Tatapan kosong mata tua itu terlihat dari atas sini, ingin ku memeluk nya tapi apa daya, semua kini berbeda. Setiap hari ayah ku bekerja mengelola tambak milik pak Edy, memberi makan ikan, membersihkan pondok, sampai memperbaiki perahu yang rusak. Sungguh aku tak tega melihat nya, namun hutang yang berbelit membuatnya harus melakoni semua itu. Rupiah demi rupiah ia sisih kan untuk membeli kado istimewa untuk ku. Hari demi hari berlalu, tak terasa hari istimewa itu tiba, namun aku hanya melihat, tak bisa berbuat apa apa. Ayah berjalan sempoyongan ke arah ku "anak ku kini kau sudah besar, selamat ulang tahun nak, ayah merindukan mu". Memang, dimata orang ayah ku orang yang buruk, jahat dan hina, tapi di mata ku dia tetaplah ayah ku, walau dia penyebab aku sekarang berada di sini.
Elliot's partner was his whole world, but after Allan's death, his ghost haunts Elliot's dreams. Everyone tells Elliot to move on, but he isn't sure he can.
*****
It's been a year since the love of Elliot's life, Allan, passed away. Everyone thinks he should have recovered after that much time, but Allan still haunts Elliot every night. He struggles to maintain relationships with his family, and despite a coworkers interest he can't summon up the courage to date. Elliot is living for the past, because to live for the present means he'll have to live with a hole in his heart. But the question Elliot has to face chases him through his monotonous days: is mourning Allan with everything he has truly living?
[[word count: 40,000-50,000 words]]