Red Threads

Triad

"Alana, I'm sorry that I acted cowardly. I never intended to do that. But, it all just happened. That day, after Raga's birthday, you got drunk. I also. But, there is still half the consciousness that persists within me. I don't know where the push came from, so I did that. Please, I'm sorry. I was afraid, because I knew Raga would be very angry with me. And, my parents' faces would have been smeared if they knew about it."

Mika squeezed the letter after successfully reading it to completion. The letter contained only one paragraph. However, there is a pressure that makes him have to try hard to finish reading that one paragraph. His mind was claustrophobic, his chest was claustrophobic with anger at someone he hadn't expected to be the mastermind of all this complexity.

“So, Beni who has confessed it to Alana?” Mika hissing. He clenched his own teeth, so every word he spoke sounded stressful. “That's so goddamn guy! Maybe he behaved like nothing, when we met that day.”

Kai sighed. Then, he picked up a piece of paper that was still left in the envelope, and handed it to Mika. “There may be another clue,” he said.

Mika took the piece of paper from Kai's hand. Mika's eyeballs move quickly to read the arrangement of characters on the paper.

"alana. I love you so much. I'm sorry for admitting it to you. But, I'm not gonna let you go, Al. I won't let you belong to anyone, including Nagra. I'll take anyone who has the potential to take you away from me! Anyone, Al. Anyone!"

At the bottom of the letter, Mika read another piece of writing. The writing style was different from the two letters he read. From its regular shape, he could deduce if it was Alana's writing. Alana wrote two sentences on the paper. Two unanswered questions.

"Why doesn't that day take responsibility, Beni? Why do you make it look like Nagra did it?"

Mika gritted her teeth. Face stiffened. His muscles are pulsing. He was hanging on the end of his tongue. However, Kai first silenced his mouth with a hand before the curse escaped. “Not to be angry. Save energy. We're looking for Beni now.”

"Where is Anggita's life going?"

"Gue told them to wait in the car. Angry after reading the letter. So, I asked Raya to secure him."

Mika nodded. Then, he stared intently at Kai. “Raga should know about this. I can't let him continue to believe that Nagra's sister is cheating on me. Brother Nagra is not wrong!”

"Later, I'll meet him to tell you this. Now, mending lo, Anggita, just as much as I take you home."

"But, Kai—"

Kai stared intently at Mika who was trying to resist. "Lo trusts me, right?"

Mika gulps. Kai's eyes looked exactly like that day, and managed to make him shrink. Until finally, Mika was forced to nod.

♥

Kai fiddled with Nagra's phone in his hand. He deliberately did not return the phone to Mika because he still wanted to know something that his best friend kept.

Kai opens a photo gallery on Nagra's phone. His index finger moved slowly to wipe the screen of the phone that displayed his photo, Nagra, and Raga. At the bottom of the photo is a small inscription "Three Lions". At that time they were still wearing white-blue uniforms. They took the photo on the day of the farewell after the graduation announcement. Behind them, the other students were exchanging signatures and doodling uniforms. Only the uniforms of the three of them were still clean, spotless. They had indeed agreed not to follow the tradition that they thought was not at all profitable.

A small smile fell on Kai's lips. A great longing instantly lodged in his chest. A lot of things changed after graduation. They went to a different high school. They can only meet on the weekend. However, when his mother remarries, Kai is forced to move to another city to live with his new mother and father. That's the beginning it all started.

He can no longer get together with Nagra and Raga, every weekend. He lost contact with his two friends. In the end, he gets word of Nagra's death. He accidentally found the news from his Instagram explorer. That made him decide to move to Nagra school and find out what happened behind Nagra's death. Unexpectedly, he also met Mika there.

Just two days after moving to a new school, Kai hears Raga talking to someone on the phone. He heard about the plan to approach Mika. Not too obvious indeed, but he could hear if Raga was only using Mika.

*"Kai?" Raga was surprised as soon as she saw Kai standing not far from her.

"When have you been dating Mika?"

"Lo hear everything, right?"

"Only when you say, if you only benefit Mika. Why, Ga?"

"There's a lot going on while you're not here."

"Gue won't let you do your evil plan, Ga!"

