10:00 p.m. exactly.
The sound of the gray bicycle—creak-creak-creak—grew quieter and quieter until it disappeared around the dark corner of London. The streets were still wet after the rain. Dim yellow streetlights reflected off puddles, catching the light from passing motorcycles.
Kyla remained standing in front of the gate for two minutes, not going inside right away. She was wearing a white cropped shirt and gray shorts above the knees. Her hair was already somewhat neat after sleeping for seven hours on the brown sofa, although her legs were still slightly numb. The night breeze was gentle. The smell of wet earth mixed with the smell of fried snacks from the small food stall at the end of the alley.
Kyla kept staring at the corner until she could no longer hear the creak-creak of the bicycle.
Only then did she slowly go inside.
10:05 p.m.
The living room lights were still on. On the table were two wooden Magnum sticks from the chocolate almond ice creams. There was still some melted chocolate dripping onto the table.
One belonged to Kyla. One belonged to Nata.
Beside them was an empty wrapper from the fried tempeh, already cold, along with two empty cups of tea that had gone cold too.
There was a faint lipstick mark?
No. Kyla didn't wear lipstick. It was just chocolate.
The yellow sticky note that said “Eat first.” was still stuck to the refrigerator with clear tape. The ink had faded, and the paper had become soft from the steam of the porridge that morning.
Kirana was already in her bedroom. She had changed from her wrinkled cream shirt into her favorite short sage-green satin pajamas again. Her hair was still slightly wet as she sat on her bed with her laptop open, continuing to revise the fabric report she hadn't finished at the office in London. Her eyes were already heavy with sleep, but she forced herself to keep working.
Kyla went into her own bedroom. The AC was still set to 16 degrees.
Whoooosh.
Cold air immediately hit her.
The brown blanket she had used to sleep on the sofa was still in the living room, lying on the floor.
Kyla picked up her phone, which had been charging near the dining table since 11 that morning. The battery was now fully charged at 100%.
Kyla took a picture of the two ice cream sticks from above. It looked aesthetic enough. The table and the leftover melted chocolate were visible in the background, along with the two empty tea glasses. No filter. Just natural.
At 10:20 p.m., Kyla sent the photo to Nata while he was still on his way back to the blue boarding house on his gray bicycle.
Kyla: The ice cream is all gone. Thanks to Sis Kirana, and thanks to the person who kept me company until exactly 10 :).
After sending it, Kyla immediately lay down on her bed, hugging her pillow and waiting for the two blue check marks.
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10:30 p.m.
At the blue boarding house in the alley behind the chicken-noodle stall. Blue boarding house. That was what everyone called it. The building was actually blue, but the paint had faded and was already peeling in several places.
The bedroom door had “NATA’S ROOM” written on it in black marker. There were no curtains on the window, only an old cardboard box covering it. Inside the room was a half-torn One Piece poster of Luffy Gear 5 and a Persija poster.
There was one thin mattress. A flat pillow with an old drool stain. A checkered blanket that looked similar to the one at Kyla’s house, except much more worn out and smelling faintly like the internet café. A small Miyako fan made a creak-creak-creak sound, almost exactly like the fan at the internet café. A tiny wooden table held his old laptop and a charging cable wrapped in black tape because the outer coating had peeled off.
There was also a laundry bucket filled with clothes that had been sitting there for three days without being washed. A broken pair of Swallow sandals was left in front of the door.
Nata had just arrived.
The gray bicycle he had borrowed from his landlord was parked in front of the boarding house. The bent kickstand was being propped up with a brick so it wouldn't fall over.
Nata entered his room and turned on the five-watt yellow light. It was extremely dim. It flickered every now and then.
Nata sat down on his thin mattress and opened the black Indomaret plastic bag. It was empty. The two pieces of fried tempeh had already been eaten together with Kyla on the terrace at 9:30 p.m.
His cheap phone vibrated.
Ding.
A WhatsApp message. The screen was cracked in the upper-right corner.
It was from Kyla. A picture of the two Magnum ice cream sticks on the table.
Nata looked at the photo and immediately smiled. A small smile at first.
Then a wider one. His first real smile after working twelve hours at the internet café, from 8 in the morning until 8 at night, for only $3.
Nata replied at 10:32 p.m., his fingers still dusty.
Nata: You're welcome, Kay. The ice cream was good. The chocolate was thick, like the one at Alfamart, and there were lots of almonds too.
Kyla replied almost immediately at 10:33 p.m. Even though she had said she wanted to sleep, the moment she saw the blue check marks from Nata, she responded fast.
Kyla: Yeah, it was good. It had already melted halfway on Sis Kirana's car dashboard earlier, but after we put it back in the freezer, it tasted good again.
Nata: Just like you.
Kyla frowned.
