Will you up and leave? Yes.
I'm not gonna blame you. You have the rights to walk away, after all this time. For the way I treated you, yes, you will forever be the person I wish I could be with.
New year, new me I guess? A very little throwback and reflections preceeding my mandatory 2016 introspection post. So this is how I am gonna remember you, Danlap, which, at the same time, I hope, will be my last post about all these blue days.
Pernah denger 'Date a poet and you will live forever'? Well I'm not a poet but I write, so yeah.
Cuma ada dua kata yang ingin aku katakan ke kakak untuk terakhir kalinya.
Maaf,
dan terima kasih.
Sebesar-besarnya. Sedalam-dalamnya.
Sometimes the thing with ourselves is not that we don't now what we had until it's gone, it's rather we knew what we had, we just don't know if we'd lose it.
Lucu ya? Kadang hidup ini sebegitu naik-turunnya.
I still remember it clearly, it was July 23, the day I broke up with Nabil. You messaged me, and I have no idea how on earth seorang Brian Yoga ngechat seorang Bethari, out of nowhere. Seorang Bethari yang hanyalah seorang Bethari, yang sangat ceroboh, yang terlihat kuat padahal lemah, yang terlihat peduli padahal tak lebih dari seorang egois. Dan seorang Brian Yoga, yang good-looking, yang tinggi, yang sering menang lomba, yang sering jadi pembicara, yang....wow.
And I didn't know how four months later, I will be crying over you.
You.
Ijinkan aku menyampaikan sekali lagi hal ini.
Aku tidak pernah berniat menyakiti hati kakak, sama sekali. Aku minta maaf ini harus berakhir kaya gini, setiba-tiba ini. But God has His own reason right?
It's either you come to my life to give me a lesson,
or the other way around.
You did, good boy. You gave me so much. So damn much.
Kak, masih inget 20 Oktober? Waktu itu sore sebelum wisnite, you told me about how love means to you. Kata kakak cinta itu kayak 5W1H. You told me I was your 5W1H (and you have no clue how honored and happy I was, and still am). Well, mungkin aku masih belum menemukan makna sebenernya dari 5W1H exactly seperti yang kakak bilang, tapi I think the answer to my What, is you.
What is love?
You.
I will proudly say that. You gave me everything within a numbered of days, I am thankful for that.
Kakak memberiku sebuah makna baru tentang cinta. Bahwa cinta bukan cuma tentang aku sayang kamu dan kamu sayang aku, love is way more than that. Something I can't even explain. Aku nggak tau seperti apa aku akan menjelaskan perasaanku pada kakak. Tapi aku yakin, aku melihat bagaimana cinta seharusnya dari cara kakak memperlakukanku.
Kakak adalah picture perfect dari setiap harapan wanita di dunia ini, sebuah bayangan pasangan idaman yang akan disetujui oleh semua orang tua. And here's what I was gonna tell my mom if we were still together.
He's the type of boy who won't let you feel you are anything less.
When you call feeling hype, he'll be there to listen to your not-so-funny jokes, and still, respond them with a big smile, making sure you feel appreciated for keeping those jokes for him only. But that's not the thing. When you call feeling blue, he'll still be there. No he won't interrupt you while you cry, sebaliknya, dia akan menunggumu selesai bicara, memilih kata dengan sangat hati-hati, dan mneyampaikannya dnegan lebih hati-hati, meyakinkanmu bahwa what you're going through is nothing compared to what's ahead of you and convince you that you are worth, and you will always be.
Aku masih inget pertama kali aku cerita aku lolos finalis Acnes Girl Search dan aku cerita aku malu nyebarin ke grup MTI karena takut dikira kebelet eksis, dia adalah satu-satunya yang tanpa ketawa, bilang 'Ngapain malu, harusnya bangga loh lolos itu.' Dan ever since, aku tahu aku nggak seharusnya malu.
There was this one time when I said,
'Kak, aku tau aku lupa apa. Aku lupa bawa lipstik!'
'Ih, apaansih. Ilfil aku nih beneran.'
He hates make up, so bad. He notices every single time I wear the slightest amount of make up on my face. 'Ngapain sih bedakan sama pake liptint dulu.' dan setiap kali aku keluar with a bare (like bare) face, dia bilang 'Tau nggak sih, kamu cantik banget kalo nggak pake apa-apa gini.'
