Halo. Bisa saya bantu Bu?

Iya. Saya cuma mau tau apa sebaiknya saya kasi anak saya tau tentang hasil tesnya.

The lady on the phone was HIV positive. She got it from her husband, who was being treated at the hospital. Her daughter didn’t know. Didn’t even know that Mom already took the test. And so our conversation continued. The hospital wanted to know how she was feeling. She wanted to make sure the hospital didn’t tell her daughter that she already took the test. Not that she didn’t want her to know, but she didn’t want the daughter to think that she lied to her, or tried to keep secrets from her.
Us humans, we’re so illogical and difficult to understand. Here was a lady, carrying a disease for which no cure had been found. And what she worried most was for her daughter to think that Mom lied.

Iya Bu. Kata susternya sudah selesai. Mudah-mudah cepat beres ya... (Oops, this was what I usually said to clients who were applying for visas. It’s sounded so wrong.)

Apa? (*Rising intonation, not comprehending)

Maksud saya mudah-mudahan Tuhan melindungi. (This didn’t sound right either. Kinda too late for God’s protection, don’t you think?)

Iya. Makasih. Saya ketularan dari suami, jadi yah... saya pasrah aja.

Sabar ya Bu.

Iya. Saya kuat kok...

Iya. Bye.

Bye.