The midday sunlight on this Sunday pierced through the room's ventilation slats, bringing with it a stifling heat that prickled Lyra's skin. The wall clock showed twelve-thirty. Mom's brief break between her weekend shifts had once again turned into a battlefield. Even on Sundays, Mom still had to work herself to the bone to keep the household afloat.
"This is the only side dish?! We eat this stuff every day! Do you even mean to cook or not?!" Dad's shout exploded from the kitchen.
"Where else am I supposed to get the money?! My paycheck barely covers anything. How is it supposed to be enough for fancy food?! I'm trying to rest for a minute, so please stop picking fights all the time," Mom shot back tiredly, her breathing ragged, her work uniform still wrinkled.
Behind her tightly closed bedroom door, Lyra stood frozen in front of the cracked mirror in the corner of the room. She had stopped halfway through buttoning her shirt. She closed her eyes for a moment, holding back the tightness in her chest.
She used to feel a rush of pity whenever she heard Mom being yelled at. But now, that feeling had slowly gone numb, replaced by an overwhelming exhaustion. Dad was blatantly unemployed and just freeloading, yet Mom still gave in and defended the man every time Lyra told her to stand up for herself or leave him.
Mom chose to stay here, Lyra thought bitterly. So what am I supposed to do?
Just as she felt like her head was about to split open, the phone on her bed suddenly lit up again and again.
Jeni: “Ra! Where are you? Come hang out with me at the shopping district! I wanna look for some clothes, pleeease come with me :(”
Jeni: “Let’s take a Grab, okay? On the way back, you can ride with me so it won’t be a hassle!”
To someone else, a midday message like that might have been nothing more than an ordinary invitation to hang out. But to Lyra, her vocational-school friend's message was an emergency escape route.
Without thinking twice, she quickly replied: “I’m leaving now.”
Lyra speedily combed her hair, straightened her shirt, then grabbed the crossbody bag on her bed. She took a deep breath and stepped out of the room, pushing through the cold, toxic atmosphere of the kitchen without looking back—leaving her parents to drown in the whirlpool of problems they had deliberately chosen to maintain themselves.
The sun felt scorching when Lyra finally got off the back of the Grab motorcycle she had ridden. She straightened her slightly rumpled shirt before walking toward a small outdoor-style café connected to a trendy clothing store in the shopping district where they had arranged to meet.
Actually, Lyra had planned to bring her own scooter from home for convenience. But Jeni had firmly forbidden it over the phone. “If we both bring our own bikes, it’ll be a pain trying to follow each other, Ra! You’d better take a Grab. Then on the way back, you can ride with me if we’re headed the same way!” As a result, Lyra was now sitting in a corner seat at the café, ordering a glass of iced milk coffee to cool her head.
It didn't take long before a scooter stopped right in front of the café. A girl wearing a Bogo helmet and sunglasses perched on top of her head got off with a dramatic flourish. Who else could it be but Jeni?
"Ugh, sorry, Ra! I had to stop and pay an installment first, and then the traffic was as bad as a food-aid line," Jeni babbled as she dropped into the seat across from Lyra without any fuss. Shamelessly, she snatched Lyra's iced coffee and drank it until only a quarter remained.
Lyra could only glare at her friend's behavior. "Seriously, Jen. I'd only taken two sips of my iced coffee, and you just demolished half of it."
"Oh, come on. Don't be so stingy with your own friend. I'll replace it with a jumbo one later," Jeni snickered, wiping the sweat from her forehead. "So? Is everything safe at home?"
"Yeah... you know how things get at my house during the sacred twelve-thirty hour, right?" Lyra sighed, leaning back in her chair.
Jeni nodded sympathetically. "Is your dad still addicted to making trouble?"
"It's not just making trouble anymore. It's basically his favorite hobby," Lyra replied flatly. "That's why when you texted asking me to go shopping with you, I felt like I'd found a Doraemon door. Thanks, Jen."
"Well... think of it as helping you escape from earthly hell," Jeni teased with a grin. "By the way, Ales doesn't know we're out, right? I'm in the mood for pure girls' time today. It'd be such a drag if that guy suddenly showed up and ruined the mood."
Lyra chuckled softly and shook her head. "We're good. He's busy with one of his projects."
"Great, that means your whole day belongs to me!" Jeni laughed. "I need a fashion stylist. I want to find something with a cute vibe that still makes me look like an independent woman. You get it?"
Lyra rolled her eyes. "Cute but independent woman? Are you shopping for clothes or applying for a job at a preschool?"
"You're so annoying!" Jeni slapped Lyra's arm.
"Whatever. You have to help me pick things out later. Come on, let's go inside!"
The two of them walked into the clothing store, which was packed with racks of trendy clothes. Jeni went wild sorting through shirts, culottes, and casual dresses, while Lyra dutifully followed behind, offering honest commentary.
