“You really came.” The voice trembled, nearly muffled by the thick fog blanketing Swara Park.
Arlan stopped right in front of the silhouette of a woman standing with her back to him.
“You’re the one who asked me to come in that message, Maya.”
The woman slowly turned around. Her breath appeared as white vapor in the cold night air.
“It wasn’t me. I never sent you any message.”
Arlan frowned, slipping his hand into his jacket pocket and touching the cold surface of his phone.
“Then who did? The message came from an unknown number. It mentioned that box.”
Maya stepped backward, her eyes widening.
“That box? Arlan, for God’s sake, what are you doing? You’re digging up the past that was supposed to be dead!”
“The past never really dies, Maya. It’s only buried, waiting for someone brave enough to bring it back to the surface,” Arlan replied in a low, hoarse voice.
“Brave? You call yourself brave?” Maya laughed bitterly, the sound more painful than a sob. “You’re the biggest coward I’ve ever known. You left without a word on the day that was supposed to be the beginning of our life together.”
“I had a reason, Maya. A reason I couldn’t explain back then.”
“Keep your reasons! I don’t need an explanation after five years!” Maya shouted. Her voice echoed among the trees of the abandoned Swara Park. “Do you know what I went through? Do you know what it felt like to stand in front of a makeshift altar in this park, waiting for the man who promised he’d protect me, only for him to vanish like smoke?”
Arlan tried to move closer, but Maya raised her hand, signaling him to stop.
“Don’t come any closer! One more step and I’ll scream.”
“Maya, please. Listen to me just once. Satria... he knows about us. He threatened me at Orange Café earlier.”
Maya’s face went pale. The dim park lights made her skin look as white as cracked porcelain.
“Satria? What did he say to you?”
“He told me to leave. He said you two are getting married next month. Is that true?”
Maya fell silent for a moment. She turned her face toward the ruins of the fountain in the center of the park.
“Yes. It’s true. Satria was there when I fell apart. He was the one who gathered up the pieces of me you destroyed.”
“But you don’t love him, Maya. I can see it in your eyes.”
“Love?” Maya turned back to him, her eyes glistening with tears. “You think life is only about love? Life is about who stays when the storm comes. Satria stayed. You? You ran.”
“I ran to save you!” Arlan shouted, the emotions he had held back for years finally spilling over. “You have no idea what was at stake back then. My career, my life... I didn’t want to drag you into the darkness I was facing.”
“So you decided to leave me in an even deeper darkness? The darkness of being abandoned without knowing why?” Maya began to gasp for breath. Her hands clutched at her chest.
Arlan realized something was wrong. Maya’s breathing had become short and rapid.
“Maya? Are you okay?”
“Don’t... don’t ask me that,” Maya whispered. She tried to draw in a breath, but it was as if all the oxygen in Swara Park had been swallowed by the fog. “The air... I can’t...”
“Maya!” Arlan rushed across the distance between them. He gripped her violently trembling shoulders. “Breathe. Follow me. Take slow breaths.”
“Let go!” Maya struggled, but her strength was gone. Her knees buckled, and she nearly fell if Arlan hadn’t caught her. “Don’t touch me! Your hands... they smell like the past... I can’t breathe...”
“Maya, look at me! Focus on me!” Arlan knelt on the damp ground, supporting her body. “It’s just you and me here. No Satria, no past. Just breathe.”
Maya shook her head wildly. Her eyes began to lose focus.
“It’s dark... Arlan, everything’s going dark. Why did you come back? Why did you have to ruin everything again?”
“I didn’t mean to ruin anything. I only wanted to give you this key.” Arlan pulled the rusted key from his pocket. “The key to our time capsule. You’re the one who has the right to open it, not me.”
The sight of the key made Maya’s panic attack intensify. She felt as if the invisible walls around her were beginning to close in.
“Take it away! I don’t want to see it! That thing is cursed!”
“Maya, calm down!” Arlan held her tightly, trying to share his warmth in the freezing night air. “I’m sorry. I was wrong. I shouldn’t have brought it tonight.”
Maya broke into sobs. She buried her face against Arlan’s chest, a place she had once known so well, but that now felt like dangerous, unfamiliar territory.
“I hate you... I hate you so much, Arlan Dewangga.”
“I know. You have every reason to hate me.”
“Why didn’t you just die out there?” Maya’s voice weakened, but every word felt like a blade to Arlan. “Why did you have to come back to Astina City when I was finally almost able to forget you?”
Arlan hesitantly stroked Maya’s hair.
“Because I never really managed to forget you, Maya. Every time I took a picture out there, I always hoped it would be your silhouette.”
“Liar! You’re such a liar!” Maya shoved Arlan’s chest with what little strength she had left. She stood unsteadily and roughly wiped away her tears. “Don’t ever say that again. You lost the right to miss me.”
“Does Satria know you’re here tonight?” Arlan asked, trying to change the subject so Maya wouldn’t become even more hysterical.
Maya froze. She remembered how possessive Satria was.
“He... he thinks I’m working late at the office. If he finds out I met you...”
“What will he do? Destroy me? He already tried earlier at Orange Café.”
“You don’t know who Satria really is, Arlan. He isn’t as patient as he seems. He’ll do anything to hold on to what he believes belongs to him.”
“And you consider yourself his property?” Arlan stood, staring at Maya defiantly.
“I’m his fiancée!” Maya shouted. “And next month, I’ll be his wife. Stop acting like you still have a place in my life!”
“If I don’t have a place in your life anymore, why are you still trembling when I touch you? Why are your eyes still searching mine for answers?”
