Five Days and Bluetooth

Monday saw her cursing her way up the stairs. Her first day at college is a lot more packed than what she had in mind. Plus, the fact that she could never get her bearings right didn’t help. She got lost in the college compound today, twice. Not counting the one time when she could not find the lift to go down the main administration building. And now she is already running late to catch the train. In a few minutes the rush hour starts, and she does not want to get stuck in it.

Too late. People are already queuing. She let out an audible sigh. To be stuck inside a train with people jostling about for half an hour is unimaginable. Not to mention the awful mixed smell of end-of-day perfume and sweat. Yuk. There was no other option. If she called a cab, meaning she is burning a hole in her own pocket. The fare meter in the taxi must be whooping with joy the moment she got in. The roads, too, must be overwhelmed with cars. She called her mother and informed her of her late return today.

Without thinking, she moved towards the very end of the station and sat down on the ceramic-tiled floor. It was a relief to be away from all those smelly people. She pulled out a novel she is currently reading, and in a few minutes was lost in the plot. She took breaks once in a while only to sip some water from a bottle of mineral water she bought.

The steady flow of people still did not thin down even half an hour later, but she was still determined to wait. Her back was already stiff, thus she stretched. Her gaze then falls on the platform opposite her. A boy was sitting there, at the exact opposite place where she was sitting. But he was not reading. He was sitting there, with a very bored expression etched on his face; it was almost painful to watch. His bag was laying there next to him, and from the looks of it, it looked like he had thrown it unceremoniously onto the floor.

She almost smiled at the expression on his face, but bent down quickly towards her book. Anyway, it couldn’t be helped. More than once she stole a glance or two at the boy. He was half-sitting, half-lazing down there, magnificently bored, a little bit disgusted, and his frowning eyes never looked away from the queuing people. He had hair falling into his eyes, and he pushed them away impatiently with his fingers. His feet were tapping away to some rhythm. She adjusted herself a tiny bit to the right, and saw that he had his earphones on.

Sensing the small movement, he turned his head and looked right at her. She nearly freaked out. Quickly she pretended to resume reading. After exactly two and a half minutes later she looked up, pretending to have a drink and in a split second regretted her action. She could then see that she is now the main object of his scrutiny.

The water bottle shivered a little in her hands. ‘You are being stupid,’ she told herself. Never before she had ever experienced this state of nervousness under the gaze of a stranger. Was it also due to the fact that he is quite good-looking in his own way? Could it be ... She sighed. ‘No,’ she told herself firmly. She had long before given up hopes on getting a boyfriend. Her friends told her she is a bit too choosy. But for her, some characteristics are not wrong. A person always wanted the best for himself.

She tore her gaze away from the book she was pretending to read and looked towards the waiting people. It was nearly six. With relief, she saw that the lines are thinner. Getting up, she brushed her trousers and saw in the corner of her eyes that the boy was doing the same. As fast as she can without attracting attention, she hid herself in the crowd. And not one minute later the train arrived.

On Tuesday, she was earlier. She sat down on the waiting bench, and threw a look at the place the boy was sitting yesterday. He was not there. A little bit disappointed, a little bit relieved, she scanned the platform opposite. And saw him looking directly at her, earphones on, leaning against a pillar.

Quickly she averted her eyes. Her heart started hammering and she fumbled in her pockets for her cell. His gaze was still there, looming on her. Braving herself, she lifted her chin and stole a look. There, he quickly looked away. She bit her lips to prevent from smiling.

All too soon the train arrived. She got up, slung her bag over her shoulder and got in, turning her back towards the platform opposite.

Wednesday rained heavily. Her brother had promised to pick her up from college, but called to cancel as soon as the rain started to pour. It was useless, really, seeing as her brother only rides a motorcycle to work. Let him be wet, she preferred the dryness of the trains.

