The Rainbow (part 2)

When we get to the hospital, I and Raina run towards my father room. I knock the door but no one answer, so I open it by myself. I enter the room, followed by Raina. But I see no body inside and one thing that makes me shocked is that the room looks messed up, like there was somebody there looking for something inside this room roughly. I wonder where’s my father now.

“What’s happening here?” I exclaim after I find out that the room is messed up.

“They must’ve been here.” She whispers, but I can still hear her voice.

“How do you know? And how about my father?” I begin to panic, I’m afraid that he is in danger now. So, I try to phone him, but there is no answer. I keep dialing his number but still not getting any answer. I’m frustrated and throw away my cell phone.

“Hey… Hey.. Chill, Rend!” she tries to calm me down.

“How can I calm down while I know there are some crazy men chasing after my father?!” I yell at her. She looks scared. But I just can’t help my self to pretend that I’m not afraid.

“He’s probably on a meeting or something,” she shutters, “so, he can’t answer your call.”

“You’re right.” I decrease my tone and bow my head, “I’m sorry for making you scared.”

“It’s okay. Let’s try to find the virus.”

“Don’t you think that they’ve already have it? By all of this mess they’ve made in this room. They must have found that virus.” I argue her.

“No. If they found it, they would have called me.” her face looks so serious when she says that. So, I try to trust her.

“Okay then.” I give her no more talk and begin to look around the room. But my mind still lingers on the thought about my father. I feel something is going wrong here, but I don’t know how to handle it. All I can do is following Raina’s instruction.

“Do you know where your father put his experiment?” Raina breaks the silence while looking around the room.

“I have no idea. But, it must be around here.”

We are trying so hard to find the virus. I don’t know what it looks like, but I keep searching. I look around my father’s desk and accidently nudging a picture of my family, I see a tiny button under it, I examine the button and press it. As I put off my finger from it, the wall behind me is shifted aside, showing a huge metal door which I suppose, it leads us into another room, a secret room. I walk straight forward that door, followed by Raina.

“Is it possible that your father put the rainbow inside that secret room?”

“I don’t know, maybe we should try to open it.” I examine that door bewilderedly, still can’t believe that my father has this kind of sophisticated thing. Raina is looking around the door as well.

“I think you should combine this DNA chain to open it up. You know.. it’s like a password.” She points her fore finger towards a tiny-blue-square-LCD touch screen on the right side of the door.

“DNA chain?” I’m stunned, don’t have any idea at all.

“Since it’s your father working room, it must be your father’s DNA.” she keeps saying some possible way to open that door, just like a detective. But, I keep standing still like a statue, “You’re his only son, aren’t you? You must have the same DNA with your father.”

“How do you know that I’m the only son?”

“I’m a spy, remember?” she’s bragging about her job with her hands’ folded on her chest. “You better think fast, before they find us here.”

“Ah, you’re right. But what can I do?” I’m panic. This strange stuff is kind of blowing up my mind.

“Combine it! What else?” she yells, “You’re the only one who knows your DNA chain.” seems she gets annoyed with my tiny knowledge about all this things.

“How can I do that?? My father never—“ unconsciously, I remember that some weeks ago, when I casually went to my father’s working room at night because I was bored staying alone in my room. I saw him working with his laptop. I asked if he was busy and he said I could come in. So, I joined him in front of the laptop. He showed me what he was doing. I looked at the picture on the monitor, he said it was my DNA chain.

“Wait!” I move closer to the screen, try to remember that picture in my mind while pressing my finger on the screen. Not long after, I hear a loud ‘click’ sound from the door, I try to push the door knob, “It works!” I smile to Raina, she’s smiling back at me.

Now, I can finally enter that secret room, Raina is following behind me. I look around but there is no one there, even my father.

This secret room is quite large and bright, with baby blue paint on the wall. There are so many experimental equipments everywhere. In the center of the room, I see a glass box with some tubes containing green liquid in it.

“Is that what you mean about the rainbow?” I ask Raina with my eyes keep attaching on that glass box.

“Let me see,” she takes out her iphone from her pocket, typing something on it and repeatedly looks at the her phone and the box. “Match! We found it.” she looks satisfied.

“We have to destroy it!” I open the box and put all the tube inside my bag.

“No.. No.. I think we have to wait until your father come.” She tries to stop my rashly act. I don’t listen her, I just keep putting the tubes in my bag.

And suddenly, three familiar creepy men come through the door. The friendly-voiced man grabs Raina’s hand and put a handcuff on them, while the fat man grab me by the arms and push me against the wall. I hold my bag tightly on my chest. The boss walks towards me with a knife on his hand, then enclose it to my neck.

“I’ve tied up your father on his working chair.” He make a glance to my father’s working room, indicated that my father’s already there. “I’ve attached a bomb on his body. Give me your bag, or I’ll push the bottom and blow him up.” He shows me a small remote control with a red button on it. I keep hugging my bag tightly.

“You can’t do that!” I stare at him cynically.

“Yes, I can,” I can see an evil smile appears on his face, “unless, you give me that bag!”

“I won’t!” I yell in front of his face. He looks annoyed.

“Okay, I won’t be kind anymore!” he tries to seize the bag from my hand. But then I see Raina kicks the friendly-voiced man hardly on his stomach, he moans in pain. She releases the handcuff from her hands, I don’t know how she can do that, but I don’t care. She’s a spy after all.

