Sinner's Redemption

Lonely widower, perhaps, this is a suitable title for me, because at almost fifty years of age, I am still single. This lonely and alone feeling adds to my deep regret.

My wife who once swore to be faithful to be by my side has now passed away, leaving me with all her sorrows. Even though we have been married for twenty years, the house we live in is still quiet, without the sound of a baby crying. It seems, God has not blessed us to have offspring.

I, who am only a loser, can only lament the fate that seems to have never been on my side. In the end, I also spent time working and continued to immerse myself in work, forgetting all the sadness and loneliness.

If I may ask, actually, I want to accompany and follow my wife. My wife is a woman with a noble heart, always loyal to accompany me in joy and sorrow, accepting all the evil that I have done in the past. Gently, he guided me to the path of truth, took me out of the mire of sin, so that I finally found a sense of peace and happiness that I was starting to feel little by little.

Today is my scheduled visit to monitor my wife's heritage restaurant business which I love very much. Thankfully there all is well. The workers are still diligently working as usual, following the rules and traditions of the restaurant. All the rooms have been arranged neatly, cleanly, and fragrant with beautiful and fresh flower arrangements.

Occasionally, some employees try to play a joke on me. From the beginning I was familiar with the employees. They say I am a friendly and romantic man, I always look dapper, and how lucky my wife is to have a husband with me. They never knew that actually, I was the lucky one, to get a wife with the heart of a goddess, while my past was so terrible.

I then reminisce on our favorite place, which is a place to eat on the lesehan overlooking the lotus pond which is arranged so beautifully. That's where my wife and I always feel at home, enjoying a serene and elegant evening.

"Excuse me sir, here is your coffee order."

A voice woke me from my reverie, the voice sounded very soft and polite in my ear.

"Oh, yes," I said.

The owner of the voice was a girl who then came in with a cup of coffee.

Unsuspected and unintentional, we met eyes. For some reason my heart jumped with joy. I even felt such a beautiful swish in my chest.

"Thank you," I said again between the strange rumbling I felt.

What's wrong with my heart? There's no way a human as old as me could still fall in love again. The girl looks simple. However, I admit he is cute. He smiled at me before leaving at a hasty pace. My heart is still pounding. who is that girl? Why does he look so alluring?

Since that night I can't stop thinking about it. Like people who fall in love at first sight, I always miss her, and always want to see her beautiful smile again.

Ah, I feel so guilty! Just yesterday I cried, mourning the loss of the wife I love the most. How fast have I fallen in love with another girl?

I was stunned. Am I really going back to my past as a man who easily falls in love? I thought, no. But, that girl is so hard to forget.

I couldn't hold back any longer. I'm going to find out everything about that girl.

Her name is Melody. She was young, barely twenty years old, a quiet, stiff, and strict girl. He always does a good job in our restaurant.

In the end I was unable to fight curiosity, more precisely, nervousness, or love. I don't know, I don't know what it's called? What is clear, almost every day I went to a restaurant just to meet Melody, asking her to make my favorite coffee.

Indeed, Melody was very pretty. The coffee he makes is also very good, the brew is just right, the measure is also right. Maybe, indeed he has used the same measure with me. Ah, the perfect brew!

Melody always comes with a sweet smile. He also always does his job well. The girl answered my question politely and intelligently.

Melody made me believe that she is the right person to replace my wife, to be my companion at half a century of age.

"Melody, can you stay with me for a moment?" I asked him one day, when he delivered the coffee I ordered.

The girl didn't answer my question. However, he complied. He sits politely beside me and doesn't say much if I don't ask him.

"Melody, where do you live?"

The girl mentioned a boarding house in the South Jakarta area.

"Who invited you to come to Jakarta?" I asked again.

"I went with a school friend. They said there was a vacancy here," Melody answered.

"Oh, enjoy working here?" taI'm probing.

The girl smiled and nodded her head.

"Thank goodness you feel at home, Melody. Nowadays, finding a job is difficult. Work well! Hope you feel at home. Enjoy all the facilities! I'm sure, someday if you want to work while studying seriously, you can have the skills you're looking for. many people."

Melody smiled, her eyes twinkling. Maybe, he felt happy when I asked him to talk.

"Okay, get back to work! Don't forget to make me a cup of coffee. Your coffee is really good."

Good grief! I started to dare to seduce the girl. I have praised and made him uncomfortable. On the one hand, my inner protest. However, somehow these lips keep launching words of praise.

My habit of asking Melody to accompany me to talk every time I come, makes our relationship closer. Gossip about us began to spread, spread by word of mouth.

Somehow, I'm not afraid of gossip that could undermine my authority. In fact, I'm kind of challenged. There is a feeling of wanting to show people that it turns out that I, at nearly fifty years old, still have a charm that could make a young girl like Melody fall in love. All of this reminds me exactly of the excitement of my youth, when I so easily conquered girls with flattery.

I have even forgotten my grief over the death of my wife. Almost every day I came to pick and drop off Melody. People are making a lot of fuss about it. However, Melody and I had drifted away, not caring about all the shocks that followed wherever we went.

Melody seemed to be getting more and more submissive to me, and I became challenged. All the seduction moves of my youth came back. I want to enjoy my adventures in the past as if I forgot my sins. Moreover, in my heart I have believed to make her a wife to replace my late wife.

Yes, Melody is the right person to replace my wife. This reason seems to justify all my actions to him. Then I was able to commit that sin again, the sin that I had committed to my late wife before we were married, but again my late wife, the goddess, still accepted me as I was, without ever judging my past.