Writer: Adindajilbaber
Genre: Slice of Life, Family
Description:
“Didn’t you miss me?” – Lilac
The sound of grand cacophony outside finally deaden. A boy who named himself Nalesh felt tranquil. Never been in his life that he could find serenity in his narrow condominium. He rubbed the ear-cups as if he performed his gratitude to the headphone that he wore to help him cancel the noisy sound from outside.
He exhaled to calm himself. Closed his eyes and counted to ten. Every count meant to be embodiment of his composure.
1… He took a breath
2… He exhaled.
3… He still closed his eyes
4… He exhaled roughly
5… He inhaled
6… His eyelashes shivered
7… An emptiness came to his mind
8… He exhaled
9… He breathed in
10… He breathed out. And slowly open his almond eyes.
Nalesh deftly held the hem of the worn out bedsheet which had flowery pattern on it. He tied the front and the back to a rope he had prepared and tied the other end to the hook on the ceiling. He pulled then adjusted the height till it was just right. Nalesh then continued with the left and right side bedsheet, he fixed it beneath the single floor mattress he already put inside the small tent he tried to build.
After struggling for more than an hour he later placed his favorite pillow inside his indoor tent. Decorate it by putting several photos using a pin, so while he laid down he could appreciate the faces that he longed the most. Three of them were smiling happily and it was contagious to make Nalesh smile also. He later placed a small doll from his loved ones who had made it for his birthday inside. He took the medium torch light and tried to light it on.
He felt gobsmacked knowing he could make it till the end. He inhaled again, laid his exhausted body on the mattress while looking up. He loved his new sanctuary.
Nalesh gulped and felt his throat dry, he removed the headphone then walked to the small pantry. His steps halted when he heard a doorbell.
Its sound made him quiver. He never told anyone that he lived here except his company which daily sent him packages of his work. It’s been a month and he heard the first doorbell out of the date which delivery man should ring.
The sound never stopped. The ring was more and more impatient.
After several seconds drowned in his reverie, Nalesh mustered up his courage to take a peek through the peephole.
He saw a beautiful woman standing in her pastel v-neck and wore a short skirt that covered down to her calf. She constantly checked on her costly watch while ringing the doorbell as if it was a waste of her precious time to wait for the owner to open the door.
Nalesh sighed and opened the lock and bolt. Both Nalesh and the woman stared at each other while frowning.
Without courtesy, the woman abruptly entered and bumped her shoulder to the official owner of the condo. The name tag on her bosom looked brand new, the logo of the company was also different from what Nalesh has remembered. “Lilac” was colored purple and made it a little childish but compatible with the flowery logo.
“What took you so long just to open the door? Always suspicious of your own guest, change it!” She resented and took off her heels then walked her bare feet off to the achromatic living room.
She took her place on the sofa and threw her B branded bag to the side.
Nalesh sat on the single sofa, didn’t want to confront her face to face even while sitting. He glanced at her from the corner of his eyes.
Lilac stared at Nalesh enragedly, “be courteous towards your guest please. Bring me a glass of water would be enough, it won’t make you impoverished. Are you on your austerity? So stingy as always!” she talked without stopping.
Hearing that, Nalesh stood up and went to the pantry to take a jar of water. After he met this woman, his throat felt as if it was throttled by invisible hands. Not only he was thirsty but also felt unwell.
It’s been four years that they didn’t see each other, but her mouth was still as terrible as he used to know. Only to him could she reveal her true nature as a queen of bad mouthing behind everyone’s back but to him she would speak ill of him in straight to his face.
“What do you need from me?” Nalesh asked her after he took a big gulp to relieve his thirst.
Lilac put her glass harshly, made the silence between a question that Nalesh asked broken.
She rolled her cuff and continued lying down. Arms open, leg open that looked like a snow angel pose.
“Go home with me, live there with me.” She replied while staring at the ceiling.
Nalesh rebuffed without thinking, “no.”
Lilac sighed as if she knew that the boy in front of him would retort objection to her request even without her asking.
Lilac sat down upright and saw the features on Nalesh’s face.
It’s been ages and he looked thinner, but his face had rouged cheeks, not pale as he used to be. His eyes seemed dazzling, it had a lively feel when she stared at it. His lips, it never showed friendliness, always frigidly straight.
“Didn’t you miss me?” Lilac asked in a soft tone staring into his eyes deeply.
