Les Laches

Choices

Afgar stared at the phone handle he was holding with a look like a daze. Various feelings raged in his chest in response to the incident he had just experienced. Starting from unexpected, confused, and relieved. 

Aye! Relieved. Crazy, right?

He wondered if this was something a man should feel when abandoned by his lover. Of course, his common sense answered no. 

Afgar should be sad.

Well, Afgar was sad. But that feeling is a little. Even the relief he felt dominated his mood. The burden he had felt since a while ago was as if it was lifted completely from his mind.

Unfortunately, Afgar has not managed to find the reason behind his relief when his phone rang aloud signaling an incoming call. Afgar almost ignores him thinking that at most Hera is the one who contacts him again. This whole week, the girl had been feeding her with phone calls that Afgar had not picked up on. Afgar guessed what the girl wanted to talk to him about.

However, how surprised Afgar was when he peeked at the screen of his phone and saw his father who was contacting him. In haste, he pressed the answer button while apologizing to the figure opposite the phone who answered his words in a very cold voice.

“How many times has Papa warned you to pick up the phone as quickly as possible. Prospective entrepreneurs must always move agile in order to compete in the business world that is already filled with people who want to succeed with similar professions. Including answering the phone. You can't guess what the person who called you wanted to talk about, ‘kan?”

Afgar rolled his eyeballs. His heart wanted to answer that if the one who called him was Hera, Afgar could even guess what the first sentence the girl would say to him because he deliberately did not touch his phone since a few days ago. But, of course, he wasn't crazy enough to say all that. So he decided to go back to apologizing.

“Papa called you not to hear an apology. Papa wants to remind you to take Sapphira home tomorrow,” replied the father.

“Safira, Pa?” ask Afgar. 

Not because he did not hear clearly the name that had just come out of his father's lips. He even immediately thought of the name when he saw his father calling him. How not, if his father called right after he ended the call–also his relationship–with Safira. In fact, he planned on putting together the right words before delivering the news to his father. Unfortunately, it seems like the entire universe is working together to test it.

“You heard, Afgar? Bring Safira home tomorrow.” The voice of Afgar's father repeating his orders firmly made the young man agree in a hurry.

After the phone was cut off, Afgar's body slumped to the floor. His knees are weak. But he was too scared to care. What was on his mind right now was a way to gain the father's trust in a new way so that his father would not be too angry at the failure of his engagement to Sapphira.

Speaking of wrath, Afgar suddenly remembered another name that he could usually make a shield to face his father. Immediately after thinking of the name, he rushed to run outside the house. He stepped outside the fence without taking his car because the house he was referring to was only a few meters away from his house. Tian House.

On the other hand, Tian had just parked his car in the garage. A few minutes ago, he visited the house of Meda to give up the coat he had bought to accompany the days of Meda in Paris. Of course, that's just an excuse. The real purpose of Tian's arrival was to invite Meda to make up directly.

Unfortunately, the young man had apparently not arrived home when Tian visited. Finally, after a few minutes of accompanying Verdita in conversation, Tian returned home.

The girl was about to step into her house when she heard a voice calling her name. He looked towards the source of the sound and found Afgar standing under the dim light of the courtyard. Tian turned around to approach him because the young man was just staring at him without taking a step closer. How surprised he was to see tears dripping from the edge of Afgar's eyes.

“Afgar. What’s wrong?” tian asked as he rubbed the wet cheek of his best friend.

“I split with Safira, Ti,” Afgar replied without being asked twice.

Tian's eyes widened hearing that. 

“Party? Wh why? When?” Tian squeezed Afgar's shoulder while trying to calm down before returning to his voice. “Afgar, you tell me clearly what happened until everything became like this. Because Safira–dia can't be–”

“In reality he ended our engagement.”

“But, there must be a reason,” Tian.

“There. And I can tell you the reason now,” Afgar replied while rubbing his face. “He asked me to choose between you and him.”

“What does that mean?” Tian's heart again melos heard his name involved in the problem of both. Again and again.

“I also think that the choice made by Safira does not make sense at all. Therefore I have explained your position as my best friend and he as my fiancee as well as her. I can't choose,” Afgar replied.

“So you said you can't choose between me or Safira?” Tian looked at Afgar with a blaming look.

“Tian. You didn't hear me say that I explained the position of the two of you in my life?”

“Fixed, Gar. You should have replied that you were more likely to choose Safira. Can't you see that he just wants to know who you prioritize the most?” tanya Tian was annoyed.

“Privoted in what ways? Please don't give me a guess if for example I have to choose who I will save if you two are both in a life and death position. Because, one, I'm sure God won't suddenly throw the three of us in such a terrible scenario and even if it does, I'll make sure you both get out safely. Two, I need a more realistic reason for Safira's question. He tried to put the three of us in what kind of position so asked me to choose?”

“In fact he hasn't given me any answers this whole week. Then, today, when I intend to invite him to make up, he instead asked to end our engagement.” Afgar shook his head after ending his explanation.

“And you agree with Safira's decision? You didn't persuade him at all?” tian asked in a tone that seemed to indicate that he was already confident in his own thinking without needing to hear an answer from Afgar.

“Sign up, Tian. I'mtired. First Meda, then Safira. I'm sick of everyone looking for more meaning than our friendship.” Afgar then intends to walk away.

“Where are you going?” tian asked as he held Afgar's arm.

“Return. I forgot I shouldn't have come here. My brain is too full until I can't remember that I promised I wouldn't see you first if it would only cause misunderstanding between you and Meda, ” Afgar replied as she brushed off Tian's grip.

“Gar, wait. We talk inside, yeah. We both think about how to improve your relationship with Safira.” Tian now walked around Afgar's body and stood before him to block his steps.

“Nothing to fix, Ti. I surrendered. Now let me go. I don't want any other relationship broken because of this problem.” Tears in Afgar's eyes came back.

Tian's eyes got wet seeing the helplessness of his best friend. His hand moved automatically touching the top of Afgar's head and rubbed it gently. Afgar reciprocated Tian's treatment by grabbing the girl's tiny body into his arms and crying on his shoulder. Tian let Afgar hold him because now he also joined in tears.

“Tian?” 

A very familiar voice greeted Tian's hearing making the girl reflexively break away from Afgar's embrace. He turned his head quickly towards the source of the voice and saw the figure he had been looking for a few hours ago now appear before him.

“Meda?”