SECOND DESTINY

05: PAST

Dirga put Cantika, who was already sound asleep on the car seat, in Andien's city car. After making sure that the little baby's sleep was not disturbed, Dirga observed the situation in that white-painted car.

"It's okay, boss; it's warm to sit next to each other like this. I'm a villager; I can't stand with air conditioning," said Sanah, as if answering a question in Dirga's mind.

Dirga chuckled, then moved, bringing his head closer to the driver's window.

"Please share the location when you get home, baby... I'll stop by tomorrow before returning to my flat."

"Where are you going tonight?" Andien inquired.

"Bandung. I'll take my sister first, then go back to my family's house. I promised to accompany my father tomorrow," Dirga responded.

"Where is your flat?"

"It's in Kemang."

"Ooo."

"El, Anne, can I come over tomorrow?" Dirga inquired of Andien's eldest son and second daughter.

"Yes, Uncle," they both replied in unison, muttering in a sleepy tone. Dirga smiled as he heard the voices of his two future stepchildren.

'Stay calm, Mr. Pranata!'

"Drive carefully, okay? Please notify me when you get home," he asked Andien while stroking her head.

"Okay!"

"I love you!" Dirga exclaimed quietly to Andien.

Andien, who had read Dirga's lips, smiled and nodded as she stroked the man's jaw gently.

"See you tomorrow," said Andien.

Dirga stepped out of his car and into the well-known coffee shop. While talking to the cashier in front of him, he swept his gaze across the side of the cafe and caught the figure of the woman he was looking for.

"Please place your order, sir."

"One cold brew and less ice."

"With or without the syrup, sir?"

"Oh no, please."

"The total, sir, is 41,000 rupiah."

Dirga handed the cashier a blue rupiah.

"Do you have the card, sir?"

"I don't think so."

"Okay, sir, here's the change. Thank you very much. Please wait a moment."

"Yes, thank you."

Dirga was standing in line for coffee when the woman he was looking for approached him.

"Let's go back; my husband just called and told me to go home right now."

"Ok. Don't you want to take something away?"

"No need, just take your earlier story with the woman with you. You haven't yet introduced me to her."

"Oh my gosh, please be patient!" Dirga exclaimed as he embraced his sister.

"You're the one driving, ok? We'll take turns at the rest area."

"Hmmm," Nisa responded by taking the car keys from her younger brother's grasp.

"So, what's your story?" Nisa inquired as the car they were driving drove down the streets of the city.

Dirga paused for a moment to reflect.

"She was my first love," he replied quietly.

"You know, you've never been open about your love life... But if you don't want to be open right now, I'll make sure we try you tomorrow. You don't want to live celibately, do you?"

"Damn you!"

Nisa laughed.

"From when?" Nisa inquired once more.

"I just met her again."

"I mean, when did you fall in love with her?"

"Does it appear that I love her?"

"Ga, the way you look at her reveals your emotions... You're also cynical about me! How do I know she's the girl you're crushing on? So?"

"Hahaha... I'm sorry, Sis. I was just annoyed when you said there were a lot of single people. Mmm, ever since I was twelve... At least, that's all I remember. Our relationship has only started now."

"How come? Why?"

"Do you have any idea who she is?"

"Who exactly is she?"

Before he could answer, Dirga's cellphone notification showed that there was a new message there.

[Baby]

I just arrived.

-location sent-

[Me]

Ok. I'll stop by tomorrow.

[Baby]

Baby, if tomorrow you expect to be here after 8 pm, we'll meet again sometime, okay? I hesitate to receive male guests at night. I'm sorry...

[Me]

Ok. After sunset, I'll try to arrive.

[Baby]

Ok. See you then.

[Me]

I love you.

Dirga is still staring at his phone, hoping Andien will respond to the last sentence he sent.

'Oh my gosh, I was ignored!'

'She's insane if she says she loves you too!'

'And I hope she's insane!

'Shut up!'

Dirga rubbed his face roughly, dizzy from his noisy mind.

"That much your affection for Andien? Are you seriously in love?" Nisa brought Dirga back to the present.

"Why am I acting like this?" Dirga stated.

"This is the first time I've seen my younger brother fall so deeply in love. So, who exactly is Andien?"

