Dublin wasn’t exactly a romantic city; if anything, it had more pubs than charming cafés. Yet Risa knew exactly why they had come—to write the final chapter of their story here. It all traced back to those books—the nine murder thrillers that had first brought them together. Each story carried its own detective, its own mind at the center, and more than one case unfolding within it.
Back then, they had only been dating for about a year, and Kala had no layovers in Jakarta. When he landed a 72-hour layover in Singapore, he was willing to fly to Indonesia just to give his girlfriend a birthday present. They met at a city café, where, looking utterly exhausted, he handed her a box containing a watch. Unfortunately, Risa couldn't read an analog clock, so Kala had to think fast—and ended up giving the watch to his sister instead.
"Be honest with me, Mas, were you angry back then? About the watch I turned down?" Risa gave a strained smile to her right, where Kala sat with her in the KLM economy cabin.
Kala arched his eyebrows for a few seconds before answering, "Yes. I was annoyed, but I also found it hilarious. In over twenty years of my life, that was the first time I'd met someone who couldn't read an analog watch."
Risa laughed and squeezed his hand—which was nearly twice the size of her own—as a sense of relief washed through her chest, clearing the heaviness that had lingered there. "And that’s why... I asked you to read the book I was reading instead, right? The one set in Dublin, Ireland."
They locked eyes for a long moment, Risa seeing her own reflection in his gaze. Her heart began to beat differently than it had just seconds before. She thought about how much time had passed since they first discussed those books. Originally, she thought Kala had only agreed to read them out of politeness or typical male pride.
She never expected him to actually get lost in the story. After all, he lived his life above the clouds, staying in luxury hotels all over the world. Even if they had broken up right then and there, Risa felt she would have been okay. But from that day on, something quiet and unnameable began to grow between them—threading their lives together in ways neither of them fully understood.
Kala smiled. "That’s why I wanted to come to Dublin with you the moment I had the chance, Liefje. Just the two of us. Dea would only ruin the mood if she tagged along." His thumb stroked the space between her index and middle fingers, repeating the motion until Risa’s face flushed.
"Thank you. For being willing to read the books." She meant it with all her heart. At that moment, she realized just how different Kala was from Ardo. While Ardo would sit with her while she read in the library, Kala actually read with her, even when they were miles apart.
He gave a small nod and a faint smile. "Liefje, hit me if I try anything with you over the next two weeks."
Risa glanced at the man wearing headphones sitting next to Kala, hoping he didn't understand their Indonesian. When she looked back at Kala, a wide grin broke across her face. She quickly pulled her hand away from his grasp before her sanity slipped any further. Did her boyfriend realize that even something as simple as a touch like that could affect her this much? If the answer was 'yes,' then Risa had to admit these next two weeks were going to be incredibly thrilling for both of them.
***
The sky outside the large windows of DUB Terminal 2 was a heavy, slate gray—different from the calming gray of Amsterdam. Kala had warned her that Irish winters were windier than those in the Netherlands. Risa squinted as she saw the runway asphalt looking glossy and black from the lingering drizzle, the blinking aircraft lights reflecting off the wet surface. In this airport, she saw a sea of heavy parkas and wool scarves. The sound of suitcase wheels dragging across the floor and the familiar ‘bing-bong’ of announcements signaled that the journey had truly begun.
"The information boards have three-leaf clover symbols," Risa noted, observing her surroundings.
Kala walked by her side. "The shamrock symbol. The three-leaf clover, Ireland's national symbol."
"Explain to me why we left Amsterdam at 07:25 but arrived in Dublin at 08:05, Mas? I know there’s a time difference, but it’s still funny when you think about it." Risa looked up at Kala, who returned her gaze with a mischievous smirk.
Beyond the heavy drone of jet engines muffled by thick glass, the whistling wind hitting the building walls felt like the perfect setting for a murder mystery where the suspect flees to a neighboring country. One thing Risa couldn't wait to hear was the Irish accent in person; so far, she had only heard muffled bits of it. But in the arrivals area, her ears caught the rapid, melodic lilt—the soft rolling 'R's and the frequently used word 'Grand.'
Kala wrapped an arm around Risa’s shoulders just as she was nearly bumped by a tourist rushing in the opposite direction. "Technically, it only feels like 40 minutes, Liefje. Even though the actual flight duration is about an hour and 40 minutes. We’re doing a little bit of time travel because Dublin is one hour behind Amsterdam."
Risa beamed, fascinated by the magic of the time difference. "Usually, I don't really notice it if the travel distance is long and the difference is five or seven hours. But because this is so close, it feels funny."
"You're right." Kala smiled back. "Put simply: when we took off at 07:25, it was only 06:25 in Dublin. So, it makes sense that we landed at 08:05. It’s because the plane is flying west."
Risa tried to process his explanation, frowning slightly. So, according to the laws of geography, this wasn't science-fiction time travel. It was purely them moving into a different administrative time zone. She knew the Earth rotated from west to east, while their plane had just flown west. The watch being set back an hour upon landing wasn't because time had slowed down, but because they had crossed an imaginary time-zone line.
"Does moving west mean traveling in the opposite direction of the Earth's rotation?" Risa asked, once she felt she understood.
"Do you remember Einstein's time dilation theory?"
Risa frowned. "Yeah? But isn't this purely about the administrative zones of Dublin and Amsterdam? Even if there’s a connection, it must be tiny."
Kala squeezed her arm tighter in a happy response. "Exactly! Theoretically, there is a connection. I’m technically affected by time dilation myself because my job requires me to fly everywhere. If you were to calculate it using Einstein’s formula, the time difference between me on a plane and someone standing still on the ground is only a few nanoseconds."
The theory of relativity was fascinating; Risa had watched several movies and read sci-fi books that used it. Einstein concluded that if an object moves very fast, time for that object moves slower compared to an object at rest. So, a flying plane is 'slow' compared to the speed of light.
Risa let out an amused snort. "Oh, so you're trying to say you stay young because of this tiny little physics phenomenon?"
"According to Einstein's time dilation theory, I am indeed a few nanoseconds younger than you every time I fly, Liefje. But unfortunately, it’s not enough to keep me young forever." Kala grinned widely.
"But the effect is too small to be considered real in daily life, Mas! A few nanoseconds! It isn't even a full second." Risa laughed.