When I see Raina doing a fight with that man, something inside me seems forcing me to do the same thing. So, I try to fight against them with all I might. I kick the fat man on his sensitive area, beat the boss on his stomach with my hand while holding my bag, seize the remote control that the boss’s dropped on the floor and run towards Raina who is still busy with the friendly-voiced man. I kick that man on his back, grab Raina’s hand and try to run outside the room. But the boss suddenly takes a gun from his coat and shoots a bullet towards us. Raina tells me to bow, so we can dodge the bullet.

Raina takes a gun out from his pocket, points it to the boss and shoot his chest. I think she gets him right on his heart. The boss collapse, I can see lots of blood come out from his wound. His fellows look shocked, they run towards us and trying to take Raina’s gun. I block them, punching them with all I might, but they keep push me aside to reach Raina.

So, I run to the place where the boss is collapsed. I take his gun that lays beside him. I hesitate for a moment because I never use this kind of thing before. I point the gun to the fat man and shoot him on the back. He falls to the floor. In the other side I see the friendly-voiced man has already seized Raina’s gun from her hand and shoots her. She falls faint on the floor covered with blood. I feel my body fall on the floor spontaneously, I don’t have any idea what should I do to help Raina. Unconsciously, I point the gun in my hand at that man and shoot all over his body repeatedly until it run out the bullet. I run closer to Raina, take her head and put it on my lap.

“Are you okay? Let’s get out of here quickly, so we can cure your wound.” I speak fast in a worried voice to her.

“No.” she speaks with her last strength, “save yourself and your father. Don’t care about me, I’m fine.”

“But—“

“Don’t speak too much. Go!” she pushes my chest with her hand which has already covered by her blood that comes out from her chest.

“Fine. I’ll call the police and get you out of here.”

She just nods her head slightly and smiles. So, I stand up and go out from that room to find my father.

That wicked men didn’t lie. When I walk out the secret room, my father has already tied in his working chair with his mouth’s closed by a black tape. I walk closer, put the bag and the remote on the desk and release the tape.

“Are you okay, dad?” I ask him while untying the bound.

“What happen?” he asks me back.

“They’re dead. We are save now.”

“And the virus?”

“I’ve put it on my bag.” I’ve done with all the tie, “now. Let’s get out from here!” I pull my father’s hand.

“I’m sorry for letting you involve in this dangerous thing.” He touches my hand which is holding her hand. He looks sad. I think he must feel guilty.

“Dad, may I ask you something?” he silences, looking in my face, “Why did you do this?” I can’t help my self to ask him the reason why he made this kind of dangerous thing and drag him self into a danger like this.

“You’ll never understand. It’s complicated.”

“Make it simple, then.” I keep forcing him to speak.

“Forget it. Let’s get out of here.” My father is right. We don’t have much time, we have to save ourselves.

“Okay, let’s go!” I run to the exit door, but my father doesn’t move from where he is, “What are you doing? Come on dad, we have no more time!”

“You go first, I need to take something.”

So I’m walking out the door and waiting for my father outside the room. Then, suddenly I remember that I haven’t disposed the bomb that was attached in my father’s body,

“Dad! The bomb—“ I turn my body back but I see my father close the door and locks it from inside right before I finished my sentence.

“Daddy! Open the door, please!” I’m hammering at the door, pleading my father to open the door. “What are you doing there?! Open the door!” I keep yelling but he doesn’t want to open it.

Not long after, I hear the sound of explosion inside the room. It’s not a quite massive explosion, but it has succeeded to blow up the entire room.  I’m stunned. Standing still in front of the my father’s office door with my eyes wide open because of the shock. I don’t move my feet from there until some police come over and try to drag me out of the building.

It is already dark outside and the rain starts pouring from the night sky. I can see it from the transparent door in front of me. My mind is blank. I try to let go of my hand from the police as we walk closer to that exit door. When I can take my hands off theirs, I waddle outside the hospital building like a mad man and let the rain pour upon me till I get wet.

I end up my step under the huge white streetlight nearby. I sit on the walkway and looking up the light. The rain has changed into drizzle, I can see it reflects the colors of a rainbow under the white light.

“huh—“ I smile cynically, “that stupid rainbow.” I murmur. Then suddenly tears stream down my face as I realize that it was not a dream. I drown my face on my knee and cry my tears out.

I feel somebody touch my shoulder and call my name. I know this voice. So, I turn my head up to look at that person.

“Mom…..” I look at her who is tearing. I stand up and hug her. She fusses my hair to calm me down. I finally feel save in her arm, but I still can’t stop crying,

“Tell me it’s just a dream.” I whisper in my mom’s ear and crying out loud on her shoulder.

(END)

PS: Special thanks to Vatsya Mallayana for the stunning idea! I’m sorry if this is not as good as you expected.

The Rainbow (part 1)

It’s still quite early in the morning to be hanging around the hospital, but my father called me to bring his important document that he left it in his working room to his office in the hospital. I don’t have any class today, so I help him up. I ride my car, heading to the hospital as fast as I can because he said this is a very important document and I must get there very quickly.

As I run to my father’s room, I bump into girl accidently. I look at her face I think I’ve ever seen her somewhere but I can’t remember it. She looks very ill, her face looks pale and I see her holding her bloody left arm with her palm. It seems her arm has got cut by something.

“Opss, I’m sorry. Are you okay?” I hold her arm because I’m afraid she will fall faint.

