POSSESSIVE TO GET YOU

The expression on a young man's face appeared somber as his hand landed on the door handle of a café. For some reason, his mind felt tumultuous. The same went for his heart, which felt like it had been tossed around. The message he had received fifteen minutes ago was the reason why he looked this way.

The young man, Rakan, sighed in frustration before opening the café door, steeling himself even though he knew what would happen next.

His gaze fell upon the back of a girl sitting by the window, engrossed in her phone. There was a cup of coffee on her table; he knew it was her favorite, an affogato.

Then his focus shifted to the large backpack containing a guitar on the chair next to her. She must have just returned from her music lesson. That was just like her.

Rakan got up from his seat, approached, and sat across from the girl. The corner of his lips lifted. Rakan was always captivated by the natural beauty of Rea, his girlfriend. A headstrong girl with a carefree attitude had successfully ensnared Rakan.

Meanwhile, the object of his intense scrutiny began to feel disturbed. The girl named Rea shifted her attention to the front. She smiled and removed the earphones from her ears. For a few moments, they exchanged glances, with indescribable emotions and a suffocating feeling in their chests. One of them couldn't accept, while the other was trying to let go.

Once again, Rakan cursed silently in his heart. The damn message Rea had sent him a few minutes ago came back to haunt his memory. His chest felt as if it were being squeezed so tightly. He had never felt this much pain, sadness, and frustration before.

Then he was forced to let go, without a clear reason or explanation. He was confused, lost in thought, and his mind wandered aimlessly.

A heart that was once filled was now emptied by a void. His heart was hollow, unable to accept the reality of what had happened. Rakan didn't hate; he was just disappointed. What was even more frustrating was when those words were bluntly spoken by the love of his life.

"I want to break up!"

Rakan's jaw clenched, his heart shattered. No matter how strong he tried to hold back the pain, he couldn't bear it. Rakan hadn't accepted it yet, and unfortunately, Rea was forcing him to let go.

His mouth felt heavy. He wanted to respond, but his words were stuck in his throat along with his answer. So, Rakan reached the point of resignation. He sat there in silence while Rea looked at him with an expression that couldn't be explained.

And then, in the next moment, one word escaped Rakan's lips, perfectly reflecting how he felt at that moment.

"Why?" Rakan responded softly to Rea's gaze, in stark contrast to the girl's demeanor. Rea remained impassive.

Rakan still held his ground, even though he knew he wouldn't get the answer he wanted.

As expected, Rea stood up, slung her guitar backpack over her shoulder, and stared at Rakan expressionlessly. Her shoulder-length brown hair was tied back.

"My answer isn't any different from the message you read earlier. There's no reason, Rakan. This relationship just ends here. I'm done," Rea said, her tone firm at the end of her sentence.

The suffocating feeling intensified. Rakan watched as Rea's back slowly disappeared behind the café door. And in the end, he couldn't do anything. Rakan couldn't believe that their relationship had ended so abruptly, suddenly, and strangely.

For hours, Rakan sat there in silence, his face filled with frustration, ignoring the curious glances of the café's other patrons.

Like most broken-hearted people, Rakan needed time alone. He needed to suppress the pain in his chest and perhaps slowly learn to let go. Just as Rea had advised him. He couldn't dwell on this heartache forever.

Rakan's attention turned to the chair that had been vacated by the café's previous customer just hours ago. Reflecting on the moments he had spent with Rea, it had been so enjoyable. He longed for those times. But the more he remembered, the tighter his chest felt.

So, Rakan shifted his focus to the table. A male waiter had just picked up Rea's empty coffee cup, leaving behind the wet mark on the table.

Gradually, Rakan noticed it, and his lips curled into a wistful smile.

"She's gone, but the memories remain. Like the stain on the table that lingers even though your drink has been gone for hours," he whispered softly.

Rakan's story was similar to the meaning of that stain. Just like the mark deliberately left behind, he wasn't sure by whom or for what reason.

A cold drink, once full, now half-empty, and then empty. But even though the glass had been taken away, the stain would still be there, nearby, and wouldn't disappear unless it was erased by time or by him.

That's exactly how he felt now. What had initially brought joy had gradually diminished until it became empty, and then it had disappeared without him realizing it, leaving behind a trace that he had forgotten to erase, whether in the form of memories, pain, or scars.

Kulacino...

