One morning in Hasnah's life<\/p>\n
By Diani Savitri<\/p>\n
Hasnah is a simple woman with a seemingly simple life to live.
\nIn the morning she goes to work as a wash lady for three
\nhouseholds that are comparatively better-off than their mixed-
\nclass neighbors. She goes home in the afternoon and does her home
\nchores, cooks a tiny bit of food bought from a nearby traditional
\nmarket (she never buys it from roaming peddlers as prices are
\nmore expensive) and then waits for her husband to come home. She
\nwants to get some more work for more money. It is just that her
\nweak body never allows her to do much physical activity. The
\nactivities never vary from day to day - except for some unlikely
\nday, like today.<\/p>\n
As usual Hasnah gets up at dawn, boils just enough water for
\nher husband's morning tea. Several chunks of fried cassava she
\nbought last night from a street hawker are steamed for his
\nbreakfast. Nothing for her in the morning - as since childhood
\nher stomach has been used to being empty until noon. She washes
\nherself with water drawn from the well last night and filled in
\nthe plastic bucket, always caring not to waste an unnecessary
\namount of water, then carries out her morning prayers.<\/p>\n
She prays very quickly and ritualistically, reciting the
\nverses known by heart, the meanings of which are mostly not
\nunderstood. When she finishes the rite in a sitting position
\nHasnah rises quickly again. No need for a personal prayer where
\npeople usually send their personal wishes to God. Praying is
\nnothing personal for Hasnah. It is something obligatory, if not
\nhabitual.<\/p>\n
The water boils and Hasnah prepares tea with no sugar. She
\nknows exactly how many tea leaves she should use through her
\nhabit of preparing and by taking to heart her husband's yelling
\nand swearing whenever he thinks the tea is too dark or too light.<\/p>\n
She prepares a towel for her husband, a well-worn and
\ndiscolored one. She always takes a bath after her husband, as
\nthey only have one towel and she wants it perfectly dry for her
\nhusband's use. Unlike herself, who always takes care not to use
\nwater excessively, her husband likes to use abundant water and
\nsplashes it all around their unadorned outdoor bathroom walled by
\ncorrugated iron sheets. His habit leaves her with two
\nconsequences: a very wet towel and an empty bucket for her to
\nrefill.<\/p>\n
Next, Hasnah gets her broom and sweeps the earthen floor. She
\nwatches from outside their bedroom, separated only from the other
\nspace in the house by a ragged curtain already drawn to one side.
\nHer husband wakes up, first stretching his darkened and well-
\nbuilt body from years as a physical laborer. Lately, he often
\ncomplains about how their mattress had become so thin it gives
\nhim a painful back and how there are too many bed bugs that give
\nhim skin rashes. She is very quiet while sweeping the floor,
\nanticipating his increasingly frequent blaspheming of the day.
\nBut no, he is also quiet. Hasnah feels uneasiness creep in her
\nheart.<\/p>\n
She hands him the towel and this time he does not snatch it
\nwith aimless anger as usual, but takes it with obvious ignorance.
\nHe walks slowly to the back door as if unwillingly. Hasnah's gaze
\nfollows his trail.<\/p>\n
When he finishes bathing he does not come back in right away,
\nsome moments pass from the second Hasnah hears the bathroom door
\nopen to the second he steps in. After putting on his clothes in
\ntheir bedroom he takes a seat on one of the two wooden chairs
\nfacing one another, separated only be the only table in the house
\nin their dining area. From the spot where she stands sweeping
\nHasnah secretly steals a glance at his face, then immediately
\nturns her back on him. She is mentally judging that unusual
\ndisgusted look on his face thrown at the steaming cassava on an
\nold aluminum plate.<\/p>\n
\"You don't have to go to work today,\"<\/p>\n
Hasnah freezes upon hearing him. A hot flush crawls down her
\nback.<\/p>\n
\"You help me pack, you hear me? I move in with her tonight,
\nyou're listening?\"<\/p>\n
She slowly nods, but realizing how recently he never looks at
\nher when speaking to her Hasnah replies softly, \"Yes\".<\/p>\n
\"So it's settled then. I'll give you money for this week, on
\nTuesdays I sleep here and I'll bring you money each time. You
\ndon't have to work, you hear me? You're so skinny you make me
\nfeel sick just by looking at you. You rest, you understand?\"<\/p>\n
\"For now, I'll work only for Mrs. Situmorang. I promised her
\nto work for her at least until Lebaran, (the Muslim post-fasting
\nholiday). Then I can quit,\"<\/p>\n
\"Whatever else, you go to the hospital again and you get cures
\nfor your womb. We'll have enough money.\"<\/p>\n
\"Is she with a child?\"<\/p>\n
Widow Tayem is about ten years older than the 26-year-old
\nHasnah and is not half as pretty. But Tayem has flirtatious
\ngiggles and a voluptuous body. A three-time divorcee with five
\nkids, among whom only the youngest lives with her, she is a well-
\npaid house-to-house masseuse for rich families in an exclusive
\nand detached real estate near their locality. Her personally
\nowned brick-walled and tile-floored house is three-houses away
\nfrom Hasnah's rented house.<\/p>\n
\"You'll give me a baby too, you hear me?\" His voice gives away
\na slight quiver.<\/p>\n
So Hasnah knows it must have pained him too, this man she is
\nmarried to for almost ten years now, to yield to this
\narrangement.<\/p>\n
\"A slight change, you know? We'll be fine.\"<\/p>\n
Her husband stands up to go outside too hurriedly that he
\nalmost makes his chair stumble. Tea and breakfast are untouched.
\nHasnah rests the broom on the bamboo-cane wall, careful not to
\nlet it fall, walks to their bedroom, packs his things, leaves
\nonly one shirt and one pair of underwear in the box placed under
\ntheir bed.<\/p>\n
Hasnah smooths one of his shirts, her eyes shed tears she does
\nnot intend to hold back. It's going to be all right, she talks to
\nherself in her head. Tomorrow is going to be a new day, with
\nslight changes as her husband said. She will work for one
\nhousehold only. She does not have to prepare tea or breakfast or
\nthe towel for her husband. She does not have to wait for him in
\nthe evening.<\/p>\n
But those are the only changes, she realizes. He is right.
\nEverything else will remain the same. She can live her normal
\nlife as usual. And maybe now with more money from Tayem to
\nconsult her physical problems with the doctors at the hospital,
\nshe will get better and eventually bear him a child whom they
\nhave been waiting for almost ten years now. ***<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/one-morning-in-hasnahs-life-1447893297",
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