Prologue
Bogor, December 10th, 2024
Rain had been pouring over Bogor nonstop since the beginning of December. Every plan felt delayed because of it, though plenty of people still believed rain brought blessings.
“Feels like January already. It just won’t stop raining,” Arinta grumbled, dragging out every word.
“Hush. Stop complaining. Your boyfriend’s already waiting outside,” Ghifari, her older brother, teased from across the table.
Arinta turned instinctively, even though there was no way she could see the front gate from the dining room.
“It’s raining. I don’t wanna go. My shoes got soaked yesterday and they just dried,” she muttered, still wearing the same sour expression.
“Just go meet him first. Poor guy’s been waiting,” said Zaid, her father.
Still in her white-and-gray school uniform, Arinta shuffled toward the front porch. The person waiting outside was someone she’d known since elementary school. He was standing with his back turned, focused on his phone, still wearing that obnoxiously bright neon-green raincoat he loved so much.
“Il,” Arinta called.
Aguil turned around immediately.
“Come on. You ready?”
“It’s still raining, genius.”
He clicked his tongue. “It’s almost seven. We’re gonna be late. Besides, we’ve got raincoats.”
“I know, but I seriously don’t feel like going, Il. I swear, I—”
“Too much talking.”
Before she could finish, Aguil had already pulled the pink raincoat over her shoulders. Arinta could only sigh in defeat.
“Wait. Let me say bye to my dad first.”
---
By the time they arrived at school, Arinta was still sulking.
She’d been right. Her uniform stayed dry, but her shoes were soaked.
Aguil noticed immediately.
“Tomorrow, just wrap your shoes in plastic.”
Arinta shot him a lazy glare and walked off, leaving him still busy taking off his own raincoat.
“Ta… where are you going for year-end break?” Aguil asked, trailing after her until lunch.
Anyone who’d known them since they were babies wouldn’t find this strange. They weren’t related by blood, but they had been nursed by the same woman as infants. Almost no one knew that. To everyone else, they were just unusually close.
“The usual. Why are you asking like you don’t know me?”
“Well, maybe this year’s different.”
Arinta didn’t answer. She just sipped the warm broth of her bowl of tekwan.
“Wow. Didn’t even wait for me,” Aru complained as she finally reached the cafeteria.
“I thought you already went ahead,” Arinta said with a grin that showed zero guilt.
Aru rolled her eyes before turning to Aguil.
“Il, can you make a missing person poster?”
Aguil frowned. “For what?”
“To help find Arinta Prameswari’s lost morals.”
Aguil burst into a laugh. Arinta glared at Aru dramatically, and Aru glared back just as hard.
“You two should audition for one of those soap operas. Seriously.”
The three of them were still laughing when two more voices joined.
Tama and Tami. The other two weirdos of the group.
“Look who finally came to school,” Aru said.
“For real. This one,” Aguil pointed at Arinta, “would’ve skipped too if nobody forced her.”
Tama immediately betrayed his own twin.
“Same with Tami. Senior year and somehow getting lazier.”
Tami smacked his arm. “You’re just as bad.”
“Shh. You’re both equally hopeless,” Arinta cut in.
Aru stared at the twins for a while.
“I just realized—Tama and Tami aren’t just identical in looks. Their personalities are literally copy-paste.”
“If you really know us, you can tell the difference,” Tami said.
“Obviously there’s a difference. You’re just not observant,” Arinta replied.
For once, silence settled between the five of them.
Only the fading sound of rain remained in the background.
Then Tami broke it.
“You’re going to Balikpapan again this year, right, Ta?”
Arinta blinked.
“That was random.”
Tami shrugged. “Me and Tama are flying to Kalimantan too. To Balikpapan. Thought maybe we’d end up on the same flight.”
Arinta nodded.
“Not sure yet. But usually…” she paused, trying to remember. “Around the twentieth? Or whenever school break starts.”
“Oh.”
“You go there every year. Don’t you ever get bored?” Aru asked.
“No.”
The answer came too fast.
Aguil caught the shift in her expression instantly.
That topic had always been sensitive. Out of all of them, only he knew the darker pieces of Arinta’s family history. Ghifari had told him years ago.
Aru, oblivious, turned to the twins.
“So why are you two going there? Vacation?”
“Yeah. Tama’s idea, actually. He said he wanted to tag along with Arinta so they could—”
Tama clamped a hand over his twin’s mouth.
“She makes stuff up. Don’t listen.”