She just bows her head without saying anything, then she lets my hands off from her arms and run. I’m a little confused, but I just ignore it because I don’t even know her. When I reach my father’s office, I knock the door and he opens the door for me.

“Come in, son.” He’s sweating, as if he’s doing an operation.

“Here you go dad! The document you asked me to bring them up.” I say with an officer’s voice-like.

“Thank you, son! I need it for my new experiment.”

“What experiment is it?” I wrinkle my forehead.

“Why are you asking? You’re never interested in this kind of stuff, are you?”

“Well, you right. I’m just curious.” I never heard my dad did any experiment before. All I know he’s just a doctor whom his job is curing a sick person.

“You don’t have to know.” He smiles wisely, “Oh, don’t you have any class to attend?”

“Eee’emm…” I shake my head, “I don’t have any today.”

“Well….” His face indicates that I have to go out of here, “I have to work now—”

“Okay okay… Got it. I’ll leave.” I cut up his sentence because I’ve already known what’s on his mind.

“You are a smart boy!” he messes up my hair with his hand like he usually does.

“Dad, stop it! I’m not a kid anymore.” I’m crying out loud and hit his hand on my head slightly.

“Geez, you’re so loud!” he put his hands on the ears, “Fine! I won’t do it anymore.” He raises his both hands like there is a police wants to shoot him. I giggle.

“Okay, see you at home, dad!” I spruce up my messy hair while walking out the room.

My name is Rendy and I’m just ordinary 23 years old boy who like to live my own life. My father is a chairman of a well-known hospital in Jogjakarta, he is also a doctor, to be more detail, he is an internist, you know, a doctor who has a specialty in internal medicine. Even though my father is a doctor, I don’t want to be like him. I’d rather wallow myself with some electronic stuff than memorizing human’s internal organs or plenty names of such random medicines that I don’t even know how to spell them. So, when I went to college, I chose electrical engineering as my major.

Every doctor who has only child, especially a son, is definitely wants his son to be like him, or at least continuing his job as a doctor. But my father is unlike any other people. He supports my every decision. I remember when I told him that I’d like to study engineering, instead of following his path to be a doctor. I thought he would be mad, but I’m wrong, he just smiled and said “Your life is your own choice. Do everything as you wish as long as you can be responsible with everything you’ve chosen, you know I always trust you.” I feel lucky to be his son. I promised to make him proud of me since then, and I’ll never let him down.

***

It’s already 7.45 and I have a quiz at 8 o’clock, so I ride my car in hurry. No one woke me up this morning. Our housemaid who is usually be my alarm clock can not come because she is ill and my mother is out of country for several days. I woke up at 7.30 this morning. I didn’t have a chance to take a bath, so I just washed my face, brushed my teeth, changes my cloth and sprayed my body with cologne as much as possible. And here I am now, in my car trying to catch my morning class with my messy face.

I park my car in the nearest parking spot to my class. I look at my watch, it’s 8.10, “Gosh, I’m late!” I murmur at my self. I grab my bag on the passenger seat, slam the car door and run to the class. When I reach the class, the quiz is already begun. I ask the question sheet to the lecturer and try to answer all the questions as fast as I can because I only have 5 minutes left.

Class is over. As usual, I and my friends go to the food court, while waiting for the next class. We take a sit on a long table in the corner and order some foods. When we are waiting for the food, I see the girl I met in the hospital yesterday. She looks fine now. I can’t see her wound because she’s wearing a long-sleeves shirt. Suddenly, one of her friend smacks her left arm which is I know it is injured, but she just fine, she doesn’t look like she is injured. What’s wrong with her? I begin to think that something is going wrong, so I ask my friend.

“Hey, do you know her?” I ask Daniel who is sitting right beside me.

“Who?”

“That girl—” I point my finger at her stealthy, so she doesn’t know that I’m talking about her, “the one with a brown long-sleeves shirt.”

“Ah… Raina,” he says with his mouth full of meatball which has just served, “an Information Technology major, what’s wrong? Do you like her?”

“Stupid!” I snap his forehead with my finger.

“Ouch… that’s hurt!” he moans. “She’s cute, every normal man likes her, I suppose!”

I remain silent and eat my food while occasionally look at her. I don’t have any I idea why I get interested with this girl. She is mysterious.

A week later, my mother asks me to bring a lunch for my father at hospital and surprisingly, I see that girl again. She’s sitting alone on the waiting room, busy with her IT book. I decided to embrace her by sitting on the empty seat beside her.

“Hai… you’re a Faculty Engineering student, aren’t you?” I open up a conversation.

She is silent, her face looks unfriendly. I keep babbling, “I’m Rendy, an electrical engineering major. I bumped into you, here, a week ago, it was exactly right here,” I wave my hand in front of the seat I’m sitting now, “Remember?” I stop for a while to hear her response but she doesn’t seem to do it,

“What are you doing here again? How’s your wound? Is it okay now?” I keep asking unstoppable.

She turns her eyes from the book to me, her face looks cold. “Can you please mind your own business?”  Her voice is deep and calm. She goes back to her book. I smirk, not expecting that she’s such a cold person.

“Well, I just want to be your friend.” I continue, but she keeps her cold face and remains silent, “Okay, fine. Seems you don’t want to be my friend. Better go now. Bye!”

So I leave her and walk to my father’s room. Thousand questions run over my mind, it’s all about her. Why is she being so mysterious? I feel something wrong about her, something that will bring me to her again.

