“Are all the things you’re bringing tomorrow packed, Raysa?”
“Yep, Lina. The flight’s at eight tomorrow morning, right?”
“Yeah. Let’s just go straight to the airport tomorrow. We’ll meet at the cafe.”
“Okay, Lina. I’ll let you know when I get there.”
Alina only read the message Raysa had sent without replying.
If you’re wondering where Alina was going, the answer was Jogjakarta. Yes, Alina was going to Jogja. But not for a vacation—for work. A business trip, as Alina called it. To understand why Alina had suddenly been assigned an unexpected business trip, we have to go back two days.
On Monday morning, just after Alina arrived at the office, Liam immediately told her that Ms. Sari, her supervisor, had asked to see her in her office. Alina set down her things and headed straight there. When she arrived, she saw Raysa, their new writer, already sitting in front of Ms. Sari.
*Oh no. Is there something wrong with my work?* Alina thought as she glanced at Raysa, who was sitting there with a smile.
“Alina, this Wednesday, you’ll be accompanying Raysa to Jogja for one month.”
“One month, ma’am? Isn’t that a little long?” Alina asked in confusion.
“No. Raysa will explain what the two of you need to do there. But your main task will be helping Raysa finish her manuscript,” Ms. Sari continued.
“All right, ma’am.”
“Well then, you two can get back to work.” Ms. Sari dismissed us from her office.
Alina and Raysa nodded and walked out of Ms. Sari’s office.
“Ray, why are we suddenly going to Jogja? What did you talk about with Ms. Sari?” Alina asked, puzzled.
“Lina, I know you’ve had a lot on your mind, so I wanted to take you on a little healing trip. It’s not like we could take time off, right? So I asked for a business trip instead, using ‘researching inspiration’ as the reason,” Raysa explained with a mischievous smile.
It wasn’t impossible for Raysa to pull something like that off. Although she was a new writer, she was also Ms. Sari’s favorite niece. But don’t get the wrong idea. Raysa’s writing was excellent for a beginner. She had already won numerous scriptwriting contests, from short stories and poetry to novels. That was why, when Alina’s company opened applications to find new writers, Raysa’s work stood out as one of the most promising entries. The only thing was, only a few people knew that Raysa was Ms. Sari’s niece. Alina and Liam were among them. Ms. Sari had asked Alina to keep it a secret, while Liam found out by accident when Raysa let it slip and called Ms. Sari “Auntie” while the two of them were in the same room.
“But, Raysa, one month is too long. What exactly are you planning to do there?”
“My dear Lina, if we only stayed for a week, we’d be exhausted from running all over the place, and I wouldn’t have any time to write. Writing requires peace and quiet, you know. You can’t rush it.”
“You’re unbelievable. Fine, Ms. Sari already approved it anyway. But don’t forget to send in your manuscript today. You haven’t forgotten that today is the deadline, have you?” Alina asked, narrowing her eyes at Raysa.
“Yes, I’ll send it at two after lunch. Well, I’ll get going, Lina.” Raysa smiled and hurried to the writers’ room.
Now, back to the present. Alina was checking her things one by one before her departure the next morning. Clothes, snacks, her laptop, and everything else she needed were already packed. Alina had also checked on Raysa, just in case she had forgotten anything. Raysa hoped everything would go smoothly during their time in Jogja.