Showing posts with label Letter Series. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Letter Series. Show all posts

Friday, February 2, 2024

To My Yellow Person

 

Photo by DM on Flickr

"Your yellow person is a person that may have saved you, in a way." 

Dear you, how are you coping?

It's been a while since we talked; in an honest way. I don't know whether you still trust me or not. Or I don't know whether you still consider me as your friend or not. But I hope you still do. 

Though us trusting each other, I guess, is a never-ending process. Because you tend to break the promise and then fix things up, while I right here tend to avoid breaking promises.

Remember the time I said to you that I could not afford to lose you? It's still relevant. 

Because your existence is not just a mere existence. Your existence helped me a lot. 

Your existence saved me, in a way. 

You brought a sense of comfort and safety in times of stress or uncertainty. Everything was uncertain to me; work-related. And there you were; coming in as a saviorbringing hope and remedy. I knew it well you were just doing your jobthe bare minimum—things that I shouldn't consider to be the reason I was enamored. 

Oh, but how can I help? This girl right here was mesmerized by the things you've done. Your work was so thoughtful and well done. Unconscious, I fell even deeper. I got more attached. You were so convenient to me that makes me think that you could have been my person if only there was no such thing as a different creed.

Cause I couldn’t break through the barrier.

I knew from the start that you could be another distress in my life. The first time you walked into the room I said to myself "Oh, here we go again.." The one shouldn't be attempted; the one couldn't be obtained. I even wrote a blog, in Dec 2021, telling myself that I could not afford another broken heart. That time, I need to save myself. Especially from you.

But I didn't listen. 

Cause you're like a breath of fresh air, beyond compare. Yet in a world where our paths don't intertwine, I yearn for what I can't call mine.

My breaking heart and I agree
That you and I could never be
So, with my best, my very best
I set you free
I wish you shelter from the storm
A cozy fire to keep you warm
But most of all, when snowflakes fall
But most of all, when snowflakes fall
I wish you love, love, love
—Laufey, I Wish You Love

I hope you understand that no matter when, no matter where, and no matter how, I always want to see you win and I will be one of your biggest supporters. I hope you know I will always care and miss what we had.

I will be cheering you on from afar. From the sidelines. Cause now, I know my place, I drew the line. 

But someday I will heal, I'll grow another heart
And I guess until then, I'll endure the falling apart
I'll learn to love the quiet and forget what was said
—Eloise, Left Side


Love,

NM.

Friday, December 31, 2021

To The Fresh Breeze I shouldn't Have

Photo by Benjamin Sow on Unsplash

If I had to mention the exact time when you start getting my attention, it'd be on the twenty-fourth of December; the Christmas eve. I don't think it was your smile to make me bewitched at first, but your serious look. It was so deep; so pensive that I want to deep dive into your mind. What were you thinking? 

Then I was captivated by your smile. It looks so good on you. So contagious that it spreads joy. I secretly hope you won't stop smiling despite everything you've been through. 

If I could be honest, I long for this kind of feeling; like, admiration, or fondness? You make me realize that it's been so long since I've felt this way. You're completely like a fresh breeze on a summer's day.

But sadly, you're the fresh breeze I shouldn't have. 

I cannot afford another broken heart. This time, I need to save myself,


Love,

NM.

Sunday, November 21, 2021

To The One that Got Away

Photo by Marie-Michèle Bouchard on Unsplash
"What? I am not the one that got away,"  

I already can sense you will say this the first time you read this letter. 

"..but I'm sorry if you feel that way." 

you will continue. Why does saying sorry seem so easy for you to say?

"Sorry if you feel that way."
"Sorry that I can't always be there."

You think that I will always be forgiving, don't you? That I will always be there for you no matter what happenslike what I've written in my letters.

Cause indeed I do. Forgiving you was easy, but healing from its pain was another thing. 

Looking back, I haven't been in a good state, mentally and emotionally, since 2018. The year (I thought) I lose you. I cried a lot. I never knew that losing you could hurt this much. Losing your presence, losing your daily or weekly news, losing the friendship. Losing us.

I also feel like I'm losing myself more and more since you're the only one who knew me well. Back then.

There were days when I was tired to pretend that everything's alright; that you and I are in an okay-ish state. Those days were days I want to snap at you, "what's up with us?! We're not okay, something's off. Don't you feel it?"

Being your friend for more than a decade makes me realize that you are the kind of person who will turn a blind eye to situations you don't fancy to. Acting like things were the samethat we're alrightbut there was a new distance around each of us. 

I hate it and I miss you. So much.

I hate inventing you, scripting your lines, instead of having the original. I could write a thousand dialogues between us. Like when we talk about the places we've been, the things we've done, or the jokes we've laughed about.

And now, I can only reminisce all those things. 

But hey, I think I need closure. Can we talk soon? 


Love
NM.

