Smacking red

She is like a flower in the prairie. Sitting in grace with smacking red lipstick. Her face is cold, like she doesn't care if the earth bangs with the sun. She merely does her moves. Her words are short but straight. Her movement is kept in perfect calculation. She is a queen of a little hut, where people come and go to have a great meal.
An unforgettable taste of her legendary fried Tempe (soy bean cake).
Or so I thought, coz that's how I feel.
My dad calls the place she's running Halte (bus stop) because she once put her hut near the bus stop a long time ago. When she moved to the new place in market area, her loyal customers stuck with her.
My family is one of them.
The cooking is not that special, but somehow the tempe attracts people from in every age. I hear that they even hunt down its crumbs so the plates are clean as have been washed. The tempe is indeed delicious, especially the ones that just come out of the frying. Totally yummy! I don't know how it can be that way. Is there any secret ingredients? Magic potion?
They're crunchy but smooth, salty in perfect portion, and smelling really good. You just can't have enough (I eat 6 tempes when I go there). Everytime her assisstant puts the magical tempe on the plate, people start digging them like maniac. Some even standing near the stove to get the freshest ones and bag them up to go.
Hillarious.
Tempe is one thing, but the lady who run this hut is some thing else. As I told you on the first paragraph, she is one of the kind. You can't look at her without seeing her figure, her red lipstick. A spotlight of the night. Dangerously weird red. Really a mystery.
I wonder what number that colour is in the cosmetic catalogue. As far as I remember, she wears that always. Or maybe...maybe it's one of her secret ingredients to have such loyal customers.
Last night when I ate there, I read the banner behind her. Now I know her name. Mbah Sumirah...lady with smacking red lipstick.
You rock!!!