News and Letters from Surabaya

My family moved to Bandung (from Surabaya) in July 2003. That was our fifth move. My daughter, Lia, start to enter the first grade of junior high school (SMP Negeri 5 Bandung). Akbar swicthed to the fourth grade at SD Muhammadiyah 7 Bandung. They were actually very sad to leave Surabaya, for they had to leave many friends, several of them are their close friends. I said to Lia and Akbar, ‘Don’t worry, you can still contact them, by phone or by letter. Twice a week at night Mom permits you to phone your friends for half an hour. And Mom will stock many stamps if you want to write letters to them’. Soon, they did what I told. One night, Lia told me. ‘Mommy, tomorrow is Gita’s birthday. I want to send her a special book. Can you buy it for me?’ I said, ‘Sure honey,what book?’. Another night she said, ‘Mommy Ines had broken up with Vito’. And one night she sobbed after phoning her friend. ‘Mommy, at last we lost Novan. He passed away three days ago. Poor Novan…’.
Novan, her classmate had suffered from leukemia for months. She and her classmates visited him in his house several times. She felt sorry that Novan, the nice guy, had to have disease like that. Akbar, once sent his friend, Daniel, a letter. Soon, Daniel wrote to him. I smiled as I read his letter. ‘Bar, your left uniform was given to Adam. He took your position as central midfielder. Yesterday we at last had beaten our rival from SDN Karah by 3-1’. That’s all what Daniel’d written. Below that there’s a schema of footbal playing field, with names that were in charge on each position, Adam as central midfielder 1, Daniel as striker 1, Fathan as left midfielder, and so on….
Akbar once received a letter from a girl, Hasniar. She wrote ordinary things. ‘Write to her, honey’, I said to Akbar. ‘No, Mom, I will not..’. ‘Why? It’s good to have boy friends and girl friends too…’. He looked very ashamed. ‘No Mommy, I will not…..’