The days after Daffa and Calista's first meeting on the Rooftop unfolded in a way neither of them had ever imagined. No major changes were immediately apparent, but something was slowly shifting. The place that had once been nothing more than a space for Daffa to be alone was beginning to take on a new meaning.
Every late afternoon, without ever making any official plans, they always ended up in the same place.
The Rooftop.
Daffa was getting used to hearing Calista's footsteps as she opened the rusted metal door. He was beginning to recognize her little habits, like the way Calista always fixed her hair when the wind blew too hard, or how she always read a few pages of her book before spending more time gazing at the sky.
That afternoon, Daffa was already sitting there, twirling a pen in his hand.
“You got here early,” Calista said when she saw him.
Daffa turned toward her.
“You're late.”
Calista glanced at the watch on her wrist.
“It's only five minutes.”
“Five minutes is still late.”
“Wow, you're serious.”
Daffa smiled faintly.
“I'm just stating a fact.”
Calista sat in the chair beside him. This time, she wasn't carrying the blue book that was usually always in her hands.
“Where's your book?” Daffa asked.
“At home.”
“Why?”
“Because today I want to talk.”
Daffa looked at her curiously.
“You usually come here to read.”
“Yeah.”
“And now?”
“Now I want to know more about the guy who sits quietly here every day.”
Daffa let out a soft laugh.
“I'm not interesting.”
“Everyone says that about themselves.”
“Because it's true.”
Calista shook her head.
“No. Sometimes people feel ordinary because they spend too much time looking at their own flaws.”
Daffa fell silent.
The sentence sounded simple, but for some reason, it felt surprisingly profound.
“Do you talk like that a lot?” Daffa asked.
“Like what?”
“Like someone ten years older.”
Calista laughed.
“I'll take that as a compliment.”
“It wasn't a compliment.”
“But I'm accepting it anyway.”
Daffa only shook his head with a smile.
Their conversation continued. Little things Daffa had never told anyone before slowly began to come out. His favorite foods, his habit of listening to music while studying, even the ridiculous story about accidentally walking into the wrong classroom on his first day of school.
Calista laughed for quite a while when she heard that story.
“You seriously walked into someone else's class?”
“Yeah.”
“And then?”
“I sat there for almost five minutes before I realized.”
“Oh my God, Daffa.”
“Don't laugh.”
“I can't help it.”
Daffa smiled too when he saw her reaction.
Strange.
Usually, he didn't like it when someone laughed at him.
But with Calista, everything felt different.
As the sun began to sink, Calista suddenly asked a question that changed the mood.
“Daffa.”
“Hmm?”
“Have you ever lost someone?”
The question wiped the smile from Daffa's face.
He looked at the sky as its colors began to change.
“Yeah.”
Calista didn't immediately ask anything else. She simply waited.
Daffa appreciated that.
Not everyone knew how to stay quiet without pressuring someone to talk.
“I used to have a close friend back in middle school,” Daffa said softly. “His name was Raka.”
“What happened?”
“He moved to another city with his family.”
“Do you still keep in touch?”
Daffa shook his head.
“At first, yeah. Eventually, we lost touch.”
Calista lowered her gaze.
“That must have been hard.”
“Not really.”
“You're lying.”
Daffa looked at her.
“Why?”
“Because the way you talk about it shows that you still remember.”
Daffa didn't answer.
Calista was right.
Some people leave our lives without ever truly leaving our thoughts.
“What about you?” Daffa asked in return. “Have you ever lost someone?”
Calista fell silent.
For a few seconds, she only looked at the buildings in the distance.
“Yes.”
Her answer was quieter than usual.
Daffa didn't want to pressure her.
But Calista continued.
“There used to be someone I was very close to.”
“Who?”
“Someone who once made me feel like I had a place to come home to.”
Daffa studied Calista's face.
“But now?”
Calista gave a faint smile.
“Now that person isn't in my life anymore.”
“They left?”
“Yeah.”
“Because you had a fight?”
Calista shook her head.
“Sometimes it isn't because that person wanted to leave.”
“Then what?”
“Sometimes circumstances force someone to leave behind something they love.”
Daffa fell silent.
He sensed there was something Calista was hiding.
A big story she wasn't ready to tell yet.
But he didn't ask.
Not yet.
The late-afternoon wind blew again. This time, it was colder than usual.
Calista tugged at the hem of her sweater.
“It's cold.”
Daffa took off the jacket he was wearing.
“Put this on.”
Calista immediately shook her head.
“No, it's okay.”
“Just wear it.”
“Then you'll get cold.”
“I can handle it.”
Calista gave him an amused look.
“Do you always pretend to be so tough?”
Daffa fell silent.
The question struck at something he had been hiding all this time.
“Maybe.”
“Why?”
Daffa looked down at his own hands.
“Because if I look weak, people will worry.”
“And then?”
“I don't like making other people worry.”
Calista accepted the jacket.
“Daffa.”
“Yeah?”
“It's okay to let other people know that you're not always okay.”
Daffa looked at her.
For the first time, he felt that someone was truly paying attention to him.
Not just seeing what he chose to show.
But trying to understand what he kept hidden.
Before they left, Calista stood up first.
“Are you coming back tomorrow?”
Daffa slipped his hands into his pockets.
“Probably.”
Calista smiled.
“Your answer's still the same.”
“Why?”
“Because you always come.”
Daffa couldn't argue with that.
Calista walked toward the Rooftop door.
But before she went out, she stopped.
“Oh, right.”
“What?”
“Thanks for the jacket.”
Daffa nodded.
“You're welcome.”
Calista smiled, then left.
Daffa remained where he was.
He watched the sky slowly lose its orange glow.
Something inside him had changed.
He used to come to the Rooftop looking for peace.
Now he came because he wanted to see someone.
And without realizing it, that someone was beginning to become part of the reason he waited for sunset.