A quite heavily rained afternoon throughout the day, I left the house in the afternoon tho the rain had not stopped. No one could take me other than my mother who couldn’t drive a bike, soI choose public transportation and transit in Tasikmalaya as meeting point which approved with Damayanti. She was Memey, that’s how I called her. A nickname that was familiar in our Historical Departement mate.
We had to arrive at 16:00 PM in our respective places even though we did not know who will be theres earlier or coming late because of slow public transportation. We shared the news about the location where public transportation was running, and the rain did not dampen the spirit to cancel this trip.
After staying overnight in Tasikmalaya, Memey and I went to the station at 01:00 AM. We rushed an hour before the train came. I thought, the atmosphere will be quiet because It should be time to sleep and train station might be scarier at midnight, but it was wrong. Some people had a way of defining time. Talking about time, it could exit or entry someone in a routine. Memey and I did the ticket validation online and showed the identity card, we were finally able to sit back and wait at 02:00 AM. We used one hour to exchange stories and took pictures of ourselves until it filled a memory phone.
People who were seated suddenly got up and closed to the rail. We were no less in celebrating the situation by being close with them as if we didn’t want to be left behind.
The train arrived from the east to the west, Memey and I walked so fast. Besides ensuring myself that I wiould be fine during the trip because I had to endure the cold, taking a train was not like taking a bus where I could stop at will. Whenever something was not desired, taking the bus was the most convenient alternative to public transportation by far.
Tasikmalaya to Kediri was far, the distance journey seemed to teach me to carry myself stronger. It endured a little pain that has not fully recovered and an illness that I have cared for a long time. I was easy having anxious worried about things that have not happened yet. I was used to being close with parents, so I was not used to getting out of my comfort zone.
Memey and I looked for the seat number beside it was clearly visible tired faces during sleeping. Some of them brought neck pillows but not a few were leaning on the shoulders of someone sitting beside them. I wondered to go further with someone who will be my life partner, but I didn’t know when it would be. That was sweet memory I’ve ever imagined even I was still being alone and those memories were always on my mind.
I sat quietly and linked my prayers to God then made sure that nothing was left in the house. So was Memey, she immediately contacted his mother. Yes, we both gave the news to my mother that the train was moving towards Central Java.
“It’s like the winter, I was wearing a thick coact”
“What’s the matter?”
“Nothing, I was just allergic to an Air Conditioner”
Have you guys felt like on the freeze? When you had no alergic of cold but your heart was in it. That’s my case right now, therefore there was not a mistakes of the body. I had to keep my body stronger tho the distance that I have traveled was still far. There was not chance that I would stop at the first station then stayed at the inn and continued the journey again. It felt really crazy and I wasted a lot of money because anxiety were simultaneously destroyed both my heart and mind. I wonder how if I couldn’t get fear away?. It’s really cold, a thick clothe and warm coact were wrapped around the body and the scarf that ties the neck was still not functioning to withstand the cold of the train air conditioner.
I knew, it was embarrassing because I was not used to being cold but I tried to strengthen myself by remembering God.
The sun rises from the east, my heart was still on the freeze. Unspoken words immediately trapped on the bottom of my heart while seeing the beauty of the sun and 5 hours left when it crossed by trail away. So was she, no word spoke to me tho we need to found a comfortable dormitory.
“Did you see a lil guy?” a child who recorded a train when it crossed through front of his house.
“ A precious moment grew on his mind, when he thought the train. He did not know how was our feeling as a passenger”
“That’s how we estimate life, sometimes their lives were so beautiful even though we didn’t know how much the beauty was hiddden.”
“I was sick, annoyed, we were even bored having to cross 23 train stations to Kediri”. Memey smiled then nodded. She knew what I was talking about.
Sometimes life was like taking a train and many intersections which connecting each different people to the different station. I didn’t know in what station people would come and go, then each stop brought us back with different people.
Sometimes, people came without permission as well as when they left. They should be aware pf being responsibility or thinking of not stopping at all. After all, life was indeed a port of call but not in heart.
The two men in front of us then left, it was replaced by two girls who took their seats when the train arrived at the station.
“Hi, how do you do?”
“I was doing well” Answered one of them.
I gave them smile as a warmth greeting so did Memey and I welcome for whoever came because life was always said hello. Meeting new people was the way by seeing God of His created different faces.
How wonderful life was, I met the girls replaced young men in the same seat. They went to different cities after having long holiday. We talked about many things like university including my period untill the train has taken us further.
We finally arrived at Kediri station 01:00 PM but they left, that’s life. I went away so did they, both of us having opposite direction. Yet it was only in the world, we had essentially the same goal namely returned to God.
The weather in East Java was very hot, Memey and I spent a lot of drinks and then looked for food. We took a short break near the train station. We were also looking for lodging at Kediri area before finally visited an English village of Pare.
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