He will accept you the way you are and will never let you feel like you are a piece of worthless shit. 'Kamu tuh nggak gendut, kenapa sih mikir gendut terus.' 'Soalnya aku emang gendut.' 'Terus kalo gendut kenapa? Takut nggak dapet cowok? Terus? Udah, nggak usah sok diet sekarang makan indominya.' and that left me speechless.
He will try his best to keep you happy.
Suatu hari aku pernah makan di Tamfest, he bought kebab (yang diskon 10% kalo bawa pacar, and he got it, cos we looked like a couple, even when we're not.....really a couple -since not any ties knot). Waktu itu, aku makan pecel. Dan pecelku abis, I said 'Aku pengen lagi tapi gamau nasi nanti gendut.' 'Yaudah beli pecelnya aja.' 'Emang bisa...gausah ah..duh tapi masih laper....iya ga y....' he suddenly took my plate, went away, and came back with a plate full of pecel doang. If that doesn't stole your heart away, then I dont know what will.
That time also, he asked me, 'Kamu maunya ditembak kaya gimana?' and I said 'Yang manis pokoknya.' 'Eh aku ini romantis loh anaknya.' 'Sumpil? Iyalah orang melankolis mah biasanya romantis. Emang ngapain aja selama ini sama 9 mantan kakak?' 'Suatu malam aku pernah ke rumahnya mantan aku, ada tukang nasi goreng lewat. Terus aku minta tolong buatin nasi goreng. Waktu nasi gorengnya udah jadi, aku minta tukangnya buat bilang ini namanya nasi goreng cinta dan aku yang pegang gerobaknya. Terus mantanku keluar rumah dan tukangnya bilang itu nasi goreng cinta kan. Mantan aku bingung, hah nasi goreng cinta? Terus aku bilang. Iya ini nasi goreng (sambil nunjuk nasi goreng) dan ini cinta (sambil nunjuk dirinya). Terus aku juga pernah, nangkepin kunang-kunang dimasukin ke botol gitu. Buat pacar yang lain tapi.' Now you know how sweet he is.
There was one time, ketika aku ke rumahnya, menemukan sebuah scrapbook dari mantannya dan mulai baca. Dan aku mulai menyadari bahwa, that kunang-kunang story, is with her. Seketika aku langsung bete (you know wanita bisa benci sama mantannya pacar -even he's not even my boyfie yet- tanpa sebab, well sebenernya sebabnya karena dia pernah sesayang itu sama orang lain). Dan yang dia lakukan melihat kebetean seketikaku adalah......dia megang tanganku, nanya kenapa, I said nothing sambil geleng-geleng kepala, dan dia ngelus pipi sambil bilang 'Beth, aku kalo sayang sama orang akan sampe segitunya, tapi itu udah lalu. Sekarang aku sama kamu yaudah, aku juga akan kayak gitu. Oke?' and he hugged me.
He will always be there. You will be on his top priority list.
And I guess, that's why he wants you to be there as well. 'Beth, kalo aku deket sama seseorang, aku akan berusaha melibatkan dia ke dalam kehidupanku.' Yes, it is. He will. Dia akan membuatmu merasakan a real relationship. 'Kak, ke kampus ngga? Aku lagi bete dan suntuk banget sama orang.' And minutes later he'll be by your side.' Ketika he has so much to do, but all he does adalah telfon kamu, dan ngajak makan, dan saat makanpun he will not talk about his burden, instead he will tell jokes, he will try to make you smile, he will make you loved so much you will think you are the luckiest girl on earth, while you know how much other things (sidang, kerjaan, bisnis, etc, etc) he should be doing/thinking at the moment.
Pernah suatu saat, dia pakai kacamata, and I said he looked good with glasses. Malemnya, dia ngirim selfie pakai kacamata. I asked him where he got that glasses from, he said he just bought it since I said so.
'Buat kamu apa yang engga aku usahakan.' and my heart couldn't be more touched of how much he would do for his loved one.
He sees the beauty in your flaws.
Dia akan mencintai kegilaanmu, kesangatgilaanmu.