There are times when someone comes, bringing the happiness we seek, but they are only here for a moment. The saddest part is when we have to let them go, knowing they won't return. Because those who leave aren't necessarily coming back, are they?

Talking about traces can leave you at a loss for words. Traces that someone creates can sometimes leave a deep impact.

Traces that someone creates can sometimes cause pain every time Rakan retraced them alone. She had made him admire her, fall in love with her, and then she had moved on so easily.

"From those traces, I learned that every wound matures."

"From her, I learned how to love someone more authentically."

"And I believe there's always another time to love again."

***

"Re, did you really break up with Rakan?" a dark-haired young man asked, looking at the brown-haired girl with a shoulder-length hair with a lot of questions.

The girl only mumbled in response. She was focused on her guitar in her hands, plucking the strings to find the right notes to play.

There was a sigh from the young man who had asked earlier, followed by an exasperated groan.

"Are you crazy, Re? That guy looks so gloomy, and it's affecting us all. It's like he's possessed or something," he said, releasing a frustrated breath.

"Stop bothering me, Rafa," Rea grumbled, looking lazily at the young man named Rafa.

"Well, I wouldn't be like this, Re. He's my friend, there's a connection to me. You threw him away, and there's no clear explanation from you. Are you cursed with bad karma?" Rafa retorted.

Rea hissed and crossed her arms. She cast a lazy gaze at Rafa.

"What's it to you? It's up to him whether he wants to curse me or whatever. I don't care. I have nothing to do with him anymore. So, stop bothering me, and go back to your friends," she replied curtly.

Rafa was stunned and could only shake his head in disbelief. Rea remained Rea. He thought the girl would eventually soften and return to her friend, Rakan.

But it seemed that fate had other plans. Rakan would be listed among the long list of sad boys at school. It was a pitiable fate for the boy. He had been dumped, and now he was heartbroken.

Rafa could only hope that he wouldn't be on the receiving end of Rakan's anger later. Because when his friend was angry, it could be as intense as someone being possessed.

Rafa winced when he felt something hit his head. He turned to find Rea looking at him with an annoyed expression.

"What are you waiting for here? I want to practice, and it's almost time for class," she scolded.

Even Rea had lost her temper with him. Rafa could only surrender. As he was about to leave, a voice suddenly caught his attention. The same happened to Rea.

Both young people turned toward the source of the sound, and Rafa felt his hair stand on end.

Right in front of the two of them stood Rakan, along with his friends, Jack and Bagas.

But that wasn't what mattered now. What mattered was the intense gaze between the two teenagers. Rakan and Rea. Unexpectedly, they were reunited in that place.

Their eyes locked, and one of them felt that pain again. A deep, excruciating pain.

Until finally, Rakan decided to break that eye contact, shifting his attention elsewhere.

"Rafa, let's go."

To be continued...

Rea sat still, propping her chin on the classroom window sill. Her pale face was wet from the rain splashes.

Rea extended her hand, raindrops gathered in her palm, and dripped as she tried to hold them.

Her brown eyes gazed across the field, capturing a man running through the rain, using one hand to shield his head. He passed by the classroom window where she sat.

However, their eyes briefly met. Rea stared blankly, while the man seemed surprised to find Rea behind the window.

Rea broke eye contact first. The man continued on his way, moving quickly due to his long legs. It only took a moment, and now he had disappeared from view.

Rea squinted, feeling a gentle breeze on her face. Gradually, a sense of pain struck her. Her stomach was seized by cramps. Then a small grimace escaped her lips.

Rea turned her face away from the window, her eyebrows furrowing as she looked oddly at the man next to her.

"Hey Re, heard that Rakan is going to be transferred to our class," said the boy in the midst of the heavy rain.

A crescent moon-like smile appeared on the boy's face, then his cold hand began to support his chin, looking at Rea with hidden intentions.

"Rafa...," Rea replied softly, almost inaudibly. For some reason, she felt a sharp pain in her stomach, as well as nausea and dizziness all at once.

Rafa's initially cheerful face slowly faded. His forehead furrowed, sensing a change in the pale girl's expression.

And for the last time, Rea felt her head spinning. Her cheek fell onto the table, her vision blurred, and her eyelids slowly closed. Her world turned pitch black.

Rea woke up with a painful groan, finding herself in a different and unfamiliar room, all alone. She was lying on a single-sized bed.

