Kata-Kata yang Tertunda

Kata-Kata yang Tertunda

Aku hentikan langkahku sesaat setelah berpamitan pada ibuku. Tanganku masih pada pegangan pintu, hanya badanku yang ku toleh ke belakang.

“Ada apa?” tanya ibuku, nadanya lembut. Hari ini suara ibu kedengaran lebih lemah dibandingkan dengan hari lainnya. Ah, tidak, bukan. Hanya imajinasiku saja. Wajah ibu, senyumannya masih seperti biasanya, seperti matahari yang menerangi hatiku.

“Saya…” kata-kataku terputus. Ah, besok saja lah, kan masih ada kesempatan lain, pikirku dalam hati. 

“Nggak kok, ma. Nggak apa-apa. Saya berangkat, ya.”

“Iya, hati-hati.”

Sebenarnya sudah lama aku ingin mengatakannya pada ibuku. Tetapi, selalu saja ku tunda, selalu saja ada alasan yang ku buat untuk memaafkan diriku.

Seperti hari itu, hari ulang tahun ibu. Ibu terlihat begitu senang dengan pesta kejutan yang direncanakan oleh anak-anaknya yang kelebihan waktu dan tenaga ini. Meski hanya pesta kecil, hanya aku, kakakku, dan tentu saja ibuku, ibu begitu bahagia. Itu pertama kalinya ibu meminta kami untuk mengambil foto. Biasanya ini permintaan kami, dan biasanya, selalu saja ditolak oleh sang idola di keluarga kami ini. Saat ibuku memotong kuenya, saat memberikan hadiah padanya, hampir saja kata-kata itu keluar dari mulutku. Tetapi, selalu saja aku telan kembali. Lain kali saja lah, nanti suasananya aneh pula, alasanku selalu saja berhasil menggagalkan niatku.

*

Kerja paruh waktu. Salah satu caraku untuk meringankan beban ibuku. Ayahku pergi meninggalkan kami sejak aku masih kecil, menelantarkan kami, boleh dikatakan begitu. Ibuku dengan susah payah membesarkan aku dan kakakku. Kakakku, agar aku dapat meneruskan pendidikanku, memutuskan untuk tidak kuliah dan memasuki dunia kerja begitu tamat SMK. Untuk keluargaku ini, aku kuliah sambil kerja. Hasilnya memang tidak banyak, tetapi aku puas dan ibuku bangga. Itu saja sudah cukup.

“Risa, ada telpon tuh. Hpmu bunyi.”

Aku bergegas ke ruang karyawan. Dari kakak.

“Sa, cepat ke rumah sakit. Penyakit mama kambuh, sedang kritis. Cepat.”

*

Sepanjang perjalananku ke rumah sakit, pikiranku hanya ibuku, hari-hari bersamanya, dan juga, kata-kata yang belum sempat ku ucapkan. Kata-kata yang selalu tertunda karena alasanku yang banyak itu.

“Ma, Risa sayang mama. Risa janji akan jaga mama. Jadi, berikan Risa kesempatan itu, ya. I love you.”

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This is by yours truly, of course.

I think I'll translate it to English some time later.

Anyway, thank you for reading and comments and critics are welcomed and greatly appreciated! (too many 'and's)

P.S. Don't put off till tomorrow what you have to say today.. LoL.. :)

A Choice

A Choice

 “Good evening,” The waitress of the café greeted me as I pushed open the wooden door. Her smile was warm, as the drinks sold in the café were. The warmth was just right.

“Good evening,” I smiled as I replied. She brought me to an empty table. I nodded at her as she gestured me to sit. After taking down my orders, she left me to my book. Not long after that, my order came. I looked on while the same waitress put them on the table.

I glanced at what she had put for a while longer before I turned my head to her. She replied my glance with the warm smile.

“Thank you,” I said. And she left, returning me to my book.

It was really a wonderful evening. Country music could be heard from the speakers at the corners of the small café. It was my favourite genre of music. There were not many people in the café. It was such a shame I could not share this amazing feeling of simple happiness with others.

A while later, the manager of the café decided to join me. She took the empty seat on my side. She was my best friend since junior high school. We parted our ways after senior high when she decided to open this café and I furthered my studies at the university. We still remained best friends and kept in touch during those times.

Enjoying the company of the country music, my favourite book, my favourite cake, and with my best friend sitting just next to me, it was a perfect evening.

“How come you are alone?” She said, starting short conversation for the evening.

“Wonderful evening, isn’t it?” I said. She looked at me with a puzzled expression. I decided to ignore it as I put a slice of cake into my mouth.

“Stacy,” She said, her eyes still focused at me.

After taking a sip of the coffee, I turned to face her.

“We’ve broken up,” I said. Her eyes widened. She wanted to say something, but nothing came out of her opened mouth.

“Just now,” Giving her a smile before I continued. “Five minutes before I came here. He said he had wanted to meet me here, but I guess he did not want to waste any more of our time. Here, this is his message.”