Ketika kamu cerita kamu naik ring saat wisuda, saat semua orang dress up formally dan foto cantik, dan kamu yang seorang wanita ini malah bertindak childish dan gahar dengan naik ring dan minta foto, dia tidak akan menghakimimu sebagai wanita gagal, dia akan tersenyum, berkata 'Oh ya?', dan ketika kamu meminta maaf atas kegilaanmu tersebut, dia akan berkata 'Kalo aku ada disitu sama kamu, mungkin aku akan naik ring juga sama kamu.'.
The other time, I told him a story between me and the annoying angkot driver of Kalapa Dago. Long story short, aku marah-marah ke pak angkot atas ketidakkonsistenannya yang membuatku telat ikut kader Pelita Muda. Once again, ketika kamu meminta maaf atas ketidaksopananmu memarahi tukang angkot (even in this case I know I stand on the right side), yang dia bilang adalah 'Gila nih orang. Kamu punya fanbase nggak sih? Kalo enggak biar aku yang bikin deh, keren banget loh itu marahin tukang angkot karena begitu. Gila!'
Seorang Brian Yoga, who is fan-girled by those beauties, is fan-girling me, the reckless me...
He'll respect you, the way woman should be respected.
He hates sexy outfits. Dia akan memperlakukanmu sangat baik, even when you refuse.
The first time we went out, malam wisnite pertama kita (Juli), he took me to Bukit Moko. Gosh, one of my favorite nights of all time, in one of my favorite places, with one of my favorite people, pertama kali aku merasa benar-benar berbicara dan didengarkan, the night that I feel alive, free, and understood. It was so cold and windy, even the two layers of my clothes didnt cover. He gave me his jacket, his olive green jacket with a small hole on the arm I will always remember. I refused, akting sok kuat. But he kept giving it to me, covering my feet as we sat with glasses of energen in my cup and coffee in him.
The was also one more night, wisnite kedua kita (Oktober). The moment I wore skirt, he's the one who concerned much about him riding motorcycle while I didn't care at all.
'Kamu mau pulang sama aku atau Putsen lagi?'
'Kakak lah.'
'Tapi aku kan naik motor.'
'Terus kenapa?'
'Kamu kan pake rok.'
Dan sebelum naik motor, he gave his olive jacket once again. As usual,
'Gamau. Gausa sok gentle ah', I said.
'Pake. Aku bukannya sok gentle. Aku gasuka di jalan lihat cowok pake jaket sedangkan cewenya ga pake. I don't wannabe those guys.'
Di jalan, yang dia lakukan adalah megangin rokku, making sure roknya ga terbang-terbang...
Now, mom, that's what I call a gentleman.
He is the most sincere soul on earth.
This little space on this post wont be enough to explain how sincere he is, seriously. Maybe I'll write soon about it the other time. Not that I don't want to move on so I keep writing about him, but this thing, is something everyone should act. He respects the janitor the way he respects the CEO.
Suatu malam di Dago Atas, di bawah bintang di atas gemerlap Bandung, dia pernah cerita tentang ceritanya bantu seorang bapak yang cari sabuk SMA 20 Bandung. Dan sejak itu, aku tahu, dia adalah salah satu orang paling tulus yang pernah aku kenal. Yang nggak akan pernah perhitungan, yang nggak pernah minta imbalan, dan yang seniat itu membantu orang. And by helping I mean not only help...tapi benar-benar mengusahakan, dengan sepenuh hatinya.
These four months he showed me so much his kindness without even showing off, and that's how kindness should be, right? Mulai dari cerita sabuk, bibi kosan Gaby, ngajarin anak sholat, sampai his kindness yang benar-benar aku lihat langsung. Sampai suatu hari dia pernah bilang
'Aku malah mikir untuk nggak dateng wisuda.'
'HAH? Kenapa?!?!'
'Aku merasa nggak enak aja, aku seneng-seneng waktu wisuda sedangkan nggak jauh dari tempat aku seneng-seneng ada orang yang bahkan buat makan aja nggak bisa. Pernah mikir gitu nggak sih?'
Dia adalah wujud nyata dari frasa '
Kindness needs no reason' yang menyadarkanku kalo kebaikan bukan tergantung dari harta yang kamu punya, tapi sebesar apa keinginan dan keikhlasanmu untuk sekedar mendengarkan dan mengusahakan. Dan aku, yang selama ini menganggap diriku sudah baik, ternyata sungguh tak layak menganggap diriku baik. He is like 10000x kinder.