I walk out from my father’s room after giving my mother’s food to him, but suddenly I feel some trouble with my stomach, so I decided to use this hospital’s toilet before I go back to campus. When I finish with my business, I wash my hand in the sink, but suddenly a fat man with a black mask on his face gets in and points a gun at my head. I’m stupefied.

“Where is the rainbow?” he says rudely while pressing his gun harder on my temple.

“Wh-a-t? Rainbow? In the sky— of course!” I shutter. I don’t have any idea what should I say, so I give him a random answer.

He giggles for a second, “Are you joking around?” then turn his face back into a creepy face, “tell me quickly or I’ll shoot your brain!” he keeps torturing me with his rough voice.

“I don’t understand what you mean! I don’t know anything! Please let me go.” I plead.

“You’re such an intractable kid! Do you want to die in your young age?”

“Please… I don’t know anything..” I almost give up for begging, and suddenly another scary man with a black mask comes in.

“Let’s get out of here! Boss wants us to see him immediately!” his voice seems a little friendlier than the man who is now threatening me with the gun.

“What about this kid?”

“Just leave him alone. I think he doesn’t know anything about it.”

So, the fat man puts his gun in his pocket, grab me on my collar and push me hardly on the floor. Then they leave in hurry.

I sit on the floor, stock still. Can’t believe about what happened to me just before. I try to calm myself down. Breath in… breath out.. that’s all I can do until I feel a little calmer. When I already feel better, I go out from that toilet and go back to campus because I still have a class in the evening. I decided not to tell anyone about it and pretend there was nothing happened.

When I’m about to park my car, I see the same black-masked men I saw in the hospital, but now they are with a person in additional. That person has a long black hair which is ponytailed on the back of his head. I can’t see his face clearly. I think he is their boss because he’s the one who is not wearing a mask and that two masked-men seem respect him so much. They are talking with a girl in front a red sport car. My curiosity has not come to an end. I park my car not far away from where they are, so I can observe their moves comfortably inside my car. I wonder who that girl they are talking to. I keep observing them, then I realize that she is Raina.

It seems they are talking about something important. Then suddenly I see the fat man grab Raina’s hair roughly. She looks moaning in pain. I suppose those people want something from Raina but she doesn’t want to give it. I see the boss keep forcing her with some questions, I have no idea what is that because I can’t hear their voice at all. The boss slaps Raina’s cheek but she won’t seem to against him. I can’t hold it anymore, I can’t see such a wicked man beating a weak girl like her. So I get out the car, run toward them and beat the boss’ cheek with my fist. He moans.

“Bloody hell !! Who is this kid?!” he yells while stroking his cheek with his hand. I think I hit him hard enough.

“Hey, be a man, dude! Aren’t you ashamed playing around with a girl?” I challenge him.

“What? Who do you think you are?” he smirk, “Do you know this kid, Raina?” he turn his question to Raina. She just shakes her head with a plain expression.

“So, what’s your problem, kid?” he asks me again while folding her hand on his chest.

“Let her go! Or I’ll call police!” I don’t have any idea what I’ve said. I’m just saying what’s popping up from my mind.

“What a brave little rascal.” He chuckle, turn his sight to his two fellows, “guys, finish him up!”

The fat man grabs my both hands and pulls them to my back while the friendly-voiced man beat my stomach repeatedly. I can’t do anything because my hands are tied up. I moan in pain but it seems they have not satisfied yet. Then the friendly-voiced man hit my face with his fist until a fresh blood comes out from the left side of my lip. Raina screams,

“Stop it! Leave him alone. Please….” I can see her misty eyes as she beg them to stop beating me. Everybody turns their sight at her,

“I’ll tell you when I’ve found out where is it.” says her in a low tone.

“Okay then. But don’t forget—” the boss put his finger tip on her chin and push it up. “I’ll always keep my eyes on you. If you dare to betray me, you know what will be happened!” he pushes her chin and looks straight to her face with a creepy stare. Then he heads up into the red sport car behind him, followed by his fellows. Leaving me alone with Raina.

She looks at me for some seconds and suddenly slaps my left cheek. I shock but I can’t say anything, “What did you do?” she yells, “Don’t you know that you’ve just drag yourself into a terrible danger?”

“Can you just— be a little gentle?” I wipe the blood that comes out from my lip, “that’s hurt!”

“Where is your car?” I points to the place where my car is parked. She grabs my hand and pulls me towards my car.

“Get in!” she pushes me to get in the car she trots to the other side of the car, open the car door and sits on the passenger seat besides me. She takes out a medicine box inside her bag, grabs some cotton out of the box and pours it with alcohol.

“Wow, you bring that everywhere?” I’m amazed.

“Shut your mouth!” she makes me startled. I begin to afraid with her. She touches my cheek with her hand and wipes the wound on my lip with the cotton. I wince in pain, but she keeps going.

“Who are you?” I ask her while he cures my wound.

“How’s your stomach? Is it hurt?” she changes the subject, still busy curing my wound.

“I’m fine. You’re not answering my question.”

“Okay, that’s it. There’s just a little bruised on the edge of your lip, I’ve put some salve on it. It will be healed for about 3 days, I suppose.” She puts the medicine box back to her bag, still not answering my question. “I better go now. Bye!”

When she’s about to open the door, I grab her hand and lock the door, “Tell me who are you exactly?” I look straight to her eyes.

