Her room was a mess, with papers scattered everywhere, small notes, and mind maps of the characters from the book she was currently writing. Fiction and non-fiction books were piled up on one of the desks as references. One desk seemed insufficient to hold her insatiable thirst for learning something new.
Unfortunately, she couldn’t continue writing her new book at the moment. Writing was about managing her mood, and right now, she felt suffocated, burdened by something that weighed on her mind. Was she beginning to be influenced by the conversation she had with Aldo and Indra earlier? Memories of her past with Ardo.
Risa stepped out of the bathroom and immediately grabbed the hair dryer. Her hair had to be dry before she went to bed to avoid her pillow getting moldy. The clock showed 11:14 PM, and she was still wide awake. Her phone buzzed with an incoming video call from her lover.
“Hey,” Kala greeted her from his hotel room. A few hours ago, he had landed in Chicago, and now it was time to rest. He was only a year older than Risa, with a gentle demeanor that matched his sweet nature.
“It’s morning there, isn’t it? Your room looks so bright.”
“Yeah, it’s around ten in the morning.”
“Did the flight go smoothly?” Risa asked as she positioned her phone near the power bank on her vanity table to prop it up while she continued drying her hair.
“Yep! Don’t worry, everything was safe. I’m a professional, you know. How about you? You’ve been looking a bit stressed lately. After three months in Indonesia, are you starting to miss living abroad? Or maybe you could join me in Amsterdam sometime and meet my parents? They miss you,” Kala said, yawning a little and occasionally rubbing his eyes.
He knew that a writer’s mood heavily depended on the environment. If Risa stayed in this same situation, it was likely she wouldn’t open her laptop for a while. Usually, his girlfriend would go on a trip out of town or even out of the country to clear her mind before continuing her work.
“I don’t know, maybe it’s this?” Risa showed him the wedding invitation from Aldo and Giska.
“Be patient, Love. A pilot can’t settle in one place. I’m trying to charm my boss into giving me a long leave for our wedding. This is all because another pilot got into trouble and was fired,” Kala explained.
“Just keep flying like a runaway groom,” Risa teased.
“By the way, who’s Revaldo Aditya? An ex-boyfriend?”
Kala had never watched television and wasn’t a fan of it, so it was understandable that he didn’t know who Aldo was. Risa had to explain a little. “You forgot I had an interview with him a while ago? Aldo is a high school friend,” she replied, somewhat reluctantly.
“So, what’s the problem? Are you nervous about meeting your first love? What’s his name? Virardo Nugraha?” Kala asked with a playful laugh.
“How do you remember his name?” Risa paused, staring at Kala with a surprised look.
“I’ve heard the full, dramatic story before. And another thing, you loved him from the age of 16 until 25. That’s pretty impressive. Sticking with one person for years while everyone else was busy jumping from one relationship to another?”
Risa pointed at the screen and pretended to be angry. “Are you teasing me? Owh! Then maybe tomorrow, I’ll cheat just to show you that I’m not that cool—or that stupid. How about that?”
Kala chuckled and rolled his eyes. “Almost ten years, Love! It’s crazy if I didn’t remember who Ardo was. It took me a long time to wait for you to get rid of that guy in your heart before I could come in and push him out.”
“Please don’t bring it up again, Babe. I’m tired of talking about it,” Risa groaned.
She moved to the bed, lying on her side while staring at the phone screen. She could see Kala, who looked very tired, with dark circles under his eyes and yawning several times. He wasn’t the possessive or overly controlling type; Risa could go wherever she wanted as long as she kept him informed. They met once a month or even once every two months because Kala was a pilot.
“You’re different, Babe, more mature and emotionally stable. He was… impulsive and selfish, while you know when to give in and when to stand firm when dealing with my stubbornness,” Risa complimented, trying to soothe her lover’s jealousy.
 
Kala nodded slowly. “First love is still first love. It’s okay to think of him occasionally as a reminder of how lucky you are to have met me. It means you had to go through that much pain before getting someone as cool and handsome as me.” He pointed at his own face.
“Kala, the narcissist,” Risa retorted with a small laugh.
“Hmm, but you have to remember that now, in the future, and forever… you’re mine,” he said, gazing deeply into the screen with a serious expression.
Risa nodded in agreement. Then, she wiped away a tear that had fallen. “Can we get married in an hour? I miss you.”