Tuesday, September 10, 2019

To The Most Selfless Person I've Known

There needs to be more people like you in this world.
Dear Erika, 

Remember the time when you asked me to write about you on my blog? Well, I still owe you that. So here is a letter for you. You, the most selfless person I have ever known.

Jika ditanya apa salah satu kejadian yang sangat gue syukuri dalam hidup, yang ada kaitannya dengan lo, gue pasti akan menjawab, "kejadian di mana lo dengan akrabnya ngechat gue via LINE pas jaman mahasiswa baru. Padahal ketemu aja belum pernah, apalagi kenalan."

Sejujurnya gue bersyukur banget sama Tuhan yang sudah memberikan lo ide untuk menyapa gue lewat instant messenger hijau itu. Walaupun gue bingung kenapa mesti gue di antara mahasiswa/i asal Depok lainnyapun diri lo sendiri nggak tahu alasannya.

Setelah kenalan dan ngobrol, akhirnya kita ketemu pertama kali saat registrasi dan verifikasi calon mahasiswa baru. Saling bertanya-tanya, "lo di mana? Lo yang mana? Lo pakai baju apa?" Dan ternyata, lo duduk nggak jauh dari gue.

Siapa yang sangka kalau pertemuan itu bisa menjadi awal pertemanan kita. 

I feel like our friendship was built effortlessly. It was natural. We just clicked. Later I know that you are a Gemini. "Oh okay, it all makes sense," I said. Why I said it makes sense? Because every Aries needs at least one Gemini in her life and vice versa.

Pondok Kopi Umbul Sidomukti, 2015.
Meskipun semuanya terasa mudah, tetapi tetap saja, layaknya setiap hubungan: there are always ups and downs. Segalanya tidak selalu berjalan mulusseringkali gue bikin ulah. Gue menyesal pernah bikin lo nangis-nangis curhat ke salah satu teman kita karena tiba-tiba gue unresponsive dan bersikap dingin. Atau ketika gue tiba-tiba 'hilang' berhari-hari dan membuat lo khawatir. Maaf banget. I will try not to do that anymore. Pun jika iya, gue akan laporan dulu ke lo semisalnya gue akan menghilang. Percayalah, gue akan baik-baik saja.

Sekalipun gue berulah setidak menyenangkan itu, hebatnya, lo akan tetap ada. You will always stick around, check on me, and ask about my day. Kadang gue mikir, "gila, gue semenyebalkan ini loh. Kok lo masih mau ya berteman dengan gue?" Padahal banyak yang akhirnya menyerah, entah karena pagar yang gue buat terlalu tinggi atau lapisan dinding gue terlalu tebal. 

But you are still here, you are not giving up. You are forgiving. You always remind me that there is always room for understanding. You show me how easy it is to choose forgiveness over hate. 

Often I wonder, "what did I do to deserve you?"

On Your Birthday, 2017.
Banyak yang bilang kita kembar, twins katanya. Sampai orang yang nggak kenal kita sama sekali, juga bilang kita kembar. Salah satunya yaitu abang-abang tukang fotokopian, ingat? Atau beberapa teman yang salah memanggil lo dengan nama gue atau sebaliknya.

Tapi yang nggak semua orang tahu adalah karakter kita berdua cukup berbeda. 

You are a people person, while I am a lone wolf. You enjoy spending time with a lot of people, while I prefer to spend time with a small group. You are such a friendly person, while I am not easy to be close with. You are an empath, while I am too difficult to express my feeling. You cry easily, while I tend to hide it away. You always put everyone's needs ahead of yours, while I still think about mine first. 

Entah lo sadar atau nggak, but you inspire me. A lot. 

Ada beberapa hal yang dapat gue pelajari dari diri lo, salah tiganya adalah your selflessness, your empathy, and your friendliness. Kadang kemampuan lo untuk tidak mementingkan diri sendiri membuat takjub, kok ada ya orang kayak lo atau memang semestinya manusia itu seperti lo. You are a person who gives your entire being to the people you love. You always make time for them. You care so deeply and does not expect anything in return.

Herannya, dengan kemampuan yang sehebat itu, lo masih bisa meragukan diri lo ketika kita berdiskusi tentang menjadi seorang ibu. You have an oversized heart. You will be a great mother someday, trust me because you are everything a person could be.

But if I could be honest, sometimes, your selflessness scares me. I am scared that people will take you for granted.  I am scared that you will get hurt. I am scared that people will realize that you are precious only when it's too lateit's when they already lose you.

Karena kadang manusia sesumbar itu, merasa segalanyatermasuk orang-orang terdekatnya—akan ada selamanya. Pun gue termasuk takut menjadi manusia yang seperti itu. I am afraid that I will take you for granted.

