The Young Man's Dream

--West Sumatera, Padang, June 20, 2020-- 

"WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS? LITERATURE? YOU CHOOSE LITERATURE AS YOUR COURSE OF STUDY!"

*BAM!

The sound of a table being slammed reverberated throughout the office.

A middle-aged man in a black suit and slicked-back hair glared fiercely at the young man in front of him.

His black eyes widened, his breath quickened, and his face flushed with anger as he looked at the SBMPTN (Indonesia's National College Entrance Exam) registration form in front of him.

Meanwhile, the young man sitting before him could only bow his head.

His expression froze, but tears welled up in his eyes.

His lips were tightly sealed, revealing the turmoil in his heart between fear and hope.

He knew that the middle-aged man before him held his future in his hands.

If he said to become a dog, the young man would become a dog.

That's why he felt both afraid and powerless, hoping only that his dream would be granted, giving him the courage to enter this room.

But from the middle-aged man's apparent anger, it seemed his hope had already vanished even before he could explain it.

He shouldn't have come to this office, and he should have followed what the middle-aged man wanted from him.

He was raised as a robot, and a robot he should be.

Why did he try to dream of something he wasn't programmed for?

Defiance, that's what the middle-aged man saw in him. Defiance stemming from a programming error caused by the misguided teachings of the young man's parents.

A robot should follow the program given by its creator.

That robot was Aditya Mahendra, and his creator and uncle was Pandu Mahendra.

Pandu tried to control his breath again, but his emotions raced as he looked at Aditya, who was bowed down.

Laziness.

Cowardice.

Disappointment.

That's what Pandu saw in his nephew. It made his emotions flare up again.

"DO YOU KNOW WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF YOU CHOOSE LITERATURE? YOU'LL BE A BEGGAR! A BEGGAR IS YOUR FUTURE! YOU WILL ONLY BRING SHAME TO THE MAHENDRA NAME!"

Pandu's face grew even redder and more menacing, causing Aditya in front of him to tremble with fear. But he still wanted to fight; this dream had been on his mind for a long time, and perhaps it was the only activity he enjoyed in his life.

"But, Uncle, I love writing, I love sharing the stories in my mind. I love to fantasize and imagine. I want others to see what I see and enjoy the world I crea—"

*PRANG!!

Before Aditya could finish his sentence, the ashtray on the table suddenly flew, almost hitting his face. However, the ashtray missed him by inches before hitting the wall behind him.

The ceramic ashtray, bearing the brand of a cigarette, shattered into pieces, hitting the concrete wall hard.

The shards flew everywhere, some narrowly missing Aditya's head, but luckily, fate spared him. Or perhaps it was bad luck because next, Pandu's anger truly reached its peak.

"DO YOU THINK YOU CAN EAT YOUR FANTASY?! DO YOU THINK THERE'S A FUTURE FOR AN AMATEUR WRITER LIKE YOU! SINCE WHEN HAS YOUR HEAD BEEN FILLED WITH STUPID THINGS LIKE THIS!!!"

Pandu was panting as he shouted too loudly. His heartbeat raced as his anger surged.

"THIS IS ALL BECAUSE YOU WERE BORN FROM THAT WHORE!!! I TOLD HIM NOT TO MARRY A POOR WOMAN, BUT YOUR STUBBORN FATHER STILL MARRIED HER!! WHAT DID HE SEE IN THAT WOMAN? Beauty? HOW MANY BEAUTIFUL WOMEN GLADLY OPEN THEIR LEGS IN FRONT OF THE MAHENDRA NAME!!

"LOOK AT WHAT THAT WHORE'S SPAWNED!! A CHILD WITH A MIND FILLED WITH GARBAGE!! UTTER TRASH!!! GET OUT OF MY SIGHT BEFORE I DESTROY THAT FACE OF YOURS!!!"

Pandu's loud voice made Aditya's ears ring, but more than that, his anger pierced his heart.

He didn't want to hear Pandu insult his mother; he couldn't accept it, but his weak body only froze in fear.

His tightly sealed lips could only hide his gritted teeth.

His trembling knees could only push his body to stand and quickly leave the office.

But Pandu's anger wasn't over yet.

As Aditya walked towards the door, curses and insults were hurled at him vehemently.

"AND FORGET YOUR DESIRE TO STUDY LITERATURE! IF YOU CONTINUE, I WILL MAKE YOU SUFFER MORE THAN YOU CAN BEAR FOR THE SAKE OF THE MAHENDRA NAME!!!