Dirga sighed. "Andien is Aunt Rosi's daughter. Do you remember? We used to live in the same neighborhood."

"Is her father our village chief?"

"Yep."

"Are you sure? Isn't his father fierce?"

"They said he did. But Andien said he wasn't like that; just his father's face appeared to be fierce. What is certain is that no one dared to approach Andien before; I just dared see her from afar."

"Is that why you never expressed your feelings to her? Coward!"

"Yeah, no need to explain, please! Before the undergraduate trial, I just came home. I bought a ring with my salary, which I'm saving up for gradually. I want to tell her how I feel; I want to ask her to wait for me. Here's the ring..."

Dirga wears a pair of rings that are hanging from a black necklace around his neck. He's been wearing it since his divorce.

"The problem is that when I went to her house, she had moved..." Dirga continued.

Nisa rubbed her brother's arm gently.

"Did you happen to run into Andien again tonight?"

"No. The groom is Ian's cousin. Three months ago when his cousin was engaged, Ian met Andien. More precisely, it was Ria who recognized her. You know that she was often left at Ian's house, right? She played with Ria; that's why Ria recognized her very well. Ria told Ian; Ian told me, including her current condition."

"That's why you came home?"

"Yes."

"Have you ever looked for Andien?"

"You were aware of our situation at the time, weren't you? It wasn't cheap for a London-Jakarta trip. I returned after finishing my master's degree, looking for her with Ian, but I couldn't find her. Three years later, I returned, and you remember what happened in the dining room. You have no idea how upset I was when I found out she was getting married. In fact, what I have accomplished now is a dream that I used to want to realize in order to be with her."

Dirga stared blankly, dreaming, remembering the events of many years ago.

(Flashback on)

Dirga is brewing coffee for himself; it looks like he will stay up late again finishing a small house design project for a friend.

"Do you remember Mr. Hamdan and Mrs. Rosi?" his mother asked that night. They were talking in a simple dining room near Dirga, who was sipping his coffee.

"Of course. Who doesn't know our respected chief village?" his father responded.

"Her daughter married earlier this month. Even though I used to want to ask her to be one of our daughters-in-law."

Everyone in the dining room turned to face the sound. Dirga dropped a cup of hot coffee in front of his feet.

"DIRGA!" shouted Hana, Dirga's sister "Stay there! Oh, my goodness! Nisa, please get me first aid and ointment for burning skin!".

Nisa went straight to her room to get a first aid kit. Irgi, the eldest, assists Hana in obtaining a wet cloth to wipe the thin glass so as not to injure Dirga or anyone who walks barefoot there.

"Who's married, Ma?" Dirga inquired, his face pale, pale.

"What's the matter with you?" Irgi clutched his panicked and pale brother's shoulder.

"Who, Mom?" Dirga inquired again, his chest tightening and his eyes heating up.

His mother, who was still sitting, stood up and walked slowly towards Dirga, followed by his father, who sensed something was wrong with their third son.

"Andien, son," her mother replied slowly.

Dirga froze at first, then his hands began to shake, tears streamed from the corners of his eyes, his chest tightened, and he began to cry quietly.

The trembling hand slowly grasped the pair of rings he wore around his neck on a black rope.

His body was low and sitting languidly, his face buried between his knees, and his shoulders shook.

His parents are also depressed. They immediately hugged him tightly and muffled the son's silent sobs, which seemed to be waiting to be crushed.

All of them in the room knew that there was a story that had been hidden by Dirga.

'I'm late!' Dirga thought at that time.

(Flashback off)

Dirga closed his eyes and exhaled slowly, remembering how painful it was when memories replayed in his mind. His eyes were still hot, and his chest was tight as the memory flashed back. After years of loving in silence, years later searching for her whereabouts, he couldn't even have her in the end.

Dirga tries to return to the present, listening to music from his car's stereo and realizing how much his heart is tied to one name... Andien.

'Cause if one day you wake up and find that you're missing me

And your heart starts to wonder where on this earth I could be

Thinking maybe you'll come back here to the place that we'd meet

And you'll see me waiting for you on the corner of the street

So I'm not moving, I'm not moving

(The Script – The Man Who Can't Be Moved)