Lo juga mengajarkan ke gue bahwa it is okay to seek help. Bahwa tidak selamanya gue harus melakukan apa-apa sendirian. Bahwa akan selalu ada orang yang menolong nantinya. "Kan ada gue," kalimat favorit yang sering lo utarakan. And I can't thank you enough for this.

Oh, dan juga! Don't you know that you are the type of person who makes people's hearts warm whenever you are around? Because you always care genuinely. Because your empathy, your friendliness, and your humbleness. And that is the reason why people want to be around you. 

Langit Senja Salatiga, 2018.
You are such a constant in my life that I often forget to be the friend that you are to me in return to you.

Seringkali gue merasa belum menjadi teman yang baik. I might not be as good as you in term of cheering people up. I might not be the sweetest friend you could have. I might not have a huge empathy like you do. I might be so awkward when you cry and we will end up laugh at each other. I might be emotionally unavailable sometimes. I might not always be there. I might not be a person you will look for when you need sugar-coating wordsbecause oftentimes I will speak the truth. 

But remember, I will have your back. I will support you as  I can. I will remind you of your dreams and ambitions. I will tell you to always keep your head high and keep your chin up. And most importantly, I will never get tired to tell you that you are worth it. That you are loved. That you deserve everything good in this world. That you deserve the world.

And lastly,

Congratulations that you finally made it to the end! All your hard work has paid off. I don’t know what adventure you will have to take on in the future. But I can’t wait to see what happens next, obviously, I am going to be so proud of you. Semoga apa yang lo cita-citakan serta impikan tercapai. Semoga juga segala hal baik serta kebahagiaan selalu menyertai lo, kapanpun dan di manapun. 


Love,
NM.

Sunday, March 24, 2019

To My Teenage Self

Things I wish someone had told me when I was a teenager.
Dear teenage self,

I understand that writing you a letter, hoping it could be delivered to you back in time, and making sure you read it are nonsensical, at all. But I am still writing it anyway because there is so much I want to tell you. There is just so much thing I wish you could understand at your age, especially when you are thirteen years old until you reach eighteen. So yeah, here is a letter full of much-needed advice though I know it is impossible for you to read. But maybe this letter can also speak to any teenagers out there who are confused and lost, just like you, because sometimes, it is not easy being a teenager, right?

Dear Nikita,

You do not have to set up an account on every social media just because you are afraid to be left behind, mainly you do not want to miss the latest school gossip, duh. I know the internet will be a new big thing in your time, but please, you actually are not ready for that. You post and share a lot without thinking twice. You spend a lot of time on Friendster, Myspace, Facebook, Twitter, Plurk, Multiply, Blogger, Tumblr, Formspring, Flickr, Polyvore, Yahoo Messenger, Msn. See? How many is that? Oh, and now you are giving your older self a hard time deleting your posts and account. Luckily, some of them are no longer available.

Stop trying to fit in and just be yourself. I understand the teenage years are all about self-discovery. But if your mom, out of nowhere, says, "kamu pernah loh tiba - tiba berubah jadi anak yang Mamah sama Papah nggak kenal waktu kelas tujuh. Sampai Mamah bingung mesti ngadepin kamu gimana," then maybe you discover a wrong self, you rebel.

Keep doing what you love, your hobbies, and do not stop. Immerse yourself in things you are interested with. Here I am going to tell you: answering "what is your hobby?" when you are older is not easy like when you are a teenager. You need to think long and hard because you are not sure whether those hobbies are still your hobbies or not since it has been a long time you do not spare time for it. So please, do not stop reading, writing, drawing, painting, taking pictures, making DIY things, swimming, basically anything you love to do. Oh, always remember that your dad fully supports you and he (also me! your older self) would be happy if you join some classes in music/vocal.

I know you can be so awkward in front of the camera and you prefer to be the one behind the lens, but you should take a lot of pictures (not a selfie) of yourself in high school. You are giving me a hard time in finding a proper picture of you. Believe me, you have nice skin ever comparing to your older self. So enjoy it while it lasts cause cystic acne sucks, darling. Also, you do not need to edit your photos in camera 360 with magic skin or light color effects, please do not do that.

You will have one moment when you are coming back home crying because of your friend copies your homework but you are the one who is getting blamed for. Since then, you hate being copied by others because you want to be different. You love to be unique and original. Keep doing that, girl!

You will always be that one person who believes in the law of attraction. So dream high and keep a positive attitude on it. Once you really want something, the whole universe will conspire to make it happen.

Stay competitive and ambitious. That what keeps you alive.

Since you were a kid, you knew what you want and what you do not really want. As you get older, you are becoming a strong headed and strongly opinionated person which causes a countless and endless debate with your mom. Oftentimes you have a different opinion with her. But there will be time, you must listen to her so you will not blame yourself for the rest of your life. However, I am still proud of you, because you still do well anyway.

