The Wedding
43. Let's Go Home Cora

Tony reached Rote Ndao by plane on the Jakarta-Kupang route. The journey continues using a speedboat from Kupang to Rote Ndao. In a matter of hours Tony arrived at the capital Rote Ndao which was in the lobalain on Baa road. It takes about three hours to get to where Cora teaches, Tony must use a motorcycle taxi to get to that place because some of the roads to the area of Cora teaching can only be reached by two-wheeled vehicles.

After a long and long journey, Tony arrived at the village where Cora was. He is greeted with Intan who has been told by Andri to provide assistance to Tony when the man is in the village where Cora teaches.

"Where's Cora?" Tony asked Intan who was welcoming him at the time.

"Sister Cora is sleeping. You can see him in the morning, he's exhausted."

"I can't wait until morning. At least I want to see my wife's face. I miss him."

"Well if you insist, but don't bother." Intan warns Tony before he drives the man to the room occupied by Cora. He chuckled softly when he saw Tony's happy-looking face as he was about to deliver it to Cora. Tony's eyes twinkled as he listened to Intan's reply, the man did not want to wait a minute to see the face of the woman he loved.

They walked into a house inhabited by several people from the Gematasih foundation. Tony looked around. He could not imagine his wife having to sleep in a small house and inhabited by many people like this.

"This is his room. . ." Intan opened the door in front of him slowly, "Sstttt. .. Don't be noisy." Intan put one finger right in front of her lips. Tony nodded his head and thanked Intan without a sound. The teenage girl smiled sweetly and walked away from Tony.

Tony looked on in disbelief at the sleeping woman in front of him. He walked towards Cora and slowly laid her body next to her.

He hugged Cora's body tightly and she pecked at the top of her head. He enjoyed the scent of the woman's body which he had always longed for.

When longing hits your feelings, conscious or not, the long distance relationship teaches you a lot. The relationship also teaches you and your partner to be more silent and choose silence. Tony could only choose silence when he could meet the woman. He wanted to observe the woman and try to alleviate some of the pain of longing that had been tormenting her.

With Tony slowly turning Cora's body towards her, she smiled sweetly as she looked at the face she had longed for. He kissed Cora's lips gently, a very long kiss. It felt like Tony immediately woke the woman from his sleep and saw the reaction of the woman when he saw her face. There was fear that crawled her heart to do it all, she was afraid that Cora would reject her and not want her presence. After being satisfied to look at Cora's face, he walked out of the woman's room and left the bedroom that Intan had provided.

"Sister Cora. . . Someone's nyariin brother." Intan calls out to Cora who is busy teaching a girl to read. Cora and the girl seemed to be joking and laughing happily when Intan disturbed them. Cora thought for a moment, thinking about who she wanted to meet.

He felt that it was impossible for anyone to want to meet him, if indeed Andri or his other friends wanted to meet why they had to ask Intan to call him.

"Petatan sis. . later the man hunted away." Intan pulled Cora's hand without listening to the woman's reply. He could not wait to see Cora who had not said anything and seemed glued to her place.

"Slow down Tan. . Don't pull my hand while running around like this" Cora said with a gasping breath.

"Old brother runs, let's spit. . ."Intan paid no heed to Cora who looked tired and increasingly accelerated her pace.

"We've reached my sister." Intan smiled flirtatiously and let go of her hand grip. He waved his hand at Cora who was standing glued with gasping breath. After gaining his consciousness Cora snorted in annoyance and tried to regulate her breath that was panting.

Cora turned her body around and tried to figure out who was the one who was looking for her. He stood where he stood and rounded his eyes. Without him noticing when he saw the man, he held his breath in a matter of seconds. The man smiled sweetly at Cora, while Cora repeatedly blinked her eyes. He did not believe what he saw. It was all like a dream, a dream that he did not dare expect to be real, a dream that had always haunted him.

Although he tried not to think about Tony, but his heart did not want to cooperate with his brain. His mind and heart could not stop thinking about the man who was currently standing before him.

The handsome man now looked thinner, dark circles adorned the bottom of his eyes, fine feathers adorned his sturdy jaw. Cora noticed every curve of the man's face that she had missed so much, a face that had never disappeared from her mind. Their eyes meet each other. They looked at each other in silence, only the sound of the waves breaking the silence around them. The longing that he had been yearning for had tormented him, the anxiety and pain continued to haunt him. He did not dare to imagine that one day they would meet again as they are today. He does not want to expect much, he does not want to be disappointed when his hope cannot be fulfilled. Even though in a dream, he was afraid to see the man's face, he was afraid that his defense would collapse because of the man.

