Chapter 1 - ON RUNNING
Morning dew slipped through the gaps of the bathroom window, its wooden frame warped from years of dampness. The piercing cold air seemed to find its ally in the chill that had long settled in Melati Mandala’s chest.
She stood with her back to the foggy mirror framed in decaying wood, her cold fingers gripping tightly onto the edge of a white ceramic sink, yellowed with age and cracked at the corner. The crack resembled the fractures in her heart—many, uneven, and as if only waiting for the right moment to shatter completely.
She deliberately avoided looking at her own reflection. Not at the strands of gray that had begun to take root among her tangled black hair, nor at the dark circles beneath her eyes—silent witnesses to sleepless nights spent arguing with her own thoughts.
Her gaze, almost empty, fixed instead on a single point at the base of her neck: a tattoo that had once been vibrant. The letter "M," shaped like two half-spread wings, as if hesitating between flight and surrender to gravity.
Twenty years ago, in a large and well-known tattoo studio, that tattoo had been a symbol of rebellion for twenty-year-old Mela. A vow to herself that 'Mela the Dancer' would chase her dreams, soar high, and leave her mark on stages around the world. Now, at forty, it felt like a bitter joke etched into her skin.
A monument to another life—a life she had willingly buried for the sake of an illusion called 'a complete family.'
From behind the thin wooden door, heavy and familiar footsteps echoed closer. Mela’s heart fluttered wildly, its rhythm uneven like a drum beaten without pattern.
Artha, her husband, pushed the door open without permission. His presence filled the cramped space instantly, accompanied by the mixed smell of cheap clove cigarettes and stale sweat clinging to his worn uniform.
“Where are my cigarettes?” he muttered, his hoarse voice slicing through the morning silence. His red, baggy eyes stared at her without a trace of warmth.
“Just a second, Tha,” Mela replied, her voice softer than she intended. “I forgot to buy them last night. I’ll go get them in a bit.” She could feel her throat going dry.
Artha let out a long, mocking sigh. “Unbelievable… You do nothing but stay at home and still forget.” Each word that left his mouth was like a sharp pebble she had grown used to being pelted with—but this morning, they felt like stones.
She lowered her head instinctively, letting the insult linger in the damp air, absorbed by the moist tiles.
It was their morning ritual for years. Years of silence, burying Mela the dancer deep within, replacing her with 'Mama' for her three children and 'Wife' for a man who, slowly but surely, had been draining her life and soul.
But this morning, something unfamiliar stirred within her chest.
A small navy travel bag, prepared in secret over the past week—by setting aside small amounts of grocery money—was hidden behind stacked boxes near the garage.
Today was the day Kak Tina had promised. The day the cage would finally open.
Twenty years.
The number echoed in her mind. Twenty years enduring the same cycle of hell: suffering, threats to leave, and then Artha’s manipulative lullabies that always pulled her back.
"No other man would want a woman like you, with three kids already," he once whispered, so convincingly that Mela believed him.
She had been trapped because she had nowhere else to go. Her parents were gone. Her three half-siblings were scattered—one in Jakarta, one in America, and Tina, the eldest, in Singapore—each busy with their established lives.
She, the youngest, felt like a stranded ship.
But three months ago, in a moment of despair so deep it nearly drove her to a point of no return, her trembling fingers dialed Kak Tina’s number. Her sister, seventeen years older, who usually sounded rushed and busy, listened in silence this time.
And Melati spoke. She poured everything out—about the shouting, the insults, the suffocating financial pressure, the constant fear that had become her daily companion.
She didn’t ask for help, but Kak Tina, in a voice suddenly firm, said, "Enough, Mel. I’ll come get you. You’re not alone anymore."
Suddenly, the vibration of her cheap phone in her pocket snapped her out of her thoughts. Not a ring, but two short vibrations in succession—the agreed signal for a message.
Holding her breath, she slipped her hand into her pocket and checked the screen.
[Kak Tina : Outside. Now.]
Her blood seemed to freeze. This was it. Kak Tina had really come all the way from Singapore, leaving her work behind, just to take her away from hell.
She stole a glance toward the living room. Artha was already sitting on the worn-out sofa, scrolling through his phone, his expression still sour.
Then her eyes returned to her reflection in the foggy mirror—a woman with shoulders too accustomed to carrying burdens, and eyes that had long lost their light. She saw the 'M' tattoo on her neck.
Melati. Mandala. Mela. M.
Whatever it meant, she had to save it.
Be brave, urged a small voice in her head—the one she had buried for so long. Not just for me. But for the children. So they can see their mother is not weak forever.
"Artha," she said, forcing her voice to sound normal. "I… I’m going out for a bit. To the store—buy eggs for the kids breakfast and your cigarettes."
Artha glanced at her from above his phone, uninterested. "Hmm. Be quick. Don’t gossip outside too long."
With her heart pounding as if it might leap out of her chest, Mela walked slowly toward the front door. She didn’t take her wallet or a bag—only her phone, its wallpaper showing her three children smiling brightly, tucked into her pocket.
She didn’t look toward the kitchen, nor the children’s quiet rooms, and certainly not at Artha. One glance back could ruin everything.
Her sweaty hand turned the doorknob. Cold. She pulled it open slowly, avoiding the creak.
Outside, the morning fog was still thick. Across the street, a plain yellow taxi was parked with its engine running. And in the backseat window, Kak Tina’s face was clearly visible—firm, lines of exhaustion and worry etched at the corners of her eyes, but her gaze filled with determination.
Without a word, Mela stepped forward. One, two, three steps—she pulled aside the boxes hiding her small travel bag, clutched it tightly, and crossed the quiet street. She opened the taxi door and slipped inside. The sharp scent of car freshener greeted her. The door closed with a decisive click.
“Go, sir,” Tina instructed the driver, her voice calm yet commanding.
The car moved slowly, then faster. Mela sat stiffly, staring straight ahead through the windshield, watching her house—the cage that had been her entire world—grow smaller and finally disappear around the corner.
Her whole body trembled, a physical reaction to emotions long suppressed. Only when her old surroundings were truly gone did she dare to turn her head.
Tina said nothing. She simply reached for Mela’s cold hand and held it tightly. The grip was warm, firm, and certain—a steady anchor in the vast uncertainty Mela had just entered.
And there, for the first time in twenty years, Melati Mandala truly felt that she had a place to lean on.
Tina looked at her for a long moment, a small, gentle, and sad smile forming on her lips. "Stay calm," she whispered. "I’ve informed Artha’s family and arranged for the kids to be taken care of for now. You just need to be strong enough to leave this behind for a while until everything is settled, hmm…"
An agreement. A promise. A faint new hope.
Mela. Just one syllable of her name, yet it felt like a different person entirely.
She nodded slowly, and the tears she had been holding back finally spilled over, streaming down her thin cheeks. Not tears of sorrow—but tears of a freedom that was both bitter and sweet.And in the distance, the airport tower came into view, whispering the beginning of something entirely new.
