After helping Mom finish the housework, I quickly got ready to head to Batavia Cafe.
It was just before nine when I was already on my way.
When I arrived, I saw Rizal sitting with a woman.
However, I couldn't see her face yet because she had her back to me.
All I could see were the clothes she was wearing.
A purple hijab.
A white shirt and white jeans.
A long-sleeved shirt layered over them, combining purple and white.
Just seeing her from a distance was enough to make me hesitate about meeting her.
Was I really supposed to do this?
Rizal saw me.
"Rai! Over here!"
I took a deep breath.
Bismillah.
I hoped everything would be okay.
I walked toward their table.
As I was about to shake Rizal's hand, then the woman's, I suddenly froze in shock.
I saw her face.
My hand was still clasping hers.
But my body was frozen in place.
I stood there like a statue.
This time, I truly couldn't do anything.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
I could even count my own heartbeats.
My heart was pounding, but strangely, it felt so slow.
Masya Allah.
How could this be happening?
Was this really real?
The woman standing in front of me was the exact same woman.
The woman I had seen in my dream that morning.
"Hey, Rai. Stop spacing out. Let go of Sherly's hand."
Rizal's voice snapped me out of my daze.
"Uh—oh... yeah."
I quickly let go of her hand.
"Sorry."
My mouth felt incredibly nervous.
Sherly merely smiled, holding back her laughter as she watched me.
"Haha, relax, Raihan. What got into you? You've been staring at Sherly this whole time. She's pretty, right?"
Rizal teased me again.
"Hehe... yeah, she's beautiful."
I swallowed.
"But that's not the only thing that surprised me."
I looked at Sherly.
"I've met Ms. Sherly before."
Rizal frowned.
"Where?"
I answered seriously.
"And she dumped water on me."
Rizal immediately burst out laughing.
"What? You two have met before?"
"No, we haven't."
Sherly answered, looking confused.
"Not even once."
"You're rambling, Rai. Don't make things up. Maybe you mistook her for someone else."
I shook my head.
"I really met Ms. Sherly at dawn today."
Sherly stared at me.
"Seriously?"
I nodded.
"But it was in a dream."
Rizal fell silent.
Sherly fell silent too.
Then I explained my entire dream to them.
Starting with the dark hallway, the mysterious woman, and Sherly's face, all the way to the scene where she dumped water on me.
As soon as I finished telling the story, the two of them burst into loud laughter.
All I could do was scratch my head.
"This is one incredible coincidence, Rai."
Rizal was still laughing.
"Maybe you two are meant to be together."
"You're something else."
I sighed.
"So, what about the offer you made yesterday?"
I glanced at Sherly.
"I think I'll just give it a try for now. We can be friends and figure out what comes next later. But if Sherly doesn't want to, that's fine too."
Sherly only smiled shyly.
Then she nodded.
"Okay."
Rizal slapped the table.
"You two should get to know each other now. Ask whatever you want to know."
He pointed at me.
"And don't call her Ms. Sherly. She's the same age as you."
"Okay."
Our conversation lasted quite a while.
Before we knew it, an hour had passed.
We talked about all kinds of things.
Our education, jobs, hobbies, families—even little things that weren't actually important.
But for some reason, everything felt enjoyable.
Before heading home, we exchanged contact information.
Facebook.
Instagram.
WhatsApp.
I said goodbye to Rizal and Sherly.
On the way home, my thoughts kept returning to one thing.
The woman in my dream.
And the woman I had just met.
They were the same person.
A coincidence?
Or something bigger than that?
I didn't know.
What I did know was that day had given me a reason to begin opening, just a little, the door I had kept tightly shut all this time.