1437 - I Love You Forever

Epilogue

The feeling around the cemetery was still as hot as when I came to Jagad's mother's grave. But the wind still blew as before. Carrying the scent of flowers and water, which were scattered across the graveyard.

"Is it really here?"

I nodded when the man behind me asked while directing the umbrella he had been holding above my head.

"Ah, that one with sunflowers." I pointed to a private burial area in front of us. "Gad, you brought the flowers earlier, right?"

Jagad smiled, then nodded.

As we approached the burial area, I could feel my heart starting to beat faster. On the expanse of green grass, there was only one tombstone with several sunflower stems that grew large and had bright yellow petals.

My favorite flower.

I gripped my phone tightly after I read the message showing details and directions to find this place.

I sat next to the shiny black tombstone and gently rubbed it that said 'Bentala Amerta Wijaya'.

"Hai, Mas Bentala, I've finally found you." I whispered softly as I put my phone there, opened a chat room with a short message there.

Satya Mahendra
San Diego Hills, Mansion Private,
A grave with sunflowers.
09.12

"I'm sorry I'm late." I smiled as if the man were there. "Thank you for the letter; I've read it."

Slowly, I closed my eyes and recalled what had been said in the letter that Bentala had left for me.

Hi Giandra,

If you read this letter, that means I'm no longer in this world.

When I woke up from a coma, I knew something was wrong with my body, and I wasn't going to survive.

As long as we are together, I've always been asking myself this question.

'Are we going to be nothing but a collection of memories after I left you?'

And after feeling that I would leave you soon, there was fear inside me. The more I think about it, the more scared I get. But finally, I understand. It didn't end here. This is where it began.

They say that a memory is something you reconstruct depending on small fragments of recollections in your mind. They say that remembering is the same as seeing an illusion. But our sad times, our happy times—all of them are precious memories for me. So, I pray. Please let everything that happened between us be precious memories for you as well.

Promise me that you will find the right man. Someone who will love you with all his might, so you can bring him to my grave and I can sincerely let you go.

See you in another universe.
I love you, and I will always love you.

Bentala Amerta Wijaya. I recalled you as the delicate, truthful love that I once knew. You were an endless ocean of love that I freely swam across. I imbibed the fullness you gave with intimacy, grace, and time.

"Today I brought someone who could finally make me come to your grave, Mas. Someone who finally made your family tell me where your grave was."

I slowly held Jagad's hand, who was sitting next to me. Giving my heart strength and tried not to cry over Bentala's death anymore when Jagad was next to me.

"I just found out that you didn't want to tell me where your grave is because you didn't want me to live in your shadow, and your family will tell me where your final resting place is when I have found the right person to be the last person I love—just like your final wish."

I looked back at his name, which was carved in a golden color.

"Thank you for loving me with all your heart, Mas. Today I want to introduce you to the person I love now."

Jagad smiled at me before turning his gaze to the tombstone in front of him.

"Hi, Mas. It's a pleasure to meet you; I am Jagadita Andaru."

*****

"Do you know what 1437 means?"

"No. That's what you often write about everything related to me—us, right? The playlist you made is called 1437. Our photo folder is also called 1437. What is that actually?"

"It's a numeric representation of the phrase 'I love you forever'"