Being vulnerable scares you, I know. But you can not brush off your feeling and act like everything is fine while actually, it is not. Acknowledge it, talk about it. You think that when you stop talking and stay quiet, those scary feelings and unwanted emotions will be stopped. Darling, they will not. It just makes you seem a cold and heartless person.

Learn to have empathy, you are lacking it.

People say teenage years are all about friendship, it is true. Sadly, not all of your friends will be around you forever. Some will, some will not. So treasure your friends and your time with them. Keep in your mind that it is okay to grow apart with your friends and lose them cause that always happens. Even the one you thought you will never lose, you still lose. But along the way, you will find friends whom you keep dearly and make them your forever person.

Stop the meaningless gossips, fights, and bullies. You will not be proud of it, believe me.

Your teacher at LIA, Mom Lily, ever said, "nothing too much about love." But you, please, do not love someone too much. Because she could be wrong and you have a tendency of allowing yourself to dwell in sadness for too long every time you get your heart broken.

Do not push people away who love you and stop building the walls. You think you are very good at it, while actually, you are not. In the end, you are the one who gets hurt and ended up thinking, "is he/she okay?".

If you think time will heal all the wounds, it does not. But it gets better along the way. Promise me that you will turn every wound and sadness into an art form. I swear that though the pain may linger and hurt, you still can look back and talk about that with peals of laughter except when it includes the death of your loved one.

Take care of your body, mind, and spirit. In short, love yourself. Cut out the junk food and stop craving for spicy foods! I know how hard it is not to hang out with your friends in McD (SMP) or KFC (SMA) or not to eat Ayam Penyet WSG in Margonda, but you must cut it out. And in terms of faith, please do not give up on it.

Finally, my dear teenage self,

Never take your parents for granted, especially your dad. Basically, do not take everyone for granted. I will never get bored to tell you that you will not have anyone forever, including your dad. You think he will always be there supporting you, helping you with your math problems, being strict with you, driving you anywhere you go, asking you if you are okay every time you are in a bad mood, cheering you uphe will not. So my advice to you my dear, spend a lot of time with him talking. Ask a lot about life, about his opinion towards anything, about his life story, about relationship, about education, about career, essentially, ask him how to survive in this world since he has a lot of wisdom.

Oh one more thing, you have the brightest smile ever in your teenage years. Please always keep that smile. 

My dear, one day you will know how far you will go.


Love,
NM.

Sunday, May 13, 2018

To My Best Friend


Hi. How is life, you?

Such an awkward starter to ask you like this. I know. But yeah this is meyour friend talking.

Are you still aware of what thing that I love to do every time I'm feeling down? I write. What do I do when I get sad? I write. What do I do when I am happy or grateful for life? I write. What do I do when I really want to express a or two or more feeling? I write.

Every big time, I write. And now, I write about you.

Hey, let me tell you a secretwhich is going to be exposed.

I have a feeling that I start to lose youand it sucks. It sucks that it happens too soon. It sucks that I'm awareI'm not ready, yet, it sucks that you look okay while I am here bleeding. A little bit I guess because I don't want to be that miserable. I want to be okayI want to look okay, just like you.

But I know, I can't.

I still have a vivid memory when you said to me: "Lo harus mulai cerita sama orang lain, gue kan nggak mungkin selalu ada."

Yes, I understand. I understand a lot that we have our own lives to go through. You do your thing and I do mine. But for me, myself, a person who is not easily comfortable to people even to tell my stories, it's hard. It's really hard. I secretly love to stay in comfort zoneand you are one of it. 

You were there when I was feeling left out by my surroundings. I was feeling left out because I only can listen and that's it. I can't talk about my problems; tell my stories because maybe I just don't trust them yet—and that takes time. It takes time for me to trust people.

"Nama - nama yang lo sebutin gue bisa nggak tau mereka siapa. Begitu pun lo. Makanya gue jarang cerita karena takut lo nggak paham.", said yourself to me that time. Well, fairly enough, I like to listen to your stories.

But here you are now, pushing me away. I am sorry if it is just me who feel so when maybe the reality is not like that. But I do feel it. I do.

There was one time I tweeted this in our Twitter account, yes our. Do you still remember that we have our Twitter account? 

On October 2nd, 2017: "Gue janji, gue nggak akan ninggalin! Selama keadaan nggak memaksa gue. Karena gue tahu, ujung - ujungnya gue yang nyesel kalau meninggalkan."

An honest saying from me which I wish it won't happen.
Because after all this time; after 10 years of us being friends,
I don't want to let this friendship slip away.

The last thing, I just want to show you an excerpt of Nadin Amizah's (@cakecaine) caption on her Instagram which I found fascinating for us to read. Unconsciously, maybe this is what drives me to write about you.

Dearest friend, every lines that cross path, part. 
Every friendship or whatever you call it ends as we grow up. 
And thus when our lines reach its end, and when we run out of places to go, food to eat, jokes to tell, 

Dearest friend, know that I will still love you. by your side or from the distance. 
I am your friend before anything else, so your happiness matter to me a lot more than anything else. 

