Antique Romantica

“I want to love like they do in old movies.” Key had whispered one day, her fingers splayed across the bed she and Luke were reclining on. She turned her head to the left and stared at the man whose eyes never left her. “You know…those old romance movies?” Her whisper tickled the inside of Luke’s ear.

“The old ones?” Luke had answered back. He had his eyes attached to the ceiling while his fingers itched to reach across the small expanse of white sheets to cling onto long fingers. “Why the old ones?” His eyebrow lifted out of curiosity.

Key shrugged. Her body involuntarily curling up against Luke’s in an attempt to steal the man’s warmth. “I don’t know.” She murmured. She turned onto her side to stare at Luke lazily. “Why not the old movies?”

Luke shrugged. “Why ask me? You started the conversation, Key baby.” He sighed as he stretched his exhausted body out across the length of the twin-sized bed.

“Old movies.” Key tapped a finger on her chin. “…I want a love that’s pure.” She rolled back onto her back, her eyes turning to the right to look out the one window in the room. “None of that grinding, horny, thrilling love of new movies.”

Luke hummed his agreement. “But sometimes they’re exciting.”

“Excitement isn’t always true love.” Key murmured. She reached her hand out to block the moonlight shining through the window from hitting her face. “I want a love that’s slow. Slow and steady.”

“Slow and steady is good too.” Luke agreed again. He nodded lazily, his head bobbing up and down.

“Slow and steady. Yeah.” Key nodded. “I want a love that’s true. Slow and steady while true. I want all the courting, the kissing under an umbrella, the walk down a riverside, and the lingering of a soft touch. I want that.” Her voice exclaimed determinedly. “I want all that. Just like those old movies.”

“Old movies?”

“Yeah.”

“Just slow?”

“Yeah.”

“Really?”

Key glanced over at Luke and blinked when he realized the man had rolled onto her side too. She looked away when Luke’s stare became too much for her. “Slow and steady, Luke. Just like old movies.”

Luke rested his chin on Key’s shoulder and breathed in quietly. “So I would have a chance if I took it slow…?” He murmured softly. His fingers brushing the strip of skin that was revealed between Key’s waistline and shirt.

Key licked her lips and shrugged. She drifted her eyes away from Luke’s deep ones and sucked in a long breath. “Would you love me slow and steady?”

Luke ran his hand across Key’s stomach and left his arm curled around Key’s waist. He nuzzled into the neck next to her lips and placed a sweet kiss to the hidden spot behind the woman’s ear.

“Key baby, I would love you any way you want me to.” He breathed out, his breath fanning across Key’s ear. “As long as you let me love you. I’ll love you as long, as slow, as fast, as long as you allow me to do so.” Luke tightened his hold on Key. “That’s the one privilege I hope you don’t take away from me.” A tight smile ghosted his lips.

Key rolled onto her side and tucked her arm under her head. She smiled a gentle smile when she felt the lithe frame spoon up against her. Just like old movies.

Luke kissed the back of Key’s neck as he settled into his place behind Key. As a few moments passed by, Luke’s nearly shut eyes snapped back open when he realized something. He grinned and glanced at the back of his girlfriend’s head. “Hey Kay baby. Didn’t we watch a movie with a girl asking something about old romances the other day?”

Key cracked a grin. “Well…I did want to love like those old movies. So why not copy a move or two from them?” She tilted her head just enough to see outline of Luke’s face. “So…are you still willing to love me like those old romantics?”

Luke nuzzled Key’s cheek and purred. “Just like those old romances…with a few bits and pieces of Luke-moves thrown in here and there, of course.” He smirked.  

A unique laugh filled the dark room as the younger of the two rolled over to face the other on the bed. “I don’t mind.” She whispered, her eyes closed when she felt the other’s lips settled on her.

"I want to love like they do in old movies. Slow and steady."

End.

