Truth

“Adam, do we still have candles anywhere around the house? It is really dark here. Can you search for them? I will search for my torchlight too. I will wait in the living room. Be careful. Is it okay for you?”

Her husband just nodded and strolling to the kitchen gracefully. The audacity of that human cat. His night vision is a blessing tonight. His curse is a blessing tonight. She found her torchlight and thankfully, two mini fans inside the clothes drawer. She switched on the torchlight and watching the outside surrounding via their bedroom window.  Pitch-black. There is no light outside. She thinks that the power blackout is affecting the whole city. Luckily, both of them have done their night prayer before the outage happened. She sighed and got on her way to the living room.

When she arrived, her husband is just finished lighting up the candle on a small plate. The plate is put on the coffee table in the middle of their living room. She gave one of the mini fan to him, and they sat on the floor mat opposite of each other.

Silence envelopes Adam and her. Their interaction is still awkward even after three months of marriage. They are just considered acquaintances before their marriage. That is because their families are some of the noble families in their country. However, both of them live on their own with only a little help from their families. That is a story for the other days.

Her husband's action broke her reverie. His fidgeting movements amused her. She knows that he wants to ask her something but anxious to do it. She shook her head and asked,

“Husband, do you want to ask me something? Do not be shy. Just ask. I do not eat people.”

Her statement makes him relaxed a little bit. After waiting for a few moments, he finally asks his question.

“Sarah…. wife. I am sorry if this question hurts you, but, why your father did not become your guardian during our solemnization? And, why your father’s name is absent from your full name? I feel really bad for asking you these questions.”

She knew that this day will come. One of her secrets will come to light today. She knows that their relationship is still awkward, but he deserves to know the truth about this matter. She knows that he may already have guessed the answer, but still want to know the truth from her mouth. She takes a deep breath before start answering.

“Why Father was replaced by the wali hakim (magistrate guardian) for our solemnization? The absence of his name on my full name? The answer is easy, husband. Father is not my father.”

Her husband is not amused. Of course, he had guessed the answer. It is in front of him.

“Husband, I am born out-of-wedlock. Mother cheated on Father. She had me from her secret affair behind him.”

Now her husband is stunned. He took a few seconds to regain his composure back. She starts the storytelling.

“In front of everyone, people know me as the second child of my family. My family is one of the important branch families of our clan. Father is a commoner. He got married into the family because of a deal but I never know what it is. Father never told me about it. He is considered an outsider by many of the family members. He worked at a company owned by the clan.

After two years of marriage, they are blessed with their first child. My eldest sister. He thought that everything will be okay after that. However, what is coming after that was far from what he hoped for.

After my sister’s birth, Father was always traveling due to his work and only at home once a while. However, after a few months, he got a phone call from one of the elders, telling him that Mother is pregnant again. The elder also said that the elders are curious about the pregnancy. My father’s revelation shocked him. He said that he never slept with Mother after the childbirth.

The elders got furious with this matter. After coming home, both Mother and Father were called to the council meeting and need to tell their side the issue. Father just repeated the word that he said on the phone with the confirmation of that elder. After a few arguments, Mother gave up and decided to tell the truth. She actually already had an affair behind Father’s back since her first pregnancy! Not after childbirth, it started during the pregnancy! The revelation shook the council.

They pressured Mother to tell the identity of my biological father, but she never told them. After I am born, they put me under a DNA test. The result is never fully disclosed to me, but they only tell me one part, Father is not my biological father. He said the truth.

After my birth, the council had a meeting to determine my status in the family. Because Mother’s action has damaged our family, they decided to keep me in the family. At first, they wanted to send me to another far branch family, but Father decided to take care of me. His decision is quite surprising, but Mother hated it. She still despises me until now. She still treats me as an outsider and never bothered to talk with me about anything. Everyone in the family knows it. I am humiliated by her action, but I do not care anymore. I am not in the wrong, she is. My siblings are also on the same side as my mother. Only Father cares of me like I am his daughter. Other family members? They only at the sideline, watching me from afar.

A few years back, I have asked him about his action. Why he sacrifices his time and energy to take care of me instead of letting the council giving me away? He said there are two reasons for his action. First is he wanted Mother to man up and took responsibility of her unfaithfulness that which she never does until now. I can see that Father is truly dejected with her action, but he cannot do much. Mother is still an important member of our family, hence having a lot of power to use or abuse.

The next reason is I did not deserve to be punished when I am not at the fault. I only the unwanted result of her infidelity, a person that is trapped into a tangle of a mess that is not of her making. Why make me go away? I also deserved to be treated as normal. After my third birthday, Father has become my legal adopted father and I am grateful for that. I am very thankful for what he has done for me throughout these years. He is the reason why I am still here today, still living my life as much as I can. He may not be my biological father, but he is my real father. The one that watched me growing up and always by my side through my ups and downs. He is more than deserving of the father’s title rather than the unknown man that fathered me. I do not blame that man, but I do not really want to know about him either. So, now you know the truth, husband.”

His husband had focused on listening to her story for quite some time. He smiled sadly at me and said,

“I am sorry for what happened to you and thank you for trusting me. Now, let me coax you up.”

After a few minutes, a white Siamese cat is halfway sleeping on my lap, making himself comfortable. This cat is a gem. Both of them relaxing in the living room until the power is restored several hours later.