Dearest person, every lines that cross path, will eventually part. 
I’m so familiar with the concept that I'm not afraid of goodbyes anymore. 
It is inevitable. sometimes it means forever. but a lot of times it just mean seeing each other years from now, for the first time after long. you with your loved one and me with my own, happy. 
or it could be just us. it could be just us, together, happy.

Dearest person, we do not know what the future may have on its hands. 
But may we always love, and forgive, and love. May we remember all the kindness, 
May we laugh again at how we smear pain on each other’s back and may we forgive.

After the silence fills the air and the only thing left to say is 
"I have been good to you, and you have been good to me. I’m grateful,” 
You, my dearest, will always have me behind your back. (or by your side)

@Cakecaine's on her Instagram

For all the togetherness that we had back then,
For all the memories that we created together,
For all the jokes, peals of laughter, and smiles that we put into life,
I gladly say that I am so grateful to be your friend.

Happy birthday, you.
Thank you for being born and being here and there. At those times. 
Wishing you the happiness you deserve. Always. 

To my May 31st person.


Love,
NM.


P.s: 
Nyet, I know I could be this annoying to some extent, apalagi dengan nulis - nulis begini, am I sound too selfish and childish? Tell me if I am dan mau maklumin gue nggak? *tetep annoying*. Satu hal yang akan selalu gue ulang - ulang: thank you for being my best friend ya since 12 years old and now you are 22. Selamat bertambah tua dan dewasa.

Thursday, May 25, 2017

To My Unrequited Love

Bali, 2013. Taken with Braun SR2000.

No more you, I guess.

Saya selalu punya pertanyaan yang saya simpan baik – baik selama enam tahun belakangan ini. Pertanyaan yang saya pikir mungkin tidak akan pernah terjawab—yang entah sampai kapan. Pertanyaan yang akan jadi bumerang buat saya sendiri toh kalau itu terjawab. Dan nyatanya benar, pertanyaan yang saya simpan selama itu, kini sudah waktunya terjawab. 

Ada alasan kenapa saya bisa selama itu menyimpan sebuah pertanyaan. Ya apalagi kalau bukan kesiapan diri? Meski boleh saya akui, saya nggak siap – siap banget kok. At the end of the time when the question was already answered, I still feel hurt.

Buat saya pribadi, menanyakan soal cinta kepada orang yang bersangkutan itu nggak gampang. Sama sekali nggak. Tapi di sini, saya butuh kejelasan. At least, untuk diri saya pribadi. Biar apa? Buat apa? Well setidaknya, buat diri saya bisa dengan mudah nantinya merencanakan masa depan saya. Should I put you on my future plan, or not.

Dan kesimpulan yang bisa saya ambil dari jawabannya adalah: you're only in the past who will never be in my future.

You are only in the past, who will never be in my future.

Saya udah ketok palu sejak mendapatkan jawaban itu. Jawaban yang lucunya, sudah saya antisipasi. Jawaban yang mungkin di dalam hati saya adalah jawaban yang saya harapkan. Jawaban yang membenarkan asumsi saya, bahwa:

You know how much I love you, but you just don’t love me.

Mungkin saya terkesan sok tau, mungkin ada yang salah dengan pemikiran saya. But the word “sorry” told everything. Kata “maaf” pada saat itu menjelaskan segalanya, even segala pertanyaan yang tidak saya sampaikan. 

Dan ya, I have had enough of you. Cukup. Sudah. Selesai. 

“I can say that you’re disappointed with me, right?”
“Nope, but let just give it a try. I want to see.” –A. 

“Capek nggak sih lo punya temen kayak gue yang bilang mau move on tapi nggak move on – move on?”
“Nggak capek sih, cuma sedih guenya.” –G. 

“Pea banget deh dia. Lu juga. Sebenernya lu harus dari lama emang nggak usah berharap lagi sama dia. Karena kalo dia suka sama elu pasti dia bakal ngejar lu. Simple.” –H.

“Udah yak kali ini bener bener udahan sama dia. Kali ini lo beneran harus move on menatap ke depan jangan ke belakang lagi. Ya mungkin emang susah awalnya tapi lama – lama bisa kok. Just try it.” –M. 

I don’t want to wait anymore—waiting for you or waiting for the magic happens. Goodbye.


Love,
NM.

Tuesday, December 6, 2016

To The Man Whom I knew Early This Year

Malang, 2016.
Dear Mr. Risk Taker,

When you read this, please keep in your mind that this isn't a love letter. Yes, I write for you, but none of the paragraphs below will tell you how much I love you, because no, I'm not falling. Mungkin saya terlihat berlawanan, seperti meyakinkan diri sendiri bahwa saya tidak 'jatuh'. Padahal di sisi lain, every girl in my circle believes that there is a feeling inside of me towards you.

