Spoiler untuk Ambient Music. Listen to this while reading this story :
Spoiler untuk English Version :I must have been driving down this road for hours. Where am I? I don't know, I don't even recognize my surroundings anymore. Although I know I must be far away from town. I don't see buildings along the road, spare for a few houses and farms. I don't care, I have to get as far as I can from HIM. I don't want to see his face again, that cheating *******. I caught him red handed sleeping with another girl. It's the girl from the cheerleading team, that ****! If only I knew this would happen...
*BOOM*
Halfway through my loathing, my car broke down. Can this day get any worse? I called for a tow service, and the man on the other end says it will take them around 30 minutes - 1 hour to get to me. Do I have any other choice? I get out of my car and slammed the door shut angrily. luckily, it's past noon so it's not too hot anymore. I got bored waiting around my car so I wandered around a little bit. Through the trees my eyes found something that looks like a cliff. The tow truck won't be here for another hour or so, I guess why not do a little exploring to kill time. Before I knew it, I was at the cliff.
This cliff is beautiful. It overlooked a vast landscape of green fields and a small lake. And the atmosphere of the nearly setting sun is just perfect. I never even knew my town has this great view. I was walking closer to the edge to see more of what's below, when a voice shouted from behind.
"WAIT! Don't do that!!"
It startled me. I turned around to see a young man, probably the same age as me, with a concerned look on his face. "Whatever your problem is, please think twice before doing so" he said. Hahaha so he thought I was about to jump from the edge of this cliff? Not gonna lie, I seriously considered suicide when I caught him, but despair turned into anger in mere minutes. I was more angry than sad.
"Haha, don't worry, I was just enjoying the view" I replied. He sighed with a noticeable sign of relief in his face. "Thank god, you got me worried back there" he said happily. I backed away from the edge and start approaching him. "But hey, thanks for being concerned about my well being" I told him. He started acting groggily and said "Well, I think anyone would have done the same in my position". "No, I know a person that would be happy to see me jump so he could see another person" I unconsciously blurted it out. "Ah, so you do have a problem" he said with a concerned look "you know, if you don't mind sharing your story, I'm a good listener". I took up on the offer, what is there to lose anyway?
"Can I know your name?" He asked. To which I replied "Sheila". "Nice to meet you, Sheila. You can call me Jon, short for Jonathan" He replied.
He's not kidding. He is a good listener. He listened to my story intently, and provided me with logical and acceptable feedbacks. Just a few minutes of talking to him I feel like a lot of burden has been taken off my shoulder. But you know what they say about good times, they don't last. I heard a honking sound from the direction of my car, hinting that the tow truck is here.
"Well, that's your cue. You should go" He said. "You know, you're a good guy, Jon. I'd like to see you again sometime" I replied. He agreed. I asked for his cell number so we can make appointments but he said he doesn't have any. "I live nearby" he said "just drop by on this cliff on afternoons if you wanted to meet up. I'm usually here every afternoon". I nodded lightly, thanked him and said goodbye before running back to my car.
So after that encounter, I met up with him a couple more times. We had idle talks, as well as more serious ones. I later found out that he too, had a bad breakup caused by adultery. I guess that explains why we're so quick on being pals. To be honest, I thought of taking this relationship to the next extents. And one day it seems as if my wish had come true.
"Sheila" he said sternly "I need to show you something tomorrow, but you need to come earlier than usual". It's pretty unusual to see him talk this sternly, seeing him as a cheerful guy most of the time. I agreed without asking too many questions regarding the request.
So I did what he asked and arrived at noon the next day. Far earlier than usual. He wasn't there, I thought I might be too early. I'm such a fool for not asking what time should I arrive. With him having no cellphone I don't have any mean to contact him, so I waited. I waited around an hour and a half when I heard someone coming from the path leading to the cliff. But it wasn't him. It's an old lady, carrying something that looks like a small birthday cake.
"My, are you a friend of Jonathan?" she asked me gently. "Yes ma'am, I'm his friend" I replied "If you don't mind me asking, who are you?". She smiled and replied "I'm his mother, dear. Today is his birthday, so I'm here to celebrate". I'm pretty surprised to hear that, so this is the thing he wanted to tell me? that he wanted me to join his birthday party? "Excuse me, I haven't known him for a long time, how old is he this year?" I asked her.
She nodded lightly and said "Ah, he would be 25 this year. Had he not taken his life in this very cliff 2 years ago."
Spoiler untuk Versi Indonesia :Aku pasti sudah mengemudi selama berjam-jam sepanjang jalan ini. Dimana ini? aku enggak tahu, aku bahkan sudah enggak ngenalin lagi jalanan ini. Aku pasti sudah jauh banget dari kota, sudah enggak ada gedung lagi di sepanjang jalan, kecuali beberapa rumah dan sawah. Enggak penting, aku harus pergi sejauh mungkin dari DIA. Aku enggak mau ngelihat muka dia lagi. Si tukang selingkuh, Aku mergokin dia tidur sama cewek lain. Cewek dari regu cheerleader, dasar *******! Kalo aja aku tahu ini bakal kejadian...
*BOOM*
Di tengah tengah umpatanku, mobilku mogok. Apa hari ini bisa jadi lebih buruk? Akhirnya aku memanggil mobil derek, dan orang di telepon bilang bahwa mobil derek baru bisa tiba sekitar setengah sampai satu jam. Memangnya ada pilihan lain? Aku keluar dari mobil sambil membanting pintu penuh amarah. Untungnya sudah lewat tengah hari, jadi gak begitu panas. Aku bosan menunggu di sekitar mobil dan akhirnya malah mondar mandir. Diantara pohon pohon aku melihat ada sesuatu yang kelihatannya seperti tebing. Mobil dereknya gak akan sampai sampai barang sejam lagi, jadi kupikir kenapa enggak berkelana sedikit buat membuang waktu. Sebelum aku sadar, aku sudah ada di tebing itu.