Brushing the water away from her clothes, she tried as casually as possible to look for the boy. It was beginning to be a habit; he was already part of her daily routine. But alas, today he was nowhere to be found. She sat herself on the bench, feeling as gloomy as the rain. Unconsciously she took out her cell, merely looked at it and kept it away again. She had been there not thirty seconds, but she had already started cursing the rail company for having very slow trains which are altogether not enough to ensure that the increasing number of passengers every day may travel in comfort. She got annoyed at the person standing in front of her, who is blocking her view from the platform aisle opposite. More than once she huffed irritably, all the while tapping her foot impatiently.

A lightning flashed, and then a loud thunder stroke and she jumped a little. She looked at the heavy rain pouring cats and dogs, and suddenly had to hide a smile at imagining cats and dogs falling from the sky. Then she nearly knocked herself on the head for the sudden mood change, but at the last moment caught herself. It will not do to be seen doing crazy things in public. She turned away. Almost at the same moment she saw him, his hair wet, climbing the last stair step.

Her heart jumped from joy. Why is it such a pleasure to see him, she was not sure. He pushed his sloppy hair impatiently from his forehead, looked at his watch, and then turned to look right at her. She was petrified, their gazes locked. And unexpectedly, he smiled at her.

She nearly melted in the sweet warmth of the smile, all on a cold, rainy afternoon.

The train arrived. She automatically got up, went aboard, then sat at the nearest available seat in the train. All the way back she cursed herself repeatedly for not returning his smile.

Then it was Thursday, and she was a determined girl. She is going to smile back at him today. Or she is going to smile at him, whatever comes first. She skipped the last stair step with a flourish and hopefully scanned the opposite platform. He was not there. Never mind, never mind, she will sit there at her usual bench and wait. So she sat, and waited.

Her train arrived, and she looked at it blankly. Of all the days, it came early today. She made then to get up, but stopped herself just in time. He would not know if she let a train pass while waiting for him. People looked at her curiously, and she glared back at them, daring them to ask why she did not get on board. And the train went, leaving her view of the opposite platform free. He was still not there.

She looked at her watch. Thirty minutes before the rush hour. He should be here by now. Sighing, she took out her novel and began to read, but caught herself reading the same line a few times. She got up and leaned against a pillar, where she can see the stairs on his side of platform. Her mind told her it was stupid to wait for him this way. ‘You do not even know him,’ it said. ‘It is useless. Maybe he went back already,’ it said again. She bit her lips. It is up to her to decide. ‘No, wait, I know he is not here yet,’ her heart protested. Her mind started to scream back. Willing the voices to go away, she shook her head vigorously and ignored a girl standing next to her, who jumped a little at her sudden act.

The next train arrived, and she slowly walked in, though not without a little doubt. The doors were already closing when she saw him running up the stairs. She raised her hand, her mouth already half-opened to call him when she realized that she did not even know his name. But then she saw his disappointed face scanning the insides of the train, and thus waved her hand energetically at him. He saw it. And his face broke into a smile. She grinned back, flowers blooming in her chest. The inconsiderate train started to move and still they grinned at each other.

Friday left her in a doubt. What time will he be going back today? In the middle of the day, or will he wait until afternoon? She walked slowly towards the station after class. It was a really sunny midday, and the heat was almost unbearable. She regretted not bringing an umbrella. But she is really thinking about the boy. What is it that was so special about him? Isn’t he just an unimportant passer-by in her long stretch of life? Who is he actually? A student, maybe, but where? Is there another college in the vicinity?

Honk!

The car horn startled her, waking her up from her thinking. She had nearly crossed the road without looking right and left, her left foot already leaving the curb. Her hand flew to her chest in relief. ‘Always what you have when you got boys on your mind – danger,’ her heart told her. More carefully, she made her way towards the station.

