TICKET STATUS: CONFIRMED
"okay, everything is confirmed. hmm let me check once again to be sure." said young lady to herself, a week before her confirmed flight.
"oh. my. gosh. i selected the wrong timing!" she just realized after checking all details. the ticket was paid, and it will cost additional $50 just to change the timing. now she can only choose either spend another $50 or just go with it. she choose second option.
***
"can i borrow your pen?" the little girl asked a young lady who sat on her right side.
"no, i don't have any" replied young lady. "i guess we have to borrow from her" the young lady points at a middle aged woman who sat on the left side from little girl.
"well, i guess so."
both of them waited until this middle aged woman done filling her own customs form. 30 minutes left until they reached soekarno-hatta. the weather had been good on that day, cotton white clouds was decorating sky blue heaven while this short flight took place.
"miss, can i borrow your pen please? both of us don't have any pen with us." asked little girl on behalf of herself and young lady.
"sure. here it is." replied middle aged woman as she handed over her pen.
"thank you."
the little girl filled up her customs form without realizing this middle aged woman has been observing her while she wrote her particulars. little girl was wearing an old t-shirt and light blue jeans, pretty common however she was noticeable as she brought a bulky carry on baggage along with her. she came quite late, and middle aged woman who sat near aisle helped her to placed her baggage on top compartment.
"okay i'm done. now it's your turn miss." said little girl to young lady, while handing over middle aged woman's pen.
"thanks."
"where are you come from, girl?" asked middle aged woman starting a small conversation.
"i come from a small village around sub-urban area. after we reached jakarta, i'll take bus to go to my home town. it took about 1 day journey."
"wow, that's quite far! have you been to jakarta before?"
"no ma'am. this is my first time."
"really? the do you know which bus you should take? or maybe if you have any family/ relatives/ friends in jakarta they can helped you to find out"
"no i don't ma'am. and yes i have 1 uncle who works in military services, my mother told him about my flight but as this was quite sudden, i've not checked how is it now. i don't have any credits left to make a call, and i don't have indonesia local phone cards as well."
"wow that would be a perilous journey for you. i suggest you take a cab until this train station, the you can take train/ bus from there. it's quite a distance, but it's safer for you. i mean, you are a girl after all."
"oh i see, then do you know roughly how much it would cost?"
"it may cost about Rp350.000- Rp.400.000 for a ride. i know it's not cheap, but still safety comes first."
"oh i see.." the little girl had a surprised look on her face.
the young lady has been listening to their conversation while filling up her customs form. she had an assumption that this girl... might be a maid. an indonesian maid.
she found this quite coincidental as this is her first time taking flight seating with a maid, side by side.
"here your pen ma'am. thank you very much." said young lady while returning middle aged woman's pen.
"oh thanks." she took her pen, and placed it inside her Louis Vuitton bag along with her blackberry.
the conversation goes along between three of them.
"so what do you do in singapore, girl? asked middle aged woman to little girl.
"i'm a maid ma'am. i worked for a japanese family before, and yesterday this family went back to japan. i was told in last minute before their departure, and so i went back to my agency in katong shopping centre. i thought i would be assigned to another family, but apparently it's not what my boss think of. "you are going back to indonesia tomorrow" he said, and in 1 day i have to packed all my things, find a ticket, and return back to my home town. how about you ma'am, and you too miss?
"i went for holiday trip to singapore for a few days" replied middle aged woman.
"i'm working in singapore now. so we are quite similar." replied young lady,barely knowing she ended her sentence with the forbidden word. similar! how similar it can be! this little girl is just a maid, and this young lady is an employee for small-medium sized company. well, at least in certain extent they are both working in singapore.
"so you are a working lady then? woah i guess you are quite educated, aren't you? you managed to get a proper job in singapore! did you study well in your school? or maybe, just maybe, did you get a degree in university?" asked little girl with eyes filled with hope, dazzling as if she has met someone who are beyond her reach.
the young lady sat in silence. she observe little girl's eyes in depth. "she has honest eyes." thought young lady. she never thought that studying overseas, get your university degree, or even completing high school is a remarkable thing. it's quite common for her, compared to her school mates whoa re able to hit europe or the states.
a thing that she took for granted can be blessings to another.
"yeah... sort of." replied young lady. she doesn't want to disclose any more hints regarding her financial position.
"how much you earn a month, girl?" asked middle aged woman.
wow! right to the point without beating around the bush! the young lady keep listening to their conversation, but now in more careful. in fact, she was curious how much a maid can earn in a month and how does it covers living cost in singapore?
"$480 a month ma'am and it's exclusive of agent fee."
the young lady was surprised. $480 a month and yet she still has to pay a portion back to her agent! again, young lady sat in silence. she thought about all blessings she took for granted, for having a loving family, able to support her financially, and even she managed to find a job in overseas as well. yet, she feel it's not good enough for her. now right beside her there is a young girl who is lacking in terms of financial, education, childhood moments, whatever it is you name it, but she is thankful despite her current condition.
at that moment, the young lady feel thankful to GOD for letting her took right flight, right seats, with the right people.
***
when i reached jakarta i went together with this girl, try to helped her so she won't be completely lost in the airport. when my parents saw me, they thought i employed a maid and brought her to jakarta! i hugged both of them, and asked them to wait a while longer.
i helped little girl to buy a new phone card, top up, bought her some breads (considering she got 1 day journey ahead), exchange her SGD to IDR, then confirmed with her that her uncle is going to pick her up.
"see you when i see you" said i.
i turned my back and embraced my parents, "mom, dad, i have a long story to tell you both!"
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| it is. |
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