Lucu ya, bagaimana mereka lebih tahu dibandingkan si empunya hati soal perasaan yang dienyam. Atau mungkin soal perasaan, orang lain akan lebih tahu? Sementara sang pemilik di sini lebih memilih untuk menimbun perasaan dan memaksa hati untuk tidak bergerak lebih jauh.

Anyway,

A year ago, that time when I knew I'd collaborate with you in a work, made me realize that universe was just so funny. It makes me believe that some things that would be in place, would be in place, at the right time at the right moment. Things just got real, when I've got a chance to know you more.

Universe let us know each other better.

Maybe you wouldn't think it's funny or why did I get too excited to get the chance to work with you. Well, it's because I already noticed you from the start. From the beginning of my college life, you, with that white tote bag and that blue alma mater. Standing alone in the front line.

And you know another funny part was? We almost recognized ourselves at that Saturday night--we called it as a welcoming party--if only I agreed to exchange my paper with one of my friends so your name would be written there. It was almost, but almost is never enough right?

I always think that every single thing has ever happened in my life happens for a reason. And finally, that occasion happened, meeting and knowing you, for a reason. Maybe the reason is for answering all my curiosity about you or the reason is for me to learn from you because we all know that you're just too good at some abilities.

You wonder why did I call you Mr. Risk Taker? Because in some particular time when I work with you, you were just too daring enough to make a change that full of risk. But at last, it turned out well. You successfully insisted a change.

And successfully giving me some memories to reminisce.

I'm sure I'm going to miss our times a lot. The times when we discussed things, the times when we evaluated each other, the times when we argued, the times when we laughed, the times that we spent the night ride together, the times when you said that I was just so mean, the times when you said "You should believe me that I'm not a person you were just saying." because I was too early to judge you, I'm sorry.  And many moments that I can't recite one by one.

Oh, and the time when you said, "Just tell me when you need something." When I suddenly disappeared from a meeting because this little girl needed a break.

And ah, I thank you a lot for at least you taught me how to be a good leader and how to manage people in a team. And you told me when you can do a thing and you are good at it, don't do it for free. Haha! Because "what else matters to us besides appreciation?", you said. And yes, appreciation comes in many, many forms.

You know what,

when I look at you, I feel like looking in a mirror. Sometimes I think that we are all the same, in part of love--and some part of our traits.

In love, we are the same. We love someone too deep until we forget to love ourselves. 

Hearing your stories made me understand that we are hurt by the love we think we deserve. Kita adalah orang - orang yang terluka. Me with my prolonged secret feelings and never confess, and you, with your experiences that have been cheated on by a girlfriend you've ever had. Sad, isn't it?

But well, life must go on and I know you've already moved on--to the girl you love at the first place, hahaha. (But I think it's not moving on, it's like opening the same book again? Well, with a different feeling perhaps).

Last but not least, I'm sorry for sometimes I was so mean to you or making the vibes so awkward between us. Or even worse, I treated you as a stranger--because, sorry, this little girl can't help when she has an odd feeling like this.

And I guess this is the end of the letter. Again, this is not a love letter. It's only a letter consist of my gratitude and my ideas about you during my work with you. So yeah, good luck, be careful, and hope you will get your bucket of happiness there!


Love,
NM.

Thursday, February 5, 2015

To My Old Man


Assalammualaikum, Papah..

Apa kabar? Aku harap kenyamanan dan kebahagiaan di sana selalu melingkupi Papah. Di sini bisa dibilang kita semua sudah mulai terbiasa, aku, Mamah, dan Adek, semua sudah mencoba untuk kembali normal atas ketidaknormalan sebelumnya karena ada yang hilang, ada yang kurang di antara kami. Pah, sebenernya aku udah mau buat post ini dari 100 harinya Papah bulan Januari kemarin. Tapi maafkan kesalahan anakmu ini yang memang hobi menunda dari dulu hahaha.

Papah, it's been a hundred days since you're gone. Sometimes a part of me still can't believe that you aren't here anymore. Beruntungnya jadi manusia, aku masih diberikan kemampuan untuk dapat merekam dan mengingat hal - hal yang ku lakukan bersamamu dulu. Semuanya begitu nyata Pah saat aku menyorot balik kala itu. But well, life must go on right? 

Pah, banyak banget hal yang mau aku ceritain ke Papah, dari kehidupan aku di Semarang dan juga bagaimana liburan semesterku saat ini. Ah! Dan juga perubahan - perubahan yang terjadi di rumah. Aku kaget waktu pulang dari Semarang ke rumah, ternyata sekarang pagar harus digembok. Biasanya kalau ada Papah, pagar rumah pasti nggak pernah digembok. Karena kita yakin bahwa kita semua aman. Somewhile I hate when everything changes because you are gone. Like everything is not in the place as it used to be again. Call me a conservative, but yes, I hate it. Aku mau semuanya tetap pada biasanya, nggak ada yang berubah. Mamah masih tidur di kamarnya. Kolam masih terisi penuh. Pagar belum digembok. Makanan di meja selalu siap disantap. Komputer di ruang kantor selalu menyala. Mobil selalu jarang di garasi. But then again, I can not stop the changes. 