“You don’t need to know.” She looks back at my eyes, trying to relinquish her hand from mine. “Let me go!”

“I met those guys in the hospital this afternoon!” I tighten my grip on her. She looks shocked. “And they ask me about ‘rainbow’. I think you know about it.”

“Gosh!” she hit her lap with her own hand, “They must’ve seen you talked to me in the hospital, and they must’ve thought that you are my ally.” She looks afraid, then takes a breath for a second, “Okay, I’ll tell you, but promise me you won’t tell anyone about it.”

“Cross my heart!” I make a cross sign on my chest, let go of my hand and smile in satisfaction.

She sigh, “Well, I’m a spy.” Those words have successfully made me die standing.

“You— what?!” I don’t have any idea what should I do next. I’m speechless.

“I know you’ll be surprised. I must not tell it to anyone but you’ve got involve this far, so I think you should know about it.”

“And who are those men?” I ask without hearing her further explanation.

“They are wicked people. They have an evil plan to control the world—” I’m silent, let her to continue her story, but she suddenly stop and looking at me in a confuse face. Maybe I’m showing a weird expression when I’m listening her.

“What are you looking at? Go on.. I’m listening.”

“Okay..” she’s sighing again, “There’s a doctor who is doing an experiment. This doctor is trying to make a virus which can control people’s mind and the code name for this virus is ‘rainbow’—”

“Code name?” I cut up her explanation.

“A name given to a secret object, to make other people has no idea what thing we are talking about.” She knows that I don’t understand that term, so she explains it.

“What a cool name for such a dangerous thing.” I whisper at myself.

“What?”

“No, nothing— and how about those creepy men?”

“Those evil men knew about that experiment, so they are trying to look for the location where that virus is made, they want to take it and control the world.”

“And you help them to get it?” I’m questioning her cynically.

“I don’t have a choice,” her expression’s changed. She looks sad, “They would kill my mother if I don’t help ‘em”

“So, what will you do?”

“I don’t know. This virus may not fall into their hand. I’ve found the location of that virus but I don’t know where is it hid.”

“Where is the location?”

“In the hospital where we met before.”

“That’s my father’s hospital!” I yell, and suddenly I remember about my father, “a week ago, when I was in his room, he said he is doing an experiment—“ I’m gobsmacked, “could it be!”

“We need to get there to save the virus immediately! You’re father might be in danger too!”

So, I turn on my car engine and heading to hospital as fast as I can. On my way to the hospital, I take a chance to ask Raina’s condition.

“By the way, how’s your arm?”

“What happened to my arm?” she asks me back.

“Wasn’t it injured?” I set an astonished expression.

“Injured?” she chuckles, “it was acting— you need a reason to be in the hospital, don’t you?”

“What?” I’m surprised, “Wooooaaa…. You are indeed a spy!” I clap my hands, “that was so real!” I keep praising her skill and she’s just laughing.

(To be continued….)

Triangle with a Bleached Lavender Stain

This place is so beautiful. If you see every corner of this room, it’s all white, decorated by flowery curtains and some vases of red roses, also some of rose petals which have been spread on the floor.  I look at my reflection in the mirror. This white gown I’m wearing now looks as beautiful as today’s weather. I turn my sight to the window and look at the sky, it’s all blue, just like my heart.

Everybody seems so happy welcoming my wedding ceremony. But, why I can’t be as happy as they are? Today supposes to be the happiest day of my life. Why I can’t feel that euphoria? I just can’t lie to my self that I’m not happy to be a bride. He is indeed a good man, he is handsome, he is sweet, and he cares about me. I love him, but not as a lover.

To accept his marriage proposal was the biggest decision I’ve ever made. I thought I was crazy back then, I just didn’t know what I’ve done. What should I do now? Should I continue this? Will I be happy with him? Thousands question’s running over my mind intractably. I fall into the rug, thinking about what might happen if I continue this. I start to cry. I don’t care it would ruin my perfect make up.

Suddenly, someone knocks my room’s door. I’m startled.

“Who’s there?”

“It’s me, Nathan. Can I come in?” that familiar voice I miss so much is right behind that door. I wonder what he’s doing here.

“Come in,” I wipe my tears and stand up from the rug. He opens the door by himself, walk in the room calmly and sit on my bed which has been changed into a honey moon bed. He looks handsome with a grey suit with a pink rose on his left chest, also a pink bracelet in his right hand, it can’t be seen clearly, but I can, because since the first time I knew him, he always wears that bracelet.

“What are you doing here?” I avert my eyes from him, ‘cuz I don’t want him to know that I was crying.

“I just want to see you before your wedding ceremony, am I not allowed to do that?” he looks at me with a beautiful smile. I just can’t say a word.

“How are you?” he looks straight at my eyes. His expression’s getting calmer.

“I’m fine, just as you see now. How long have we not met? Seem it has already long time since our last meeting.”

We didn’t meet each other for a year because he has to go to London to work. He is my best friend and he knows Liam too. So, I sent him my wedding invitation. I wished he wouldn’t come. But God doesn’t seem to grant my wish. Now, he’s here, in my room, just right before my wedding ceremony.

“Hemm.. no wonder I miss you this much,”

I nearly can’t believe what I’ve heard. He never said such a sweet word before. My heart’s beating faster. I’m afraid it will tremble for him once again.

“Time has passed so quickly, hasn’t it?” he sighs, “It’s like just yesterday we met each other.”