Like every other day, her eyes scanned the area for him. And today they did not disappoint her. He is there, leaning against a pillar, already smiling at her. She smiled back, suddenly turning red and cursing herself for that. He took out his cell and waved it at her. She stared at him, completely clueless. Her expression made him stifle a laugh, and she saw that. Promptly she composed herself, and took out her cell, too, without knowing exactly why she did that. But the boy seemed satisfied. He mouthed something at her. What? She shook her head. He mouthed something again, this time more slowly, and she chuckled at his funny face. He waited. She did nothing. He mouthed something again. She got annoyed.

“If I could read lips, I would have been a secret agent by now!” She said, out loud. A few people sniggered. The boy merely smiled. She had a feeling he could not hear what she said.

True. He started pointing at his cell, his shirt, then at his mouth, grinning all the time. She was more than baffled. He pointed again at those three things. She frowned in concentration. What could he mean by his cell? I have my cell, but I don’t have his number. Okay, maybe something to do with cells. The shirt. What brand is his shirt? Oh, I couldn’t see from here. It is white with baby blue stripes. Wow, the color really suited his fair skin. No, no, don’t get distracted. And the mouth? What do people do with a mouth? Eat? Smile? Bite? Kiss?

The trains arrived, first at her side, then at his. Both ignored them, waiting impatiently for the trains to pass.

The moment the coast was clear, she shook her head at him in frustration. He scratched his head, then shrugged. He started pointing at his shirt again, this time mouthing something afterwards. Something ‘U’.

U? Woo? Du? Blue? Yes! Blue! His shirt is blue, so that explains it. She nodded excitedly. He maintained his cool. Then he pointed to his grin. Grin. Smile. Teeth, maybe? She showed him her teeth, feeling stupid all the way. But he nodded and grinned, then waved his cell again. Ok, next. Now what does the color blue, teeth, and cells have in common?

Her brain is practically whirring.

Bluetooth?

She nearly screamed from her excitement. He was nodding his head, also thrilled. She quickly turned on the Bluetooth device on her cell, and then looked at him.

He was sending her a file, and she approved the transfer.

A cartoon picture of girl waiting at a train station, then the screen turned black, and numbers flashed across the screen. His phone number.

She texted him. ‘Got it,’ she said.

He replied. ‘Took u quite long there. J’

She laughed out loud, and suddenly did not want to go home.

A Piece of Red Thread

She walked with confident strides into the room, posture straight, chin high, steps firm and confident, all the while maintaining a friendly face. At the nearest vacant seat, she sat herself down, nodding agreeably to the person next to her. And she made a fuss over her things, arranging her file and notebook on the tiny table. Then only she turned to her neighbor and smiled cordially at her. Handshakes are exchanged, and they started to tell about themselves. She answered questions carefully, never giving more information than what was asked. It is her own private principle.

Then she looked about the room, at the other nine or so people who were there. She smiled at those who caught her eye. But she still kept guard. She had decided to let others not see her real personality. She wanted people to think that she is a no-nonsense, intelligent girl, but at the same time friendly and cordial. And by this time, she was confident enough that she had achieved her goal.

At that precise moment, the girl next to her neighbor pointed to her left shoe. A piece of red thread, obvious even at quite a distance, is stuck to her black shoe heel. She bent down and slowly removed it. It really looked quite ridiculous. All this while, people must have been laughing at her, whispering behind their hands and pointing at the thread. Her image is ruined, all because of a piece of red thread. And her newly-erected wall of self-esteem crumbled again.

There's No Such Things As "Perigi Mencari Timba" Nowadays, Because Guys Are So Dense Girls Need To Take Charge.

I really had a blonde moment during the writing of this, so I had to use the first name that came into mind. Tak ada kaitan whatsoever dengan yang hidup atau yang mati.