“Hold on, let me find Doraemon’s Anywhere Door first. Wait for me, I’ll be there in five minutes.” Kala got up from his bed and opened the hotel room door, walking outside to commit to his act.
“You’re so weird. Get back in there! Go to sleep!” she laughed at his antics.
***
The day of Aldo and Giska’s wedding felt like a reunion for their old friends. It was no exception for Virardo Nugraha, or Ardo. At first, the pale-skinned man wasn’t interested in attending the party, even though it was hosted by his own best friend. But Tomi convinced him that they would have fun, meet new people, and make connections, or something like that.
For the past hour, Ardo had been busy chatting with some friends whose faces had become unfamiliar and faded in his memory. Occasionally, he talked with Tomi, who offered him a drink, and they both watched the newlyweds on stage, celebrating their union.
“Isn’t this crazy?” Tomi nudged Ardo’s shoulder.
“What is?” Ardo asked, confused.
“Finally, that Chinese Gecko got married,” Tomi teased, his eyes directed toward Aldo and Giska, who looked like the King and Queen of the day.
“Don’t take it too seriously, man. Let’s have fun now. As for your lost account, we can work on that later,” Indra said, joining the conversation.
“You’re like a ghost, showing up out of nowhere,” Tomi retorted.
Indra just shrugged and continued enjoying his drink. Then, the muscular man walked away, leaving the two of them. Ardo still wasn’t fully enjoying the party and felt more like going home to brood over his misfortunes.
“I’m heading out for a bit, too, Do. Need to hit the restroom. Too much to drink,” Tomi said, patting Ardo’s shoulder once before leaving.
“Gross,” Ardo muttered with a chuckle.
Everyone had left, and now Ardo was alone. Amidst the crowd, he felt something was off, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. Ahh! That’s right, Rey hadn’t shown up yet. Usually, that guy loved fancy events like this. The Western Chef was probably lurking in some corner, chatting with one of his acquaintances.
“Hey, man! Lost in thought?” Rey appeared on Ardo’s left side.
“Already back? I thought you wouldn’t come.”
“No way I’d miss a friend’s wedding. That’s bad luck.” Rey stared deeply at Giska and Aldo, who were busy taking photos with relatives. “Giska’s beautiful, huh? Too good for Aldo,” Rey muttered.
“Love is blind, Rey. But if I were a girl… I’d probably fall for Aldo, too. You know what I mean? Handsome and smart, even if he had to borrow money from Indra for the wedding.”
“Giska’s not like that,” Rey disagreed. “By the way, have you said hi to your ex?”
Ardo’s eyebrows knitted together. “Huh?”
“She’s right over there. Go apologize, man. Maybe half of your problems will disappear if one of your sins is forgiven.” Rey grinned with intent.
Then, Rey wrapped his arm around Ardo and led him toward Risa. They exchanged confused glances, and Ardo’s composure began to unravel as Rey nudged them to talk. After all, their breakup hadn’t been amicable, so it was no surprise that they still thought about each other from time to time.
“Hey, Do,” Risa greeted him.
“Hey, Sa. Long time no see, how have you been?” Ardo noticed the diamond ring on her ring finger.
Of course, Ardo knew his ex-girlfriend couldn’t possibly still be single. So, he shouldn’t hope for anything, even though a tiny part of him regretted not treating her better back then.
“I’m good. How about you?” Her gaze shifted to the white gold chain around his neck, blinking a few times as their eyes met. “Why do you still wear it? You can throw it away.”
Ardo pulled out the necklace so she could see it more clearly. He let out a small chuckle, feeling foolish. “I’ll do it later, at Everest.”
“What?” Risa blinked in confusion.
“I’m sorry for the way I was before. I didn’t think things through,” Ardo confessed, regretting the past.
“I’m sorry too, Do. We were both selfish and immature back then.”
“But I’m still the one who was most at fault, Sa.”
All the memories seemed to play in Ardo’s mind like a film reel. Just by looking into her eyes, he lost his sense of time. There had been something between them once, but fate didn’t allow them to stay together. So, let their story be a part of the process of self-discovery in life, something not to be regretted.
“I hope you come back alive. Good luck.”
“Of course, and after that, I’ll find my own happiness. Congratulations, by the way, Sa, when’s the big day?” Ardo pointed at the ring on her finger.
“Soon, Do. I hope you’ll come.”
“Definitely,” Ardo replied.
 
~ The End ~