Kyla: Huh? Just like me how?
Nata: Just like you. This morning you melted and cried three drops into the bowl of porridge, then you got frozen by sleeping for seven hours on the brown sofa, so you became good again. Your smile was real. Really sweet.
Kyla read the message in her bedroom, where the AC was set to 16 degrees. She immediately got flustered. She pulled her pillow over her face. Her feet kicked against the blanket. She rolled around on the mattress.
Kyla: WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT, TA? I MELTED?
Nata: Yeah. You told me about it earlier. When you woke up, there was writing on the chicken porridge at 11 a.m. Your tears dropped three times into the bowl. One, two, three. I remember.
Kyla was shocked.
Kyla: How do you even remember that detail???
Nata: I remember everything you tell me, Kay. From your 2:17 a.m. Close Friends story, “Tired of being Kyla today :)” to the chicken porridge at 11 a.m. when three drops of your tears fell into the bowl, all the way to you washing the dishes with lemon-scented soap.
Kyla stared at the message. Her cheeks became hot and red even though the AC was freezing cold. Her heart was beating thump-thump.
Kyla: You're actually good at remembering things, huh?
Nata: Not really. It depends. I... I pay attention to you.
Flustered again. Kyla rolled around on her bed once more. The blanket fell onto the floor. Thump.
10:45 p.m.
Nata got up from his thin mattress. He changed out of his black T-shirt with blue screen-print ink stains that smelled like the internet café and put on a plain white T-shirt that had already turned slightly yellow around the armpits. He was still wearing the same shorts. He took off his broken Swallow sandals and washed his feet using a blue dipper and bucket.
Nata sat down on his mattress again.
The fan went creak-creak-creak.
The yellow light flickered. He picked up his phone again and typed slowly.
Nata: Kay, are you asleep yet?
Kyla: Not yet. The AC is still at 16 degrees. It's freezing. My blanket keeps falling onto the floor. The brown one in the living room.
Nata: Use the brown blanket from the sofa. The one you slept with for seven hours while snoring snore-snore. That's how I knew you were comfortable with it.
Kyla: WAIT, YOU HEARD ME SNORING???
Nata: Yeah. From the terrace earlier. But it was really quiet. Snore-snore, like a kitten.
Kyla: TA, SHUT UP. I'M EMBARRASSED.
Nata: It's okay. Your snoring is cute.
Flustered again. Kyla covered her face with her pillow and screamed quietly into it so Kirana in the next room wouldn't hear.
“AAAAA, NATA!”
11:00 p.m.
The blue boarding house became even quieter. Crickets chirped outside the alley. Motorcycles passed by occasionally. There was also the sound of people arguing at the neighboring boarding house.
Nata lay down on his thin mattress with his phone resting on his chest. He stared at the photo of the two ice cream sticks Kyla had sent. He zoomed in. There was still a little chocolate on the table.
Nata typed again. This time, his cheesy line was level two. He was braver than before.
Nata: Kay.
Kyla: What, Ta?
Nata: There were two ice creams earlier, right?
Kyla: Yeah. Two. One for me and one for you. Sis Kirana bought two.
Nata: If there had only been one ice cream, we'd have taken turns biting it. If there were two ice creams, we each ate one. But we were still eating together. So what's the difference?
Kyla was confused.
Kyla: What's the difference?
Nata: The difference is, if there was only one ice cream, the chocolate would stick to your lips, then stick to my lips when I took the next bite, so it would be like...
Nata: Like an indirect kiss.
Kyla read that. She immediately became EXTREMELY flustered. She threw her phone onto the mattress. Covered her face with the blanket. Kicked her feet.
Rolled around until she fell off the bed.
Thump.
Right onto the floor.
Kyla: TAAAAA! WHAT IS THIS INDIRECT KISS THING? WHERE DID YOU LEARN THAT?
At the blue boarding house, Nata laughed out loud. It was his first loud laugh after two days of looking pale with dark circles under his eyes.
Nata: LOL, I'm kidding, Kay. From a movie.
Kyla was still on the floor with her pillow covering her face.
Kyla: What movie?
Nata: What was it? I forgot.
Nata: Either a K-drama or a Chinese drama, I guess.
Kyla: Wait, you watch K-dramas too?
Nata: Yeah. Usually at the internet café, there'd be girls watching K-dramas. Sometimes their time wasn't even up yet, but they'd already left, so I'd just continue watching.
Kyla: What about Chinese dramas? Where do you watch those?
Nata: Oh, Chinese dramas? I've actually liked watching them for a long time. They're fun. The stories are interesting. I watch them on TikTok.
Nata: I guarantee if you open my TikTok account, it'll be nothing but Chinese dramas.
11:15 p.m.
