She could have been picked up by any one of the thousands of drivers working as online ojeks (motorcycle taxis) in her city, but the story of this Indonesian girl is just as improbable as it is heartwarming (or bittersweet, depending on your perspective).
As reposted and made viral by the Instagram account @dramaojol.id (online ojek drama), which usually shares people’s funny or bad experiences with online ojek drivers, a 17-year-old girl named Salma Zuhara from Kudus, Central Java, ordered a GrabBike to go home from school a couple of days ago. She soon made a shocking realization – the driver was her father, whom she hadn’t seen for 10 years.
I went home from school and ordered a GrabBike. I then got a driver. I wasn’t paying attention at first. When the driver arrived, I looked at him, turned out he was my papa. FYI my mama and papa divorced a long time ago and we hadn’t heard from him since. Now, God arranged our meeting like this. I’m so moved after not seeing my papa for years.
In her interview with Kompas, Salma explained that her parents divorced 10 years ago, and now she lives with her mother and three younger siblings in Kudus. None of them knew where her father had been all this time.
“We didn’t know, because as far as I know he moved around a lot. That’s why I was shocked to see him the other day,” Salma said.
Salma admitted that it was hard to describe her emotions after the meeting with her long-lost father.
“I’m feeling sad, happy, awkward. I can’t really explain it.”
She added that during their ride, the father and daughter engaged in some small talk about her school, but that they didn’t talk much because things felt pretty awkward between them. However, Salma said she is thankful for the meeting, as she now has her father’s cellphone number and can contact him any time.