Nalesh gave a cold shoulder and didn’t reply towards Lilac’s question. He stared at the ground. Why could he miss her when she didn’t even miss him a single day. After four years you never showed your face out of me. Threw me out from home as if I was a mongrel, unimportant and didn’t need any pity. This is now my home, no complaint.
Silent reached them. Lilac stared at the ceiling with the same pose while Nalesh still stared at his feet. Their mind wandered to the past remembering the hardest time of both.
Nalesh. His parents gave him this name so they wanted him to be free-spirited and sociable to others but in the end he was just a frigid boy and paid no heed to his surroundings. Only when he reached the age of eighteen he showed confrontation and moved out from a house he used to live with father, mother, Lilac and several kittens. He threw away everything behind his head and never looked back.
Nalesh’s parents thought that it was just a trice moment of his short temperament. Never had they imagined that Nalesh never put his feet at home after that.
Lilac as his older sister could do nothing but felt anxious, with Nalesh fleeing was the Lilac problem behind it. Because of Nalesh’s departure their parents wailed every night. Even Lilac would wake up because her mother had a nightmare of Nalesh falling from a cliff and no one could save him.
“My dear… my little dear…” their mom woke up and tears oozed from her dim eyes. Lilac hugged her and she couldn’t cry or everything would turn worse. Their father only could caress their mother’s back to comfort her weep.
At that night no one could sleep, especially their mother who was scared that she would have a nightmare again if she dared to shut her eyes.
Lilac. The name was given as hope that she would grow into a kind spirited woman and had a pure heart to help others. Lilac was older by four years. She carried a bunch of responsibilities as a first child. After she graduated from university. She applied for the job at a small publishing company and worked both as editor and writer. The salary was low but at least she could work and not remained idle after graduating.
The reason Lilac came and persuaded Nalesh to come home was because she wanted his one last family member to accompany her because after she lived alone, she understood the importance of family in her side especially Nalesh who was special to her. But by her lips, she couldn’t apologize for what she did in the past. She knew that she made Nalesh depressed but Lilac would never admit her sin.
Lilac took a glance at Nalesh’s room direction, stood up and walked in without permission. She halted her steps at the door. Looking at the indoor tent that barely stood in its position.
Lilac felt glad that Nalesh did well though he lived only by himself. He could even make his own little amusement. She stooped down to step in, looked up to see the photos displayed orderly. While she held the photo and read three names beneath the photo, a stream of tears suddenly flowed down her cheeks.
When their parents passed away, she didn’t weep. She remained calm and tried to look strong though her heart broke to pieces it couldn’t be fixed. Now her defense broke, she wailed loudly as if she was spilling her core.
Nalesh could only watch her from several steps away. He looked in bewilderment to see Lilac whose never cried in front of him broke.
“They never existed in this world. They only existed on your own mind. Nalesh wake up from your empty dream!! I love you more! I want to be with you more than you know! Come back with me! Come back because my life is dull when you are not around!” Lilac yelled while sobbing.
Nalesh frowned, “the one who thought my friends never existed was the delusional one.” he retorted.
Lilac shook her head still wailing pitifully. “Nalesh stop your foolish hallucination. I am the one the only one that exists in your life.” She stated in mournfulness.
Nalesh gazed at the ground and closed his eyes and resisted everything Lilac had told him.
All of sudden, he felt his body turned warm by a hug. Lilac clutched her arms around Nalesh’s body as if he would fly and she would never let him go. Nalesh’s chest turned damp from Lilac tears,he could feel her body trembled by weeping.
Nalesh didn’t return the hug, only stood like a fool who forgot how to use hands.
When Lilac calmed down. She slowly released her arms. Even didn’t take a glance at Nalesh and went out from his condo. Nalesh finally gazed at Lilac leaving figure.
He took a photo that Lilac took before that fell to the ground when she rushed to hug him. He glanced at it for several seconds and put it back.
There’s only one person in that portrait, only Nalesh who was smiling. But for him, there were always three. Him… Giri… and Dawn. The two names that Lilac couldn’t see but Nalesh always mentioned and bragged since he was little.
Lilac stumbled walking on the roadside bare footed not caring that her B branded bag dragged and scratched on the ground. She held the heels tightly. Everyone stared at her strangely. Seeing a beauty who looked like she had been rejected by her boyfriend.
