A Flavor to Love
20-1
“I stay Non Luna here to chat with Ms. Astrid,”
“Thank you Bi Ani, for the understanding.
After the two of them finished performing a prayer ritual for the dead, Ani who had since seen Luna who was so holding back her emotional side to convey her feelings to her mother, decided to leave Luna alone with Astrid's navel which had been sprinkled with fresh flowers on it and returned to the car.
“Ma..., how's Mama doing there?” Luna's lips trembled as she said her first sentence to Astrid. His eyes were back in tears after he had been detained. “Definitely happy because there is no suffering that Mama feels like before.”.
“Ma..., I'm sorry yes, just can visit Mama now and have a reason for that. But from afar I always pray Mama kok.., hehehe,” Tucked a small laugh echoed on the sidelines of the words spoken by Luna. “Ma.., Mama knows, for two years I lived and studied in Japan, have been a lot… the things that happened in my life that I thought were meaningless when Mama left and the prolonged conflict with Papa. I can reunite with Kirana, my best friend, and also Daichi…, the man who broke through this great wall I built strong and high to protect my fragile heart and did not believe in love when I saw the relationship that was built between Papa and Mama. And it turns out that this Daichi is Kirana's older brother whom he always prides himself on and complains about. Funny too yes, if you remember back that it turns out I was surrounded by good people and love me sincerely.”.
“But why Ma?” Luna's voice turned raucous and her chest puffed out as if an outpouring of emotions burst forth making her tears flow unbearably profusely. “Why should they both be the children of people who have past conflicts with Papa and Mama? Why when I can go back to making up with Papa I have to lose them? The people who have been present accompany my loneliness because they do not have a whole family like most other people. Especially Daichi, the man I love with all my heart. I even had to act cold and break her heart with my cruel words. Why Ma? Do I not deserve to be happy with my life by having both?”
“Ma, help me...., I don't know what else to do? Seeing them hurt is just as painful, but I can't ignore Papa's request because he's my guardian who's left. I should how Ma?”
Vaguely Ani could hear the cries and outpouring of feelings that Luna had evoked. The worry felt in his chest. Oh my God, he did not expect the return of his protege who was taken care of with all his soul like his own biological child was carrying such a deep wound.
***
“What did you do to Luna, Daniel?!”
“Astrid?!” Daniel rubbed his eyes to make sure that what he saw in front of him was his wife. “Is that true of you?”
“Of course it's me!” Astrid ruffled her waist in front of Daniel who was still shocked by his presence. “What's really? A ghost disguised as me?”
“Me...why are you here?” Daniel asked, trying to be calm.
“Of course it's about Luna, our son.”
“What happened to Luna?”
“You're still evading what you did to our son? Absolutely outrageous!” Astrid Protest.
“I don't..,”
“I gave birth to Luna by risking my life to make her live in happiness. Not that you tied him up in grief with our immature past that hurt Daiki and Rea.”
“Eh?” Daniel was surprised by Astrid's words.
“Please Daniel, don't involve yourself with our mistakes..,” Astrid sits next to Daniel and holds Daniel's ten fingers.“Our son deserves to be happy without being tied to the past of his parents.”
“But I'm afraid of Astrid.., I'm afraid if I let Luna be with the man who is part of their family, he will be treated arbitrarily because of what we did and I can't if it happens so have to be tough to force him to break up with them. After all it is our most precious treasure.”.
“They are not that kind of person Daniel, believe me..,” Astrid smiled to appease Daniel who was so full of burden.
“Pak..,”
“Pak Daniel...,” A voice called Daniel sounded.
“Pak Daniel, we have reached home,” Continue Said, the driver who has been with Daniel for two years since he rose to the position of Director where he works now. The madness of the work that has become ever more since Astrid died bears the fruits of the office she holds now.
Said who saw his employer looked dazed then explained, “Bapak said when he just landed at the airport and before entering the car, that you want to sleep for a while and ask to be awakened if it has reached home.”
“Oh, so ya?” Daniel got out of his car and looked at the front of his house. Then what was that? Am I dreaming or hallucinating? But why is it real? What's the matter?
