That night, the guesthouse felt utterly deserted. The laughter and warm conversation of the extended family that had filled the room just a few hours earlier had fallen silent, replaced by an emptiness broken only by the ticking of the wall clock.
Outside, raindrops still fell one by one onto the roof, adding to the chill creeping in beneath the blankets.
Riza sat on the edge of the bed, staring blankly at the tips of her toes. Her thoughts drifted toward a date that was drawing ever closer.
One more week.
Only seven days remained before she truly set foot outside her homeland and headed to a foreign land. The image of the plane ticket tucked neatly inside the drawer kept flashing through her mind.
Jakarta (CGK) — Tokyo Narita (NRT)
A long journey she had once dared to speak of only in her nightly prayers. To Riza, that ticket was more than an ordinary piece of paper. It was tangible proof of the sweat, tears, and sleepless nights she had endured to reach her dream university.
Yet beneath the swelling pride lay a seed of unease that refused to leave.
Can I really survive on my own in a foreign country? she whispered softly.
Images of Dad, Mom, and her siblings took turns spinning through her head. Home was where she always returned, a warm embrace that never failed to heal her wounds. Now, that warmth would be separated from her by thousands of kilometers and miles of open sea.
What if I fail there? What if I can't adapt?
Anxiety crept in deeper, squeezing her chest. Riza let out a long breath, trying to ease the tightness. She pulled up the blanket and lay down, then turned off the room light.
That night, Riza wasn't merely trying to close her eyes. She was also struggling to make peace with her own fears.
A week passed as quickly as the flutter of a bird's wings. Then the morning of her departure arrived.
Soekarno-Hatta International Airport rumbled with the bustle of humanity. The sound of suitcase wheels scraping across the floor, overlapping flight announcements, and sobs of farewell blended into the roar of the morning air.
Amid that sea of people, Riza walked slowly, flanked by two large suitcases and a black backpack that felt heavy.
Riza Arsyila Fadhila. At twenty-three, the sixth of eight siblings had just completed her undergraduate studies. And now, fate was leading her into a far greater new chapter.
Her dream of setting foot in the Land of the Rising Sun was not a courage that had appeared overnight.
It had all begun in her childhood. Little Riza was a true anime fan. Almost every afternoon after school, her eyes would stay glued to the TV screen, absorbing stories of adventure and friendship.
Without realizing it, that TV screen became her first window into Japan. Images of cherry-blossom petals falling in the wind, clean and peaceful city streets, magnificent red-roofed shrines, and the precise speed of bullet trains gradually nurtured a fascination that set her heart ablaze.
During college, that dream was watered once more by the advice of one of her professors, who had graduated from a university in Japan. The professor spoke not only of the country's technological and research achievements, but also of its culture of discipline, work ethic, and respect—the very breath of life for the people there.
From that day on, Riza's resolve grew stronger. She didn't want to be merely a tourist visiting Japan for a vacation. She wanted to live there, study, and transform herself into a stronger person.
Of course, great dreams always demanded an equal price.
Soaring costs, complicated paperwork, mentally exhausting language exams, and fierce scholarship competition had all slammed Riza against the wall of reality. Not to mention the whispers of doubt that often found their way to her ears.
"Studying abroad is hard, Riza."
"A lot of people give up halfway."
"Why not just pursue your master's degree here at home?"
But Riza chose to turn other people's doubts into fuel.
At night, while everyone else slept soundly, Riza shut herself away to study Japanese. On weekends, she hunted down scholarship seminars, talked with alumni, and saved every bit of her remaining allowance to pay for the exam fees.
There were times when she wanted to give up. Days when her language-exam scores fell short of her target and tears dripped onto the sheets of questions. But whenever exhaustion whispered the word "give up," Riza embraced her goal once more. She wanted to prove that even a child from a modest family had the right to dream as high as the sky.
Then that miraculous day arrived. An email notification appeared on her phone.
Subject: Admission and Scholarship Award Notification - Master's Program
Her fingers trembled violently as she read each sentence on the screen. The full scholarship had officially fallen into her hands. Riza rubbed her eyes again and again, making sure she wasn't dreaming in the middle of the day.
That day, tears of happiness burst forth in her living room, expressed through just three halting words from her lips:
"Dad... Mom... I got in."
Now, all those sacrifices and tears had led her here, to the international departure gates of Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.
Mom stepped closer and straightened Riza's jacket collar with her aging, slightly wrinkled fingers. It was a small habit that had never changed since Riza was still wearing her elementary school uniform.
"Take care of yourself, sweetheart. Don't skip meals," Mom whispered. Her voice trembled as she held back her tears.
Riza nodded firmly, even though her eyes were already brimming with tears.
Dad patted her shoulder, gentle but warm. "Wherever you set foot, sweetheart... never abandon your prayers, stay humble, and remember the way home."
His message was simple, yet it pierced straight into the depths of her chest. Riza could no longer hold back her emotion. She threw her arms tightly around Dad, then turned to hug Mom and her siblings. Not one of them wanted to be the first to let go.
"This is the final call for passengers on the flight to Tokyo Narita. Please proceed to the departure gate..."
The announcement from the airport's speaker finally brought that moment to an end. Riza drew a deep breath, trying to channel courage into every part of her chest.
"I'm going now, Dad, Mom..."
With slow but certain steps, she turned toward immigration. Before going any farther, Riza took a moment to look back one last time.
In the corner over there, her beloved family was still standing and waving with their most sincere smiles, even though tears had already soaked their cheeks. Riza returned their wave with a warm smile.
Someday, I'll come back... and make you proud, she promised herself.
Riza walked through immigration. The glass doors behind her closed tightly. And before her now, a new chapter in the Land of the Rising Sun was ready to begin. ...
To be continued...