Manusia Air (Citizens of Water)

Chapter 1 : Malam Petaka (A Disastrous Night)

Alt. Title: A Disastrous Night

Fajar stared at the ocean below, water splashing towards the side of the ship, the sounds of the wave muffling the music coming from the party behind him. Nobody would notice his five meter drop to the ocean, just like his life, unnoticed and insignificant. The news of his death would be thrown under the rug by his company, and the cold machine would still continue to operate, like nothing has happened. His hands have gotten a bit sore from gripping the railing behind him for about fifteen minutes now. His fingers occasionally nudged the sign warned,"Do Not Lean Against the Railing!"

The irony. Fajar thought.

The night was actually beautiful. A clear sky with a full moon. It was his favorite of all the places on the ship. He often went there to enjoy the view or just to clear his thoughts. The sounds of waves crashing always soothe him, and that night, was the perfect send off orchestra that would deliver him to the beyond. The Sumateran water, where the ship was currently sailing, would be his graveyard.

He had filled his suits with heavy stuff (metals, lighters, anything that he could find on the ship).  He calculated that it would take him about fifteen minutes for him to finally suffocate and die. He would be trashing under the water, gasping for air as his body dragged towards the bottom of the sea. It would be really painful, but compared to the future pain that will haunt him for the rest of his life if he decided to live, it's nothing.

The alcohol he drank kicked in. His mind started to get foggy. Reducing doubts to the action that hes going to take. He leaned his body forward towards the sea. One slip of his hands, there would not be going back. His mind went into a trance. He's not the driver of his body now. He could feel his grip slacken. Any moment now.

SPLASH

Something moved in the water, and he snapped back to reality, tightening his grip again to hold against the gravity. He scanned the water around him to find the source, but he couldn't find it. Sometimes he felt like he was being watched by something or someone from inside the water while on the ship, and that night was one of them. It couldn't be just waves, maybe a curious dolphin?

"What are you doing?" asked someone, and Fajar looked behind.

A woman approached him. He didn't know whether it was because of the alcohol or not, but the woman looked glowing. Her pretty face was small, complemented with black short hair. She wore a nice simple white dress that matches her brown skin. Her eyes grew from curious, to concerned as she got a clearer look of what he was doing.

"You are not going to jump, aren't you?"

"N-None of your business" Fajar said, stammering.

"Okay" the woman said, raising both of her hands. She smiled, and leaned on the deck next to him.

"Not enjoying the party?" she asked, "Me too, most of the men here tried to flirt with me even though they have their wedding ring on their fingers, disgusting"

Fajar didn't respond. The woman sipped her glass, and looked down towards the sea.

"It's going to be pretty cold down there"

"I know, I'm quite familiar with water"

"Oh yeah, how come?"

"I'm a marine biologist"

"I see, so do you get aroused when you look at water?" She asked matter of factly.

"What?" Fajar asked caught up in surprise while trying so hard not to laugh, "No!"

"Just asking," she said, chuckling, she stopped and then asked "Tough life?"

Fajar let out a deep sigh, looking away from her. "Why do you care?"