Cora's eyes glazed over as she listened to the voice she so longed for. That face, that voice, that smile, he misses everything Tony has in him. He walked up to Tony and gently stroked the face of the man he had longed for. He wanted to make sure that the man in front of him was not his illusion. He wanted to make sure that everything that was happening right now was not just a dream that would disappear when he woke up from his sleep. He wanted to make sure that this was all a reality.

Tony rubbed the back of Cora's hand on his face, he kissed Cora's hand and smiled softly. Cora could not hold back her tears anymore, her tears just flowed without her being able to control. All this felt so real to him, the dream he had been afraid to become real finally, today the dream became a reality. The long longing that felt so excruciating became a little treatable. Cora's heart pounded violently as it touched the man's face, the longing he had been soaking in now could be removed. Her tears that had come out since then could not be stopped by her. He can't deny it anymore, he loves and misses Tony.

He could no longer hide his longing. The defensive fort he had been building for a year collapsed just like that when he saw the man's face. Unfair as it was, it took him a year to build his defensive fort, whereas the man only needed a few minutes to destroy all of his defensive fortifications. Pain, happiness, longing and sadness mixed into one in his heart.

"Ba. . . gai. . . where. .you.." Cora's voice shook, she could not continue her question. More precisely he did not know what he had to say at this moment. There were so many sets of words he had arranged in his mind, but none of them could come out through his mouth.

"Don't I tell you that no matter how far you run, I will always chase you and get you back." Tony pulled Cora into his arms and kissed the top of the woman's head.

With that hug they let go of each other's longing that had been felt to kill them. They seem to be assuring themselves that this is not a dream, all this is real and the person standing before them is the one they have longed for. People who have never lost a bit of their mind or heart.

If this is a dream. . I beg you never to wake me up, Cora muttered in her heart.

"Let's go home Cora." Tony let go of his hug and stared into the woman's bead. He wiped away the tears that had soaked Cora's cheeks. Cora looked sadly at Tony. He admits that he misses Tony very much, but if the man asks Cora to come back to him, he doesn't know what to answer. In his little heart he desperately wanted to get back at Tony, but there was a small part of him that was afraid to go back to the man's side. He was afraid, afraid of his own feelings.

"Sorry Tony. . I can't go back to you. My life is here and all this traveling I make me feel happy. This is all I want." Cora smiled softly, "I'm sorry, I still want to go on my long journey." Cora continued her words.

"Are you still angry? I'm sorry Cora. . ." Tony said softly, he grasped both of Cora's arms and stared into the woman's bead. "I beg you to come back to me. I can't live without you. It has been a year of suffering I feel. I don't want to torture Cora anymore, I love you. What. .. You don't love me? you don't want us to be together?" Tony continued his words. It had been quite a year that he felt tormented by the love and longing he felt. He was unable and would never be able to lose Cora again. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with his wife. He will no longer be able to live out his hellish days without the woman beside him.

"I'm not angry, I've forgiven everything." Cora smiled sweetly and touched Tony's jaw, "I love you Tony, but sorry I can't go back to you, not for now." Cora looked at the sad man before her. Her tears came through her eyes, I don't know how many tears she had shed when she reunited with the man who owned her heart. He detached himself from Tony and smiled softly at the man. He ran away leaving Tony still standing glued to his disappearance.

Tony felt an excruciating pain in his heart, his chest felt so tight that there was no oxygen around him. Cora's words were like a knife that pierced her heart and made her feel excruciating pain. Not expecting Cora to reject him, he never imagined Cora would refuse to return to him. She knew Cora loved her and she loved Cora so much, but she did not understand why she refused and left. He could feel the same longing and love in Cora's eyes. At this moment he did not know what to do anymore to make the woman come back to him.

He knew she had been hurt a lot, but didn't every human being deserve a second chance? Tony stared blankly at the ocean in front of him. His mind was staring somewhere. He hopes to be able to repeat the time and correct all his mistakes to Cora.

Tony was still deep in his mind. Cora who was running stopped her steps and sat down on a large rock. He stared blankly at the sea in front of him. He didn't know why he had to run from Tony. Right now his heart is very sure that he loves and misses Tony very much. He could not go back to the man because he was afraid of being a weak woman and always cried when he was by his side. He didn't want to go back to being a weak Cora. She had always been an unknown person when she was with him. He has not been able to return to the man's side, at least not for now.

Cora pitched her face upwards and looked at the blue sky that was so bright. He closed his eyes and let the warm sea breeze hit his beautiful face. The wind caressed her smooth face gently and gave a hint of calmness to her troubled heart. He hoped that the wind could sweep away the feeling that filled his heart, a feeling that he himself could not understand. Cora took a deep breath and ignored him, she wanted to control her current feelings. He enjoys the roar of the rolling waves and the whirling wind that can make his heart a little calm it.Stupid is weird and love is complicated? He was never smart to deal with such complicated feelings. Loving it takes courage and struggle.

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