Leave a Letter to God (Titip Surat Untuk Tuhan)

THIS IS A WORK OF FICTION

ANY RESEMBLANCE OF STORY, NAMES, OR EVENTS IS PURELY COINCIDENTAL

If God loves the people,

He will test them.

Whoever is willing to go through the test, He will be pleased with them.

And whoever hates getting the test from God,

then they will get His wrath.

I want to see God.

Kid.

Come and sit with us.

Who are you looking for?

I'm looking for God.

But I don't know where He lives.

Tulus, don't buy snacks from school.

Your mom gave you lunch. Okay?

- Okay. - Good.

- Good afternoon. - Mr. Satrio.

And you are?

Saskia. I called you a couple of times. I need to see you.

Please sit.

So?

Here's the thing, I need your help.

Ms. Saskia...

With all due respect...

Do not force me to do it.

Because I won't do it.

Lastly, please don't come here anymore, don't call me and waste my time.

Understood?

Honey.

Let's say that if Mrs. Saskia insists.

What will you do?

Are you doubting me?

Did you forget why you chose me as your husband?

- I forgot. - See?

No wonder.

You could've married a minister,

a doctor, bosses in the market

but you choose me over them just because I'm honest?

Honesty can lead to poverty, you know?

Honey...

Poverty is only when you want too many things.

What good is wealth if our life is miserable?

All we need is happiness.

What is this about?

Do you regret becoming my husband?

How did you know?

I do regret it.

That I didn't marry you sooner.

- That's corny! - I'm serious.

Had I married you sooner, you'd have a much bigger pile of clothes.

We'd have had a dozen kids.

We would not have only two kids. At least we would have six of them.

Peace be upon you.

- Where's your brother? - He's asleep.

Go wake him up.

Don't touch me.

- Stop fighting. - Listen to your sister.

Let me clean your ears!

- See, you did that again. - That's enough.

- Dinner is ready. - You should listen sometimes.

- Is that yours? - You choose for yourself.

No, I will choose.

Mom, why do you always serve Dad's plate first,

and then Dinda, and then me?

I'm the youngest here, so I should get the food before others.

Why are you complaining?

Look, even Mom always gets hers last.

You should be patient!

So, why do I serve your dad first?

Because he's the head of this family.

He's the breadwinner.

So I should serve him first to honor him.

And Dinda is a girl, so of course, she will come first.

See?

You can't have the first plate as a boy.

Dad is the king.

Does that mean I'm a little king?

Little king?

How can you be a king without joining the morning prayer?

Aren't you tired of praying every day?

Of course not.

Praying is a way for us to communicate with God.

And it's how we pray to God.

Why should we pray?

We pray for our health.

Dinda's health, Mom's health, your health.

So that we're under His protection, and provided with sustenance.

Where do you think all this comes from?

Because we pray to God.

Does it mean we can ask for a new TV from God?

So we don't have to fight over what to watch.

But the new TV is mine.

Where is God, anyway?

In case I need to...

ask Him or pray or even see Him.

God is in the heart of every living being.

Hey!

- Have you done your homework? - I have.

I haven't.

Okay, we're here.

Be careful.

Enjoy your studies.

- Bye, Dad. Peace be upon you. - Upon you too. Bye.

Hello?

We really need your help, sir.

Ask someone else.

I can't help you.

Okay?

Sorry.

Just say that your dad can't afford to pay for the field trip.

Don't go if you don't have the money.

Yeah, you're poor!

Narti is poor!

- Hey! - What's wrong?

My dad can't pay for the field trip.

That's all right. Just pray to God

so that your father can get the money and you can go on the field trip.

You're talking nonsense.

Have you ever met God?

You have to die first if you want to see God!

What a joke.

You're crazy!

Why is your name "Elsa" on the card?

You're so dumb.

Elsa is my name in Jakarta.

If you want to be successful, just call me.

I'll give you a modern name.

Siti, I will call you Nancy.

Nur, I will call you Cindy.

All right, enough talk. Let's eat. Eat as much as you want.

We can order more if you want.

You'll never get the chance to eat in a fancy place like this again, right?

You're really successful, aren't you?

I think we should just have Ms. Praptti's stew. This is expensive.

Come on, Tar.

Money means nothing to me.

Do you know how much my purse costs?

- How much? - You can buy a house with this.

Hold it, smell it.

Let everyone try.

It's real crocodile skin. Come on, pass it on.

Is it real crocodile skin?

Of course! That's crocodile skin!

DINDA'S TEACHER

Tulus, where's your sister?

- She's inside. - Come.

- Doctor. - Ma'am.

- Dinda... - There's nothing to worry about.

She got hit in the eye by a ball.

I'll write the prescriptions for her.

- A pill, and an ointment for her eye. - All right.

We'll see over the next three days.

If it gets swollen and she feels dizzy,

I suggest you bring her here again

so I can give you a referral to the hospital.

- Here you go, sir. - Thank you.

Come on, Tulus. You don't have to finish it all.

Here, I know this one.

- Okay, just eat the veggies. - No, later.

Finish your food first, and work on your homework.

- I'm almost done with this. See? - You've got too many excuses.

You've applied the ointment, right?

The doctor said it's going to be okay.

- Peace be upon you. - Peace be upon you.

- Where's Dinda? - She's still asleep.

Let me check on her.

Dinda.

Wake up and pray.

Dinda?

- Honey! - Yes?

Come and check on Dinda.

Dinda?

- Dinda? - Tulus.

- Wake up, son. - Come, take a look. Dinda.

Why is it so red?

Are you okay?

Does it hurt?

Does it hurt?

Look at me.

I'm sorry.

But I can't be sure what's wrong with her.

What should we do now?

You need to take her to the hospital for CT scans and other tests.

Don't worry, I'll help with the referral.

All right.

So what now?

I don't know what to do.

I know. Me neither.

- God will show us a way. - If He still remembers us.

Utari.

God even helps those who don't care about Him.

How are we going to get the money for her surgery?

I don't know either.

It's not just you.

You have to know.

If you don't know, then what about me?

What about our kids?

I don't know where I can get the money from.

A loan from your work.

You know that we still haven't paid off the loan for Tulus' birth.