"Is your sibling female?" Lia threw up another question. She felt so happy even if it was just an ordinary conversation.
Dirga leaned back for a moment against the back of the chair. Then, sitting up straight to look up at the beautiful face lying down with her eyelids closed in front of him. Lia's heart again throbbed strangely when she saw the boy's eyes light up, full of love for her friend, Abel.
"My sibling is female. She lives out of town because of her job." Dirga answered lightly, without taking his eyes off Abel.
"I think it's not worth it to try to make a conversation with you, isn't it? Your focus just to Abel who is even sleeping," Lia's mind.
She wanted to remain silent, realizing how unfathomable she was in front of Dirga. But the big room also felt colder as the whole thing went quiet. And that strange feeling that Lia had finally emerged. Again the girl asked, and invited Dirga to have a conversation, despite just the inadequate answers she received.
"Did you eat?" One attention to the boy and again, only responded by the nod of the head.
"I ordered food and intended it for you but you were away for such a long time," Lia said.
This time Dirga pulled his face and looked up at Lia who didn't look away for a damn second to stare at every inch of the handsome face in front of her. One side of his lips shot up, looking very handsome in Lia's eyes as the boy smiled sideways, the girl became nervous because of him.
"Thanks, Li, where's the food now?" Dirga said. His sound even resonated beautifully in Lia's ears right through her heart.
Lia's right-hand points to the nightstand, along with a glance of both her black eyeballs. "There, it's cold. Let me just order you another one, okay?" she said.
"Oh, no need, I'll eat this up." Dirga moves out of the seat, just a few steps, and quickly grabs a well-kept lunch box in white plastic.
"For the sake of God, why don't Abel believe what I'm saying?" Lia grumbled, "indeed, Dani is just a scoundrel uncle. Ewhh," she added as she shook her feet on the celadon floor because of excesses with the couple.
The atmosphere in the waiting room felt empty that night. Lia sat leaning against the chair, closing her eyelids after absorbing her emotions. Remaining in such silence caused her to feel the pain and anguish in the wounds on the arm which just got into an accident. She wiped it slowly, as she endured the cold night breeze that had penetrated the skin without a heating pad.
***
Meanwhile, in a rather modest boarding house, Dirga was sitting quietly listening to his sister's happy story. The beautiful woman sitting on the sofa next to him pulled up the red rose lips' corners, revealing the rows of neat, white teeth.
"Can I come to your wedding?" Dirga asked. A slight smile and the eyes of that man were full of hope.
Without hesitation, a beautiful woman beside him answered, "yeah, of course. The wedding reception is to be held in Bali, anyway. You can also take a little break after the midterm exam."
"Whew, my would-be brother-in-law is awesome. When will you introduce me to your future husband?" asked Dirga again.
"I don't know what to do. My future husband is too busy. This is why he went off straight after pre-wed shots. I was going to ask him to have dinner with you, but... well," lamented Dirga's sister.
Dirga pulled the corners of his lips, also nodding small in recognition of the busyness of his prospective brother-in-law. Rather he likes it when his sister gets a hard-working husband. It means his only sister's life will be better after the wedding.
"Well, I pray for the best for you." Dirga took the older sister's palm and held it tight. "May it all come to it until the big day, and... also my sister Rindu living happily ever after with your husband." The boy's best prayers are understood by his sister.
Rindu felt touched, the boy who was once always exasperated her because being busybodies now had grown up became a boastful, mature person.
Without any way to hold on, the heads of clear water simply fell off from Rindu's cheeks. The smile she threw down to Dirga now became a bitter smile after sobbing. She has hugged the handsome, generous man who had been holding her hand for so long. She wept for comfort in Dirga's warm embrace.
"Don't cry, people who will get married are not allowed to cry," Dirga said even when his eyes also filled in tears.
"Here's a happy cry, my little brother." Rindu took off her embrace.
A beautifully trimmed pair of eyelashes around Rindu's eyes revisit her brother's handsome face. "Even though you've grown up, you're still a little boy in my eyes. You stay like a little trim who always whines about chocolate when I get home from work. Anyway, for all time, don't hesitate to tell me if you need anything. Okay?" she said with an inward look.
Dirga nodded. The conversation that night ended when Rindu said goodbye to rest. A very simple boarding house was not a problem, because this far her life was not a fancy living outside the city.
Although she now serves as a bank manager at a private bank, it does not make Rindu squander her salary which was a large amount. She still lived in the humble home of her parents who had long since conjoined in Sumatra.
No one knows when they'll be back. However, Dirga also wished for a day when they could be reunited with their father and mother.
***
The sky was full of stars, and the crescent light up there made Lia reluctant to rest her body that was actually feeling very tired. She had been standing on the balcony of a hospital room for almost two hours. Gazing in the dreamy beautiful scenery of the night sky.
There was a sudden sound of the footsteps approaching, followed by a low, open-door squeaking.
To be continued …