Gosh, he's a living angel,
a living angel.
He loves singing, dancing, acting, basically everything...but he keeps it down to earth.
He plays guitar, saxophone, harmonica, drum, and the list goes on. And he's not stupid. I mean, are you kidding me? Oh this reminds me of something. Suatu saat aku cerita aku lagi suka banget lagu Closer-nya he Chainsmoker, and every time, like every time, that song played anywhere, he poked me and we sang along. We planned to cover a song, Sir, remember? But that's nothing nears possible for now I think (and here I am, painfully smirking). But I am glad tough, 22 Oktober right before wisokto, we sang Lost Stars together. It was beautiful, really.
Dia suka musik yang menenangkan, sejenis Banda Neira gitu. Oh nah nah, dia pernah bilang 'Aku tuh ga punya sesuatu yang favorit, kaya makanan favorit, musik favorit. Kalo aku suka ya aku...suka.' (that's why dia selalu oke-oke aja tiap aku milih tempat makan dimana karena basically he is an omnivore, like I am!). Speaking about foods, the first night we went out (yeah, that was wisnite Juli 2016), di mobil dia bilang.
'Mau makan dimana?'
'Gatau...udah malem gini' (Gosh, it was midnight!)
'Kamu maunya apa?'
'Aku mau sayur.'
'Sayur? Hmmm. Warteg mau?' (AND I WAS SHOCKED. Seorang Brian Yoga juga suka makan di warteg?!?! Seriously?!)
'Sumpil, ya gapapa kalo masih ada yang buka.'
'Serius? Kamu mau makan di warteg...?'
'Lah.....iya...tiap hari juga aku makan di warteg.....Aku tuh bukan anak cafe serius. Ke cafe tuh kalo kumpul doang sama temen-temen.'
'Seorang Bethari suka makan di warteg? Wow, hebat loh. Aku pikir kamu makan harus mahal, di cafe.'
'He yakali, bokek aku tiap hari makan di cafe. Lagipula warteg tuh enak tau makanannya.'
'Iya, bener! Makanya aku juga suka makan di warteg abis mahal lagi cafe kan.'
And I covered my admiration deep down, this boy is starting to drive me insane.
He has all it takes to be arrogant, at least he has all it takes to show himself off, yet he chose not to. 'Aku nggak sehebat yang kamu bayangkan, Beth.' he replied everytime I reminded him how good his image is among my friends. Looking at his body, his polished looks, his incredible communication skill, simply realizing how perfect he is to role as everyone's sweetheart, people will prejudge him as a high maintenance guy. Gosh, vice versa, dia adalah orang paling sederhana yang pernah aku tahu, meskipun dia punya pilihan untuk tidak jadi sederhana. Suatu hari dia pernah mengajakku ke tempat dia biasa beli baju; Gedebage. Guess what? Gedebage adalah sentra baju preloved yang terkenal di Bandung. That fact shocked me, a lot. Ever since, kantin AA had witnessed our happy days perfectly for several times.
He loves his family.
And he makes sure, the girl he's close with, will love them too. He is a cute brother, Gosh, I can see it in his eyes. There was one time I was in his house, he said 'Aku ke kamar kakak aku dulu ya, bro time.' and I couldn't stop smiling afterwards. Aku ngga pernah punya saudara laki-laki, yet, dia membuatku pernah merasakan kasih sayang seorang kakak laki-laki, how he would protect you against all odds.
Suatu malam kita pernah lewat jalan Dago dan dia minggirin motor. I thought there was something wrong with his bike, but turned out he crossed the road and bought some flowers. Selayaknya wanita, I thought it was for me. But gosh, it was for her mom! Nope, I could never be jealous of this beautiful act. And long after knowing what really happened and burdened his mind, I knew how big his heart is.
It was September 25, the day I met her mom. She was lovely, and I liked her. Suatu malam aku ke rumahnya, bringing her mom flowers I got from wisnite. She said, 'Makasi ya thari, tau aja tante suka bunga. Nih (pointing at him) suka beliin tante bunga, kalo kering langsung diganti yang baru.'
That moment, I knew he was raised to be a King, who will only bow down to his Queen.
He will inspire you to do better every single day.
Suatu hari aku pernah cerita my sister just broke up with her boyfie cause he simply doesn't have any visions in life. No, he didn't judge the boy, instead, he said
'Kenapa kakakmu nggak membantu mengarahkan dia ke visi hidupnya?''