“Then excuse me to go home, Sir,” Said permission to leave to Daniel.
“Thank you Mr. Said for his cooperation today,” Daniel patted Said on the shoulder and walked towards the front door of his house that was already open and Ani stood on his porch.
“Sama-sama, Sir,” Said also resigned and re-entered the car and took it back to the office to be parked then exchanged it with his motorbike to return home.
“Luna where's Bi Ani?” Daniel replaced his work shoes with a house slipper.
“Sedang slept in his room Sir,” Ani replied. “Bapak what drink to make? Tea or coffee? We stopped by the bakery as well to give some snacks.”
“Coffee course Bi,” Response Daniel who walked to the second floor where Luna's room is located.
Arriving in Luna's room, he was stared at by his daughter who seemed to be asleep due to fatigue. Daniel sat on the bedside and rubbed Luna's black crown. She recalls a time when Astrid was so happy to find out she was pregnant. She was worried that her pregnancy would make her already weak body condition weaker. But Astrid still insists on keeping the baby she contains as proof that they are blessed to have a baby. And look at this moment, the baby has grown into a mature figure and is ready to start a new chapter of his life. But what new chapter?
“Diminum first Sir, coffee,” Ani's voice breaks the daydream of Daniel sitting pensively on the living room couch after returning from Luna's room.
“Oh, thank you, Bi,”
“Sama-sama,” Ani's smile can always make Daniel calm. “Then I say goodbye first to the room.”
“Wait for Bi, sit next to me to accompany me for a moment,” Daniel patted to the right of the long, light brown sofa he was sitting on at the moment. “There is something I want to talk about and discuss with Aunt as a parent more experienced than myself.”
This must be about Luna! Inner Ani. He sat next to Daniel, who looked gloomy and pensive. The atmosphere seemed quiet and only the sound of crickets creaking and dim garden lights that accompanied the silence that night.
“Bi..?”
“Ya, Sir?”
“Auntie knows me better, have I been too hard on Luna all this time? Just because I can't express the emotions that I've always been holding myself and taking refuge behind my high ego?”
“Meanour?”
“Auntie may not believe what I've been through, after all this time I never dreamed about Astrid, today I dreamt of her scolding me because I had casually asked Luna to cut ties with her closest people in Japan. But I asked Luna to do it not for no reason Bi, precisely because there was a strong reason why I loudly and firmly asked Luna to do it. It is close to the children of Daiki Matsumoto and Rea, Bi.”
My God, is this why Luna cried so much in front of her mother's belly button? And as if his feelings were conveyed, Astrid came into Daniel's dream.
“Auntie herself without me telling you already knew what kind of problem was going on between the two of us and them. Honestly Bi, I was afraid that because of our immature actions, trying to separate the two made bad karma apply to Luna for dealing with their children. Maybe for her best friend Kirana I'm not so worried about, but her brother Daichi whom I worried about after knowing that they were knitting love. I'm afraid Bi…, I'm afraid my son is hurt because after all Luna is the only relic Astrid can make me always remember that there is a woman who loves me so much and willing to give what she has so that I can finally turning heart from a Rea Ayu first.” Daniel lowered his head and covered his face with all ten fingers in frustration.
Without Daniel and Ani realizing it, the real Luna woke up from the gentle rubbing of Daniel in her head earlier, apparently hearing the conversation between the two. He closed his mouth and could not believe what he was hearing. So all this time he had misjudged his own father?
“Sir Daniel, does Mr. Daniel not feel, that meeting of Luna and the two children of Rea and Daiki is a strand of fate given by the Almighty to repair your relationship that is deeply fractured by ego?” Ani spoke her wise words to Daniel. “Everyone has done wrong Mr. Daniel, Mr. and Ms. Astrid has turned into a better person than before so given the opportunity to have a child like Luna. It's time for Mr. Daniel to forgive himself now. My advice, let Luna be happy with her life choices. Even if later he was injured, there is a Father and I if still given health and longevity that will embrace him and say that he has done his best and all will be fine.”.
***
