Di sebuah desa kecil yang asri dan penuh kedamaian, hiduplah seorang gadis remaja bernama Afifah. Ia tinggal bersama neneknya di rumah sederhana, peninggalan kedua orang tuanya yang telah berpulang sepuluh tahun lalu akibat kecelakaan lalu lintas. Kehidupan Afifah mungkin tampak sederhana, tetapi kecantikannya memancarkan aura istimewa yang membuat siapa saja yang bertemu dengannya merasa terpesona.
Afifah dikenal sebagai bunga desa. Lesung pipit di pipinya, gigi gingsul yang manis, serta senyumannya yang lembut menjadikannya perhatian banyak orang. Tapi bukan hanya paras cantiknya yang menjadi perbincangan, melainkan juga sifatnya. Afifah adalah gadis yang ramah, murah senyum, dan sopan tutur katanya. Ia begitu disayangi kaum tua, dikagumi oleh lelaki, tapi diam-diam dibenci oleh beberapa gadis sebayanya.
“Aduh, coba kamu bisa seperti Ifah. Cantik, sopan, nggak pernah ngomong kasar,” ujar seorang ibu tetangga, membandingkan anak gadisnya dengan Afifah. Ucapan seperti ini sudah sering terdengar, dan bagi teman-teman sebayanya, itu adalah duri dalam hati.
Suatu sore, di tepi sungai desa, Afifah bermain petak umpet bersama tiga temannya: Umi, Ulfi, dan Rianti. Ketika giliran Afifah berjaga, ide usil muncul di benak Ulfi.
“Kita tinggal pulang aja, yuk!” bisiknya.
Rianti ragu. “Kasihan, Ifah pasti nyari kita sampai capek.”
“Kasihan? Kemarin aku diomelin sama ibu gara-gara dibandingin sama dia!” ujar Umi kesal. “Kalau kamu nggak ikut pulang, kita musuhan!” ancamnya.
Akhirnya, mereka bertiga meninggalkan Afifah sendirian. Gadis itu mencari ke sana kemari, memanggil nama teman-temannya hingga matahari hampir terbenam.
“Afifah?” suara Anton, seorang pemuda desa, menyadarkan Afifah yang masih berjalan di tepi sungai.
“Mas Anton! Aku lagi main petak umpet, tapi mereka belum ketemu,” jawab Afifah polos.
Anton menghela napas. Ia tahu apa yang sebenarnya terjadi. “Tadi aku lihat Umi di rumah. Mungkin mereka sudah pulang. Yuk, aku antar pulang,” katanya lembut.
Afifah mengangguk, lalu mengikuti Anton pulang tanpa rasa marah. Ia tak pernah menyimpan dendam, meski sering diperlakukan tidak adil oleh teman-temannya.
Kehidupan Afifah yang sederhana juga diwarnai dengan perjuangan keras. Setelah tamat SD, ia memutuskan untuk tidak melanjutkan sekolah. Melihat neneknya yang renta masih bekerja sebagai buruh tani membuat hatinya tak tega.
“Saya mau kerja di Jakarta, Nek. Biar Ifah bisa bantu cari uang buat nenek,” katanya suatu malam.
Neneknya mengangguk, meski berat hati. Sebelum keberangkatan, seorang pemuda dari desa tetangga melamar Afifah. Namun, lamaran itu ia tolak. “Maaf, saya tidak bisa menerima. Kalau hanya karena saya miskin, bukan berarti keluarga saya pantas dihina,” katanya tegas.
Di Jakarta, Afifah bekerja sebagai asisten rumah tangga. Ia sempat mengirim surat beberapa kali kepada neneknya, mengabarkan bahwa ia sehat dan majikannya baik. Ia bahkan berjanji akan pulang kampung saat Idulfitri tahun depan.
Namun, takdir berkata lain. Malam itu, sebuah ambulans berhenti di depan rumah nenek Afifah. Tanpa suara sirine, kendaraan itu membawa kabar duka. Afifah telah berpulang karena sakit tifus yang tak tertangani dengan baik.