Arinta smiled faintly.
“Tell me later if you really want the same flight.”
Aru pouted.
“So Aguil and I are getting abandoned here?”
“You’ll survive. We’re coming back.”
Aguil raised an eyebrow.
“Who said I’m staying here too? I’m going somewhere.”
Everyone turned to him.
“You’re going to Kalimantan too?”
Arinta didn’t bother reacting.
Aguil smirked.
“Who said Kalimantan? I’m going to Banten. My mom’s family lives there. Haven’t visited in forever. Last time was middle school.”
Aru groaned louder.
“Great. So I’m literally the only one stuck here.”
Tama laughed.
“You’re not going anywhere, Ru?”
Aru shrugged.
“Where would I go? My parents are both from here. No hometown trips for me.”
Silence again.
Then Aru grinned.
“Eh, it’s fine. I’m happy staying home. I’ll binge Korean dramas all day. I may not leave the house, but I’ll still travel around Korea.”
That made everyone laugh again.
Then the bell rang.
Lunch was over.
Everyone split back to class—except Aguil and Arinta, who shared one.
As they walked in, Aguil glanced at her.
“You okay, Ta?”
Arinta kept her eyes ahead.
“I’m okay.”
A lie.
Aguil saw it instantly in her eyes.
“Go back to your seat,” Arinta said.
Aguil raised both hands.
“Okay, fine.”
He turned away, then paused.
“But we’re still sharing answers later, right?”
Arinta was about to snap at him, but the exam supervisor entered the room first.
And just like every year, Aguil watched Arinta grow quieter whenever mid-December came around.
Usually, he’d drag her outside, force her to hang out, talk about random things—anything to keep her from sinking into whatever memories December always brought.
But not this year.
School exams had swallowed all their time.
Maybe, he thought, Arinta would be too busy studying to fall apart this time.
Maybe.
---
Bogor, December 22nd, 2024
Zaid stood by the edge of his bed, staring at an old family photograph.
Back when they were still whole.
Arinta wasn’t in it. More accurately, she hadn’t been born yet.
In the picture, there was a beautiful woman who still occupied the deepest part of his heart. Beside her stood two little boys—one around four years old, the other no older than two. And there he was too, looking much younger than he remembered.
Twenty years had passed since that terrible tragedy.
Yet somehow, the pain had never left.
He used to think that when their youngest daughter was born—Arinta Prameswari—his wife would finally be able to let go of the child they had lost.
He had been wrong.
Nanda, his wife, passed away not long after seeing Arinta born healthy.
“Ayah?”
Zaid quickly wiped away the tears that hadn’t fallen yet. He turned toward the doorway.
Ghifari stood there, looking at him with quiet concern.
“Yes?”
Ghifari stepped inside and sat beside him on the bed.
“Has Arinta come home yet?”
“Not yet. She’s still at Aguil’s house.”
“Oh right. Aguil’s going back to his hometown tomorrow, isn’t he?”
Ghifari nodded.
“That’s why she’s taking so long.”
“Has Ari had dinner?”
“I’m waiting for Arinta.”
Zaid nodded.
Then Ghifari hesitated.
“Dad… can I ask something?”
“Of course. What is it?”
Ghifari looked uncertain.
“Even if it’s about Mom?”
Zaid paused.
“Is there still anything you don’t know? I thought I told you everything.”
“No.”
Ghifari shook his head.
“You didn’t tell me everything.”
Zaid frowned slightly.
“What part?”
“How did you meet Mom?”
He leaned back, thinking.
“I mean… she was from a completely different island. So far away. How did she end up here?”
Zaid chuckled softly.
“You know what your mother was like, right?”
“Based on your stories? Yeah.”
“She was the one who moved to Java.”
Ghifari stared at him.
“What? Mom? She moved that far away by herself?”
Zaid smiled.
“You sound exactly like me when I first found out.”
Ghifari laughed in disbelief.
“Wow. So she wasn’t as timid as you always made her sound.”
“Ari still thinks twice about moving out alone.”
Zaid ruffled his son’s hair.
“You got that from me. Brave only at home.”
They both laughed.
Then Ghifari leaned forward.
“So? Where did you meet?”
“At work—”
“Dad! We’re still going to Kalimantan tomorrow, right?”
Arinta’s voice cut through the room before Zaid could finish.
She had just come in, shoes kicked off carelessly by the door.
Ghifari clicked his tongue and smacked the back of her head lightly.
