MYFATHER
Episode 23
Even though the main show in the circus tent was already finished did not mean the excitement in the place was stalled. The audience packed the tent moved to the originally empty field. Food stands and skills are soon overrun by visitors. The officers who guard the stand are busy serving the buyer's request, various foods such as grilled corn, pop-corn, gulali, fried, fried, and ice cream is scattered as well as game stands that offer a variety of skill games such as throwing balls, inserting rattan rings into bottles, or fishing eels. The music of the loudspeakers plays Malay songs with memekakan volume as an accompaniment that increasingly excites the atmosphere.
”So how does it feel to ride an elephant?” yudi asked as they were in the ice cream cart. Waiting for their order to be made.
”At first it doesn't feel good to lift like that but after sitting on his neck.it feels great. No wonder the Maharaja of India used the animal as a vehicle because the top seemed unbeatable.
Yudi looked at Mirna, ”Tonight you were the star of the show. No doubts.”
Mirna giggles, ”Not because the elephant has done its job well?”
”That's because they love your blend. Elephant and elephant queen.”
”Sucks,” Mirna laughs and pinches Yudi. "That's a bad parable to know. Elephant queen makes me sound fat."
”Please,” the ice cream seller interrupts. Two amazingly tall strawberry-brown ice creams passed into the hands of the two young men, who were enjoyed while touring the circus for a look.
”Halo, Mirna..” greet the rough-faced gondrong man who was suddenly present near them. Yudi frowned as the man hugged and kissed Mirna's cheek, the girl instead strangled in excitement then hugged and kissed the young man back ”How are you?”
”As usual, busy with his paintings.”
”Business that kills time, right?” the young man's comment then glanced at Yudi.
Mirna realized it and then asked Yudi to introduce the two, ”This is my best friend, Yudi. El this is my stepbrother.”
”Sister stepbrother? Why don't you guys stay home?”
El smiled wryly, ”Our father is different. He took me after he got out of the house. Maybe because it does not fit anymore with the mother or maybe because.his father replaced my father.”.
Strange family, Yudi satin. He asked again carefully for not wanting to trigger sensitive things, ”And you are not .. angry because of it?”
El laughs, ”Anged? Why should I be angry? My parents separated well. His father came well. My relationship with Mirna has certainly not broken up. We have the same mother and that's enough to bring us together.”
”And you chose to stay in this village to be close to Mirna?” ask Yudi.
”No. I go with this circus wherever they go. It just so happened that we stopped by here and I was happy about it.”
”It's good to see you again. It's been quite a while since we parted ways,” Mirna said.
”El works in this circus as a standard dart keeper. Show us the stand, El,” said Mirna.
”Sure! With five thousand rupiahs we will see how beautiful your girlfriend is,” El winked at Mirna.
The dart standard that El guarded was not too big, the size of his tent was only about one by one meter, with the target in the form of a dartboard as the center in the middle of the tent. At the bottom of the dart board there is a table filled with various prizes that will be given to the winner of the game. Each prize is classified by a number, the smaller the prize number the higher the value because the small number is in a difficult place on the dartboard. Souvenir shirts are also merchandise hung on the left and right sides of the stand. Sweatshirts that Yudi said were not attractive to buy because of the design that featured photos of El in various laughable poses, who would want to buy such narcissistic shirts?
The man gave Yudi three arrows after getting his money, ”Three times the chance. We will choose the lowest number to redeem for the prize. Swipe it behind the white line.”
Standing behind the designated line, Yudi looked for a comfortable position and stared straight at the dartboard to calculate the various possible shooting angles while Mirna applauded cheeringly, ”Ayo, Yud. You can.”
The first throw ends in the dark circle at the number 100. Yudi scowled because it was beyond his expectations. A disappointing start. El clucked like he was insinuating but Mirna did not stop encouraging. Yudi prepared with the second arrow, and this time the throw was better because it hit the yellow circle with the number 50. Mirna applauded because the shot was so thin to the number 10 on the right side, or the middle circle reads ’Bulls Eye Zero’ on the bottom.
”Come Yud. Get the Bulls Eye Zero,” Mirna said.
”Not too easy, are you? Almost only! Come on, last throw, man..” El said in a half-mocking tone.
Yudi took a breath before taking a swing, as soon as he felt the direction was right thrown by the last arrow, his last hope to keep his honor in front of Mirna. The third arrow flew through the air for a while before it stuck into the dartboard, slightly below the second arrow. Mirna cheered followed Yudi, the man approached Mirna and hugged her. ”Succeed! Right in the middle.”
