years old. She's a spoiled and easily scared child, but she's very cute."
"Wow, it seems like she is your favorite child, huh?"
"Isn't it normal for her to be my favorite child? After all, she is the youngest. Aren't you the same? I can feel that you really love your daughter too."
"Ooh... You really understand me, don't you?"
"Of course, we've known each other for a long time, right?"
"You are right..."