Rania watched the envelope in her husband's hands. In truth, she was trying to guess what was inside the brown envelope.
"Give me the baby. I'll hold her. You can see for yourself what's inside," Arya said as he placed the envelope on the table, then picked up the tiny baby and cradled her in his arms.
Rania opened the thin-looking envelope. Inside was a sheet of paper. Hesitantly, she took it out and looked at Arya, who immediately nodded as if he understood what she meant.
Rania then read the writing on it—a statement saying that the baby's parents had not wanted her. But there was no other information about the baby, not even her name.
"So, what do you think, sweetheart? You want to take care of this baby, right?" Arya asked his wife gently.
Rania gazed at the baby with pity, then slowly nodded. No matter what, she couldn't refuse her husband's request, and she couldn't bear to abandon the baby the way her parents had. Whether the statement was true or not.
To be honest, a sliver of doubt still remained deep in Rania's heart. But she tried to accept the baby, believing that her husband was not a bad person.
"Oh, right, sweetheart. I'm hungry. I didn't get a chance to eat breakfast earlier. You've cooked, right?" Arya asked, simultaneously hiding the overwhelming emotion surging through his heart.
"Alhamdulillah, yes. It's already on the dining table," Rania replied with a smile. Then she asked Arya to hand the baby back to her. "But what about this baby? Has she had any milk? She must be hungry too."
"She did earlier, sweetheart. There was formula in that box. I stopped at the coffee stall near the border to have a quick cup of coffee, and I asked the woman there to make the formula for her."
"She wasn't suspicious that you were carrying a baby?"
"She did ask whose child she was."
"And what did you say?"
"I told her she was my cousin's child. Her parents had died in an accident, so I asked her grandfather—who's also my uncle—for permission to take care of her. I said I felt sorry for her elderly grandfather because he couldn't care for his infant grandchild."
"Did she believe you?"
"It seemed like it. This isn't the first time I've stopped there for coffee. Sometimes she also sends packages to her son, who's studying here. At least she's not the kind of woman who likes to meddle in other people's business. In fact, she offered to change the baby's diaper earlier. As it happens, she also has a grandchild about the same age as this baby."
"Are you sure she wasn't suspicious?" Rania asked, just to make sure.
"I'm sure, sweetheart. She didn't ask too many questions. Maybe one thing that convinced her was that the baby didn't fuss while she was with me. She cried for a moment when she woke up, but only briefly. After drinking her milk, she even laughed at me. Maybe the woman thought the baby was already used to me because I'm related to her parents."
"You found her sleeping in this box?"
"Yes, sweetheart. That's why I couldn't bear to leave her in that deserted place."
Rania looked pitifully at the baby in her arms. Once again, Arya apologized in his heart for the story he had told—a tangled mixture of truth and lies.
What had happened at the coffee stall was true. It seemed the baby really was destined for him to raise. Not even the slightest doubt had appeared on kindhearted Ibu Ina's face when she heard Arya's explanation earlier.
"Sweetheart, are you coming to eat?"
"Yes, I'm sorry... Earlier, I started thinking the worst about you. We'll take care of this poor child, but what if her parents come looking for her later?"
"Thank you, sweetheart. We'll think about that later, okay? What's important is that she's safe here now."
"All right. I'll go along with your decision, as long as it's what's best for us."
Arya smiled happily at Rania's decision. He was also grateful that he had happened to see the thin brown envelope along the way. Rama had apparently prepared everything.
For now, Arya felt he had to keep the other envelope a secret. He didn't want his wife to become suspicious when she saw the huge amount of money inside. One lie would give birth to another, and Arya had no choice but to do it for the safety of his wife and their unborn child.
Before they knew it, a week had passed. The baby, whom Arya had now named Anyelir, brought a new kind of color to his little family.
"Why Arunika?" Rania asked while they were trying to choose a name for the baby girl.
"I remember that you like sunrises, right?"
"What about our future child? If it's a girl, I want to name her Moon, and if it's a boy, Star."
"All right, whatever you want, sweetheart..."
"Don't you have any other ideas for our child?"
"Cloud," Arya replied after thinking for a moment. "Don't you like things related to the sky?"
"That's not bad, but I still like the name Star better."
"If you've already made up your mind, why are you asking me again, sweetheart?" Arya asked gently.
"I just wanted to know," Rania replied with a playful smile. The conversation ended in bright laughter.
Rania also cared for Arunika with all her love. Arunika's face reminded her of someone she missed. Perhaps because it had been so long since they had met, Rania saw a resemblance in Arunika, who never fussed and seemed to understand her condition as a pregnant woman.
"You haven't been taking jobs out of town anymore?" Rania asked Arya one morning. For the past week, he had neither transported passengers nor taken jobs out of town as he had before.
"Yes, sweetheart. There happen to be plenty of passengers here too," Arya replied as he sipped the coffee his wife had prepared.
In his heart, Arya apologized for lying. In fact, he had been turning down all his customers' requests. It was all because of Rama's threats.
Only a day earlier, Rama had called him, just to make sure Arya would leave his current home soon.
"I need time and a good reason to give my wife, Rama. Otherwise, she'll get suspicious."
"Fine. I'm giving you three days from now. Don't drag this out too long!"
"One week, and I guarantee you won't find me in this city."
"Prove it. This is your last chance. One week, and not a day more!"
Rama unilaterally ended the call. Arya could only let out a harsh breath. For the past several days, he had been busy gathering information about a city where he could live with his family.
And he still needed a convincing reason to keep Rania from becoming suspicious about the sudden move they were about to make.