“Yea, I can’t believe I’m here now, wearing this— luxurious wedding gown.”

“It fits you anyway.”

“Really?”

“Emmm” he nods, examines me from head to toe, “you must be very happy now.” His expression changed, that pretty smile disappears from his face.

“I…” before I continue my word, he gets up from his seat and walking around. I pause.

“This place is beautiful, it remains me about Central Park. We used to spend our time together there at spring, remember? when all cherry blossom blooms. Who made it?”

“Myself.”

“I knew it, your style is still the same.”

“Do you still remember my style?”

“Of course! not only your style, your habit, your favorite, your dislike, everything! I remember when you forced me to teach you to play guitar, I refused but you cried so badly. Ah, so childish.”

I don’t know, but I feel happy when he said he still remembers everything about me.

That time, I admit that I was so childish, but he looked so incredible when he played his guitar.  He said guitar is half of his life. I can still imagine him playing Sonata by Fernando Sor, my favorite one. I was so moved and mesmerized.  So, I beg him to teach me and he refused. I was crying so badly because I really wanted to learn it, I kept insist, then he ended up granting my wish. Guitar is a difficult instrument to learn. All my fingers were hurt and I told him that don’t want to play it anymore. That’s why he refused to teach me when I said that I want to learn it.

He said guitar and piano are different. Guitar needs a tough and solid finger to make a good composition, while piano needs a soft and swift hand. Yes, I must admit what he said is all true. He has his own charm.

“How’s Liam?” he continues. He’s been interested in Liam’s news after he knew that I and Liam are going be married.

“He’s probably on his way.”

“He’s a good man. You are lucky to be by his side.”

“I think so.”

I don’t know how many times he keeps telling me that Liam is a good man and I have to be happy with him. I’m almost sick of it. I turn my face on the floor, I don’t want him to see my disappointment face which is unconsciously appeared because of his words.

“Do you still remember the first time we met?” looks like he knows my feeling, so he changes the topic.

“Yea, I bumped into your arms when it rained in front of Alice Tully Hall.”

“You know, that was really hurt. I got bruised on my butt and it could not be healed for about 3 months.” He is complaining.

I chuckle and begin to recall those memories with him as he keeps talking about our past memories.

I remember the first time we bumped into each other because of the rain.

We attended the same college, Julliard. I was a piano major and he was a guitar major. We never knew each other before, until we were formed in an orchestra. We both and the other players had three months rehearsal to prepare ourselves for a performance held by our faculty. Even though we were in the same team, we were still two people back then. Because we focused on our own instrument and didn’t have any chance to greet each other because of our own business.

It was 14^th of December, the day when our first orchestra in Alice Tully Hall was held. The concert was successful. When I was about to go home, drizzle started to pour. I insisted to walk home because the rain was not quite hard. I run, but the rain was getting harder just after I walked down the stair. I thought I couldn’t make it, so I run back to the hall with the coat on my head to cover it up from the pouring water. I run without clearly see my surrounding, before I reach the hall, I bumped into Nathan accidently. We both fell and soaked by the rain. We had a little conversation in a coffee shop nearby while waiting for the rain to stop, and we became a best friend since then.

There are lots of memories I have with Nathan for 4 years in Julliard. His sweet way when he treated me, also his presence beside me which always made me grateful to be able to know him. Sometimes I think he is an angel who was sent by God to fill my heart with happiness everyday. My life seemed so bright every time I near him. Until, one day, I think I had fallen for him. His gesture and the sweet act towards me, made me thought that he loved me too, but he never confessed his feeling. I didn’t want to tell him about mine because I am a woman. I have a principle in my life that I— as a woman, will not confess my feeling first. So, I remained silent.

Many years had passed and he never said that he loves me, not even once. So, I thought it was one sided love. I thought he had someone in his heart and it was not me. I gave up. But my feeling for him is still the same. He is the best part of my life, until now. Although my heart still wants him so badly, I have to let him go because for me, love doesn’t mean to be together. Moreover, I have Liam in my side now.

“Hey.. are you okay?” he waves his hand in front if my face.

“Oh!” I’m startled. I was daydreaming.

“What happen to you?”

“No, I’m just… I’m just tired,” I stutter, “you know.. with all this wedding preparation. I couldn’t even sleep for 2 days.” I force my self to laugh.

He moves closer and touches my face with his right hand, “Yea, you look so tired,” He caress my cheek softly, “but you look so beautiful today. This is probably the most beautiful of you I’ve ever seen.” his voice sounds so warm and full of cares.

His hand is so soft, I almost forget the last time I feel his touch. He’s being irresistible. I think he already knew my feeling about him. For a couple minutes I forget about Liam. I smile and grab his hand on my cheek, I look at his eyes and kiss his lip for the first time.

Less than 5 second our lips collide, he suddenly moves himself aside, “This ain’t right.”

“Why? I thought yo—”

“Ssshhht” he cuts my sentence by putting his forefinger on my lip, “you will be Liam’s wife in a few hours, you are not allowed to kiss another man.” He smiles.

“Miss, are you ready? The groom is waiting.” Mrs. Gigg’s voice seems forcing me to come out immediately.

“I think I should go now.” He hugs me, gives a peck on my cheek and draws his lip closer to my ear, he whispers “I wish I were on your place.”

I’m shocked.

I can see his sad face as he walks out through my door. Now, he’s gone, leaving me here, alone and stupefied.