Semester 5 has driving me crazy, one is because tubes Pemsis yang cukup menyita kehidupan. It drove me insane, like insane. I barely sleep semalem sebelum pengumpulan, ke tempat printer jam 6 pagi sementara pengumpulan jam 7 pagi. Dan itu membuat mood-ku jelek seharian, atau berhari-hari bahkan. Sampai akhirnya suatu malam dia bilang
'Thari, jangan biasain nyemprot orang cuma karna mood kita yang jelek ya. Nggak baik.'
Dan seketika hal itu membuatku malu. Aku, yang saat itu bebannya cuma tubes pemsis, udah sejelek itu moodnya dan unintentionally jutek ke semua orang. Sedangkan dia, yang bebannya sidang kerjaan dll dll dll jauh lebih banyak daripada aku, yang lebih punya hak untuk mengeluh dan badmood, memilih untuk tetep kalem.
Lain cerita, aku sering meminta dia untuk bikin instagram.
'Buat apa?'
'Ya buat seneng-seneng aja.'
'Enggak ah, nggak penting juga.'
'Ih penting tau. Aku kan arsipnya nggak bagus, jadi instagram tuh bisa buat album online gitu kalo fotonya ilang bisa liat di instagram.'
And he kept saying no. Dia nggak pernah mencari recognition, attention, and popularity. Dia tidak takut oblivion (which will obviously wont happen to him) like I do. He has life principles, a very good ones he tries his best to obey.
Lately I knew he just made an instagram account. Iya, aku sedih. Ketika aku minta bikin he never did, but when I took the time to see his profile, disappointment came afterward. Her names were everywhere (and by her I hope you know whom I mean). But hatred slowly changed to an awe once he posted something about them people (the unfortunates, red). He made an account to really share his thought, his kindness, to spread awareness. And that insipired me a lot. Salah satu yang dia ceritakan adalah Pak Otim. Oh, I finally knew who Pak Otim is and how he looks like. One time, he promised me to invite me meeting Pak Otim. I should probably forget that I guess.
Other story, dia benci makanan sisa, makanya dia selalu bersedia ngabisin semua makanan orang-orang yang sisa. I didnt find it disgusting, I found it....humane. He visualizes to be the poor and I appreciate it. That way, dia mengajarkanku untuk nggak pernah membuang makanan and I never did ever since! He taught me to appreciate everything and I tried my freaking best not to let him down. Aku berusaha untuk nggak melakukan sesuatu yang akan membuatnya kecewa, even when he's not around.
Frankly speaking, it is still happening, Kak. Setiap aku akan melakukan sesuatu, aku selalu berpikir, apakah jika aku melakukan ini akan membuatmu kecewa? Karena jika iya, aku tidak akan melakukannya.
He will believe in you.
God, he will believe in you in
everything you do. Even when you cant even trust yourself, he will be the first one who will. It was the same day you told me about the 5W1H kind of love.
'Kak, hari ini kakak harus menghiburku dan membuatku senang. Apapun yang terjadi pada pengumuman XL-ku nanti. Biar kalo aku nggak lolos aku nggak sedih-sedih banget.'
There it goes, I aced it. And he is the first one to know, when I told him about the good news,
'Kan, aku bilang apa. Sejak awal aku udah yakin kamu lolos, kamu nggak percaya.' and he smiled.
There once a time as well, ketika aku galau apakah akan ikut YLI atau engga, 'Give it a shot, beth. Sini aku bantu review esainya.' Though I didn't pass, I never regret, I tried anyway.
But there was this one time, the only time as far as I remember, that will always leave a foot mark on my heart, and my whole life.
Pagi itu jam 10, selesai ujian PPM. I could say it was tough. Keluar ruang ujian aku superlemes, takut nggak lulus. And the only one I could think of yang akan membuatku feel better adalah...dia.