“Aku nak kau putuskan hubungan dengan budak lelaki tu. This is final. Ada boyfriend bukan untuk menyusahkan, bukan untuk bagi masalah,” kata ayah. Aku nampak di belakangnya Angah tersengih-sengih macam kerang busuk. Emak pula sedang melihat ke arah sekumpulan pelajar bersama ibu bapa mereka, yang sepertiku turut mendaftar hari ini. Termasuk aku, cukup 65 orang pelajar baru Kolej Van Dijk sesi Julai 2007. Tak ramai pelajar hari ini, maklumlah kami semua ambilan kedua.
Aku ralat juga mendaftar hari ini. Padahal aku rasa result SPMku lebih dari cukup untuk aku memenuhi kelayakan program diploma Grafik dan Multimedia di kolej ini. Namun namaku sebenarnya telah ditolak dari senarai pelajar yang berjaya, kerana satu perkara yang berlaku pada hari aku ditemuduga. Hari yang bernasib malang itu, aku telah membawa ex-ku, Amran ke temuduga itu. Sebabnya, aku memang tak tahu jalan datang ke sini pada mulanya. Tapi sebab aku rasa Amran lebih pandai dalam mencari-cari arah, aku bawalah dia. Malangnya lain pula yang dia buat. Dahlah kami lambat setengah jam, dia pandai pula menjawab apabila salah seorang daripada pensyarah di kolej itu menegurnya yang sengaja menendang-nendang dinding kelas-kelas di situ. Alasannya, nak meninggalkan kenangan. Oleh sebab dia, namaku pula yang rosak. Aku dituduh sama jahat. Sakit hati betul. Nasib baik aku berjaya masuk setelah rayuan dibuat. Masak jugalah nak pergi ke sana sini, pujuk Dekan dan Pengarah. Sekarang aku pun dah single, lega rasanya!
Ayahku batuk-batuk kecil. Serentak itu, aku ternampak kelibat seorang lelaki keluar dari lif yang berada lebih kurang 5 meter dari tempat kami berdiri. Dia memegang laptop Apple hitam berkemasan hijau muda di sudut. Berseluar pendek (bukan macam apek jual sayur) dengan T-shirt polo hijau tua, di lehernya tersangkut headphone. The epitome of modern man. Aku tak dapat mengalihkan pandanganku dari memandang wajahnya. Dia nampak aku tengok dia. Alamak! Kantoilah macam ni! Mana boleh mana-mana lelaki kacak perasan aku sedang tengok mereka. Lelaki ini melintas di tengah-tengah kumpulan ahli keluargaku. Tiba-tiba.. Dia senyum! Aduhai. Kawaii... Aku memandang Angah. Dia bagaikan tidak perasan apa-apa. Padahal tadi aku nampak dia bagai berundur setapak ke belakang, memberi laluan kepada lelaki itu. Aku mahu meminta pendapat kakakku itu tentang lelaki itu, tapi tak berani pula aku buat macam tu di depan ayah. Dahlah baru lepas kena marah!
Tapi… Frust juga ya, aku cuma dapat kenal muka dia saja.

Sebulan kemudian, aku sedang berjalan menuju ke arah lif itu. Di tanganku ada 6 rim kertas berwarna yang perlu kubawa ke bilik guru di tingkat 4. Tiba di depan lif, aku terpinga-pinga. Macammana aku nak tekan butang kalau tanganku penuh. Aku pusing ke kiri dan ke kanan, seorang manusia pun tak ada di sekeliling. Nak tak nak aku letak dulu kertas-kertas itu ke bawah, dan kuangkat semula kemudiannya. Di dalam lif proses yang sama kuulang. Tapi baru saja hendak kututup pintu, lelaki itu yang menjadi punca aku selalu terjengah-jengah bila berada di kantin atau perpustakaan, menyelit masuk.
“Argh! Sorry!” jeritku. Takut pula lengannya yang cerah kemerahan lebam-lebam terlanggar pintu lif. Pelik juga. Tadi aku tak nampak pun ada orang di sekeliling. Dia ni berlari kot tadi.
“Tak apa. Tak kena pun,” jawabnya tersenyum. Isk. Alamak. Aku hendak mengusulkan kepada Biro Disiplin Majlis Perwakilan Pelajar supaya melarang pelajar lelaki ini daripada tersenyum. Mana tidaknya, dia mampu buat orang lemah lutut. Macam mana nak belajar kalau dalam kelas tak boleh fokus, asyik teringatkan senyumannya yang manis macam gula nira?
“Awak, tekankan butang tingkat 12 untuk saya,” aku tersentak. Terpinga-pinga sekejap. Padanlah dia tak boleh tekan sendiri. Badanku rapat betul dengan butang lif. Aku sengih. Dia senyum lagi. Cepat-cepat aku menutup pintu lif. Perjalanan ke tingkat empat kurasakan begitu lama. Cemas! Berdebar-debar jantung memikirkan si dia yang berdiri di belakangku, mungkin sekarang sedang memerhatikan aku. Sampai sahaja, aku angkat kertas tanpa menoleh dan terus keluar. Berpeluh-peluh rasanya!
Tapi… Aduhai! Kenapalah aku tak ambil peluang tadi berkenalan!

