Saturday morning greeted the city with clear skies streaked with a soft gray glow. The last of the dew still clung to the leaves when Arka's car stopped along a small road near their old school complex. The place hadn't changed much. Rows of old, leafy mahogany trees still stood strong along the sidewalk, scattering the shadows of leaves dancing in the morning breeze.
Nara stepped out of the car, taking in the nostalgic scent that suddenly filled her chest. "I never thought I'd come back here with you," Nara murmured, gazing at the tall iron gate, now tightly closed for the holiday.
Arka joined her, slipping both hands into the pockets of his casual slacks. "Back then, every time the dismissal bell rang, I would always walk ten steps behind you along this sidewalk. Did you ever notice?"
Nara turned toward him with a mischievous smile. "Ten steps? So if I stopped suddenly, you'd run into me?"
"Almost. A few times, I had to pretend to stop and look at the ice cream vendor by the roadside just so I wouldn't seem suspicious," Arka replied with a bright laugh. His laughter now came so naturally, without a trace of strain.
They walked slowly along the damp stone sidewalk. Their steps fell into rhythm beside each other. Without a word, Arka's hand slowly reached out, his warm fingers slipping between Nara's. Their hands fit together perfectly, clasped tight, as though their palms had been made to complete each other. Nara felt a warm shiver rush all the way to the top of her head—a sense of safety she had never felt from anyone else.
"At that bus stop..." Nara pointed to an old bus shelter painted a faded green at the end of the road. "On the last day of exams, I waited for the bus there for almost two hours. I knew you were standing behind the telephone pole nearby. Why didn't you call me that day, Ka?"
Arka's steps slowed until they finally stopped right in front of the empty shelter. His gaze dimmed, hinting at the bitter memories hidden behind his eyes.
"That day... I already had a ticket to Bandung for that night," Arka whispered, his voice soft but clear amid the rustle of the morning wind. "My family's situation was a complete mess back then, Ra. My dad was trapped in massive debt after his business partner betrayed him, and our house was at risk of being seized. We had to leave that very night with barely any of our belongings. I knew that if I called out to you that day, I wouldn't have been able to walk away."
Nara held her breath. This was the first time Arka had touched on the reason behind his mysterious departure. For seven years, Nara had thought Arka had simply left without saying goodbye because he didn't care. But behind the man's silence was a heavy burden his young shoulders had been forced to bear.
"Arka..." Nara tightened her grip on his hand, looking at him with deep empathy. "Why did you carry all of it alone?"
Arka brushed his thumb over the back of Nara's hand, trying to soothe the woman in front of him. "Because I didn't want your memories of me to be stained by the wreckage of my life back then. I wanted to come back once I could stand tall, once I could promise that you wouldn't have to bear the weight of my past with me."
"But you don't have to be perfect to be loved, Ka," Nara cut in quickly, her voice trembling with emotion. "I never cared how complicated your life was back then. All I cared about was that you were there."
Arka stood frozen at Nara's words. A deep calm spread across his face, as though her sentence had just pulled out a thorn that had lodged in his heart for years. He moved closer and drew Nara into a tight, warm embrace. Nara rested her head against Arka's broad chest, listening to his steady, soothing heartbeat.
Beneath the shade of the old mahogany trees that had silently witnessed the years of their youth they had missed, two hearts once broken by time now gave each other strength. But just as that sweet silence enveloped them, the phone in Arka's pocket began vibrating hard, again and again.
Arka slowly released her, confusion crossing his face, then pulled out his phone and stared at the screen displaying an unknown number. When he answered the call and listened to the voice on the other end, the warmth in his expression abruptly turned tense. The color drained from his cheeks, replaced by deep anxiety.
"What is it, Ka?" Nara asked anxiously, seeing the drastic change in Arka's expression.
Arka lowered the phone with a slightly trembling hand and looked at Nara with deep regret. "It's... a call from a hospital in Bandung. My dad is in critical condition."