Chapter 1
Jakarta, March 2020.
The city fell silent, all at once. Roads that were usually filled with the roar of vehicles now held only the sound of the wind rustling a half-torn banner. From the fourth floor of a modest apartment in Setiabudi, Sari stared at the gray sky, which offered no promises.
She inhaled slowly, then glanced at her toddler asleep in a crib—Arga, 18 months old. His breathing was steady. Peaceful. In sleep, the child knew nothing of the chaos unfolding outside.
Her phone buzzed again. Another message from the family group chat.
“When are you coming home, Sar? Mom’s worried… It’s safer here in the village.”
She didn’t reply. Not because she wasn’t homesick, nor because her heart had hardened. But there was a decision deeper than “going home.” One about space, survival, and the meaning of staying.
Jakarta might be tense. But this city had been her workplace since she was 20. It was here that she built her life from scratch—from a leaky-roof boarding house to now, a small but clean apartment with internet and cable TV. Not because life here was luxurious, but because it was hers. Because she had responsibilities.
Her days moved slowly. The office had gone fully remote. Sari worked as a data analyst for a logistics startup. Fortunately, her job was doable from home. Still, her salary was cut—by a third.
Grocery shopping became a calculated ritual. She listed the essentials:
Canned tuna
Chickpeas
Instant noodles
Dates
Baby porridge for Arga
Each day she cooked what little she had. Sometimes chickpeas with tuna, sometimes plain noodles. Not gourmet, but it was enough to quiet hunger.
One evening, while going through old receipts and scattered papers, she found something odd: three U.S. dollars, tucked into the pages of a forgotten journal—a gift from a foreign client, long ago. She stared at the money for a long moment… then quietly cried.
Not because of its value. But because it reminded her: once upon a time, she had felt secure.
A week later, a message came from the neighborhood group: 14 families nearby were struggling to eat—daily wage workers who had lost all income. Sari paused. She wanted to help, but her mind turned instantly to Arga. What if the food ran out? What if she got sick?
That night, after Arga had fallen asleep, she opened her wallet and pulled out the three dollar bills. The next morning, she exchanged them into digital cash. The rate wasn’t great, but it was enough to buy 14 simple rice boxes with boiled eggs.
She sent the meals anonymously, with a small note tucked inside each box:
“May this be enough for today. From someone else who’s also trying to survive.”
The days remained quiet. But Sari’s heart felt less hollow. She started writing again at night, reopening a blog she had long abandoned. Her posts were simple: how to handle fear, how to store food properly, how to play with a toddler without expensive toys.
To her surprise, one of her posts went viral. Comments poured in. A single mom in Bandung wrote that Sari’s blog made her feel less alone. Another woman in Surabaya began following her food-stocking tips.
That night, staring at her laptop screen, Sari felt a warmth rise in her chest. She had never imagined her small voice could echo that far.
April 2020.
The pandemic raged on. But life, in its quiet way, continued.
One stormy evening, the power went out. Sari sat by the window, cradling Arga who was fussy from the heat. In the dark, she told him a story.
“In a quiet city, there lived a mother and her little boy. The mother had a secret power. She couldn’t fly, couldn’t disappear. But she could endure, and she could give—even when she had so little. That was her superpower.”
Arga finally drifted off, breathing softly against her chest. Outside, the rain came down like grief.
June 2020.
Her company folded. Sari’s contract was not renewed.
It should have broken her. But oddly, she didn’t panic. She sat at her computer, opened her email. One freelance offer had come from a blog reader. Then another. And another.
Slowly, Sari began to see: survival isn't about being the strongest—it’s about adapting.
By year’s end, the pandemic had not ended. But people were learning to live with it.
Arga now spoke a few words. “Mama… ma… mi…” pointing to the noodles on the table. Sari laughed. “That’s not a real meal, little one.”
She began planting kangkung in used paint buckets. Tomato seeds from kitchen scraps found new life in jars by the window. Life remained modest. But there was color now.
Three years later, 2023.
Sari never returned to office life. She worked as a freelance writer and data consultant. Her blog evolved into a small platform for working mothers who needed a safe space.
Every night, before sleep, she still looked at Arga—now in kindergarten—and remembered those days in 2020. The days she chose not to go home.
Her choice had not been out of pride. But out of love. Because she knew: sometimes the bravest thing isn’t fighting the storm, but standing inside it, holding your child, and whispering:
“We’re going to be okay.”
Note:
On the wall of the apartment—now fully hers—hung a faded piece of paper. It read:
“May this be enough for today. From someone else who’s also trying to survive.”
She never took it down. Because in those quiet, uncertain days, in a city that didn’t go home…
she found herself.
The End
