A Million Stories

Missing Part 1 (Hororary Story)

HAPPY READING 🙏🙏🙏🙏

Today when the sun shines stealthily. Dark clouds dominated the morning sky. But no matter how close the sky is, today is still today. The day that everything we fought for two years reached its peak. Graduation announcements.

Graduation is announced online, but all students coming to school perform the last flag ceremony and also the farewell ceremony. The headmaster gave a gallant speech, then continued by a chosen student. The woman's eyes were soft, her skin was white, I who had been in school for two years didn't even know her. Either he's not popular at school or I don't get along very much.

My name is Erdinsyah, and yes, me and my twenty-one friends are lucky kids. We were selected to complete our High School study within two years. Whether this is called lucky or not, because for some people this is not fun at all. They said we couldn't enjoy the most wonderful time in teenage life, which was High School. They also said we were forced to mature, they said we were carburettant students. But me and my male friends don't care about that kind of babbling. They're all entitled to an opinion, but we'll never listen. Except for my girlfriends, they were angry, they were upset, they fought back, but we guys just laughed. But I think personally, it is not High School or not that distinguishes the beauty, but the age, the blessed youth is still beautiful for me. And the school period is short and at the end feels quickly passed this is indeed so beautiful, especially because there he is.

After such a wise ceremony, we hung out together. Gather in the context of each class. We laugh at the past, the ordinary times, but we will be missed. Tears were dripping down my friend's cheeks, Mia. He laughed while crying, then broke his defenses,

“all of you! Never forget every single thing we went through together!” her voice was loud, but her cheeks were still blooming with her smile.

We were all silent looking at her, I honestly did not expect a gentle and quiet woman like her to cry hysterically in front of me, in front of us all. Some of the other female friends were touched, starting to see the clear water droplets from their eyes, glazed over their eyes. Shiva, the iron shield woman who was unyielding was sad, resilient, even if she was pelted with a stone, the stone would be in pain. From his eyes that I admitted quite glowing, looks clear and wet glazed. In my mind, even wonder woman can be melted by time. The precious times of his life, past and unattainable, are like the past. The past is far more distant than the future. Yesterday was so far away, so much further away than tomorrow. Unattainable until his memories are able to melt the heart.

My daydream stopped as my eyes stared at the corner of the school loby. Sitting someone with his glasses, his eyes looked at me as well and then a moment in the bow of his head. He's Dicky, the guy who's always been aloof. Even during school, he sat alone in the back corner of the classroom. No teacher asked him, no friend greeted him, no woman smiled at him. I remembered Mia, the woman with a gentle face was the only student in my school who had invited Diky to speak. And at that moment, when my eyes happened to be facing them, for the first time I saw a line of smiles on Dicky's face. I described Mia as an angel that God deliberately sent to be a friend to Dicky, more precisely his only friend. Because my friends are the ones who laugh with me, but he humps reluctantly.

When she was alone with her head bowed like that, I took Davi and Bayu to her. Davi was reluctant, so I approached her with Bayu. When we were in front of him, he lifted his head and turned to look at those friends of ours who were having fun. I saw his eyes, I don't know what he was thinking.

“you guys have enough fun huh?” said.

Then I invited him to join us all, he refused and stood before us both.

“ada what? You guys are suddenly being sweet today. Is it because it's the last day we met?” he said in a low and cold tone, then “all I know is that you two are the jokes of this class, you are the source of their laughter”, “and without ever thinking whose heart you hurt” he snapped while pointing Bayu.

Me and Bayu just fell silent, and Dicky passed. He stepped away from us, leaving the loby towards the parking lot. I don't know what he was talking about that morning, I don't understand it at all. And not usually this one man can talk a lot.

Bayu just smiled, “I told you, it's useless to talk to that freak”. We also passed.

In the noise of the women's conversation, there is little lesson my friend Davi can learn. He explained that noise is part of life, even funnier because he said “they are teaching us that noise is part of life”.

I don't know what kind of stupid opinion it is, I thought, I just laughed with Bayu. A few moments later, three women from the next class came up to us. There were lines of a sly smile on his face. They stopped right in front of us who were sitting on soft grass in front of the class.

“it's a shame, which he said was selected to enter the class of aksel no one can rank the top ten” said someone from the three women.

We all looked at him, I smiled and Davi smiled as well.

then my friend Lina said “we are only two years of school, can pass it is good right? It's only natural that we can't rank high”.

The three women smiled and even laughed. Not had time for them to return to say, Lina has spoken first “How about you? You guys have been in school for three years and still can't rank high”

“So who is embarrassing here?” connect Lina.

