Under The Rain's
Chapter 57—Still No Time

Andini decided to come to the hospital that morning, even though she did not have a practice schedule. Of course the goal is to meet the ex-lover. After much discussion with Reva and Rafael, Andini had understood what had happened to Kris during the nineteen years they were separated.

It has been two weeks that Kris has been hospitalized and his condition has gradually recovered. He received leniency from the police, but his legal process continued as long as he lay in a hospital room. Police searched the entire house and the man's car. As a result, it was found several grams of illegal drugs and also bottles of alcohol. Andini, however, did not remain silent. He applied for a suspension of detention and paid a fine because the woman believed that Kris urgently needed a mental health test before being sentenced to confinement by a judge.

That morning, Andini looked very beautiful with beautiful wavy hair and thin makeup that remained charming. He wears a graceful dress made of chiffon that swings when blown by the wind. The pink dress dangled all the way to the floor, and Andini covered the top with a mini bolero. With trembling steps he walked towards Kris's room. Actually they have met each other, but previously Kris' condition was not possible to talk to. But that time was different. Kris was getting fresher and he was starting to walk.

“Hai, Kris,” greeted Andini when she saw the man being checked for a nurse's blood pressure.

Kris did not answer. He can't even blink. It's not clear what he's feeling either. Nineteen years ago the woman left just like that on the grounds that she wanted to focus on studying. Andini was his first love. First boyfriend and first kiss. Kris has loved her since she was a teenager, to the point that her passion for school was just to meet the girl. Their relationship is also fine. They always take care of each other and once there was never a third-person issue. Kris was not a playboy like Rafael was when he was a boy, but he was a very possessive young man.

“Let me just, sus,” pinta Andini tried to stop the nurse as she was about to give medicine to Kris. Andini took the pills in the tray and asked the nurse to leave them both.

Kris did not refuse, but he still did not say anything. Her eyes continued to follow Andini wherever she moved.

“Come, take medicine first,” Andini's word gently while holding a glass of water in hand.

For a while they sat together, watching each other. Andini carefully observed Kris's movements. Learning the way the man behaves, and his little gestures are often overlooked by laypeople. His profession as a psychiatrist trained him to be able to read someone by observing behavior and speech, he said. Actually, for two weeks, Andini always tried to give his best diagnosis. He actively sought information about Kris and researched the man's past painstakingly. He even sent a friend to Bandung specifically to meet Bi Uma to get various stories. His guess at the time was that Kris had bipolar syndrome.

Based on his analysis of people who had been in close contact with Kris, Andini found a pattern that Kris often experienced a very sudden change in mood. He could become an angel, and a second later turn into a very terrible monster. He can be so happy that he feels himself flying to the seventh heaven, and then a moment later like falling to the bottom of the deepest hell. The chemical makeup in his brain is not like a normal person, sometimes he feels depression and excessive fear of being abandoned by those closest to him. However, at other times he can also be very productive, to the point that he can create extraordinary works.

Andini also thoroughly peeled off Kris' dark childhood, and he was convinced that the mental disorder experienced by the man was the result of the actions of his own parents, just as Reva was experiencing. Kris's parents also left her early on, and that made her psychiatric situation uncontrollable.

Things are starting to make sense to Andini. Why do Kris and Reva feel like they found each other until they finally got married. The similarity of past problems brought them together, but the relationship never even worked out in the first place. They are bound by trauma, not love. However, Kris who was so obsessed and always obeyed his ego never realized it.

“You can already stand?” andini asked breaking the silence. “If you have, I want to take you for a walk. The park behind the hospital is great. Let you breathe fresh air.”

It was unexpected that Kris nodded in agreement. He was also caught lying down continuously for two weeks. Stage one of rehabilitation has been completed by detoxing from narcotics, although it feels very difficult to the point that he has seizures because he must suddenly stop taking drugs. It felt like his muscles had become very stiff, and he had to move them immediately so as not to become a chronic disease.

Kris's infusion hose was also just removed by the nurse who had just examined it, and Andini immediately prevented her from installing a new infusion bag so that she could take the man around more freely.

“You handle, yes,” pinta Andini while helping Kris get off her bed. “Later if in the middle of the road is not strong, we can borrow a wheelchair.”

“I'm strong, kok.” Kris immediately refuted as she wrapped her arms around Andini's neck, while the woman grabbed her waist.

They walked side by side towards the park while starting to mince words. Nineteen years is a long time. There must be a lot of stories that can be told to melt the atmosphere.

For Andini, the meeting was not only to release her longing, but she also had to get accurate data about Kris' psychological condition. He must be able to find something to win the trial and release the man from the law.

Not long ago they talked together, watching the fish in the pond and the birds of the church that squealed from tree to tree. Some adorable kittens also approached Kris and Andini who were sitting on a park bench. The overcast sky and the breeze also makes them more comfortable to enjoy the atmosphere that is not crowded in the morning.