Minggu depan aku datang lagi ke situ, ke lif bangunan tertinggi di kolejku. Nasibku baik. Dia masuk lagi ke lif, dan masih memintaku menekan butang 12 untuknya. Aku memberanikan diri.
“Panas hari ini, kan?” tanyaku. Serentak aku rasa diriku tolol. Dalam banyak-banyak topik yang aku boleh tanya, kenapalah aku buka cerita pasal cuaca!
“Ye ke? Tapi I love the sun. Sebab saya selalu rasa terlalu sejuk,” dia senyum. Aku cuba sengih. Cepat-cepatlah sampai, tingginya tingkat sepuluh!
“Nama awak apa? Saya Daniel.” Aku tersentak buat kali keduanya dalam lif ini.
“Just call me Ana. I’m from graphics.” Jawabku. Ting! Sudah sampai. Aku melangkah keluar, dia pula ikut sekali.
“Awak kan nak naik ke 12?”
“Tak apa, saya boleh guna tangga. Exercise.” Senyum lagi. “Awak, boleh tak datang jumpa saya di depan lif ni minggu depan, pukul 3 petang? Saya nak beri barang awak yang tertinggal last week,” katanya. Hairan juga aku. Ada ke barang yang tertinggal?
“Apa tu?”
“Just some papers. Yang awak bawa hari tu, ada yang tertinggal. Boleh tak? On Friday.”
“Ye ke tertinggal?” Aku garu kepala. Rasanya semua dah cukup aku hantar ke pejabat. Tapi tak apalah. “Of course, I’ll see you next Friday.”

Hujung minggu selepas Jumaat yang bersejarah itu, aku habiskan dengan membuat frame untuk kuletak potretku sendiri. Kertas yang diberinya memang kertas yang aku rasa aku tertinggal di dalam lif, kali kedua aku terserempak dengan Daniel. Tak banyak pun, lebih kurang 15 keping semuanya. Yang membuatkan aku terkejut, atas semua keping kertas itu, terlukis potret wajahku dari pelbagai sudut! Ada sekeping yang merakam wajahku sedang duduk kebosanan di tepi padang sambil melihat rakan-rakanku bermain bole sepak. Lukisannya sungguh hidup. Rambutku yang kini sudah panjang melebihi paras bahu, nampak terbuai oleh angin. Sebelum ini, aku tak pernah pun nampak si Daniel ni di mana-mana. Sekalipun tak pernah! Tapi lukisan yang dibuatnya ini bagaikan dia sedang memerhatikan ku dari jarak dekat. Ah, mungkin aku kurang periksa agaknya!
Yang paling seronok, kami berjanji jumpa lagi Jumaat yang seterusnya, juga jam tiga petang.
Oh ya, dan juga Jumaat selepas itu, dan selepas itu, dan seterusnya.
Dan seterusnya…

