Five Years Ago

Chapter 3 - The Fleeting Moments

The time didn't seem to matter when I was with her.

She used to insist that I sleep at her bed, while she slept on the carpet. She didn't like to sleep in her bed. It was full of scattered things like clothes and stuffs. I always refused, saying that it's not appropriate to sleep on her bed while she took the carpet. At least that's what I said, which was partly true. I've never told her the real reason why I always liked to sleep at her room. I slept better when she was next to me. There was something about her presence that made me felt better whenever she was around. The temptations were strong, when she was breathing evenly beside me. She looked so peaceful when she was asleep. I wanted to hold her, even if I still didn't understand the feeling I had for her.

"Are you staying tonight?" She said, already laying on her back.

We just got back from Dago Pakar, chatting over a coffee. It was late and I should have just went straight home. But I still wanted more time with her. It was already hard enough to meet up with her then, with all of her activities and stuffs. That's why whenever I had the chance, I wanted to make it last.

"I can't. Early class tomorrow. I've already missed it twice." I was sitting next to her, looking downward at her sleepy face. "You know that I always overslept whenever I stayed here."

"That's true," she let out a soft chuckle.

"Your room makes me lazy, you know?" A lazy smile formed on the corner of my lips. "You make me lazy," I added inwardly.

When she didn't respond, I bowed my head to take a better look at her. She was already asleep. She curled up against this massive stuffed animal that she had. Her thick blanket was stuck beneath her. I tried to pull it free, but it was impossible to do so without waking her up. The air was chilly that night, so I took of my jacket, the blue one that I gave her before. I draped it over her upper body, to protect her from the cold night air. Another smile escaped from my mouth. At least a part of me was staying with her that night.

I couldn't count how many meetings I was late to whenever I slept at her room the night before. I couldn't get out. Contentment washed over me whenever I was spending time with her. It was enough, being around her. Even her wonderful scent was enough to lull me into a peaceful sleep. Lying on the carpet, surrounded by her things while she was working. Hearing her sang and played her guitar. Resting my head on her lap, the magnificent feeling of it. Looking sideways and saw her sleeping face. All of my problems were momentarily gone, she was the only thing that mattered at the time.

*

Dago Pakar was the place where a lot of my memories with her took place. I felt right at home there. I had visited almost all of the cafes and restaurants there. Some of the waiters and waitresses knew my usual orders by heart. They even let me stayed there after the place was already closed. It was the place closest to my heart. I didn't take just anybody there. That was the place where deep conversations took place. The place where remarkable memories were made. It was the place where I broke up with my boyfriend. It was the place where I escaped to whenever I was feeling stressed out. The place where I contemplated about life and shits with my best buddies. The place where I found my peace, discovered love and broke my heart.

There were two moments with her that I remember happened there. One of them was strange and one of them was plainly stupid. The strange one was happened at Coffee Break. It was a chilly night and I was meeting Emma there. We were chatting as usual, talking about everything and anything. It was late, probably around after ten in the evening. I looked at the view, which was supposed to display Bandung city lights. But it was pitch black, no lights in sight.