Kris who initially still looks awkward and always keep a distance began to look comfortable to be close to the woman he just met again after a long time. Andini is still just like someone she loved decades ago. He was still a pleasant jolly figure with a broad insight. His sense of humor has not changed much, and the dimples that once made Kris fall in love still remain there.

“Kris ... There may be no apology that can represent my regret now,” Andini said amid their warm conversation. “I used to only care about my education, without thinking about how you feel.”

“I was also wrong, An ..” regrets Kris while lowering her face. “I am indeed too restrictive of you, and do not think that you need freedom.”

“Alright now, I should be fighting for our relationship. I was very selfish and thought medical school was everything. I'm focused on pursuing titles, but I've lost someone who cares a lot about me.”

“An... Can I ask you something?” With hesitation Kris ventured to look at the woman.

“Anything, Kris. Please aja.”

“What ... do you have a boyfriend during your stay in Yogya?”

“No, Kris.” Andini answered steadily. “My girlfriend is just you. You're the only one. I never got in touch with anyone again after you.”

“Serious?”

“I kept my own promise. I said I want to focus on college, ‘kan? After my medical degree, I immediately co-***. I continued to be an honorary energy before taking a psychiatric specialist. After that, I went to rehab. That's all that happened during the nineteen years we split.”

“Why ... even if you do not go back to Bandung?”

“Jeez, An .. sorry, I don't know.”

“That's because we broke up. But, I had time to Bandung, really, when there was a reunion. I'm hard-earned permission to see you again, unfortunately you did not come.”

“That's because ..”

“Reva, ‘kan?” Andini glanced sharply, but she immediately smiled before Kris felt guilty. “I've met him. I know everything between you. I was hurt when I found out you finally moved on, but now I understand everything.”

“Reuni was the same time she gave birth, I could not leave her like that.”

“I know, and I'm proud of you. What you did saved someone's life. You love her so much, ‘kan?”

Chris did not answer that question. He turned towards Andini and looked at her intensely. Reva has been a very important part of his life, more than anything else. Reva is his new spirit, his second chance, a figure who is always there for him in sharing grief. That woman can't be replaced.

“Iya, An .. I love her very much.”

I don't know why Kris's answer just now can incise a wound on the inner Andini, even though they have been separated for a very long time. When he met Kris again, something about his past immediately broke out in the recesses of his heart. Andini can remember every moment of her friendship with the man. Perhaps, without realizing it, he still very much expected the presence of Kris back to him.

“I understand, Kris ... Reva good woman, she is also beautiful, d—”

“An .. I said I love him. But ... I'll follow his will.”

Reva's will is a divorce.

A few days ago a lawyer came to see Kris for an autograph. Reva has officially filed for divorce with her husband. However, the trauma that remained inside her made her reluctant to meet Kris face to face. Eventually, he chose to appoint a lawyer who would help him to be the liaison between the two of them.

“You ... sure?”

Andini was actually feeling upset because she saw Kris crying when the lawsuit finally arrived. Kris simply flinkered without even opening and reading the contents. He did not even sign the letter. Most of him still did not want to accept a farewell. Eventually, the lawyer was forced to go home empty-handed.

The next day, the lawyer came back, still with the same goal of getting approval from Kris. However, Kris also refused to give a response in the second experiment. The man who could only lie limp on the bed in his room did not even look at the lawyer and immediately asked him to leave.

Failure also occurred on the third day, when Kris forcefully drove him away and rampaged even with an infusion tube connected to his veins.

“Kris ... You really want to obey him?”

Andini asked again because she was unsure of what she had just heard from the man's mouth. He could not believe that Chris finally agreed.

“An .. I want him to be happy because I love him. I realized that I had also been restraining him all this time, just like I did to you first.”

“So ... You're ready if he leaves?”

“I didn't say I would, An. It must have taken a very long time to recover from losing him.”

Again Andini felt something as if burning herself from within, as she realized that Kris was more in love with the woman than the man loved her first. However, Andini tried to understand that nineteen years is indeed a very long time for someone to change. After all, it turns out that Kris is still a special figure for him.

“Kris ... You know, time might be able to heal everything.”

Kris was 37 years old at the time, but he no longer cared about when the time would heal the wounds of losing someone. But he knew he had to give it all up. He knows that love cannot be forced.

Kris looked back at the sweet woman in front of him clinging to the sudden silence. Andini's arrival to her life does not necessarily restore a long- severed bond, but Kris is convinced that there is still a speck of feeling between the two of them that can still be saved.

“An .. do you still have time to wait for me? It may be a bit long until everything is completely finished, but I hope you don't go again.”

The woman could only smile to hold back the water that started to pour in the corner of her eyes, but she nodded with certainty, welcoming the future before her.

Andini still has time. During whatever.