#The Woman Who Looks Strong
10:30 p.m. Western Indonesian Time.
Luna had just finished her work.
She let out a long breath before starting her vehicle. Her body felt heavy. Her back ached after working all day, and her stomach was empty because she hadn't had time to eat, but there was still one thing she wanted to do as soon as possible that night:
go home.
Fifteen minutes later, she arrived at the boarding house.
10:45 p.m. Western Indonesian Time.
As soon as she reached the front of her room, Luna turned off her vehicle. She climbed down slowly, took the bag that had been hanging from her shoulder since morning, and carried it toward her room.
The bag felt so heavy.
Or maybe...
she was simply too tired.
Creak.
The door opened.
Luna went inside without turning on the light first. She set her bag down beside the bed.
She hadn't even had time to take off her jacket and hijab.
She just wanted to lie down.
Her body slowly collapsed onto the bed. Her head rested against the pillow while both her feet still touched the floor.
Her eyes stared at the ceiling.
Empty.
Silent.
Luna let out a breath.
“Alhamdulillah, O Allah...”
Her voice was barely audible.
A simple phrase she said almost every time she made it through a long day.
Not because the day had been easy.
Nor because all her problems had been solved.
But because...
at least she had managed to get through that day.
Luna closed her eyes.
For a while, there wasn't a sound.
No one asked,
“How was your day?”
No one said,
“Have you eaten?”
No one welcomed her home.
There used to be someone who always asked those simple questions.
Mom.
Luna opened her eyes again.
It had been five years since the woman who most often waited for her to come home had left this world forever.
Five years.
And yet some losses never truly become ordinary.
We only learn to live with the empty space they leave behind.
11:00 p.m. Western Indonesian Time.
Luna woke up sitting upright.
She had no idea how many minutes she had slept.
She rubbed her face, then slowly took off her jacket and hijab.
The messy room made her gather her strength again.
She straightened her clothes.
Threw away the trash.
Cleaned her face.
No matter how tired her body was, she always tried to keep the little room tidy.
At least...
there was one place she could still control.
After everything was done, Luna performed wudu.
That night, she stood on her prayer mat.
There weren't many words.
No long prayer prepared in advance.
Yet for some reason, when her forehead touched the place of prostration, the defenses she had built up since morning slowly crumbled.
Her tears fell.
One.
Then faster and harder.
Luna didn't know exactly what she was crying over.
Work?
Family?
Money?
Loneliness?
The future?
Or maybe...
everything.
After the closing salam, she didn't get up right away.
She remained seated on her prayer mat.
Her head bowed.
For the first time that day, she didn't have to pretend to be strong.
She didn't have to smile.
She didn't have to answer that she was fine.
Before Allah, Luna was simply a human being who was tired.
And strangely enough...
that was where her heart felt safest.
Midnight.
Luna looked at the clock on her phone.
“I need to sleep...”
She turned off the screen.
Lay down.
That night, for the first time after making it through a long day, her thoughts no longer ran in every direction.
Maybe it was because everything she couldn't tell other people...
she had already told Allah.
Not long afterward, Luna fell asleep.
4:00 a.m. Western Indonesian Time.
The alarm went off.
Luna slowly opened her eyes.
She rubbed her face, then sat up.
A few seconds later, she realized something.
She had actually fallen asleep on her prayer mat.
Luna gave a faint smile.
“It feels so peaceful... once you've told Allah everything.”
She stood up.
The night wasn't truly over yet.
But a new day was already waiting for her.
Every morning, Luna tried to wake up before dawn to perform the night prayer, engage in dhikr, exercise lightly, and prepare herself for the day ahead.
Her life wasn't always that orderly.
There were days when her body was too tired.
There were days when she woke up late.
There were days when her heart felt far from true devotion altogether.
But every time she fell, Luna always tried to return.
Because she knew...
being close to Allah didn't mean never feeling tired.
Sometimes, it was precisely when someone was most exhausted that they learned where they needed to go home.
That morning, Luna still had a little time before leaving for work.
She sat on the edge of the bed, idly scrolling through her phone.
Just looking at social media.
Just trying to take her mind off things.
Content appeared on the screen one piece at a time.
Until an ad suddenly popped up.
RandomChat.
Luna furrowed her brow.
“What is this?”
Her finger accidentally touched the screen.
The app began downloading.
Luna smiled faintly.
Maybe she was just curious.
Maybe she was bored.
Or maybe...
because the night before, she had been feeling too lonely.
The app finished installing.
Luna was about to open it.
But her eyes caught the time in the corner of the screen.
7:45 a.m. Western Indonesian Time.
“O Allah!”
She immediately stood up.
“I’m late!”
She shoved her phone into her bag.
She hadn't even had time to open the app.
Luna hurried to get ready, grabbed her vehicle keys, and left the room.
She didn't know...
that the app she had just downloaded would remain on her phone until one night in the future.
The night when her life was just as chaotic.
The night when a stranger was looking for somewhere to escape from his own exhaustion.
The night when two people who didn't know each other...
would be brought together.
Not in a beautiful place.
Not through a planned meeting.
Not even through a love story they were looking for.
Only through an app.
And a simple conversation.
Because sometimes, Allah brings two people together not when they're ready to love...
but when they both need someone to remind them that they still have to hold on.
— To be continued _