After investigating, it turned out the sound was from the chair hitting the ground when Aunt Dewi kicked it while still grumbling and cursing at me. I returned to the shed to find the tools I needed to clean the gutter.
After cleaning the gutter, I headed to the bathroom in the back room where Mrs. Asih usually showered. After that, I headed upstairs to my room.
Once I arrived, I threw myself back onto the bed, my heart aching and feeling humiliated.
"I don't think I can stand living in this house anymore. If it weren't for Dad in the village and Uncle Ramlan himself asking me to stay here, I wouldn't have forced myself if I'd known Aunt Dewi was this cruel," I muttered, my eyes welling up again as I tried hard to hold back the tears.
****
The next day after school, I didn't go straight home to Uncle Ramlan's house. I deliberately went to a place about a kilometer from Uncle Ramlan's house to look for a boarding house. After circling the area, I couldn't find any; most of them were rented houses for families.
I was tired, and where else could I go? These boarding houses, usually for students from other villages or cities, were all rented. Just as I was about to give up hope and decide to return to Uncle Ramlan's house, I was suddenly approached by a woman in her early thirties.
"I heard you were looking for a boarding house, right?" she asked politely.
"Yes, ma'am, but after I've been circling the area, I haven't seen any boarding houses here," I replied.
"Hmm, there aren't any boarding houses here, just tenement houses or rented houses for families. Where are you from, and why are you looking for a boarding house here?" the woman explained, then asked again.
"I'm from the village, Ma'am. I used to live at my uncle's house, but I felt uncomfortable, so I looked for a boarding house," I replied.
"I see. Oh, and what's your name?" she asked again.
"My name's Ryan," I replied, extending my hand, and the woman shook it.
"I'm Eva," she explained.
"As I said earlier, there are no boarding houses for schoolchildren in this area. There are only rented houses or tenements. But if you'd like, there's an empty room next to the tenement at the end of the street. I was actually planning to use it as a storage room, but if you'd like, you can stay there," the woman named Eva continued.
"Yes, Ma'am Eva. How much is the rent?" I asked immediately, feeling so excited.
"As for the rent, let's go see it first. You might end up not liking it because the place is small and there are no rooms," Ma'am Eva said.
"It doesn't matter if it doesn't have a room, as long as it's habitable," I said.
"Come on, let's go take a look over there," she suggested. I nodded in agreement and then accompanied her to the designated location.
Upon arriving at the designated location, Mrs. Eva immediately opened the door to the building, which was estimated to be only 3 x 4 meters. I followed her into the room. It was small, but clean.
"As I said earlier, this room doesn't have a bedroom because I plan to use it as a storage room. There's also no bathroom, just a pulley well behind here," Mrs. Eva explained, inviting me to see the pulley well she was referring to.
Upon arriving behind the room, I saw that there was indeed a well, where water was drawn using a bucket and rope through a pulley. Surrounding it was a 2-meter-high zinc wall, which could be used for bathing and washing clothes.
"So, have you seen the room and the well for bathing and washing clothes? Would you like to live here?" Mrs. Eva asked.
"How much is the monthly rent, ma'am?" I replied, asking back.
"Hmm, you don't need to worry about the rent. The most important thing is that you want to live here, rather than having to go to the trouble of finding a boarding house, which is only available in another area, and that's quite far from here," said Mrs. Eva.
"No, that's not possible, ma'am. I need to know the monthly rent for this room anyway," I explained.
"It's up to you how much you want to pay, as long as you pay the electricity bill every month and don't be late." Mrs. Eva said kindly, seeming like a kind woman.
"Wow, if you don't tell me the rent, I'll be confused about how much to pay and how to set aside the money each month," I urged Mrs. Eva to set a price for the room.
"Okay, Ryan, since the electricity bill is a maximum of Rp. 10,000 per month, you can just pay Rp. 20,000 per month for this room. How about that?" Mrs. Eva replied.
"Is that really all, Ma'am?" I asked in disbelief. Mrs. Eva responded with a nod and a smile.
It's worth noting that at that time, the monetary system hadn't changed and it was still under the New Order regime, so rent, goods, and other things were relatively low, unlike today, considering the times and the value of money.
"Wow, thank you so much, Ma'am. I really didn't expect Mrs. Eva to let me stay in this room," I said, delighted.
"You're welcome, Ryan. So when are you going to move in?" she asked, as I realized I was still living at Uncle Ramlan's house.
"Gosh, how am I supposed to tell Uncle Ramlan that I want to rent a room? Uncle Ramlan and Dad have already agreed that I'll stay at that house while I'm studying in this city?" I muttered, confused.
"What about Ryan?" I was immediately startled when Mrs. Eva asked again, apparently unaware that I'd just been daydreaming, trying to figure out how to convey my desire to rent a room to Uncle Ramlan. "Eh, sorry ma'am. It's like this ma'am..."