Desa Linggarjati terdiam dalam kesedihan. Gadis yang selama ini menjadi bunga desa kini telah tiada. Tidak ada penyelidikan lebih lanjut, karena keluarga Afifah sudah mengikhlaskannya.
Di tengah tangis warga desa yang mengiringi pemakamannya, nenek Afifah berbisik lirih di tepi pusara, “Ifah, kau selalu jadi kebanggaan nenek. Istirahatlah dengan tenang, Nak.”
Afifah, si bunga desa, telah pergi. Namun, kebaikan hatinya tetap harum, menjadi kenangan yang abadi di hati semua orang yang pernah mengenalnya.
***
Afifah, The Village Flower
In a small, peaceful and beautiful village, there lives a teenage girl named Afifah. She lives with her grandmother in a simple house, a legacy from her parents who passed away ten years ago due to a traffic accident. Afifah’s life may seem simple, but her beauty radiates a special aura that makes anyone who meets her feel enchanted.
Afifah is known as the village flower. The dimples on her cheeks, her sweet buck teeth, and her soft smile make her the attention of many people. But it’s not just her beautiful face that is the talk of the town, but also her character. Afifah is a friendly girl, smiles a lot, and speaks politely. She is loved by the elderly, admired by men, but secretly hated by several girls her age.
“Gosh, if only you could be like Ifah. Beautiful, polite, never speaks rudely,” said a neighbor’s mother, comparing her daughter with Afifah. Such remarks were often heard, and for her peers, they were a thorn in the heart.
One afternoon, on the edge of the village river, Afifah played hide-and-seek with her three friends: Umi, Ulfi, and Rianti. When it was Afifah’s turn to guard, a mischievous idea came to Ulfi’s mind.
“Let’s just go home!” she whispered.
Rianti hesitated. “Poor thing, Ifah must have looked for us until she was tired.”
“Poor thing? Yesterday my mother scolded me because I was compared to her!” Umi said irritably. “If you don’t come home, we’ll be enemies!” she threatened.
Finally, the three of them left Afifah alone. The girl searched here and there, calling her friends’ names until the sun was almost setting.
“Afifah?” the voice of Anton, a village youth, brought Afifah back to her senses as she was still walking along the riverbank.
“Mr. Anton! I was playing hide-and-seek, but they haven’t been found yet,” Afifah answered innocently.
Anton sighed. He knew what really happened. “I saw Umi at home earlier. Maybe they’ve gone home. Come on, I’ll take you home,” he said softly.
Afifah nodded, then followed Anton home without feeling angry. She never held a grudge, even though she was often treated unfairly by her friends.
Afifah’s simple life was also marked by hard struggles. After graduating from elementary school, she decided not to continue her education. Seeing her elderly grandmother still working as a farm laborer made her heart heavy.
“I want to work in Jakarta, Grandma. So Ifah can help earn money for grandma,” she said one night.
Her grandmother nodded, though with a heavy heart. Before leaving, a young man from a neighboring village proposed to Afifah. However, she rejected the proposal. “Sorry, I can’t accept it. Just because I’m poor, doesn’t mean my family deserves to be insulted,” she said firmly.
In Jakarta, Afifah worked as a domestic helper. She had sent several letters to her grandmother, informing her that she was healthy and that her employer was kind. She even promised to return to her hometown for Eid al-Fitr next year.
However, fate had other plans. That night, an ambulance stopped in front of Afifah’s grandmother’s house. Without the sound of a siren, the vehicle brought sad news. Afifah had passed away due to typhus that was not treated properly.
The village of Linggarjati was silent in sadness. The girl who had been the flower of the village was now gone. There was no further investigation, because Afifah’s family had already let it go.
Amidst the cries of the villagers who accompanied her funeral, Afifah’s grandmother whispered softly at the edge of the grave, “Ifah, you have always been my grandmother’s pride. Rest in peace, dear.”
Afifah, the flower of the village, was gone. However, her kindness remained fragrant, becoming an eternal memory in the hearts of everyone who had ever known her.