An Arrow to the North

Nothing better that the scent of cherry blossom inside my room. A relaxing smell’s brought by the morning wind through my only window. It’s still early in the morning, but my grandmother’s noisy voice won’t let me to stay dreaming any longer. Her voice is so loud, I can still hear it clearly even when I’ve close my both ears with my pillow. She’s always like this, nagging something unimportant every day, no matter it still early morning like this or late at night.

This kind of situation makes me drown into my self-consciousness and cynical. Nothing can be trusted, neither any one nor myself.

I look at the desk on my left side, there lays a picture of my father who passed away 2 years ago. Suddenly the feeling of emptiness fill up my defendless heart without any permission. The thought of him almost makes me breathless. I look at my necklace my father gave me when I was 12 years old, he said the needle on its pendulum can lead me to find my right direction. Then I’m staring at that picture on my desk again, I take it and press it hardly against my chest, “I miss you dad.” My soft voice sounds so ironic and I can’t help my eyes to stop tearing.

My mother always tells me to look for a good man someday when I get married. She keeps torturing me with the words “Don’t you ever marry a man like your father.” Sometimes I think my mother didn’t ever love my father, she hated him since he quit his job. She hated him because he let her to work alone by herself to fill our daily needs. They didn’t speak to each other since then, and it went on until my father passed away. But, in my heart, my father is always been the best. No one can replace him, even my step father who has been living with my mother for a year after my father’s death. Her decision to marry another man was indeed made me upset, but I could not do anything, because I love her too. I want her to be happy, even it hurts me.

“Breakfast’s ready, Claire!” yells my mother from downstair. Her voice seems forcing me to join in the dining room.

“Be there soon mom.” I get up from my bed and leave my room unwillingly.

My mother is a good cook, I admit that all the foods she’s made are delicious. It has a taste of ‘home’.

All the dishes are already on the table. This dining room is quite small, not too much ornament hanging on the wall. There’s only my childhood picture that has been hanging there since this house was made. I suddenly remember how happy I was. But now, that happiness is slowly disappears till I found my self falls into the deepest hole of sorrow.

Here’s already my grandmother who is busy with her knitting, my step father who is reading a newspaper and my step sister who has been watching me with a smirking face since I came down from upstair. She never likes me anyway, but I don’t care because I don’t like her either. I take a seat in front of her. She draws her face closer to mine.

“Hey, can I borrow your necklace for a day?” she asks me in a low tone.

“What? No! Absolutely no!” I yell. Every body in the room is looking at me.

“Why? We are family now, I just want to borrow it for a day.” she begins to raise her tone.

“No, this is mine! No body can take it from me! And you, you’re not my family. We don’t even share the same blood!” I try to hold my tears.

Sally is my step father’s daughter, she’s a year older than me. Her parents divorced long time ago and her father who is now become my step father, took care of her. She never does a good thing on me, she often takes my things. I let her to take all my belongings, but not for this one.

“I don’t want to take it! Why are you being so mean?”

I can say no word. My body is freezing. I hold the pendulum which is hanging on my necklace tightly. Then I hear my mother says,

“Just lend it to Sally for a day, won’t you?” Her softspoken voice makes me tremble,

“It’s just a necklace. What’s the point remembering thing that no longer exist? Your dad is gone. This is your reality. Please understand it.” I look straight on my mother’s eyes. I feel like I can’t recognize her anymore, she’s unlike she used to be. She knows very well that I love it so much, how could she say that? I’m indeed disappointed.

“NO!” I rise from my seat and run outside.

The sky turns cloudy, but I don’t want to stay in this house any longer. So I run to the wood where I and my father used to spend our time together. It is not far from our house. We usually went there after school. I felt happier when my father quit his job, because he had more time to play with me so I didn’t have to feel lonely anymore.

My step stops at the end of path. Here is the place that I talking about. The place where all the memories of my father are buried. It’s been awhile since my last visit here. Everything still looks the same, even the tree house built by my father is still standing firmly up there. I try to climb that tree and sit on the edge of it. Up here, everything looks so clear and beautiful. I can see the mountain behind my house, thousands pine tree all over the wood, and even my favorite cherry blossom tree besides my bedroom. And suddenly, the moments I had with my father coming up again till it brings me to a deep sleep.

In my dream, I’m going back to my childhood time. I was playing baseball with my dad. I looked very happy.

“Let’s end it here, I’m tired.” My father’s voice is echoing in my mind.

“But dad, it’s fun. Can we do it one more round?”

“No, it’s over. Come here, I had something for you.”

I come walk closer to him with a grim visage. I was upset because I still wanted to play.

“What?” I asked him still with an angry face.

“Here, take it.” he gave me a necklace with a golden round pendulum.

“What is this?” I asked.

“It can lead you to find the way.”

“To find the way?” I was confused. I kept examining this thing because this was the first time I see this kind of stuff.

“When you’re lost, and stars can not lead you home, this can help you to find your way.”

I stayed silence, still bewildered with this alien thing. There was a button on the edge of it, so I pressed it and the shield was opened.

“Yes, this is they way it works,” said my father again. “You see that red arrow on it? That arrow always points out the north-ward. So, when you lost, follow that red arrow. It will lead you home.”

“Really?” Suddenly I felt very happy, “Thankyou dad.”

“Take it with you everywhere you go. Understand?” I nodded. To be able to see my father’s smiling face made me feel so warm. And I promised to my self that I will keep it forever.