Date A Girl Who Hikes

Date a girl who hikes. Date a girl who spends her weekend on a dangerous mountain climbing instead of strolling in the mall. She lives her life adventurously, without fear; and both of you will live your love as if you’re on a lazy vacation. No drama.

Date a girl who hikes. She is not the one who spends hours putting on her makeup, but when she does she will do it in a simple way and yet it will take your breath away. She has touched the deeper meaning of femininity that penetrates through every layer of her life which makes her beautiful even when she’s not paying attention.

Find a girl who hikes. You will know her by the stuffs she always carries. You may find an Eiger bag instead of Gucci or Prada decorating her small but sturdy shoulder; a shoulder which strong enough to carry kilos of stuffs she brings when hiking. You won’t find mascara or lipstick in her pouch. She will always have a journal, a map, and a compass in her bag. Wherever she goes, she is ready to get lost. You start to recognize that her skin is getting darker. Yes, she is not afraid of sun exposure. She walks and walks till the top of the peak she desires. Chin ups and eyes stare blatantly in to the sun.

You can try to let her down.  But she has learned to toughen up her soul on her rocky path to the peak, the way back home from jungle. There is nothing you can do to let her down. She has experienced the hardships in life more than you can imagine. However, she is still a woman who looks tough on the outside but such a giant softie at heart.

You can try to approach her. But she won’t take an easy road. She will challenge you, but she doesn’t play hard to get, she just takes the harder path that seems like a magical travel through the south wall of Mount Raung, the muddy path of Mount Salak, or the loang road of Mounth Argopuro. It will be a thrilling adventure, but at the end of the path, lies all the treasures you’ve been searching for. You just have to be patient.

Date a girl who hikes. She sees the hidden beauty in everything. You will realize that although she has survived the biting chill at Cartenz just to touch the snow and there is nothing like hot chocolate to fight the Everest’s frozen temperature; at the end of the day she will try to find the way home. Let her know that you are her home. Act like you’re the compass who always leads her home, act like you’re the gravity that holds her feet down the ground when she forgets what it feels like to be at the same ground with you.

She may be not available on weekends. She will be away searching for Edelweiss, again. She’s the one who writes a love letter for you a day before her departure with Avril Lavigne’s “Wish You Were Here” song lyrics in it, or if you’re lucky, she will invite you to join her trip. Go with her. Then you will find out that her adventurous spirit is worth fighting for.

Date girl who hikes. Love her, take care for her, this girl who loves to hikes, but don’t try too hard. Her experience on the mountain has taught her to be simple and practical. She is not one for fancy dinner because for one who is used to survive on the jungle, food is food. She won’t mind simple, cheap dates as long as you find your way to her.

So find a girl who loves to hikes, marry her, and spend the rest of your life with her. Challenge yourself to be a man and be that place she calls home.

Give my heart back or keep it with you.
So, I can keep coming back to you.

Of Kites and Clouds

  

“Look at that one right there! It’s in the shape of a bunny!” David pointed at the pink kite floating in the sky. “And look, there’s a duck flying next to it! Do you see it?”

He turned his head to look at the younger woman who stood next to him. Sarah was not looking up at the kites that his boyfriend was pointing at. Instead, her eyes were on David the whole time.

“Sarah, what’s wrong?” David inquired.

“Nothing, I just prefer to look at you,” Sarah replied with a small smile.

David chuckled. “I prefer to look at you too. You’ve got beautiful eyes that shine brighter than the sun up there.”

A sudden breeze caused rustling of leaves and the dozens of children who were flying their kites in the park on this Sunday morning were shouting in excitement.

The breeze messed up David’s hair and Sarah automatically ran her hands through the black locks. David smiled at the gesture. He turned his head to look up at the sky so that Sarah’s hand would slowly slide down to tickle his nape.

“Those kids better be careful or the strings are going to snap and their kites will fly away,” David chuckled. “Do you want to fly a kite? I’ll go buy one for you. Dolphin shaped, ok?”