After browsing for a while, Jeni stopped in front of a mannequin displaying a pink floral dress.
"Ra... Ra... help me, Ra..." Jeni's voice sounded panicked from inside the fitting room.
"What happened? Is the zipper stuck?"
The fitting-room door opened a crack. Jeni peeked through with her face flushed and both arms stiffly raised above her head—trapped inside a pink dress that had only made it halfway up to her chest.
"Ra... I'm stuck..." she whispered, on the verge of tears.
Lyra stared at her in confusion. "Why are your hands up like that? You look like you're about to be arrested!"
"I forced myself into a size S, Ra!" Jeni babbled in a panic, wriggling absurdly as she tried to escape, only getting more stuck.
"When I pulled it down, my shoulders got caught! When I tried to pull it back up, the fabric was too tight around my chest. I can't lower my arms, the lining is electrocuting my neck, and I can't breathe!"
"Are you insane? You knew it was a size S and still charged in!" Lyra had been holding back her laughter, but finally burst out laughing in the fitting-room hallway at Jeni's failed-wax-statue shape.
"Help me, you jerk! You're supposed to help, not watch a show!" Jeni scolded, panting from behind the fabric. "I feel like I'm tied up in wrapping ribbon!"
"Stop moving so much, or you'll tear someone else's dress even more!" Lyra said, clutching her stomach, which was cramping from laughing.
Still trying to hold back her laughter, Lyra stepped inside. She grasped the bottom of the dress and, after giving Jeni a quiet countdown, slowly pulled it upward while helping Jeni free her elbows one at a time.
Riiip... pop!
Jeni's head and arms finally came free. Her hair was a mess, like she'd just been caught in a tornado. She immediately clutched her chest and gulped down as much air as she could.
After three minutes on the road, Jeni's scooter finally stopped in the parking area of a fairly busy roadside meatball stall. The savory aroma of broth mixed with spices immediately greeted their noses.
"I'm ordering a double serving of tendon meatballs and two sweet iced teas, period. My neck needs cell regeneration!" Jeni declared dramatically as she pulled Lyra toward an empty table in the corner.
"Yeah, right... watch you pretend to forget when it's time to pay," Lyra teased with a chuckle as she sat down and placed her bag on the neighboring chair.
While they waited for the meatball vendor to prepare their order, Jeni leaned back in her chair and folded her arms on the table, watching Lyra fuss with the position of her ponytail.
"Your life is pretty convenient, huh?" Jeni began casually, breaking the silence. "Things get heated at home, you just text me and run off shopping. If I'm not available, you can always run to Ales's place."
Lyra chuckled softly. Her hand picked up the straw holder in the corner of the table and casually spun it around. "Where else would I go? Ever since vocational school, I've only had two escape routes: either you or Ales's house."
"Exactly..." Jeni leaned forward slightly, propping her chin on one hand. Her eyes studied Lyra with ordinary curiosity. "Sometimes I wonder, Ra..."
"Wonder about what?"
"Back then... when Ales was going to marry his late wife... did you ever think, 'Why wasn't it me?' Or, you know, wonder why Ales didn't just marry you instead? You two have been stuck together like postage stamps since forever."
Lyra's hand, which had been arranging the soy sauce bottles, paused for a moment. There was no panic on her face, only the soft exhale of someone who had received that question far too many times.
"No... of course not," Lyra replied calmly, then looked at Jeni. "Ales and I are purely friends, Jen. Besides, you know what I've always thought about marriage, right? The second I hear the word 'marriage,' I picture my parents fighting at home. When Ales got married, I was actually relieved that he'd found a good woman who could make him happy."
Jeni nodded slowly, fully understanding the trauma her best friend carried. "Yeah... you've always been seriously allergic to the subject of marriage."
Before their conversation could wander any further, the meatball vendor arrived with a tray. Two steaming bowls of double servings of tendon meatballs were set on the table, followed by two glasses of sweet iced tea beaded with condensation.
"There it is! Our nutritional savior!" Jeni cried, her eyes lighting up at the meatballs in front of her.
Lyra smiled faintly. She reached into the utensil holder and grabbed a spoon and fork. Without realizing it—purely out of a habit built over years—Lyra began cutting her large tendon meatballs into tiny, bite-sized pieces, exactly the way Ales had always insisted whenever they ate together.
Jeni, who had just been about to mix her chili sauce, glanced at Lyra's hands. She held back a small smile, then cleared her throat softly.
"See? Even your reflexes have caught Ales's habits," Jeni teased, pointing at Lyra's bowl with her chili spoon. "Have you two seriously never thought about trying... you know, being more than friends? I mean, Ales is single again now."