"Gue warn you, Kai. Don't ever interfere in my business!"*

And, that was the beginning of Kai and Raga's feud. The feud that made their relationship slowly tenuous. Until now, Kai didn't even know who was wrong here. He who was not there when Raga and Nagra needed, or Raga who secretly planned the evil deeds on Mika?

Kai's memory of the day disappears when his fingers open a video on Nagra's phone screen. Kai, who was not interested, now actually saw the video with full concentration when he saw the name of the Space Raga to open the video.

Kai hunchback. Instantly, his chest tightened after the video stopped spinning.

♥

"Bi, let me see Raga!" Without further ado, Kai immediately said that as soon as Abi opened the door.

"Well? It's late, Kai."

"the hunt! It matters!"

Abi clucked, but also did not refuse. After picking up the jacket in the room, he immediately approached Kai who was already sitting on the motorbike.

"Lotor couldn't go faster?" Abi began to get impatient because since then they continued to be overtaken by other vehicles.

Kai clucked. "Old motor, Bi. Can be gout if forced to walk spit."

Abi snorting. Finally, nearly half an hour later, with a snail-speed motor, they arrived in front of Raga's house. Kai immediately got down and ran small towards the door of the house. It doesn't matter if the clock is showing almost nine o'clock in the evening.

"Lo's? Why come here?" Raga rounded her eyes when she saw Kai standing in front of her.

"Lo needs to know something."

Raga rolled her eyes. He was about to close the door, but Kai's hand held him off. "This time. I beg you."

Kai didn't know, if he had to beg like that in front of Raga. But this is for his best friend. It's for Nagra.

"Yes, Ga. Just look at it." Abi replied as soon as he saw the doubt on Raga's face.

Raga grunting. However, it finally allowed Kai and Abi to enter the living room.

"What's wrong?" Raga's voice sounded extremely cold, and unfriendly.

"Lo got to see this!" Kai handed the white envelope in his hand to Raga.

Raga read the letter in the envelope, with an unreadable look on her face. A few seconds later, his hand squeezed the crumpled piece of paper. Kai could see Raga's temple muscles throbbing.

"Don't tear. It could be evidence." Kai took the paper back, before Raga calmed down and tore it apart.

"Shoppers! Why can I trust him?" Raga said with great emphasis. More to yourself.

"It's been a misunderstanding all along, Ga. You close your eyes too much. You just believe that Nagra's the one who confessed it to Alana. Actually..." Kai shook his head. "Temen lo yourself that nukes you from behind."

"Damn it!" Raga kicked the wooden table in front of her. Luckily his parents were not at home, so he did not have to worry about waking anyone up because of the noise he made.

"Lo should see this too." Kai hands over Nagra's phone which starts showing a video.

The video begins by showing the writing of the Space Raga. Then, followed by Happy Birthday at the bottom of the name. In the next second, the video continues with Nagra wishing Raga a happy birthday, accompanied by Nagra's apology about the incident with Alana. Then, proceed with the pieces of their togetherness video.

Not only the content of the video that makes Raga's chest tight, but also the date of making the video. The video was made three days before Nagra's death. To be exact, two weeks before Raga's nineteenth birthday.

Unknowingly, the transparent layer that had been looming in Raga's eye fertilizers, had already become a grain of tears that drenched his cheeks. Raga swallowed his hard-earned saliva. Trying to temper the turmoil of pain and regret in his chest.

"Ke—why, Gra? Why don't you ever tell me the truth?" Raga's raucous voice broke the silence that occurred.

"Because you never gave him a chance to talk." Kai. Abi was already sitting next to Raga to calm the guy down.

Raga rubbed her face rough. He growls. His hands cover his face. His shoulders move slowly. Raga crying.

"Actually, I want to tell you something else, too. But, because I think you're in shock today. So, tomorrow is all." Kai leaned his back against the sofa. His view glared at the ceiling of the living room of the Raga house. "Sorry, if that day I can't have the time you need. Time lo same Nagra messed up because of the incident that befell Alana. But, you know, right, how was my position that day? My family is also a mess."

"Kai, can you take me to Nagra's grave tomorrow?" asked Raga, after calming down.

Kai nodded. "By pleasure. Coincidentally, tomorrow I'll also meet someone."