”Let's go. All you got was 75, you know,” El scratching his head.
”Kok can?” yudi Protest. ”I hit it right under the second arrow.”
”Try here..” El let the two of them get closer to the dartboard. ”Look carefully.”
”Sorry, Mirna. No hangky-pangky.”
”Cannot be given leeway?” Yudi tried to help Mirna.
El smiled at his two stubborn customers, ”Value 50 prizes is decent, really. You can choose between teddy bears, sandals decorated with sparkling trinkets, or sugar-covered setoples?”
The easy choice. Yudi chose a teddy bear which he then gave to Mirna. The girl hugged her new doll with a sumringah. El winks at Yudi, ”It looks like you just made the princess happy.”
”Already,ah! We look around the others first, yeah.”.
”Don't forget to stop by tomorrow huh..” El waving.
Both came to the following stand while paying attention to the excitement of the villagers who were enjoying the circus atmosphere, on the shooting arena that became a betting event, and the, on a couple sitting in a remote corner accompanied by a pack of grilled corn and orange juice, the children who ran were laughing chased by an eel-fishing stand officer who wanted to prevent them from being splashed, and many others made Yudi and Mirna throw eyes at each other and laugh together...
The villagers are so alive.spirited.do not bother whether they have clothes that fit the trend, or a luxurious house, or a job paying tens of millions, and this is how human life should be. Enjoy life, have fun, without fear of tomorrow. Enjoying all this with Mirna became a beautiful moment that was photographed intact in Yudi's memory, this memory that will never be forgotten.
The night grew late as the stars filled the sky without blinking. Not protesting on the moon that has not been seen because he was busy visiting the palace of clouds. The cold air made Mirna's body shiver until Yudi took off her jacket and put it on Mirna. His thin clothes were impossible to withstand such piercing air. Mirna stared with a grateful look, the teddy bear clasped on her waist while her next hand immediately held Yudi. Without feeling they have surrounded the place twice, and know-how Mirna yawned to infect Yudi, ”Udah, ah! I want to go home.”
”Indeed it's time,” said Yudi looking at his watch. ”We will promise you that Mother will not go home at night.”
The two returned to the car that left the place a few minutes later. Sitting with Mirna in the dark in the back seat of the vehicle, Yudi felt like a couple who had just come home on a date. I don't know what the reaction of Mother Rose when she saw the situation of the two of them at this time, maybe she smiled happily because the woman seemed to want Yudi to be Mirna's boyfriend. He wanted to chat about it to Mirna but something in his heart held him back so that what came out of his lips was another topic, ”Lelaki is fun! The El..”.
”We rarely meet but he can always make me laugh.”
”How can you know if you're half-siblings?”
”Mother the story.”
”Mother Rose said?” tanya Yudi assured.
”It's not something of a disgrace, kok!” Mirna. ”And we, me and El, understand each other our circumstances.”
”How did you meet El? Mother introduced him to you?”
Mirna chuckles, ”Of course not. Mother did not want to meet him at all. I knew El when Dad took me to his father's funeral.”
”Your father invited you to attend El's father's funeral? Then your dad knows El's dad?” Yudi asked confused.
”Sure. I am El's father's best friend. They know each other.”
”Not easy parting,” comments Yudi.
”Very easy. That's why I hate goodbyes. What about you, yud?”
She turned to Mirna who was looking at her with her beautiful eyes, ”I am too.”
”And I don't want to part from you,” Mirna said.
”I feel the same way too, Mir! It's just me..”
Mirna cut Yudi's words with a smile, Yudi felt himself unable to reject the beautiful girl's gaze, ”Don't think about that first. I want to enjoy this moment with you..alau brief...can you?”.
Yudi only fell silent as Mirna's hand squeezed her hand and an irresistible push made Yudi hug Mirna, ”Sure..”.
”If this were not temporary. Wish we could forever..” murmured Mirna.
Yudi stroked Mirna's cheeks, staring into her lake-like eyes with the clearest water. He wanted to run for a moment from the burden and the feeling that he was being held accountable to the lake, to swim around it, to feel its coolness and freshness. His nose was so close to Mirna's neck that level and spread the fragrance of her alluring body. The fragrance is more brazing his heart and attached stronger as the closer the distance of his sense of smell. He explored the neck and sniffed his voracious fragrance before his lips landed on Mirna's lips.
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