Rea endured the pain spreading in her stomach. She knew this was one of the early signs of her period. It wasn't usually this painful. She was confused.

She didn't care who had brought her to this place. Frustrated, she got up and stepped off the bed, venting her anger. Things on the table beside the bed were suddenly thrown about.

"Darn it! Why does it hurt so badly?" Rea kicked a chair, a table, and other nearby objects.

"Ugh! I feel like punching someone," she added, her face reddening with frustration.

"So, what should I do now?" she muttered. Clutching her stomach, Rea quickly climbed back onto the bed, facing the wall. She reached for her phone and called someone.

"Hey Fa, where are you?" she said to the person on the other end.

[In class. Are you awake?]

"Go to the convenience store now!"

[Huh, why?]

It was clear that Rafa was confused. Rea didn't answer his previous question either.

"Just buy me something, like pain relievers or something," Rea snapped.

Rafa was taken aback. Why him? How would he know about that kind of stuff?

[Rea, how am I supposed to know about that? Hey!]

Rea hissed.

"Whatever, just ask the cashier, is it that hard for you to handle life?"

[Rea, but it's still during school hours. Aren't there-]

"Hurry up! Don't blame me if you don't bring anything," she ended the call. With great effort, Rea adjusted her position to lie down. It hurt on the right side, and on the left, it was no better. Eventually, she lay in a supine position.

"Being a girl is so hard!"

"Why does this have to happen, it's not usually like this," she complained.

"Ugh!" she screamed. Instantly, the door to the health office was opened by someone.

"What are you doing here, causing a scene?" Rafa's voice came from behind.

Rea rolled her eyes.

"Why are you here, Rafa? Where's my order?" she demanded. The girl continued to squirm and groan. The curse of her period was testing her to the limit.

"Oh, come on," he grumbled, crossing his arms. "I wasn't allowed to leave, Re. So, I had to leave you here."

Rea shifted into a sitting position. Meanwhile, Rafa seemed to be looking around, searching for someone.

"Are you blind? Can't you see I'm in agony like this? So, what do I have to do, Rafa?" she raised her voice.

Rafa glared at Rea in irritation. Menstruating or not, she was just as fierce. Why was he destined to have a friend like her?

Rafa disappeared from the room, the sound of the door closing abruptly. Rea always managed to infuriate people with her antics.

A few minutes later, Rea heard the door to the health office open again. Rea remained lying on her bed, in the same position as before. She didn't want to turn around; she assumed it was Rafa.

"Is it done, Fa? Just put it on the table," she said without changing her position.

The person placed Rea's order where instructed.

Rea could hear a chair being pulled out, assuming that Rafa was sitting. Whatever, it was too bad that he had to leave class because of her.

"Fa, seriously, it's so uncomfortable being a girl."

"Every month it's like this, such a hassle!"

"It's even more painful this time."

"If this were a person, I would've given it a Rabbit Punch by now," she muttered. The girl kept complaining.

"Fa, are you still alive?" she yelled when she realized that her friend wasn't saying anything. Usually, in times like this, Rafa would be rambling incoherently.

"Hey, are you mute or something?"

But there was still no response.

"Hey, Fa, answer me!"

It seemed hopeless; Rea was getting too annoyed. She didn't like being ignored like this, especially by her friend, Rafa.

"I'm going to slap you if you don't respond. I'll count to three, get ready to lose the use of your legs."

"One."

"Two."

"Th-"

"Chatterbox!"

Finally, she responded. However, something was odd. The voice was different. The girl's eyebrows furrowed. Clearly, this wasn't Rafa.

"Who are you? Don't mess with me!" Rea tried to turn her body to face the person.

"You?"

Surprised, Rea widened her eyes as she saw the man who had once been close to her now sitting there.

Rakan had an expressionless face, even though his heart was trying to endure sudden pain.

"Who let you in? What are you doing here? Can't you just stop appearing in front of me all the time? My eyes are tired of seeing you!"

Rakan's jaw tightened. Beneath the chair, his hands clenched, unbeknownst to Rea. The girl's unintentional words pierced the depths of his heart.

"I've been here since earlier," Rakan replied after trying to contain the pain in his chest.

The way Rea addressed him hurt him. She used to call him "aku" or "kamu" (informal pronouns), but now she used "lo" (informal "you"). Rakan wasn't used to this new form of address. He was forced to use it due to the circumstances, even though he couldn't fully accept it.