“Stacy, you have the right to express it if you feel sad. Cry it out, you’ll feel much better. I’m here for you, if there’s anything you need, just name it,” She held my hand which I stretched out to let her read the message in the phone I was holding to.

I shook my head. “Why should I cry? I don’t really feel sad.”

“Stacy, don’t force yourself. You…”

“No, I am not forcing myself. What you said just now, it goes to prove that I should be happy. I have you, my family, and a lot of people around me. Why should I feel sad just because he left me?”

She did not say a word. Instead she kept her eyes on me, looking straight at me.

I looked at the coffee in my hand and put it back on the table. It was still full. My sip just now did not cause any difference.

“I really can’t drink coffee. You should exhort that new waitress of yours. She keeps taking the wrong orders since just now. You’ll lose a lot of customers. Not many are as patient as I am,” I smiled at her as I stood up. The waitress was busy hurrying from table to table, apologizing. “Put it on my tab. I’ll pay them at the end of the month.”

“Oh, and you really need to oil these hinges. This door is starting to creak,” I added as I opened the wooden door. She stood behind me, her eyes full of sympathy.

“Come on, Claire. I’m fine, really. Happiness is a choice. He didn’t give me happiness. I chose to be happy when he’s around me. Now, I can still choose to be happy when he’s not with me. I choose to see this day as a wonderful evening, because I choose to be happy. I’m fine. I’ll call you later.”

I turned my back to her and took my umbrella from my bag. The rain was still as heavy as it was when I came here just now.

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Another short story finished!

I wrote an Indonesian version of this to join @writingsession's writing session (LOL!!!)
And I decided to translate it to English, since it got best of the night, since the admin of @writingsession gave such sweet comments on the Indonesian version.
It was labeled 'Happy'.. The theme of the night was 'Happy'...
Why did I wrote a not-so-happy story for the 'Happy' theme?
Coz I wanted to do things out of the box?? LoL...
I have no idea why, but a story of this type came into my mind when I read the theme.


Don't forget!!!

Happiness is a Choice. No one gave you happiness. You choose to be happy!

By the way, critiques and comments are definitely welcomed and appreciated!

Thank you for reading....

Lidya C.Y.

Love, Me

Love, Me

I would often stop by her classroom just to take a look at her. Even a glimpse of her would be more than enough to make my day. This became part of my everyday schedule during that time. I was contented just by seeing her smile at me. We did not have much chance to go out together, though sometimes she would sneak out during Saturday evenings when I had some time out from my college and my part time jobs.

My family was not of the wealthy class and my college fees were funded by the scholarship I received. That was one of the things I was able to be proud of, I was one of the few who managed to secure a full scholarship in the famous college. Another one would be the fact that one of the most eligible bachelorette in town was my girlfriend.

We knew each other when she was buying a book in the school’s bookshop where I was part-timing at. It was love at first sight. Our friends would always say that we were a perfect couple. I had to agree. But there was one problem in our relationship though, her father.

Her father was a well-known businessman. I was majoring in architecture and he was unsure of my future. Thus, disapproving our relationship. She tried so hard to persuade him. But her persuasion would just end with her father locking her up, and not allowing her to go out for the rest of the day. Despite all this, she did not give up. This was one of the many things I love about her, her determination. Once she’s determined to do something, nothing could change her mind.

She proposed to me that we could leave this town together. I was shocked at first but as I looked into her eyes, I knew that she was not going to give this plan up.

When that day arrived, I packed my things and went to the spot where we were supposed to meet. But instead of her warm smile, a note of her handwriting greeted me. It said that she had work to do and that she would come and meet me once she was finished.

It did not really go as we planned. We did not manage to leave the town, but we did manage to prove to her father that I was worthy of his daughter.

**

“Grandpa!” My grandson’s voice brought me back to reality.

I was standing in front of a church where my grandson and I stopped to pray for my beloved wife’s deteriorating health. Then, I took a piece of paper out of my pocket. It was the letter she wrote to me years ago. I handed it to my grandson. He read it as I told him this note's little story.


Then, I received a phone call from my son. He urged me to go to the hospital immediately.


She was lying there weakly, her face pale. But I could still see the smile that I loved so much.


I sat down beside her, holding her hand in mine.

If you get there before I do, don’t give up on me. I’ll meet you when my chores are through. I don’t know how long I’ll be. But I’m not going to let you down. Darling, wait and see.

And between now and then, till I see you again, I’ll be loving you.

Love,

Me

I said these words, which she once wrote to me, to her.

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Inspired by : Love Me, by Collin Raye

Like I wrote in one of my previous posts, I LOVE THIS SONG!!!!!!!!!!

My eyes were in tears every time I sing it (in my heart, I have zero courage to sing it aloud as I would definitely not able to finish it, coz I'll be crying my heart out.. LoL )

Actually I've always wanted to write stories inspired by songs..

AND THIS IS THE FIRST ONE!!!!!!!

It's not fully done yet. So  I think I'll edit it every once in a while.

Or perhaps write another version of it~!!!!

Note : Find the lyrics here : Love, Me