Lyra had just swallowed her first piece of meatball when she suddenly choked lightly. She hurriedly sucked on her sweet iced tea, then stared at Jeni with deeply furrowed brows, her expression a mix of confusion and amusement.
"Huh?! Did getting strangled by that pink dress actually scramble your brain?" Lyra said in disbelief. "Think about it, Jen... Ales and I have known each other's ugly sides since vocational school. I know how he snores, and he knows that when I cry, my nose runs all over my face. Forget marriage or dating—just imagining the two of us like that is so damn gross!"
Jeni burst out laughing at her best friend's honest reaction. "Hey... I was just asking, Ra! Maybe beneath all that stubborn laughter of yours, there are some hidden little sparks."
"There are no little plant sprouts of any kind, Jeni," Lyra replied, rolling her eyes, though a small laugh escaped her lips. "My life is already stressful enough dealing with the house and my business, Jen. Don't add some ridiculous romance drama to it. We're fine like this—helping each other when things get difficult, without all the jealousy. Besides, why would Ales want me?"
"Yeah, I guess... better than adding another burden to your mind," Jeni said at last, nodding in understanding. She then grabbed the soy sauce bottle and pointed at Lyra with her spoon. "Anyway, eat those meatballs. The broth's going to get cold, and you'll get as greasy as your face when you're stressed."
"Shut up!" Lyra lightly kicked Jeni's table leg underneath.
After finishing every last bite of their bowls and paying the bill, Lyra and Jeni leisurely walked out toward the parking area. The midday air, which had been scorching before, was gradually growing cooler beneath the trees lining the sidewalk.
"Ugh, I'm so full. I feel like my soul has come back at a hundred percent," Jeni muttered, stretching both arms overhead.
"Well, you ate like someone who hadn't seen food in three days," Lyra mocked with a chuckle as she reached into her bag for her motorcycle keys—before remembering that she'd taken a Grab here. "Oh, right... I rode with you here."
"See! That's why it's a good thing you listened to me," Jeni said proudly, patting the seat of her scooter.
"Come on. Since I'm feeling generous, I'll take you home."
Lyra had just started walking toward Jeni's scooter when her eyes accidentally caught sight of a cart selling wooden toys and small accessories parked in the corner of the lot. Among the colorful keychains and hair clips was a wooden bird whistle that made the sounds of water and flapping wings when blown.
Lyra stopped in her tracks.
Ion.
The image of that little boy suddenly crossed her mind. The moment she saw the bright blue wooden toy, Lyra's brain instinctively pictured Ion's delighted face and how excited he would get if he saw something like this.
He'd absolutely love it, Lyra thought. Without realizing it, she curved her lips into a faint smile. She immediately changed direction and headed toward the cart.
"Hey, Ra? Where are you going?" Jeni called, confused, from atop the motorcycle.
Lyra didn't answer. She was busy picking out the best wooden bird toy from the cart, then handed the vendor a ten-thousand-rupiah bill.
"Who's that for, Ra? Did you get possessed or something? Why'd you suddenly buy a kindergartener's toy?" Jeni asked in confusion when Lyra returned to the motorcycle, twirling the wooden bird in her hand.
"For Ion," Lyra answered casually, carefully placing the toy inside her crossbody bag so it wouldn't get damaged. "It's cute. I suddenly thought of him. His head would bob around like crazy when he blew into this."
Jeni, who was fastening her helmet strap, suddenly stopped moving. She stared at Lyra for a long moment, from the top of her head to the bag holding the toy, her expression difficult to read.
Lyra furrowed her brow, feeling Jeni's gaze. "Why are you looking at me like that? Is something weird?"
Jeni only smiled faintly—this time without the mocking tone or playful teasing she'd used at the meatball stall. She slowly shook her head, then started her motorcycle.
"Nothing," Jeni replied softly. "I just realized... your reflexes with Ion are already completely natural, huh, Ra?"
Lyra was briefly stunned by her words. Jeni's words touched a warm spot in her chest that she had been trying to ignore. But before the feeling could wander any further, Lyra quickly smacked Jeni's shoulder a little too hard.
"Enough, let's go! You keep talking all poetic and it gives me a headache," Lyra deflected as she climbed onto the back of the motorcycle.
Jeni only laughed out loud before twisting the throttle and cutting through the late-afternoon streets. On the back seat, the evening breeze brushed Lyra's face, blowing away the remnants of her exhaustion after spending the day escaping from home. Her left hand instinctively stroked the surface of her crossbody bag, making sure the ten-thousand-rupiah blue wooden bird for Ion was safely stored inside and not crushed.
A faint smile curved her lips. The tightness in her chest from her parents' argument that afternoon slowly evaporated, replaced by a simple warmth. No matter how stingy the world was with safety in her own home, Lyra knew... there were always little reasons that made her want to go home.
**** To be continued!