“Because I’m afraid! I’m afraid you’ll destroy my life for a second time!” Maya turned and began running away from Arlan. Her footsteps sounded heavy over the dry leaves covering the path through Swara Park.
“Maya! Wait!” Arlan chased after her, but stopped when an intensely bright car headlight shone from the direction of the park entrance.
A luxurious black car came to an abrupt stop. The door opened, and a man in a neatly tailored suit hurried out. It was Satria.
“Maya?” Satria’s voice boomed through the silence of the night. His eyes narrowed when he saw his disheveled fiancée, then shifted toward Arlan standing several yards behind her.
Maya stood frozen. Her entire body suddenly went rigid. The panic attack that had briefly subsided now came back even more violently.
“Satria... I...”
Satria stepped closer, his face hardening with restrained anger. He put an arm protectively around Maya’s shoulders, but his grip looked far too tight.
“What are you doing here, sweetheart? And why are you with this man?”
“I... I just wanted to see the project site,” Maya stammered. Her lips had turned blue from the cold and fear.
“At this hour? In the middle of the fog?” Satria glared at Arlan with murderous eyes. “And you, Arlan. Didn’t I warn you earlier this afternoon?”
Arlan didn’t flinch. He stepped forward, still clutching the little key inside his pocket.
“This is a public place, Satria. I’m only doing my job as a documentary photographer.”
“Your job doesn’t include making my fiancée cry!” Satria pulled Maya closer to him. “Come on, Maya. We have nothing more to do with this piece of trash.”
Maya could only nod helplessly. She didn’t dare look at Arlan. But as Satria guided her toward the car, Maya managed a brief glance over her shoulder. Her eyes met Arlan’s for a fraction of a second, sending a wordless message filled with despair.
“Wait!” Arlan shouted as Satria was about to close the car door.
Satria stopped and turned with a mocking smile.
“What now? Do you want to beg for work?”
“That box,” Arlan said loudly. “The box has been found, Satria. And I have the key.”
Satria’s movement stopped instantly. The victorious look on his face suddenly turned dark and threatening. He let go of the car door and slowly walked toward Arlan.
“What did you say?” Satria whispered, his tone dangerously quiet.
“You heard me. The metal box. The secret you’re afraid will be exposed when this park is renovated. I have it.”
Satria gave a short laugh, but it sounded hollow.
“You think you can threaten me with an old box full of childhood junk? You don’t know anything, Arlan.”
“Then let me open it in front of Maya. Right now.”
“Don’t you dare!” Satria grabbed Arlan by the collar of his jacket and lifted him until Arlan had to stand on his toes. “If you open that box or say a single word to Maya about what’s inside, I’ll make sure you never leave Astina City alive.”
Arlan looked straight into Satria’s hate-filled eyes.
“You’re afraid, Satria. You’re afraid because you know what’s inside will destroy all the lies you’ve built over these five years.”
Satria roughly released him, shoving Arlan until he fell hard onto the ground.
“We’ll see who falls apart first.”
Satria returned to his car, slammed the door, and sped away, leaving swirling dust and fog in his wake.
Arlan lay sprawled on the ground, breathing hard. His back hurt, but it was nothing compared to the pain in his heart as he watched Maya leave with that man.
He felt inside his jacket pocket. The key was still there. But when he pulled his hand out, he realized there was something else. A small piece of paper had fallen from Maya’s pocket when he hugged her earlier.
Arlan picked it up. Beneath the dim glow of the park lights, he read handwriting he knew all too well. Maya’s handwriting.
‘Help me, Arlan. He isn’t what you think.’
Arlan’s heart pounded. The message hadn’t come from Satria. It really was from Maya, though perhaps it hadn’t been sent by phone. Arlan stared toward the car that had carried Satria away into the darkness of night. What had really happened during the five years he’d been gone? What had Satria done to Maya?
In the distance, Danu’s violin drifted faintly on the night wind from the town square, playing a sorrowful melody. Astina City seemed to be crying with him.
Arlan stood and brushed the dust from his clothes. He knew he couldn’t just stand by. The key in his hand wasn’t merely the key to a time capsule—it was the key to uncovering a truth that could either save Maya’s life or destroy it forever.
He had to meet Danu. He needed help finding out more about Satria before the wedding took place.
As Arlan was about to leave the park, he saw a shadow standing behind a large tree not far from where he had been. The figure wore a beanie and carried a guitar case.
“Danu?” Arlan called uncertainly.
The figure stepped out of the darkness. Danu’s face was extremely serious, without a trace of the humor that usually lit up his features.
“You’re playing with fire, Lan. Satria isn’t someone you can take on.”
“Were you following me?” Arlan asked irritably.
“I was keeping an eye on you,” Danu replied curtly. “I saw everything. You know what’s inside that box, don’t you? That’s why Satria panicked so badly.”
“You know something, Danu? Tell me!”
Danu shook his head.
“I’m not the one who should tell you. But you need to know one thing, Arlan. Five years ago, when you left, you weren’t the only one keeping secrets. Maya had a secret too—one even Satria doesn’t know about.”
Arlan stood rooted to the spot. The cold night wind blew hard, stabbing to the bone. The fog in Swara Park grew thicker, as if it wanted to bury all the secrets that had only just begun to surface.
“What secret?” Arlan pressed.
Danu looked at Arlan with pity.
“The secret that forced Maya to accept Satria’s proposal. And that secret is inside the box whose key you’re holding.”
Arlan stared at the key in his hand, dread filling his chest. Suddenly, the key felt unbearably heavy—the weight of the past, ready to explode at any moment.