David started to walk off, but Sarah’s hand on his arm stopped him. The older man could sense that something wasn’t right.

“Sarah? What’s wrong?”

Sarah’s lips parted slightly to speak, but then closed again in silence.

“Sarah, I’ve noticed that you’ve been different lately. You’re…not your cheerful self. Please tell me, I’m really worried. I don’t even like kites, but I’ve even woken up early on a Sunday morning to take you here. I want to see you happy. Come on, you can tell me anything. I’m your boyfriend,” David urged, taking Sarah’s hands in his own.

Sarah slowly raised her head to look into David’s eyes. The emotions in her eyes created a tumor of fear in David’s throat.

“That’s the problem. You’re my boyfriend,” Sarah murmured.

“I don’t understand. What are you trying to say?”

Sarah pulled her hands away from David’s hold, taking a step back to create distance between them. “I like kites.”

David was taken aback by the random statement. “I know; that’s why I brought you here to see these children fly their kites. But you’re not smiling. You’re not happy. Why?”

“You don’t like kites,” Sarah spoke in the same monotone.

“That’s not news to either of us. What do kites have to do with me being your boyfriend?” David demanded. He tried to reach for Sarah’s hands again, but the younger woman pulled away.

“We’ve been dating for six years. I’m not getting any younger, David. I want to settle down. I want to get married. I want to have a batch of children and create a family.”

David was silent. He didn’t tell Sarah that he’ll settle down with Sarah, that he’ll marry Sarah, that he’ll have a batch of children and create a family with Sarah. He didn’t. 

He wouldn’t.

“Sarah, we’ve talked about this...”

“I know,” Sarah cut him off. “And it caused our first fight. We’ve ignored it since then, but it can’t be ignored forever, David.”

David ran a hand through his hair in frustration. “What are you trying to say?”

Sarah looked up at David’s tresses and automatically felt the need to fix it again, but she restrained this time.

“I like kites, David. But you don’t. You don’t like kites because you don’t like that kites are attached to strings; you don’t like that kites can never truly fly free in the sky.”

“Sarah…” David frowned.

“You’re like a cloud; no strings attached. You don’t want to be tied down. You just want to live life without responsibility and attachments, without having to settle down.”

“What are you trying to say?” David repeated, with more frustration in his voice. He knew perfectly well what Sarah was saying, but he didn’t want to admit it.

“You’re not one to settle down with a family. I’ve always wanted to settle down with a family. I was hoping you’d change with time…”

“I was hoping you would change with time,” David countered.

Sarah shook her head and sighed. “But it’s been eight years and neither of us has changed. I’m a kite. You’re a cloud. We can meet on a windy day, but it’ll only be a short encounter. There is no forever.”

“There can be a forever if we continue to date like we’ve been doing for the last eight years,” David retorted.

“No,” Sarah whispered, looking down so that she would not meet David’s eyes. “Forever ends here.”

PS: Hadiah pernikahan teruntuk @pradana_sandi. Maaf malah nulis soal mantan, bukan calon suami :p

Jar of Heart

I want to take your heart away and keep it in a glass jar.

Holding it stubbornly close to my heart.

Hiding it from prying eyes.

Keeping it safe from anyone who wants the sunshine in your eyes, the kindness in your smile.

Keeping it away from anyone who wants to steal you from me.

Satu

Masih ingatkah kau pada puisi cinta yang kubisikkan padamu dulu?

Kita satu, maka nafasku adalah nafasmu

Senyumku selalu senyummu

Tapi tidak untuk tangisku

Karena perih tangis yang ku ratapi selalu tangisku, bukan tangismu

Maka tersenyumlah

Atika, 13th, kelas 1 SMP

My heart is paper thin and will rip if it’s dampened by raindrops, but I know that there is no place safer for my heart to be. Your hands provide shelter and security; your heart captures mine and encases it in a loving barrier that will never let it crumble.