Tebing ini bagus banget. Pemandangan berupa ladang hijau dan danau kecil. Terus atmosfir matahari yang hampir terbenam bener bener nambahin keindahannya. Aku bahkan enggak tahu di kota ini masih ada pemandangan sebagus ini. Saat aku sedang jalan ke arah pinggir tebing untuk melihat lebih, sebuah suara dari belakang mengagetkanku.
"TUNGGU! Jangan lompat!"
Reflek, aku langsung balik badan dan melihat seorang cowok, kira kira seumuranku, dengan muka yang kelihatan khawatir. "Apapun masalah kamu, tolong pikirkan baik baik sebelum kamu lompat" katanya. Hahaha jadi dia pikir aku mau lompat dari sini? Jujur, aku emang sempat kepikiran soal bunuh diri saat aku mergokin dia, tapi lama kelamaan duka berubah jadi dengki.
"Haha, tenang, aku cuma lihat lihat pemandangan kok" kataku. Dia langsung terlihat tenang. "Ya tuhan, aku kaget banget barusan" katanya lega. Aku mundur dari tepi teping dan berjalan mendekati dia. "Eh, makasih lho tapi udah perhatian" kataku lagi. Dia mulai grogi sambil berkata "Yah, semua orang pasti ngelakuin hal yang sama kok kalo lagi di posisiku barusan". "Ah enggak, aku tahu satu orang yang pasti bakal lebih senang kalo aku lompat supaya dia bisa serong sama orang laen" secara gak sadar aku malah curhat. "Oh, jadi bener ada masalah ternyata" katanya dengan muka khawatir "gini deh, kalo misalnya gak keberatan untuk cerita, aku pendengar yang baik kok". Aku setuju untuk cerita. Emang bisa rugi apa dengan cerita masalahku ke orang lain?
"boleh aku tahu nama kamu?" tanyanya. Aku jawab "Sheila". "Salam kenal, Sheila. Kamu bisa panggil aku Jon, pendek dari Jonathan" Jawabnya.
Dia gak bercanda. Dia memang pendengar yang baik. Dia perhatian banget sama ceritaku, sambil ngasih feedback yang logis dan bisa dipercaya. Cukup bicara beberapa menit sama dia rasanya bebanku hilang banyak. Tapi tahulah kata orang, masa masa indah itu gak berlangsung lama. Aku mendengar suara klakson dari arah mobilku, mobil dereknya sudah datang.
"Nah, itu mobilnya udah datang. Ayo kesana" ujarnya. "Jon, boleh kita ketemu lagi kapan kapan?" jawabku. Dia setuju. Kemudian aku minta nomor HP dia supaya kita bisa janjian, tapi ternyata dia enggak punya HP. "Aku tinggal deket sini kok" katanya "mampir aja sore sore kalau mau ketemu. Aku biasanya disini tiap sore kok". Aku setuju, kemudian aku ucapkan terima kasih dan selamat tinggal sebelum berlari ke mobilku.
Setelah pertemuan itu, aku ketemu dia lagi beberapa kali. Obrolan kita lebih sering santai, tapi kadang bisa lebih serius. Waktu itu dia cerita kalo ternyata dia sempet putus juga karena pacarnya selingkuh. Mungkin itu sebabnya kita bisa cepet temenan. Jujur aja, aku sempet kepikiran ingin berhubungan lebih lanjut sama dia. Dan suatu hari semua itu kelihatan menjadi nyata.
"Sheila" katanya tegas "aku perlu kasih lihat kamu sesuatu besok, tapi kamu harus datang lebih awal dari biasanya". Gak biasa banget lihat dia bicara tegas gini, biasanya dia orangnya lebih santai dan ceria. Aku nyanggupin aja tanpa banyak tanya.
Esok harinya aku datang lebih cepat. Malah jauh lebih cepat. Ternyata dia belum ada, aku mungkin datang terlalu cepat. Harusnya aku tanya dia kapan mau ketemuan hari ini. Dia nggak punya HP, jadi aku gak bisa contact dia untuk kasih tahu aku sudah datang, jadi aku harus nunggu. Aku nunggu sekitar satu setengah jam sebelum aku dengar ada orang datang dari belakang. Tapi itu bukan dia. Seorang wanita setengah tua datang bawa kue ulang tahun kecil.
"Oh, temennya Jonathan ya?" katanya. "Iya bu, saya temennya Jon" jawabku "Ibu siapa ya?". Ibu itu tersenyum "Saya ibunya Jonathan. Hari ini ulang tahunnya Jonathan, jadi saya kemari untuk kasih selamat". Aku kaget juga begitu tahu kalo hari ini hari ultahnya Jon. Apa ini hal yang dia mau kasih tahu aku kemarin? "Maaf bu, saya belum lama temenan sama Jon, kalo boleh tahu ini ulang tahun Jon yang keberapa ya?"
Ibu itu mengangguk kecil dan berkata "Ah, Jonathan harusnya berumur 25 tahun ini seandainya dia tidak bunuh diri di tebing ini 2 tahun lalu".
Footnotes
Cerpen ketiga yang gua tulis. Sejujurnya, tadinya ini mau buat cerpen romance. Tapi gua sadar gua gak punya cukup skill untuk nulis cerpen romance, cerita yang gua tulis garing jadinya. Dibuang sayang, cerita ini gua convert jadi misteri. Mohon kritik dan saran.