Kyla was getting sleepy again. Even though she had already slept for seven hours that afternoon, all the flustered feelings and heart pounding had made her sleepy again. Her eyes felt heavy.
Kyla: Ta, I'm sleepy again. My eyes are swollen again.
Nata: Then go to sleep, Kay. Dream about the two Magnum ice creams from earlier.
Kyla: What if I dream about you instead?
Nata froze. He stared at the message in the blue boarding house. The five-watt yellow light flickered. The fan went creak-creak-creak, stopped for a moment, then started again.
Nata's heart was pounding thump-thump-thump. Even harder than when Kirana had told him to come inside at 8:20 p.m.
Nata typed slowly.
His fingers trembled. He deleted it.
Typed again. Deleted it again.
Finally, he typed the cheesiest and most flustering line of the night.
Nata: If you dream about me, don't forget to use the brown blanket from earlier. The one you slept with for seven hours on the sofa, the one that fell onto the floor twice. So you won't be cold with the AC at 16 degrees. And so your dream about me will be warm.
Kyla read it. FLUSTERED LEVEL FINAL.
She rolled around on the bedroom floor. The brown blanket that Kirana had secretly taken from the living room at 10:15 p.m. was now being hugged tightly by Kyla. She even buried her face into it.
Kyla: The brown blanket is in my room now. Sis Kirana brought it in earlier.
Nata: Wow, Sis Kirana is nice now. She's not scary anymore.
Kyla: Yeah. Because of you.
Nata: How is it because of me?
Kyla: Because Sis Kirana told you to come inside. Then she saw that you're not like what she thought. You work hard at the internet café. You're not some troublemaker.
At the blue boarding house, Nata read the message. His eyes became slightly teary.
The fan went creak-creak-creak.
11:20 p.m.
Kyla was already half asleep. Her phone was still in her hand. The phone's light reflected against her swollen face.
Nata: Good night, Kay.
Nata: Tomorrow, if you're going to the library, let me know, okay? I'll take you on the gray bicycle. You don't have to take the minibus. I promise I'll fix the creak-creak with some oil so it won't be noisy when I enter your gate.
Kyla smiled. Her eyes were already 90% closed.
Kyla: Good night too, Ta.
Kyla: Thanks for keeping me company from 8:20 until exactly 10. Your promise was pretty cool. Not even one second late. Tomorrow I'll treat you to fried snacks that aren't cold, okay? The warm ones.
Nata: Promise?
Kyla: Yeah. Promise.
11:25 p.m.
Kyla fell asleep on the bedroom floor, still hugging the brown blanket. Her phone was still on beside the pillow.
Nata's last message was still visible. “Promise?”
At the blue boarding house, 11:30 p.m.
Nata was still awake. He was lying on his thin mattress beneath the dim five-watt yellow light. The half-torn One Piece poster hung on the wall.
Nata opened his phone gallery. There was a picture he had secretly taken earlier on the terrace at 8:50 p.m. A picture of Kyla eating her Magnum ice cream. Her white cropped shirt. Her messy hair after sleeping for seven hours. A faint pillow mark on her left cheek. And her smile. A real smile. Not the fake one from her :).
Nata looked at the photo seven times.
Just like Kirana had looked at the picture of the empty porridge bowl seven times in the office pantry at 12:45 p.m. earlier that day.
Nata spoke quietly to himself inside the blue boarding house. His voice was almost trembling from missing her, even though they hadn't even been apart for five hours.
“Kay, I'll buy you ice cream again tomorrow, okay? Two more. Ones that won't melt. So we can eat them together on the terrace again, until 10. I promise I won't be a second late.”
Then Nata turned off the light.
The blue boarding house became completely dark. Only the weak light from his cheap phone at 2% battery remained, along with the moonlight coming through the cardboard-covered window.
And the sound of the fan—
creak-creak-creak...
—continued until 2 in the morning.
And in one of the houses in London, at 11:35 p.m., Kyla had already been moved from the floor to her bed.
Kirana had peeked through the slightly open bedroom door and seen Kyla sleeping on the floor while hugging the brown blanket. She immediately carried her gently to the bed. The brown blanket was pulled over her again. The AC was still set to 16 degrees.
Kirana stood in the doorway of the room next door, watching through the slightly open door.
Kyla was sleeping with a small smile on her face. She sleep-talked softly. “Ta... the ice cream... two...”
Kirana whispered softly, smiling a little as her eyes became teary. “Finally, you're smiling for real, Kay. I'm happy when you're happy too. Stay happy, my little sister...”
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What will happen to Kyla's promise of warm fried snacks tomorrow morning?
Will the gray bicycle really stop making those creak-creak sounds?
Are you curious about Kyla's response to Nata's indirect kiss?
Come on, keep supporting Nata & Kyla's story!
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