I called him, hanya untuk cerita tentang Pelita Muda. But, the call that was supposed to last for a couple of minutes, turned out last for 45 minutes. That small talk became big, kinds I will always embrace. Aku cerita tentang PPM dan how scared I am kalau nggak lulus, dan berlanjut tentang how fail I am as an industrial engineering student, basically how fail I am as a college student to keep my life balanced, how I struggled to juggle every responsibility and ended up a big mess. I cried and here's what he told me
'Bethari, aku nggak pernah melihat seseorang dari IPK, tapi aku lihat IPK sebagai bentuk tanggung jawab ke orang tua. Aku bisa pastikan yang kamu hadapi sekarang itu nggak ada apa-apanya, karena aku tahu setelah ini masih akan ada pelajaran-pelajaran yang lebih susah daripada ini. Sekarang melihat kamu kaya gini, aku nggak perlu kasih tau kamu harus kayak gimana, aku yakin kamu tahu apa yang harus kamu lakukan.'
'Tapi aku takut. Aku nggak yakin aku bisa.....'
'Hey...shhhhh. Aku yakin kamu bisa, oke. Are you crying? Aku yakin kamu bisa. Aku percaya sama kamu.'
'Tapi....'
'Aku percaya sama kamu. Aku yang baru kenal kamu beberapa bulan aja yakin kamu bisa, masa kamu nggak percaya sama diri kamu sendiri? Oke.
I believe in you, kamu harus percaya sama diri kamu juga.'
And ever since, ever since, he changed the way I see my self.
He gave me something other people, even my parents, can't, he believed in me.
That is everything. Everything.
Since that day, I knew I loved him.
Since that day, I knew I had to keep him and would not let him go at all costs.
Since that day, I knew I cant thank God enough for having crossed our paths, for the opportunity to meet him, to know him, to know the world from his point of view, to get this close to him, and to be loved by him.
Since that day,
until today....
If only you could see how much you've changed me, you would be surprised, Kak.
It is
that much.
Terima kasih kak.
Terima kasih sudah memilihku yang bahkan nggak mampu memberi kakak apapun di antara banyak wanita lain yang menawarkan hal yang lebih baik daripada aku.
Terima kasih atas hadiah yang kakak selalu beri ke aku dan nggak pernah kembali lagi kapanpun: waktu.
Untuk waktu yang terbuang demi membelikanku keyboard protector, mengantarkan atau menjemputku dari/ke kampus, menemuiku di kosan hanya karena ingin melihatku, meneleponku untuk memberi kabar kakak, menjadi teman bicara berjam-jam di telpon, menyemangati ketika lelah, dan mengingatkan ketika tinggi.
Kak, it's so hard to forget the one who gives you so much to remember.
But if I had to choose my favorite moments with you,
it's those nights you told me about your dreams and how you want your future to be
"Aku pengen nanti setelah pensiun tinggal di New Zealand. Nggak tahu ya kenapa, tapi seneng nggak sih lihat yang ijo-ijo gitu tiap hari."
"Kamu tau Che Guevara? Dia lulus kuliah kedokteran keliling Amerika buat ngobatin orang-orang yang korban perang. Jadi dia pindah-pindah sambil mengaplikasikan ilmunya. Gila, keren banget nggak sih hidup kayak gitu?"
"Aku merasa di umur segini harusnya aku dapet berbagai apa ya, nasihat, yang cuma bisa di kasih seorang ayah ke anak laki-lakinya, dan aku nggak dapet itu. Aku tumbuh sebagai anak yang lebih deket ke ibu daripada ayah. Jadi nanti ketika aku punya anak, aku akan jadi ayah yang dekat sama anaknya."
'Hal pertama yang akan aku lakukan ke anak laki-lakiku kalo dia habis berantem bukan marahin, tapi tanya 'Gimana? Menang nggak anak ayah?' Kalo sampe kalah, aku bakal ajarin dia berantem sampe menang!"
and my favorite part:
"Aku pengen keliling Indonesia pake mobil Blazer yang jok belakangnya udah dimodif, mulai dari Jawa, terus lanjut Sumatera, Kalimantan, terus ke Timur sampai nanti balik Jawa lagi."
Those lines have always been, and will always be my favorite moments.
I am wishing all the very best for everything ahead of you, Kak.
Kak, you will always,
always, be remembered
❤
You can’t always be somebody’s forever.
Sometimes you’re just
their summer or their little while.
Sometimes not even that.
Sometimes the closest you’ll get
is their almost or their maybe.
And when they leave,
the best you can hope for is to be
their what if or remember when.
Because you can’t always
be somebody’s forever,
even if they were yours...
- Ranata Suzuki