Dulu, Pah, setiap kita silahturahmi ke rumah - rumah sodara yang salah satu anggota keluarganya meninggal dunia, pasti aja akan ada suasana yang beda dari rumah itu. Suasana sepi. Dan aku nggak mau sebenarnya untuk menjadikan rumah ini menjadi sepi. Karena jelas berasa ada yang kosong. Ada yang pergi dan nggak akan pernah kembali lagi.

Oh iya, sekarang kita punya mbak. Untuk perubahan yang ini aku nggak sangsi sih, I'm fine with it. Walaupun awalnya aku juga mikir berkali - kali untuk menyetujukan alasan Mamah punya mbak lagi. Katanya Mamah suka sepi kalau di rumah dan Adek lagi main ke mana - mana. Walaupun sekarang Mamah juga nggak selalu stand by di rumah, apalagi kalau weekdays. Mamah sekarang sering ke kantor Pah, 8 to 5 pasti di kantor. Cie ada yang gantiin kerjaan Papah di kantor hahaha. 

Pah, aku kangen banget! Kangen banget! Kapan main - main? Bude, Mamah, Adek udah pernah main bareng Papah. Aku? Halah, sekali main nggak pernah interaksi. Kalau terus - terusan begini, aku berasa dianaktirikan nih, hahaha. Kemarin katanya waktu Papah main di mimpi Bude, Papah nggak mau dipeluk ya? Kenapa? Papah terlihat bahagia katanya, aku senang dengernya. Tapi lebih senang lagi kalau aku bisa buktiin sendiri. Tenang aja Pah, doa aku sama Adek insya allah nggak pernah putus, so you will always be happy there!

Biasanya kalau aku kangen Papah, aku cuma bisa flashback doang. You were so real, Pah! Untung ingatan ku masih tajam. Ini telinga juga masih bisa mendengar khas tawa Papah, apalagi intonasi dan nada bicara Papah. Senang juga ya kalau diingat - ingat, aku seenggaknya udah pernah keliling Semarang sama Papah. Makan di Simpang Lima malam - malam, dan motoran di daerah Tembalang, terus beli helm di bawah jembatan dekat tol. Helmnya selalu kepake kok Pah sekarang, tapi aku seringnya nebeng hahaha.

Aku kangen banget deh Pah jalan - jalan malam naik mobil sama Papah, atau nggak harus malam sih. Yang penting naik mobil sama Papah. Kita memang nggak punya aktivitas jalan - jalan malam. Tapi aku selalu rindu dan nyaman setiap pulang Inten dulu atau les LIA pulang dengan mobil. Kita juga jarang bicara ketika naik mobil. It's only silence between us. Tapi itu yang aku rindukan; keheningan akan ada. Setelah Papah nggak ada, ternyata jarang ya orang yang bawa kendaraan dengan diam. Banyak teman - temanku atau orang lain yang harus diajak ngobrol ketika berkendara, Biar nggak ngantuk, katanya. Padahal aku penikmat perjalanan dengan diam, apalagi kalau naik motor terus aku diharuskan ngobrol. Aku malah nggak enak sama yang berkendaranya, Pah, telingaku kayaknya budeg deh nih kalau di motor. Pasti sering "ha? ha? ha?" gitu hahaha.

Setelah aku belajar nyetir, Pah, ternyata aku tipikal orang yang sama kayak Papah waktu nyetir. Dibandingkan harus ngobrol, aku lebih milih untuk diam selama perjalanan. Dan kita sama - sama nggak gampang ngantuk saat berkendara, Pah! Oh iya, aku izin belajar nyetir ya Pah. Mamah juga, walaupun aku tahu Papah sangat melarang Mamah belajar mobil, Tapi kalau kita semua nggak bisa, nanti siapa yang akan pakai kendarannya? Kan kasian mobilnya.

Pah untuk tahun ini, izinkan aku mencoba peruntunganku lagi ya. Aku tahu memang Papah dari awal sudah memperbolehkan aku untuk ikut tes lagi. Buktinya waktu tahun lalu aku izin sama Papah, Papah mengiyakan dengan cepat. Kita itu memang benar - benar sama ya Pah, we love challenge! Umur buatku nggak masalah Pah, yang jadi masalah adalah ketika aku ngga bisa menggapai impianku, dan nggak bisa dekat dengan orang tersayang. 