His voice was loud, without breaking up in the slightest. His eyes sharply looked at the woman, his chin raised and his hands clenched tightly. I was worried that there would be bloodshed there, a little joking. Then our laughter exploded. And those three quite popular women left us with a run. I don't know how shy they are.

I saw Mia coming from a distance, with calm steps she approached us.

“hai” said with a smile as usual.

Mia suddenly took us on vacation, not like she used to this time she was so enthusiastic. I asked Mia why she wanted to take a vacation so much. And the choice of vacation in my opinion is very not him. He wanted to take us camping in the woods. Oh my god, from where a woman like Mia gets such a crazy idea. I turned my face away and left my circle of friends.

“hei deq, you can't escape now. This is for the last time. Come on this is the last” Mia welcomes.

Seeing all my friends looking at me, I sat back down. Hearing Mia's chatter about the place we were going. I didn't pay much attention to what he said. But it sounded a forest name, Batok Forest he said. Ah batok forest? A foreign name to me. But I don't care, I'm not the one who would go along with such a crazy plan.

Eventually they all decided, they would actually take a vacation by camping in the forest. Everything has been negotiated, and as usual Anty is always full of calculations. At first he refused, but because the one who asked was his sidekick, Mia. He also cannot refuse.

As usual, two years ago. They did not charge me anything at all, because in their experience I too often failed them. They just asked me to promise to come with them. Honestly, I dare not promise, after what I experienced first. When I was completely defeated by time, time was able to force someone to break his promise.

Back then a friend said “appointment is just a promise”. It often fluttered in my ears, holding me back when I was about to promise. When you trust someone, you don't have to ask them to promise, just trust them.

For a moment I stared at my watch, it was ten. I took my male friends home. And we all went home together. Some people want to prepare their luggage, because as planned that they will camp in the forest starting tomorrow afternoon for two nights.

When I got home, I thought about the holidays many times. I was reluctant, but my heart wanted to spend time with my friends for the last time. I remember a quote in the book that said “if I am able to change my past, I will follow my heart forever”. I thought I'd regret not coming. So should I go or not.

In my interlude, the name of the forest flashed. Batok forest, batok forest, batok forest. The name keeps spinning in my brain, for some reason. I started looking for information from the internet or my virtual world friends who did know the forests in Lombok. But there is not a single piece of information that I have.

Now as Mia said this morning, I just know the location, and I know it's a forest that used to be a tourism park so it's quite decent for camping.

I decided to go to the forest first. A text message I sent to Bayu to invite him.

“friend me around briefly” I said.

Not long after that Bayu assented me through text messages as well.

On a sunny afternoon that day, I took Bayu to the batok forest. After a 2-hour drive from my house, we arrived.

“what is this place?” tanyakanya.

Then I explained everything to Bayu. But I never thought, that afternoon he told me a little bit. About his restlessness, about his heart, about his reluctance, and finally about how he will respond to this holiday. Smile at me because we have the same anxiety.

But let me show him. I gave him advice, I stressed to him that this holiday is important for all, but this holiday is also important for him. And like the initial purpose of a vacation to relieve fatigue, not even become pressure. The rest is on him, he's leaving or not.

I was very smooth when giving advice to Bayu, whereas my own problems are almost exactly the same as Bayu I have not been able to overcome. I admit, giving advice is much easier than taking that advice, because no one will be able to understand the heart, not even the owner himself.

There are so many wise people in this world. And I think the wisest people are those who have had the most messy lives and those who have faced the most difficulties.

On the sidelines of my conversation with Bayu, came two thin men with a typical cone hat of a farmer who looked rather dirty. On their shoulders the pieces of firewood were neatly tied. There was no smile on their faces, no hospitality in the least. When I say hello, not even looking. Bayu asks about the condition of the forest, but they still do not care.

For a moment I thought they were mute and deaf, but at once they turned towards us both. His sharp eyes surprised me, it seemed like they were distracted when Bayu mentioned our plan to camp in the forest.

“don't! at night no one should enter the forest” said one of the men in a high tone.

“why?” my inner.

And the baby asked the man why. But unanswered, the man turned his face and walked away from us again.

“I so remember the strange boy, he also just left after turning his face” said Bayu.

But my mind wasn't focused at all, going back around and around the name of this forest in my head. Batok forest, batok forest, batok forest. Really, it bothers me a lot. Then we decided to go home.

On the way Bayu greeted me slowly, but it surprised me. My body was nearby but my mind had somehow gone to what extent. I feel like my body has a fever, just a low fever.

Arriving at my house, Bayu was about to go home.

Before he left, he asked again “how is this? What the guy said bothered me”.

I don't know how I'm going to answer. I just told him not to go. And I said I'd persuade another friend to change the plan or cancel it. Bayu left, I drove him to the highway, until he was not seen again after passing the bridge that was a bit uphill.

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