Traffic light in front of her turned red. She didn’t notice it and walked as if her ears were blocked and couldn’t hear people shout at her. A truck which was at full speed hit her harshly. She rolled several metres away. Blood flowed from her head and ears. Tears still flowed down by her eyes.
People who saw this scene gasped and ran to help her. But fate says otherwise. Her breath stopped. She closed her eyes saying goodbye to everything that remains.
.
.
.
.
.
It’s been three days since Lilac passed away. Nalesh didn’t feel anything in his heart, the same thing when his parents passed away. He still did his job and relished his life. He loved his new sanctuary that he made and spent most of the time inside his tent to calm himself when his work made him overwhelmed.
The doorbell rang. He knew that this time the delivery man would deliver a package from the office. He took the boxes inside but he noticed there was one medium package that seemed like it was from another sender. After he signed the form, he said thanks to the delivery man and closed the door.
“Lilac” The name on the package written. He opened it curiously and saw a thick album. The cover filled with his name, Lilac, mom and dad.
On the first page he recalled Lilac’s handwriting.
“Dear Nalesh. Today is my birthday. I know you still don’t want to see me. But I want to celebrate my birthday with you. By the time you receive this album, I’ll be waiting at our home. I made this one for you so you will remember the time when we were together. I know I’ve wronged you when you said that you have friends named Giri and Dawn.They might be there with you but for me, mom and dad, they are only your imaginative friend. You have to know this because this is the truth.
All in all, we love you the most. We’ve known where you lived even until now. We can’t do anything but see you from afar after you refused to go home. But… that was already in the past.
Let’s live together with me. That will be my best birthday gift ever. Bring the small doll with you once you come home. Nalesh. I love you the most. I’ll be waiting for you… you didn’t forget the way home right?
Hope you will reminisce about the best day of us. With much love, Lilac.”
Nalesh felt everything around him turned silent in an instant. He opened page by page and remembered the time they went out for Autumn Festival. The time when they were playing in the playground while mom and dad sat down on the bench watched them play the slide. And the time when he learned how to ride a newly bought tricycle from dad.
In the last page he read “Didn’t you miss me?” written by Lilac and her photo appeared beautifully in front of the grave of their parents, she smiled but her eyes didn’t.
He took a breath and walked into his sanctuary. Took the small doll his 5th birthday gift. He recalled that the doll was made by Lilac when she learned how to sew. How he could forget and always thought that Giri was the one who sewed it for him.
Nalesh took his jacket and in a rush ran to the cemetery where Lilac was buried. On the way he bought a bouquet of lilac flowers.
He didn’t feel anything when he saw the coffin was lowered at that time, but now he felt the bereavement in his heart. A bouquet of lilac on his hand had been put in front of Lilac photos. He could see that she was smiling.
Nalesh feeling stuffed, he clenched his hands on his chest. He cried in silence until evening arrived. If the crows didn’t show up startled him, he would be lost in his reverie till the next day.
Nalesh bought 4 pieces of strawberry cake and candles. Once he arrived at his condo, he nested himself inside the tent and lit up the candles, put the cakes and small doll in order as if he celebrated the birthday with the family of four.
He sang happy birthday and stared at the small doll incessantly. He said, “I’ll miss you…” Nalesh hugged his knee and buried his face in his arms, he closed his eyes faintly.
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A snippet from the writer:
Dear readers, thanks a heap for reading this ordinary story that I wrote in September but finished it in October hohohoo. One friend of mine said that she liked to read “The Tree Spirit and The Boy” because it has lots of new vocabulary that she barely knows. I’m so happy to receive a compliment though I am an amateur to this one and the August post is basically my first ever story that I wrote as a beginning.
“Sanctuary” is a vocabulary that I found when I watched Lemony Snickets: A Series of Unfortunate Events. I think it would be a decent title that fit with the story. Since in the movie the siblings built their small tent after endless unfortunate events happened to them. It was too good to watch! I’m fond of Klaus Baudelaire! (TMI hahaha).
I’m not expecting too much from this one but I hope you will find it enjoyable to read. Because I do when I write it.
*teary eyes* *crying in the corner* *trying to smile*.
I ate combro while writing this story, not odading esp. not the one that is labeled “ikan hiu makan tomat” ahahah XD
You can leave comments down below so it will encourage me to write in the future or at least simply saying “hi” to me as a sign that you’ve done reading this short story teehee.
Adinda 