Chapter 10 — A Proposal No One Refused
672 Words
After the wedding, her grandparents became unusually tense.
Her grandmother no longer allowed her to walk home alone after evening classes. If she needed to buy something from the small village shop, her grandfather insisted on accompanying her himself.
At first, she thought they were simply being protective.
Then three nights later, Haji Karim came to their house.
Not alone.
Two older women followed behind him carrying neatly wrapped food trays and expensive gifts — fruits, tea, fabrics, even imported biscuits rarely seen in the village.
The moment she saw them entering through the front gate, uneasiness spread through her entire body.
Inside the living room, everyone sat carefully on woven mats while rain tapped softly against the wooden walls.
She remained in the kitchen beside her grandmother preparing tea, though both of them already understood why the guests had come.
The older women smiled constantly.
Too constantly.
“Haji Karim has taken interest in your granddaughter,” one of them finally said.
The girl’s fingers tightened around the tea tray.
“She is still very young,” her grandmother answered immediately.
“But very mature,” another woman replied smoothly.
“And beautiful girls should not remain alone too long.”
The girl lowered her eyes.
Every sentence felt less like conversation and more like negotiation.
Then Haji Karim finally spoke himself.
“I can provide a good life for her.”
His voice was calm.
Confident.
Like a man accustomed to getting what he wanted.
“She can continue studying if she wishes. I will not stop her.”
Her grandfather remained silent for a long moment.
And somehow, his silence frightened her more than agreement would have.
Because she knew poverty had exhausted him for years.
Medical bills.
Farming difficulties.
An uncertain future.
Men like Haji Karim represented security impossible to ignore easily.
Finally, her grandfather spoke carefully.
“She is preparing for scholarship applications.”
“That is good,” Haji Karim answered with a small smile.
“A smart wife brings honor.”
Wife.
The word struck her chest so suddenly she almost dropped the cups in her hands.
She was not even sixteen yet.
That night, after the guests finally left, nobody spoke during dinner.
The silence inside the house felt unbearable.
At last, she looked toward her grandfather.
“I don’t want this.”
The old man closed his eyes briefly.
“He has influence,” he answered quietly.
“I don’t care.”
“You should.”
His voice was not angry.
Only tired.
“Haji Karim is not someone villagers refuse easily.”
Tears burned her eyes immediately.
“I want to study.”
“And after that?” her grandfather asked softly.
“Who will protect you when we are gone?”
The question shattered something inside her.
Because beneath all her fear and frustration, she knew the truth:
Her grandparents were growing old.
Their hands trembled more now.
Her grandfather coughed longer during cold nights. Her grandmother often sat down halfway through chores because her knees hurt too much.
For the first time, she realized they were not planning only for her future.
They were preparing for a future where they no longer existed in it.
That understanding hurt almost more than the proposal itself.
Later that night, unable to breathe properly inside the house, she walked alone toward the paddy field behind their home.
Moonlight shimmered across shallow water between the rice plants while wind moved softly through the fields.
She stood there hugging herself tightly.
And suddenly heard footsteps approaching behind her.
Rizal.
He stopped several feet away, breathing unevenly as though he had hurried there.
“I heard about Karim,” he said quietly.
She said nothing.
For a moment, only the sound of insects filled the darkness.
Then Rizal spoke again.
“You shouldn’t marry him.”
At that, tears finally slid silently down her face.
Because for the first time since all this began…
someone had said exactly what her heart had been screaming all along.
- Writer