Rakan placed a plastic bag he was holding on the table and took out its contents.

"Here." Rakan handed a bottle to Rea. However, the girl looked at it lazily.

"I'm not that foolish; you can't poison me." She turned her face away. Rea was too lazy to deal with Rakan.

Rakan fell silent. When did he ever want to poison her? There was no intention to do so whatsoever.

Rea was being overly dramatic. What was going on in this girl's head? Why did she always assume the worst about him? Even when they were in a relationship, she often did the same thing.

"Are you blind? This is medicine to relieve your pain."

It was obvious that Rea had never used it.

"I remember telling Rafa to do it; why did you show up instead?" she inquired, trying to investigate. Rakan appeared to heave a sigh.

"He told me to, said he couldn't handle it," he explained. Rea contemplated various possibilities. Since when did her friend behave like that? Strange. At the very least, Rafa should have informed her.

"How's your stomach? Still hurting?"

Instantly, Rea's facial expression became unreadable.

"Don't act like you care!" she retorted sarcastically.

"Pretending to be strong isn't good. You might end up hurting yourself more," Rakan said, putting his belongings on the table. He then got up and looked down at Rea. She only glanced at him with indifference.

"Take your medicine; I don't want you to suffer through the pain like that." Rakan flicked Rea's forehead. The girl yelped in pain, causing him to reflexively touch the area he had flicked.

"You!" she pointed at him, not pleased. She assumed that this guy's behavior was getting weirder by the minute.

"Rest; your screaming won't help." Rakan ruffled Rea's hair gently before disappearing behind the door.

Rea was frozen in place.

"What's wrong with that guy? Is he mentally ill? It's already in the advanced stage, poor thing," Rea quipped casually.

Feeling the pain she had been experiencing gradually subsiding, Rea walked over to the plastic bag on the nightstand. She examined the items inside to see what they were.

Rea furrowed her brow, not understanding the objects she saw. She took each item out of the bag and inspected them.

"Kiranti? What kind of weird thing is this?"

A thin wrinkle appeared on her forehead. Ah, maybe Rea should search for it on the internet. She had never used it before, so how would she know its function?

"Sanitary napkins?"

The girl was bewildered. Rakan had bought them? He was quite bold. Buying sanitary napkins at a store was bound to come with a significant amount of embarrassment.

"Ugh, why should I care?" She continued her unboxing. Besides, why should Rea bother about it?

"Paper?"

Why would such a thing be in the bag? It wasn't possible that he had picked up trash from the street and put it in there. If that were the case, Rakan was in trouble.

Rea's actions stopped abruptly when she saw the writing on the paper.

Rea then folded the paper back into its original shape. The sentence on the paper was now clearly visible.

"Use this because you make me feel embarrassed in front of the cashier!"

Rea covered her mouth with one hand, trying to stifle her laughter.

"Take that!"

To be continued...

After two days since Rakan broke up with Rea, it feels like they were dating just yesterday. The memories of the moments they spent together still linger in Rakan's mind, but they all vanished with the message Rea sent.

Without hesitation, without feelings, without an agreement, in just a few minutes of their meeting at the cafe, Rea's clarification instantly ended their relationship. Rakan was disappointed, of course. He spent the whole day in silence, trying to contemplate what went wrong until Rea unilaterally ended it without explanation.

Rakan felt it was for the best, but only for him. Rea didn't consider his feelings; she just treated him like a piece of discarded gum stuck under a chair.

For those two days, Rakan managed to keep himself in check, though he occasionally vented his frustration to Rafa, his friend who often infuriated him.

Rafa couldn't understand how their relationship ended so quickly. Instead, he insisted on persuading Rea to reconcile with Rakan, which infuriated Rakan even more.

The real war drums sounded when there was news from another friend, Jack, that Rea was getting close to a guy. What shocked Rakan the most was that the guy in question turned out to be his close friend, Farras.

As far as Rakan knew, Farras and Rea were close because they attended the same music class. However, Jack testified that their closeness went beyond that.

It left Rakan feeling weak. His shoulders slumped as he sat in the corner of his room. He was in turmoil, overwhelmed by anger, sadness, disappointment, and... longing. It all happened too suddenly. Rakan was unprepared to be betrayed by his ex-girlfriend and close friend.