“Saya belanja air pun tak mahu!” marahku. Daniel sengih lawa. Geram sungguh aku dengan lelaki yang seorang ini. Sudahlah tiap-tiap kali mahu berjumpa di sekitar kawasan ini sahaja. Asal aku ajak keluar ke town, memanjang tak mahu. Temankan aku pergi kedai runcit Ah Beng di simpang depan tu pun tak mahu! Bila aku bawa air untuk minum, dan sandwich untuk kami makan bersama, tak pernahnya dia menerima. Sudahnya aku juga yang jadi tong sampah. Bazir saja setiap kali. Tapi aku masih lagi setia datang ke sini, setiap Jumaat menemaninya.
Tak ada seorang pun rakan-rakan sekursus denganku yang kenal akan Daniel. Dengar namanya pun tak pernah. Sebabnya, aku ingin bertanya mereka tentang subjek yang Daniel ambil. Setiap kali berjumpa aku bagaikan terlupa untuk menanyanya.
“Saya tak pernah minta. Awak yang degil,”
“Iyalah, tapi at least take a sip. Saya dah bawa ni. Tak minta apa-apa pun dari awak,”
“Sorrylah. Jangan marah, ya babe?” ujarnya. Tangannya mencuit-cuit bahuku. Aku tak sengaja ketawa. Daniel memang sweet.
“Next week awak dah start final exam, kan?” Aku mengangguk.
“Kita hold dulu weekly date kita ya? The last Friday of the semester, baru kita jumpa lagi.” Aku mengangguk lagi. Tiba-tiba rasa berat dadaku mengingatkan peperiksaan yang hampir tiba. Daniel menarik rambutku perlahan.
“Risau pasal exam?” tanyanya. Aku angguk sekali.
“Tengoklah muka saya ni. Tengok senyum saya yang manis macam gula nira. Confirm terbang semua kerisauan di hati!” ujarnya. Geram aku! Perasan!
Tapi... Macam mana dia tahu pasal gula nira tu?


Minggu terakhir dalam semester pertama. Aku bercadang tunggu sehingga hari Ahad sebelum pulang ke kampung. Alasannya, tentulah nak berjumpa dengan buah hatiku yang seorang itu! Tak sanggup pula aku rasa, nak menghabiskan cuti dua bulan tanpa mendapat dos multivitamin perisa gula nira setiap Jumaat. Banyak lagi senior tahun akhir yang masih belum selesai exam, mereka ada kertas lagi minggu depan. Jadi aku takkan keseorangan di hujung minggu itu.
Petang Jumaat, pukul 2 petang aku sudah bersiap sedia. Sekejap-sekejap aku melihat jam. Tak sabar! Ini baru dua minggu tak jumpa. Macam manalah aku nak menghadapi dua bulan yang panjang?
“Ana, tak balik kampung ke?” Kak Tasha, seorang rakan serumahku menegur. Aku sengih. Kak Tasha mestilah kenal Daniel, kan?
“Saya nak jumpa orang. Hujung minggu ni nak date puas-puas dengan Daniel. Nanti balik kampung, rindu!” aku menjawab dengan gembira. Kak Tasha senyum.
“Amboi. Sampai merah-merah muka tu. Happy, ya? Daniel yang mana satu ni ye? Dia ada abang tak?” aku ketawa.
“The one and only Daniellah. Yang biasa pakai seluar pendek dengan t-shirt polo. Dia pakai laptop iMac,”
Aku nampak dahi Kak Tasha berkerut tiba-tiba. Dia memandangku. Perlahan-lahan, dia mengeluarkan telefon bimbitnya dan menekan-nekan.
“If I am to show you a picture, Ana, you’ll tell me if it his him, OK?” tanya Kak Tasha. Aku mengangguk laju. Akhirnya! Ada orang yang kenal Daniel. Gembiranya aku! Kenapalah aku tak pernah terfikir nak tanya senior-senior di apartmentku ini. Mestilah aku akan tunjukkan mana satu Daniel, kalau aku nampak gambarnya. Aku ni tak kedekutlah, Kak Tasha…
“Is Daniel in there?” Kak Tasha mengunjukkan gambar di telefon bimbitnya kepadaku. Aku nampak senyum gula nira yang saban malam menemaniku tidur. Dia berdiri agak terjarak dari kumpulan pelajar di sekelilingnya. Heroku itu sedang bersandar malas di tiang, berpeluk tubuh dan memandang tepat ke arahku. Ok, ok, sebenarnya dia memandang tepat ke kamera. Aduhai. Berdegup-degup jantungku! Aku memandang Kak Tasha. Sengih di bibirku dah cukup untuk menjawab soalannya.
“Dah berapa lama Ana kenal dia?”
“First day Ana register, Ana nampak dia. Then lepas-lepas tu baru kami berkenalan.”
“Ana tahu dia course apa? Umur berapa? Tahun berapa? Yang basic-basic macam tu?”
“Aduh, kak Tasha. Macam tahu-tahu je. Ana tak tahu apa-apa pun pasal dia. Setiap kali nak tanya, ada je halangan.” Jawabku jujur. Hairan juga dengan soalan-soalannya. Tiba-tiba kak Tasha bangun dan masuk ke bilik. Dia keluar semula membawa satu fail clear holder. Beberapa ketika kemudian, dia mengunjukkan kepadaku sekeping keratan akhbar, lengkap dengan gambar berwarna. Keratan muka depan.
Aku nampak lagi, senyum gula nira itu! Berita Daniel pernah keluar akhbar? Wah, hebat betul. Tapi pasal apa ya?

