She was Andara, a beautiful woman who aspired to be the richest businesswoman in the world.
I thought back to when I found a photo that was in my bag and that I carried with me every day. It was a picture of me, Niko and Andara when we were kids.
We had been friends for a long time since we were kids. We were three friends who were always together and depended on each other. Besides Niko, Andara was the best friend that I loved and missed the most.
Dara was a kind and cheerful girl. However, behind her cheerful nature, she often cried over small problems. Dara is a crybaby, but she is the most loyal friend I know.
The three of us are very close, our respective families are also quite close. Dara who always took care of me when I was sick, Dara who always encouraged me when I was in trouble, Dara who always smiled and advised me when my temper came out. And also Dara, who always reminded me not to eat late because I was once hospitalized due to a relapse of my gastritis.
All of that felt good to me. The fun started to fade away when we were in 10th grade a few years ago. Dara and her family were moving to New York, and she was going to continue her studies there as well. Dara will also continue her studies there by taking the Economics faculty that she has dreamed of all this time.
Since her move, I, Niko, Bobby and also Bella who started to become our best friend, felt very lost. Now, Dara is back and will live in Indonesia like before. But, somehow Dara's return this time makes me so sad.
Yes, Dara was Niko's first love. Niko really liked Dara and admired her a lot. As time went by and we started to grow up, Niko kept his love for Dara. And, that's what makes me sad about his return to Indonesia this time.
Because Dara . . . it was because of her that I chose to retreat.
I still remember in my mind when I was in the first grade of junior high school, Niko once said that he liked Dara. And, I really wanted to set them up together. But, all my intentions changed when I entered the second grade. I had fallen in love with Niko at that time.
He made me feel bad for Dara who actually liked Niko too. But, because they were still young at the time, they decided not to date. Niko made me feel what it was like to fall in love for the first time. And, it was quite torturous for me because I had to swallow the bitter taste of liking someone else who didn't like me at all.
Niko was kind and attentive to me, which made me fall in love with him. But, his attention was not only on me, he also paid attention to Dara and that made me jealous. Because of that painful love, I decided to give up and erase my love for Niko by dating a senior.
Dating an older sister allowed me to forget Niko and erase my love for him. Even though, in my heart of hearts, it was still very much there.
When we heard that Dara was moving to New York, Niko was so sad and didn't want to lose her. Not wanting to see Niko sad again, I helped him to express his feelings again when Dara was at the airport.
5 years ago. . .
"I like you, Ra. I... . . I love you," said Niko at the airport to see Dara off to New York.
Dara was touched when she heard Niko express his feelings. I knew for a fact that Dara had the same feelings for Niko. However, due to circumstances, they have never been united until now.
"I know, Nik. I like you too, but I have to go now," she said with eyes that were starting to turn red from tears.
"I will wait for you, I will wait for you to come back," she said hopefully.
"Yes, you must wait for me. I'll come back quickly and when I come back, I promise I won't leave you again. The two of us can definitely be together forever."
"Promise?" asked Niko as he held up his pinky.
"I'm promise," replied Dara as she hooked her pinky onto Niko's pinky.
They both hugged for a long time. A longing hug for a loved one. I could see that there were deep feelings between Dara and Niko. Their body language tells me that love doesn't see distance. All this is just a matter of time, if the time is right they will definitely meet and be reunited.
After hugging Niko, Dara also did not forget to hug me so tightly. The warm embrace of a best friend. Her hug was like a mother's, soft and loving.
"I'll miss you, Nad," she said as she hugged me.
"I'll miss you too, Ra."
"Take good care of yourself. Take care of your health, don't forget to eat well and don't fight with Lisa too much."
I shed my tears. I nodded slowly and hugged him back tightly like it was very difficult to let go.
"You too, take good care of yourself. When you get there, contact us quickly. We shouldn't lose contact, okay? We have to keep in touch even though distance separates us."
"Yes, I promise."
Dara left. However, she ran back and hugged Niko like she didn't want to lose him. Dara also gave Niko a kiss on the forehead as a sign of farewell. Dara and Niko exchanged something, they exchanged the necklaces they had bought when they knew their feelings for each other.
Dara's heart-shaped necklace, she gave to Niko and Niko's key necklace, he gave to Dara. To this day, Niko always wears the necklace because it's his favorite necklace. However, since our marriage, I have never seen Niko wearing that necklace again.
Niko's love for Dara was so great and that's what made me not to love Niko back.