He felt trapped in a maze of resentment towards his ex. Rakan was tormented, unable to bounce back. He tried various things to forget but ended up in loneliness.

Currently, Rakan sat silently in his room, lost in thought. Unexpectedly, his mother entered and sat by his bedside, looking at her only son.

His mother, now in her forties, smiled warmly. Her son was facing the trials of a broken heart.

"Rakan, when you break up with someone, you don't have to forget them. You'll only remember them more if you try to forget too hard. Try to forgive; there's no harm in that, right?"

Rakan looked up, listening to his mother's words.

"Keep your memories with her as a lesson. Just remember that you're surrounded by people who love you. A bright future awaits you; try to be happy."

His mother gently rubbed Rakan's back. She realized that his current behavior was counterproductive.

"We have two choices in life, either to be happy or not. So why should we be sad when we can be happy? Happiness is simple, my dear."

"Happiness is when you can love yourself. What she did to you is because she has her own definition of happiness. If that's her happiness, why don't you seek your own? Stay strong."

"Don't let yourself suffer by being sad all the time because, who knows, you might miss the moments when you should be happy. Happiness can come if you want it. Stay strong and achieve your life goals."

Rakan wiped his face, trying to clear his mind. His mother reminded him that his current attitude was excessive, childish, and harmful to himself.

Rakan looked at his mother with a bright smile.

"Mom, thank you."

"How's your stomach doing?" Rafa joked when he saw Rea engrossed in a thick textbook.

The girl only glanced at Rafa briefly before returning her focus to her book.

Rafa sighed lazily.

"Re, you're so fine and quiet. Don't you want to know who took you to the school nurse when you fainted?" he teased.

Seeming uninterested, Rea grumbled and closed her book. She checked her black watch on her wrist. It was half-past seven, and the teacher hadn't arrived yet.

"Re, seriously, don't you want to know?" Rafa was frustrated. Rea's response was not what he expected.

Rea sighed and turned to Rafa with an annoyed look. "Alright, who was it?" she asked indifferently.

"Rakan. He brought you to the nurse's office. Pretty cool, right?" Rafa said with a big grin.

Rea snorted. She turned her face towards the window, clearly uninterested.

"Oh, Re, you're such a buzzkill!" Rafa muttered. Rea always acted like this.

The next moment, the classroom became noisy as a guy entered through the door. It was Rakan, accompanied by Jack and Bagas, walking to their seats.

Whatever caused their noisy entrance, it was typical for them to arrive with a commotion like this.

Rakan chose to ignore it. He decided to walk to his seat. However, just a few meters from his destination, his eyes were drawn to a girl sitting by the window.

Rea was staring at him with sharp eyes, like an eagle ready to pounce on its prey.

Rakan clenched his fist; the pain returned. Rea had never given him such a fierce look before. Her gaze used to be gentle and soothing, not like this. She was different now.

Initially, Rakan wanted to end that gaze unilaterally. But suddenly, his eyes were drawn to the bruise on the corner of the girl's lips.

Certainly, that was no ordinary bruise. He was sure it was caused by a hard blow to her lip. It was evident from the dark purplish color and the slight skin tear around it.

Rakan's jaw tightened. He knew what had caused the bruise. Rea had been in a fight. Yes, he knew that. During their relationship, Rakan was well aware of Rea's bad habit. She loved to fight.

And for some reason, seeing that bruise on the corner of her lip touched something in his heart.

Rakan, the guy, winced. He really wanted to approach her table and scold her. But he didn't have the will. They no longer had a connection like they used to. They were just strangers to each other now.

For the first time in his life, Rakan encountered a woman who was willing to take such a great risk for herself.

He had seen Rea with bruises on her face several times before. The last time was in eleventh grade when Rea had fought a senior. She had been brave enough to physically confront him. The brawl had led to a strong punch landing on her left cheek. It left a bruise and a tear in her skin.

The incident had shocked the entire school. Rea had almost been expelled. Fortunately, both Rea's and the senior's families resolved the matter amicably, preventing her expulsion.

The victim's family had already forgiven her, viewing the incident as an unfortunate accident that should not have happened.

Rakan decided to break his gaze. He turned his face straight ahead and took his seat.

In his opinion, it was better not to provoke her anger. He didn't want Rea to do something irrational and hurt herself again. Seeing that bruise was enough for him.

"Rakan, move on. Don't think about Rea anymore."

To be continued...