WHEN I FELL IN LOVE
Chapter 7
I have told you a lot about my life. I've told you about my job, the name of the company I work for, my colleagues, and my boss. I also told him who my parents were and my brother. Well, that's what my life is like, mediocre. Wake up in the morning, go to work, come home in the afternoon, and it will be like that again the next day. On Sundays or other holidays, I usually spend it at home just watching television, playing games, or helping my mom make cookies. Yes, maybe I go out occasionally; to the beach with friends, or just chatting in cafes around the city.
And now I want to tell you why I love Lela. Lela is a twenty-two-year-old woman who has just earned a Bachelor of English Literature degree. Physically, Lela is beautiful. Lela has large eyes with brownish eyeballs. His nose is pointed and lipped with a bow with a shape that resembles a heart symbol. His hair is straight, black long. All of that is enhanced with a slim body, and a height of 164cm. Beautiful isn't?
But as I said at the beginning of the story. It was not her beauty that made me fall in love with her. If you talk pretty, if I go to the Mall, I can also meet beautiful women. The gunfire guarding the entrance of the cinema is also beautiful. Mini-market cashier, gas station attendant, fast food restaurant waiter, SPG, student, and so many places where I can find beautiful women, or maybe you are reading my story?
So, beauty alone will not make me crazy about a woman. I'm just a regular guy, a regular job, not very smart, not special. But that doesn't mean that because I'm mediocre, I accept just any woman to be my partner. I am a man who does not easily fall in his heart.
I've actually known Lela for quite some time, probably three years. Yeah, I told you, if Lela's father was the owner of the biggest bakery store in my town, which I used to visit. But his new presence really meant a lot to me, since a year ago. When Fitri asked me to drive him to an area in the suburb of Bandar Lampung, to donate his used books to a free library.
💘💘💘
I drove my motorcycle for thirty minutes from my house, to reach the location of the free library, where Fitri wanted to donate his books. The free library stands on a 300-square-meter property, on the edges of which there are several banana trees, a guava tree, and a mango tree. In the middle of the land, a wooden walled building was built, painted white. After parking my motorcycle in the library yard whose floor is covered with paving block,—, while carrying two white plastic bags filled with books that Fitri wants to donate, I walked into the library building.
Arriving in the library, I found a room covering an area of 5x6 meters whose floor was lined with plastic carpets patterned in black and white boxes like chess boards. There are wooden bookshelves lined up to cover the right and left walls of the room. I had a look around, about what books are in this free library. I saw there were self-improvement books, teen novels, short story collections, and there were also books about folklore. Everything is normal, but just wait until the books that Fitri will contribute decorate the shelves of this book. A dark aura would envelop this library. How can I not think like that? Two plastic bags in my hands, containing books entitled: How to Communicate With Jinns, How to Divorce With Tarot Cards, Hypnosis, Devil Kingdoms, How to Communicate With the Soul of the Dead, and there are also some horror novels. All of those are books Fitri wants to contribute to this free library.
Actually, I had wanted to prohibit Fitri from donating books from the hell. But ... don't want me, how is it? The hell time I have, preventing my sister from donating her book, when her social care soul is on fire? So I thought, let also the administrators of the library who will consider the fate of the books Fitri.
At that time, it was probably only about one to two minutes from the moment that Fitri and I entered the library, out someone from the room that was behind the main room of the library (the library room and the room, that room, that room, sealed with a wall of wood, then the door is only covered with a green curtain that has a flower motif) .
"Bang Ben?" said the man.
Of course I pointed my face at him. I was surprised when I saw a woman who was wearing a white T-shirt with a picture of Kurt Cobain that she combined with faded blue denim pants as her subordinates. Of course I know this woman. He's the son of Mr. Selamet, the owner of the biggest pastry shop in my town, Nurlela, or I call him Lela.
"Eh ... Lela," I told him.
Then Lela took a step to memorize me, "What do you need?" ask when he was in front of me.
Of course Lela welcomed Fitri's goodwill with great enthusiasm. I immediately handed the plastic bag containing the book that had been in my hands to Fitri. Then after having a chance to mince words with Lela, Fitri immediately opened a plastic bag and took out the books (from hell) on a wooden table in the corner of the room. Fitri and Lela then sat facing each other on a red plastic stool, while removing the books from the plastic bag. Beyond my shadow, Lela looks enthusiastic about receiving the books given by Fitri. After she finished taking the book out of the plastic bag, Lela took out a notebook from the desk drawer, held it with her left hand, and I saw her right hand holding a pen. On the sheet of books held by Lela, she recorded the titles of books that Fitri contributed with her blue pen.
"So you work here, Lela?" I asked Lela.
"Oh, no Mas. This library is my idea, with my two friends. So we took turns to look after each other" he replied, continuing to write on top of the book in his left hand.
Oh, great Lela too, I thought. "Then, is this place crowded with people?" ask again.
"Well, it's pretty crowded. The average student of SD, SMP, or SMA. People from around here" Lela replied. Then he paused for a moment his activities, then looked at me. "The people here are more people who work as farmers in fruit or vegetable gardens owned by Pak Rudi, who also happens to be the owner of this land. The people here are not poor, they are capable. At least send school and buy books that are required by the school, they can. But, to buy books such as novels or self-development books, which of course is useful to add insight, parents here ...." Lela stopped her words for a moment. "Bang Ben knows for himself, how much a book costs" he said as he fell on me.
"Yes, I get it," I said.
"Well, that's where me and my two friends took the initiative to build this free library. It just so happened that Mr. Rudi, wanted to lend us his property to make a library. "
"Oh so. How did you find this place?" ask again.
"I work side jobs at school for children with special needs, in this area. It just so happened that Mr. Rudi's wife was the headmaster at that place. So, I had a chance to tell him about my intentions, and he offered me this land. Incidentally around here there is also an orphanage, so yes, I think this is a very fitting place," he replied. Then Lela went on to record the titles of the books Fitri contributed to the library. Because I saw he was busy taking notes, so I stopped my conversation with him.
That day I didn't fall for him, for me there was nothing like it. Falling in love is the end of a long process. Where at first we only know each other, then admire, until at the end we want to without hesitation to do anything to fight for someone. That's falling in love, at least for me, for you? Whatever ....
At that time I was in the stage of admiring Lela. How not? If Lela wanted to, she could have been casually spending her youth, waiting for the time until her parents left the biggest pastry shop in my town to her. But he didn't do that, he worked part-time as a teacher at a special needs children's school. Then he built a free library with his two friends. I'm not exaggerating Lela. Honestly, maybe a lot of people who think to do something good for their social environment, I also like that. But, do we really do what we think we do in the end?
My admiration for Lela was like a cell in the body that had gene damage and grew into cancer. The cancer cells grew uncontrollably inside me. In stage 0, this cancer creates longing. Then in stages 1, 2 and 3, I felt need, lust, and ego. Then at the last stage where this cancer was getting worse, I was filled with feelings of willingness. I do everything to make him happy.