Chilly wind wakes me up from my sweet dream. It’s already twilight. Sky turns dark, I can barely see anything. Drizzle has already poured from the sky. I feel my head is wet. So, I climb down the tree and decided to go home before it’s getting darker. But the rain gets so much heavier. I keep running but I lost my way. I’m trapped and begin to feel afraid. There’s neither star nor the moon above. Once again, I feel that loneliness chasing me with no mercy. I cry. Then I remember my father’s necklace. I press the button and looking for the north.

It has been totally dark. I lost my sight but I keep running to the north. I can’t see anything. The rain makes the road becomes so slippery, then I find my self slip down into the edge and fall unconscious.

“Claire… Claire..”

I hear someone’s calling my name. I open my eyes and see lots of wounds on my body but it doesn’t feel hurt at all. I look around. All I see is just white, then I hear a familiar voice is calling me again.

“Claire, are you there?” I see my father’s walking towards me.

“Is that you, dad? My voice is trembling. I can’t believe what is happening to me now.

“It’s me, Claire.” He smiles, give me his hand and help me up.

“Is it really you? My dad?” I still can’t believe my own sight.

“You can hug me if you don’t believe it.” so, I run to him and hug him. It feels so real. His arms are still as warm as it used to be. I smile.

“How do you feel?” he asks.

“I feel extremely happy now. This thing finally brings me home.”

My Accidental Happily Ever After

The first time I heard “Never Knew I needed” by Ne-Yo, I was lying on a green grass at my school yard while looked up to that baby blue sky. I was with him. The man who introduced me this song. The one who never be buried in my mind. A part of my past that will always be remembered no matter how long we didn’t meet.

He gave me one of his earphones and I stared at him, bewildered. He was wearing a white T-shirt and grey jeans, simple, yet handsome.

“What?” I said

“Just listen.”

“You want me to…”

He nodded, cutting up my incomplete question with his charming smile. I blushed.

“Okay…” I took his earphone. He smiled again.

“You look beautiful today.”

“Eh?”

“You’re beautiful,” he said.

I waved my hand in front of his face, “Are you okay?”

He chuckled, “Well, I’m not sure. Perhaps because today is so bright, you look a little bit more shining than usual.”

“Oh…” that disappointment feeling crunching inside me unconsciously. And I didn’t know why.

“Hey, you’re not suppose to be here, right? Where’s your boyfriend? That tall basketball dude.” He laughed. He never liked Tommy anyway.

“He has a meeting today.”

“Meeting? Are you sure it’s not a cheating?”

I smacked his arm, “You jerk, Jake!” and he laugh merrily.

“Well, I miss you today. So, I feel I like I have to see you.” Said me again.

“What did you say?” he looked shocked.

“What?” I confuse.

“What did you say?”

“I said I have to meet you.”

“No no no. The one before that.”

“I miss you.”

He smiled. I swear, I never see him that happy since ever.

“Why are you smiling?” I said.

“I like those words.”

Then, we were both silent, enjoying that beautiful song in our ears. Until he raised his voice once again, “Do you know why I like this song?”

“Hmmm… it’s not your style anyway. I know you don’t like this kind of music.”

“Just guess.”

“Ah! Are you having a crush?”

He patted my back lightly, “You are indeed my best friend, sugar.”

Sugar is not my name though, but he used to call me that. Because the first time he saw me, the first word that he said was ‘sweet’ and since then, he insisted to call me ‘sugar’. I couldn’t complain ‘cause I liked it too.

“What? How dare you? You never even tell me that you had a crush. What kind of girl is she? Tell me.. tell me..” I asked him excitingly.

He stared at the sky, “Well.. I like her for the way she changed my plans, for being the perfect distraction, for the way she realize me that she was everything that I wanted to have…”

He describe that girl so perfectly, I had never seen him like this before. I felt my heart trembling, like there was something from his words that made it hurt. I couldn’t take my eyes of him, as he kept continuing his words,

“she’s a rare and unexpected friend, I admire her for the way she’s something that I would never choose, but at the same time something that I don’t wanna loose,” he suddenly stopped and turned his sight at me,

“What are you looking at? You look so stupefied.”— Yea, I was stupefied by his super extraterrestrial explanation.

“Wow.. I think you like her so much. You have to introduce me to that girl someday.”

“You already know this girl actually.”

“Really? Is she one of our friends?”

Before he was able to answer my question, my phone was ringing. It was Tommy calling me. He wanted me to meet him right away. So, I rushed after I hang up the phone.

“You have to go now?” He asked.

“Tommy wants to see me immediately.”

“Okay, you better go now.”

“But wait, who’s that girl?”

“I don’t wanna tell you, just guess and tell me if you’ve had the answer.”

And so I run, left him with a big question in my mind.

Until the day of our high school graduation, he never wanted to tell me about that girl.

****

It has almost 2 years since we graduated from high school and had to be separated because I decided to go to another country to continue my study.

And today, I’m home again. I’m sitting on the same place. A place that used to be our favorite place. From distance, I see his familiar face is running towards me. He comes right after I call him to meet me here.

“Have you had the answer?” he said directly without asking my news first.

I stand up and try to look deep into his blue eyes. When I think that I’m sure about my answer, I nodded with a smile on my face, “I like when Ne-Yo says you’re the best thing I never knew I needed. See now it’s so clear, I need you here always!”

P.S: I made this short story with a big help from my friend Riris a.k.a Pohon. (: