Magelang had been shrouded in clouds more often lately. But that morning, the sky looked clear instead, as if the rain that had become a familiar sight over the past few days had decided to give the rain a break. Sunlight fell between the trees and buildings around the boarding house, making the yard that usually felt shaded look brighter.
Nadine planned to buy some vegetables at the neighborhood shop in front of the boarding-house lane. It wasn't very far, but it was far enough to make her reluctant to walk, especially if she had to carry the groceries home. So she decided to use her motorcycle.
After putting on her sandals and grabbing the key, Nadine left the boarding house and approached her motorcycle, which was parked in the yard. She inserted the key into the ignition, turned it, and then pressed the starter button.
Click.
The engine didn't start.
Nadine frowned and pressed the button again, this time holding it a little longer.
Click... click.
Still, there was no sign of life from her motorcycle.
“Come on.”
She tried for the third time. Her hand pressed the starter button again while her eyes remained fixed on the instrument panel in front of her.
Click. Click. Click.
The engine only made short clicking sounds without actually starting. Nadine sighed and stared at her motorcycle in disbelief. The morning had only just begun, but her vehicle was already testing her patience.
“Not now, please.”
Nadine tried starting it again. The result was the same. She finally got off the motorcycle and stood beside it, staring at the thing as if waiting for an explanation.
Of course, the motorcycle gave her no answer. Nadine looked around. The boarding house was fairly quiet that morning. Several vehicles were parked in the yard, while the sound of a television from one of the rooms drifted faintly through a closed door.
Before she could think of anyone to ask for help, the sound of the boarding-house gate opening made her turn. A man stepped out.
She knew the man, at least from a distance. She had seen him coming and going around the boarding house several times. His face wasn't unfamiliar, and neither was his name, which she had occasionally heard in conversations among the boarding-house residents. Still, as far as Nadine remembered, they had never actually interacted. In fact, Nadine wasn't even sure the man knew her name.
The man walked across the yard while playing with his phone, completely unaware that a pair of eyes had been quietly watching him for the past few seconds.
Nadine looked at her motorcycle again. Then at the man. Then back at her motorcycle. After thinking it over for a moment, she finally worked up the nerve.
“Mas!”
The man's steps stopped. He turned toward Nadine, then walked over.
“Can I ask you for a favor?”
“What is it?”
“This won't start,” Nadine said, pointing at her motorcycle.
The man shifted his gaze to the motorcycle, then nodded.
“Let me take a look.”
Nadine immediately moved aside to give him room. The man tried starting the motorcycle several times. The first attempt failed. The second attempt didn't work either. On the next attempt, the engine finally started. Nadine instinctively smiled with relief.
“It works!”
The man gave a small smile too.
“Yeah.”
Nadine was about to thank him when the man suddenly asked, “Are you going somewhere?”
“Yeah.”
The man glanced at Nadine's motorcycle, then looked back at her. “In that case, let's go together. It might die again on the way.”
Nadine fell silent.
For several seconds, she only stared at the man in front of her. The offer was simple enough, but it felt surprising considering that just a few minutes earlier, they hadn't even spoken to each other.
She looked at her motorcycle.
Then she looked at the man again.
After hesitating for a moment, Nadine finally nodded.
“Sure.”