Kalau ingat - ingat dulu, lucu juga ya Pah, aku dulu sering banget bilang ke Papah. "Pah, pokoknya aku mau kuliah yang jauh. Jauh banget kalau bisa. Aku mau jadi anak rantau aja." Terus Papah nanya, "kamu kenapa sih Kak, maunya kuliah jauh - jauh?" Aku nggak jawab, tapi dalam hati aku bilang, aku mau bebas. Meskipun aku nggak tau definisi bebasku itu apa. Nyesel? Nggak, aku nggak pernah nyesel pernah ngomong begitu Pah. Nggak tau ya, kenapa kok aku orangnya nggak gampang nyesel ya? Tapi sekarang aku tahu Pah, kalau aku nggak pernah ngomong dan kepikiran gitu, aku nggak akan tau rumahku. Aku pernah baca secarik tulisan, katanya, "pergilah, karena tak seorang pun dapat pulang tanpa terlebih dahulu pergi." Dan aku tahu ke mana aku harus pulang setelah aku pergi ini. 

Kalau Papah tanya apakah aku nggak betah di sana, nggak kok. Aku betah - betah aja. Tapi ya itu tadi, that place is not my home. I need my home around me, Pah. Dan satu hal yang mengganggu aku, I can not explore myself much there. I need to, but I can not. Atau mungkin belum ya? Entah, kalkulasiku untuk saat ini, keuntungan akan lebih banyak aku peroleh jika aku ada di rumah. Jadi tolong izinkan dan ridhoi ya, Pah?

Semenjak Papah nggak ada, kenapa aku malah lebih merasa aman ya? Semacam Papah selalu sama aku di manapun aku berada dan kapanpun itu. Sering banget waktu aku jalan - jalan sendirian dan aku nggak pernah merasa takut. Malah aku serasa lagi jalan - jalan sama Papah. Aku merasa aman. Atau saat aku harus pulang di atas jam sembilan dan naik angkutan umum, aku nggak takut sama sekali karena sugesti ku, Papah sedang bersamaku juga. 

Pah, ada berita bahagia loh! Kak Shinta udah lahiran sekarang, katanya itu pengganti Papah. Laki - laki juga, jadi Adek ada teman mainnya deh. Namanya Alden, dipanggil Al. Kenapa ya sekarang banyak banget nama Al buat bayi - bayi? Papah udah liat belum bayinya? Mampir - mampir aja ke rumah kak Shinta, hahaha.

Pah, aku kadang ngerasa iri. Iri sama Papah. Kenapa kok kayaknya nggak adil ya, Papah ditinggal sama Mbah ketika Papah udah berkeluarga? Nah aku sama Adek? Umur belum sampai 20 tapi kok Papah udah pergi aja? Iya, aku tau, memang nggak akan ada yang pernah tau kapan maut akan menjemput, Tapi tetap aja buatku ini terlalu cepat. Jadinya kan aku sama Adek nggak punya banyak waktu untuk membahagiakan Papah.

I think this is the end of my letter to you. Boleh berharap untuk dibalas nggak nih, Pah? Hahaha. I wish you are doing good up there, Papah. I love you.


Love,
NM.

Thursday, July 10, 2014

To My Future Self

Hope you will always live well.
Dear future Nikita,

How's life going there? Good enough? Are you happy? Make sure that you live your life happily. I don't know what life will bring you, but well, all I know life is getting harder everyday so brace yourself.

Are you still doing what you love to do? Or you're already an expert of it? I always wish you a bright future there so please explore yourself and enhance the abilities of what you like and what you can do.

If life brings you down, keep in your mind that you still can writing, doodling, taking some photos, making diy things, recording, joining some class, reading, and sitting alone in your favorite bookstore or teashop. Oh! If you have much much much money, reach your target to travel the world! Prefer alone, I think. Jangan lupa dari yang kecil - kecil ya, coba jelajah Indonesia dulu. Dan ya, selalu syukur nikmat. Ingat! Syukur nikmat, jangan pernah kufur nikmat.

Stay humble, stay focus, and be kind! Though there are so many people out there who don't have same opinion like you, keep focus! Stay on what you believe it's true. But still be open-minded, think positively. You have to remind yourself that it's great to be you, to be Nikita. You'll always be surrounded by great, creative, and lovely people! I believe.

Oh, last but not least. Don't forget to love and be loved. Love yourself, love your parents, love your families, love your friends, and the most important is love your God. More, more, and more. Without Him, you'll never be "a person" you're today. And yes, keep on searching for your significant other. Make a move, do something. How long you have to wait for something that will never happen? You're already warned by your adorable friends in junior and senior high school to open your heart to every good man out there, good luck! (Or you've already found your significant other and settle down? :p)


Love,
NM.

P.s:
Don't forget to prepare your presentation for tomorrow's meeting, don't lose your colleagues! Stroke of luck for your company--in creative industry.