“You always ruin the timing.”
“Yes, Arinta. You’ve asked that like five times today.”
Arinta flopped onto the bed, scrolling through her phone before tossing it aside.
“The twins kept asking. They started it.”
“Tama and Tami?” Ghifari asked.
She nodded.
“Well, that’s good. At least you’ll have friends there,” Zaid said.
Ghifari agreed.
“You should all go to the airport together. Just the two of them? Or with their parents?”
“Just the two of them. Those two are kind of wild.”
“It’s fine. You’ll still have Dad and Ari.”
Arinta narrowed her eyes.
“What were you talking about before I came in? Sounded serious.”
Ghifari stood up.
“Yeah. Because you ruined it.”
He walked out.
Arinta scrambled after him.
“Sorry!”
Zaid watched both of them with a quiet smile.
At least he still had these two.
Two reasons to keep going.
---
Later that afternoon, at Aguil’s house, Tama sat beside him on the porch.
The weather was calm now. No clouds. Just the cool wind brushing past.
Tama glanced at Aguil.
“Balikpapan seems like a sensitive topic for Arinta, huh?”
Aguil looked at him.
Only briefly.
“You’ve known her for years. Did she ever tell you—”
“Tama.”
Aguil cut him off before he could finish.
“Even if I know something, I don’t have the right to tell anyone. If you can’t ask Arinta directly, ask Ari. He handles that kind of thing better.”
He paused.
“Though honestly, either way, you’d still be digging up old wounds.”
Tama went silent.
His face shifted.
Guilty.
Aguil sighed.
“Sorry.”
Tama shook his head immediately.
“No. You’re right. I won’t ask again.”
Before the silence got awkward, three familiar voices appeared at the gate.
Arinta. Aru. Tami.
Tami lifted the grocery bags above her head dramatically.
“Let’s gooo!”
Aru pointed at Aguil and Tama.
“You two are in charge of grilling!”
Both of them frowned.
“There was no agreement like that.”
“Exactly,” Arinta added.
“This whole thing was Aguil’s idea anyway.”
Aguil nudged her arm.
“Since it’s my event, I should be treated like royalty.”
Tama snorted.
“Excuse me? Guests are supposed to get served.”
Arinta and Aru nodded immediately.
“Exactly.”
Aguil stared at them for a second, expressionless, then walked inside.
“Fine.”
Arinta laughed.
“Come on, we’re kidding.”
---
They stayed together until night fell.
The conversations turned quieter.
More serious.
Tami stretched out on the porch.
“Can’t you leave a little later tomorrow, Il? So we can at least say goodbye properly?”
Aru nodded.
“Seriously. Arinta and the twins aren’t leaving that early.”
Aguil rolled his eyes.
“I told you. I wanna get there faster. You know how crazy holiday traffic gets.”
Tami scoffed.
“You’ll still get stuck in traffic either way.”
Aguil immediately argued back.
“No. If I leave before dawn, at least I won’t arrive in the middle of the night.”
“Guys, seriously, stop arguing,” Tama interrupted.
Even though they weren’t really fighting.
Tami turned to Arinta.
“So it’s confirmed tomorrow, right? No delay?”
Arinta sighed.
“Yes. Why do you keep asking the same thing?”
“Okay, okay.”
Aru checked her phone.
“It’s late. My mom’s already asking where I am.”
Aguil looked at the clock.
Almost eight.
“Then go home already.”
Tami clutched her chest dramatically.
“Wow. Kicking us out. Cruel.”
Aguil ignored her and grabbed his motorcycle keys.
“Aru. Getting picked up, or you wanna ride with me and Arinta?”
Aru shrugged.
“What choice do I have? You can’t seriously make me walk home alone.”
Tami raised her hand.
“Come with me. Tama can paddle.”
Tama glared.
Before they could start another argument, Aru had already dragged Arinta outside after saying goodbye to Aguil’s parents.
Tami pointed dramatically at the three of them leaving on one bike.
“Aguil wins the most.”
Tama laughed.
“Il, share one.”
Aguil pretended not to hear.
Once they were gone, Tama and Tami finally got on their own motorcycle.
Tami leaned forward.
“So? Was Aguil gonna tell you?”
Tama started the engine.
“No. Said it wasn’t his story to tell. Told me to ask Ari instead.”
“Oh.”
She thought for a moment.
“Then ask him tomorrow.”
Tama nodded.
“Yeah. We’ll see him anyway.”
---
To be continued...