“PELAJAR KOLEJ MATI, LIF ROSAK TERHEMPAS DARI TINGKAT 12”

Berderau darahku. Aku pandang kak Tasha. Dia mengisyaratkan supaya aku meneruskan pembacaan.
“He was my classmate, Ana. A year ago.”
Aku hanya mampu membaca empat ayat pertama. Sah. Dia. Segala kemusykilan terjawab.
Sekarang sudah pukul tiga petang.

“Will I see you again, my dear?” tanganku Daniel pegang erat. Kenapalah sebelum ini, aku tak pernah perasan tangannya sejuk macam air batu? Kenapa aku tak pernah sedar dia tak pernah makan dan minum, kerana dia tidak memerlukan zat? Kenapa aku tak pernah sedar dia boleh memerhati aku dari dekat, kerana dia boleh menyembunyikan dirinya di sebalik angin?
“Awak tipu saya.”
“Saya tak pernah tipu! Saya tak pernah beritahu apa-apa yang menipu awak!”
“Samalah tu. Awak tetap menyembunyikan kebenaran.”
“Babe, please. Saya perlukan awak.”
Aku memandang wajahnya yang pucat. Bibir yang sebelum ini jadi sumber inspirasiku, kini bertukar warna biru. Aku nekad berjumpanya walaupun ditegah kak Tasha. Tadi setibanya aku di bangku tempat kami selalu duduk, dia sudah duduk tegak menunggu. Matanya memandang ke arahku tajam dan tepat. Bulu romaku mula meremang. Aku berpusing dan mahu berlari pulang, tapi dia tiba-tiba di hadapanku! Serta-merta aku menangis. Ketika itu angin mula bertiup, perlahan, nyaman dan menenangkan. Membuat aku lebih lega.
“Let me go, Daniel.” Aku memandang tepat ke dalam matanya. Dia mengeluh sayu. Tanganku dilepaskan dari cengkaman ais batunya. Aku pusing, dan mula meninggalkan dia.
“Saya akan berada di sini sampai bila-bila, Ana.”


Sepanjang cuti aku gelisah.


Semester dua, minggu pertama, Jumaat, tiga petang, depan lif Blok Lima.
Aku nampak dia muncul dari celah udara. Dia senyum. Manis, macam gula nira.