An invitation to dinner

By Teguh Winarsho AS

As of late, the young woman who lives next door has been opening the window of her room which faces mine, as wide as possible every night around midnight. Her room is left almost entirely exposed to the outside world.

I get the impression that it is neatly arranged. The bed is covered with a sheet printed with pink flowers. There is also a small table, a cupboard, a small bookshelf, a clock and a medium- sized TV set placed in a corner of the room. The occupant is radiant and very attractive. I would guess that she is no older than 30.

I can not in the least bit understand why she opens the window at a late hour because everyone here believes that in a house like that a breeze can be quite hazardous to one's health. It's possible for anyone to catch a cold.

I met her several days ago at the end of our street when I went home from work. We introduced ourselves and I found Mia, as she said she was called, to be very friendly.

"You live next door, don't you?" she asked me.

"Oh, yes," I said, surprised at her warm familiarity.

A brief conversation followed and it impressed me that she was more stunning than I had first observed.

After a moment of reflection she said: "You're a university lecturer, aren't you?"

I had lived here for four months and only two months ago I had gotten a job. But in my heart I was pleased by her warmth because that quality is quite rare in Jakarta, the city of indifference.

"Yes," I said, "but the profession does not take up all my time."

"Don't be so humble," she said smiling. Her statement was followed by an invitation to call on her some time to have a chat.

"Let's be good neighbors," she added before she hailed a taxi and left. She seemed to be in a hurry.

That first meeting left me with a few questions. Should I visit her some time? Is she single or does she live here with her husband? If the answer to the first question was true then why would such a lovely young woman still be unmarried?

One evening several days later I was awakened by someone knocking at my window. I was surprised because nobody had ever disturbed me at night since I started renting this house. I tried to continue sleeping but the sound grew louder and louder.

After I heard a women's voice calling my name I opened my window and looked out. I saw Mia standing there with her eyes looking straight into mine.

"What's the problem, Mia?" I asked her.

"Ssst ... ," she whispered, while putting her index finger to her lips, motioning for me to speak quietly.

"Please let me in. I have a serious problem." She looked panicky.

"But why now? Can't we talk tomorrow?" I asked.

"This is urgent."

Her insistence worried me. What would the neighbors say if they knew about this midnight meeting?

"Please, please help me. Let me in," she begged in a pitiful voice.

I did not react. I was deep in thought about the possible rumors which could result.

"I promise I will disturb you only this one time, please," she lamented.

"Help me, please," she repeated.

When I saw tears stream down her cheeks a strange power compelled me to pull her in. I pulled her up by her hand and with a small jump Mia was in my room. I closed the window and told her to sit down.

"Thank you for your understanding," she said. Her eyes were red, perhaps from having a long cry. She looked pathetic and confused.

Hesitantly she took a seat, but she had no courage to look me in the eyes. In such a confusing circumstances, I found Mia even more alluring.

I felt the devil inside stirring my manly passion. In the silence that ensued I looked at every curve of her body. She was sexier than sex itself.

"May I spend the night here? I can sleep on the floor. Your carpet would be good enough," she begged.

"No problem," I said. "Tonight you are my guest."

After having a glass of fresh water Mia started telling me her problem. She said two hours earlier her husband, who had not visited her for a long time, suddenly showed up with two friends. They had come directly from a gambling den where he lost millions of rupiah. He was badly in need of cash.

"This has happened to him hundreds of times and he has asked me each time to help bail him out," Mia said with an apparently wounded voice.

"Perhaps you don't know that I have lost my job. The bank where I worked at was recently closed by the government," she added.

"Perhaps the best way to get out of this hell is to get divorced."

"Divorced?" I asked.

"That is the only way out. The situation is beyond repair."

The conversation ended in the wee hours of the morning. At my request she slept on the bed and I on the floor.

She slept well. Her dilemma seemed to have evaporated for the time being. But for me, I could not close my eyes. With beautiful Mia on my bed, my mind kept reviewing the last four months. I had left my wife and child at home to try to make ends meet in the city.

For four months I had lived in loneliness and tonight I had a chance to end my long thirst for intimacy.

Since that nocturnal meeting Mia has been present in my thoughts every day. She has thoroughly influenced all my fantasies.

Suddenly, Mia came to see me at home with a cheerful countenance.

"I have divorced him," she said.

"Did you think twice before you made the final decision?"

Mia positively nodded.

"Had I known how easy the process would be I would have done it a long time ago," she added without mentioning her husband's name.

"So what's your plan now?"

"At the moment I don't have one yet. I want to enjoy my freedom first, ha, ha."

Mia smiled broadly. Since I could not catch the real meaning of her joviality I responded with an ordinary smile. But her new mood had made our friendship closer.

Before she left that morning, Mia invited me to have dinner at her home in the evening. She said this would be a thanksgiving party to celebrate the end of her almost unbearable crisis.

For me the invitation was a great honor and blessing. When she spent the recent troubled night with me I did not have the heart to touch her because she was too deep in sorrow. And besides that, she was a married woman. Tonight, I'm sure the situation will be totally different.

At 7.00 o'clock that night I was standing at the threshold of Mia's home to enjoy the rendezvous. But suddenly I was dumbfounded for no reason at all. My hand refused to knock on her door.

I felt the earth tremble beneath me and my heart began to beat faster. Suddenly I saw Ning, my wife, smiling at me. I also saw Fela, my daughter dancing in front of me. They are so beautiful. I could feel their tender love.

And when I saw the handle of the door being turned from inside I felt cold throughout my body. I turned around and rushed away at high speed.

I heard somebody calling my name but the voice grew weaker and weaker as I ran further and further away from the place. At last I was drowned in the sepulchral moonless night and heard the voice no more.

-- Translated by TIS