Unconditional LoveBy Mizanil Zusroh On Wednesday afternoon, a woman walked wearily after spending her time at work. She works in a grocery shop behind the 'Mutiara Garden' housing complex, where she lives. That's why Henzie never takes a vehicle to work. "Poor old man," said the security guard who was talking to his colleague, interrupting Henzie's thoughts on his way home. She ignored the conversation of the security guards and continued on her way. Shortly after that she saw the old man that the security guards had talked about earlier sitting on the side of the road. Henzie saw pity, she approached the old man,

"What are you doing here sir?" asked Henzie. Haltingly, the old man replied "I was walking for a while, but forgot the way home. I just moved here with my child." Hearing that answer Henzie felt devastated, she felt sad and worried. Henzie asked again, "have you contacted your child yet?". "I forgot to bring my cell phone", the old man replied. "Do you remember the number? I'll help you call," Henzie asked again, more worried. "It's okay, I'll wait, my child usually comes home at this hour", replied the old man with an enthusiastic smile. Henzie was silent.

Unable to bear it, Henzie volunteered a little forcefully to accompany the old man to wait for his daughter. "Hmm.. Okay, sorry to disturb your time", replied the old man who initially objected but finally gave Henzie permission to accompany him. Sometime later, a porridge seller passed by. Henzie called him because she wanted to buy it. She was worried that something might happen to the old man, because she saw that the old man's hands were shaking. The seller who saw Henzie and the old man smiled faintly, the old man looked at him confused. Henzie ordered 2 servings of porridge, and then gave 1 to the old man. The old man refused, but Henzie insisted that the man accept. "Let's eat first while waiting for your child to pick up," said Henzie kindly as she grabbed the old man's hand to hold the bowl she was given. Finally, they eat together. After eating the porridge, Henzie returned to wait for the old man's child to come pick him up.

However, until late in the evening, the old man's child had not yet arrived. "Aren't you tired, sir?" Henzie asked worriedly. With a sigh, the old man replied, "it's okay, I'm afraid my child will have trouble finding me if I move around". Hearing those words, Henzie became so sad that she didn't realize that she was shedding tears. "Why are you crying? I was just waiting for my child," said the old man, smiling reassuringly, feeling uncomfortable when someone pitied him. Henzie wiped her tears and smiled as she looked gently into the old man's eyes. "Let me take you home, sir," said Henzie, inviting the old man to stand and walk with him. The old man was confused, he asked Henzie, "Do you know my house?". Henzie was silent. Still walking with Henzie, the old man asked again, "Why didn't you tell me, if you know me?", Henzie was still silent. "Are you my neighbor? Sorry I don't know all my new neighbors," said the old man again. Henzie still remained silent, she only smiled when the old man asked. More confused, the old man asked again, "Why didn't you take me earlier?". Instead of getting an answer, Henzie took his hand off the old man. "Wait a minute, sir, I'll open the gate first," said Henzie with a friendly smile. After opening the gate, Henzie again took the old man's hand and led him into the house, The old man was getting confused and wondering, he just followed the woman beside him in surprise. In an instant, the old man couldn't walk when he saw the photo plastered in the drawer of the living room of the house which contained a photo of him and the woman. Realizing this, Henzie looked gently at the old man in front of him. The old man cried and hugged Henzie tightly while saying, "I'm sorry, my lovely daughter..."

(The following questions deal with the Freytag's Pyramid)
11. How does the story get started? What is the initial incident?
12. Briefly describe the rising action of the story.
13. What is the high point, or climax, of the story?
14. Discuss the falling action and resolution (close) of the story.
15. Is this story realistic or true to life? Explain your answers by giving examples.
16. Are the events or incidents of the plot presented in flashback or in chronological order?
17. Can you find any examples of figurative language? Simile, metaphor, personification, etc? List the line(s).
18. What is the general theme of the story? What is the underlying theme?
19. Does the story have a moral?
20. What do you think the purpose of the author was? What is the difference between moral and theme?​