1.
My name is Aura. Aura Adnan Hussain. I'm female, and I just finished eating an orange.
My last name comes from my father, someone I admire, and he was a soldier in the Indonesian Army. He was born in Batusangkar, Tanah Datar Regency, West Sumatra.
My mother, Marissa Kusumarini, is usually called
Icha by her friends. She's a Bandung girl born in Buah Batu.
Before she married and was brought to Jakarta by my father, my mother was a vocalist in a band that was quite well-known in the Bandung music scene at the time.
Even though my mother was still a teenager at the time, she had already played music with older and cool people, like Uwak Gito Rollies, Kang Deddy Stanza, and Kang Harry Rusli, who at that time formed the band Gang of Harry Roesli. And my mother said they were all her teachers.
I think she has a beautiful voice. He's always ready to sing or hum anywhere, especially in the bathroom and in the kitchen while cooking. He also loves playing guitar while singing in the living room, and he even mentioned the Bee Gees when I asked whose song it was.
"It's called '/Started A Joke,'" Mom replied.
"Great! I like it."
Music truly became a part of my family, and my father supported it with his military might.
I feel passionate about this. He welcomed his children into his artistic experience. It helped me see things from more than one perspective. He became open to all expressions. This is crucial for understanding my personality.
2.
Since childhood, I lived in Jakarta, specifically in the Slipi area. In 1990, my father was transferred to Bandung, so my mother, I, my youngest brother, my maid, and all the household items moved with him.
My house in Buah Batu belonged to my grandfather, Mr. Abidin, my mother's father.
However, he passed away in May 1989.
In that house, only my grandmother lived there, as my mother was an only child.
The news that we were moving to Bandung made my grandmother very happy, and she asked us to live in her house. But sadly, in 1990, about a month before we moved, my grandmother passed away.
The house, a Type 70, then became my mother's full property. It had a front yard, which, while not large, was adequate. It grew various flowers and a guava tree, a guava batu (stone guava), which my mother would often get annoyed with when it started to become infested with caterpillars.
3.
I also transferred to a public high school in Bandung.
For me, it was the most romantic school in the world, or if not, at least in Asia. The building was old, but still in good condition because it was well-maintained.
There was a large tree growing in the schoolyard. Its many branches made it beautiful to look at at dusk, during the day on a cloudy day, and even in the morning if desired. Some people believed the tree was haunted, but I wasn't afraid, except when I had to sleep alone there at night.
Back then, the road in front of my school was just a regular road, about three meters wide, and there weren't many vehicles passing by, including public transportation (angkot). So to get to school, I had to walk about 300 meters, after I got off the public transportation at the intersection.
Now, the road has changed; it's become a busy highway. Motorcycles weren't common either. Only a few people used them. Most traveled by public transportation (angkot) or minibus (bemo).
It felt like Bandung was still quiet at that time, with not many people. Every morning, there's still a bit of fog and the air is quite chilly, as if telling people to wear a sweater or jacket if they have one.
Besides being romantic, that school is a place that holds many memories. Especially those involving someone I love deeply, someone who has always filled my days in the past, whose story I want to tell you tonight.
4.
I'll write everything as it happened at the time, though it won't be in great detail, but that's the gist of it.
I've deliberately omitted some place names and people's names to avoid any issues with the owners of the places and the people involved.
I'll write everything using his style of speaking. I don't know what style, but when he speaks, his Indonesian tends to be somewhat Malay, almost formal. It sounds a little unusual, like the old Malay used by Sutan Takdir Alisyahbana.
But that's not something to worry about, it's just my way of remembering his unique qualities.
5.
First, I want to tell you where I am now. Tonight, I'm in my office with hot lemon tea and Rolling Stones music, in Central Jakarta, in the house I've shared with my husband since 1997.
Let's get started, and here's the story:.