"YOU STUPID CHILD! YOUR WHORE MOTHER SPOILED YOU, AND YOUR COWARDLY FATHER FAILED TO EDUCATE HIS CHILDREN!! FROM TODAY ON, YOU WILL NO LONGER RECEIVE ANY LUXURIES!! YOU WILL EXPERIENCE WHAT IT'S LIKE TO LIVE LIKE A COMMONER, NOT A MAHENDRA!!!

"THAT WAY, YOU WILL LEARN TO BE GRATEFUL FOR BEING BORN A MAHENDRA!!! DO YOU UNDERSTAND?"

*BAM!

Aditya had closed the office door before Pandu could finish speaking.

He immediately ran away from the room as if fleeing from a terrible monster.

His legs still trembled, and tears still pooled in his eyes.

But Aditya kept running and running.

He ran out of his uncle's mansion and onto the highway.

But he kept running and running, letting his feet lead him wherever they would.

Aditya just wanted to find a place to be calm for now, calm from a world that was slowly turning gray.

Colorless, toneless, and wordless, that's how the world had become for Aditya.

He knew there was no hope left for him to become a writer.

There was no hope left to weave a world that would bring readers to life within it.

Everything vanished like his slowly dying heart.

Aditya just wanted to know... not why Pandu forbade him from becoming a writer, no... he knew that only 1 out of 10,000 amateur writers could become professional writers and make a living from their work.

The rest were just dreamers who continued to chase a light that dimmed as they aged.

No... Aditya understood Pandu's reason for forbidding him to become a writer very clearly.

He wasn't foolish, and he wasn't blind to see the real world.

What Aditya wanted to know was why... why... why he was so desperate to become a writer?

Why was he so happy when he weaved words and stories?

Why was he so delighted when he saw his imaginative world come to life in a book?

 Why did he want not only himself but also others to enjoy this world?

Why?

Why?

Why didn't he just become a normal person who wanted to work in a big company?

His steps halted, and his breath began to wheeze. He looked around and found that he had run far from his uncle's mansion.

Beside him, a river flowed under the scorching sun.

He heard the soothing sound of the river's ripple, and his feet moved towards it.

The river was swift and its bottom unseen.

Perhaps for those who didn't know how to swim in the river, being swept away and drowning would be their end upon entering it.

But Aditya liked to swim in the river.

Crossing from one bank to the other was an activity he enjoyed when he went back to Tapan. So, he knew that even if his mind was chaotic right now, he wouldn't die if he plunged into this river.

Moreover...

Aditya reached into his pocket and found a small pocketbook, each page filled with scribbles.

It was a pocketbook he'd had since high school.

Back then, he felt bored with school lessons that made him very sleepy. Not once did a teacher scold him for falling asleep in class, nor did his friends laugh at him.

To stay awake, Aditya tried to find activities to make him keep awake, like observing the teaching but within minutes, he was lost in a dream.

That's why Aditya tried other activities; he started using his school notebook as a sketchbook.

He tried to draw, but he didn't have the ability to draw. He tried to make stick figures and string stories from page to page. But quickly, he felt bored and felt something was missing.

Aditya then wrote about his daily life and feelings in his notebook.

Before he knew it, he had written on every page of the notebook. Since then, he no longer slept in class, which even made classroom lessons the time he looked forward to because that was when he could write again.

Until selfishness and greed began to emerge in Aditya's heart.

He wanted not only himself to enjoy the world within his imagination.

He wanted others to swim in a beautiful, fascinating, and thrilling fantasy world he makes.

Beyond what their real life could offer.

If Aditya could escape in his writing, then perhaps others could run alongside him.

Aditya began to buy small pocketbooks to jot down all his ideas. He clarified the world he would create, he created laws, he created systems, and his imagination felt increasingly real.

But when Aditya wanted to start writing, he encountered a clear obstacle, his limited literary skills. He began to seek ways to overcome this obstacle by reading many books, but books alone were no longer enough.

He needed space, he needed a place, and he needed friends.

He knew he wasn't unique, so his dream shouldn't be unique either.

Therefore, he had to enter an environment where people around him shared the same dream. Perhaps in doing so, they could exchange ideas, help each other make their imaginative worlds even more real.

Aditya looked at the worn pocketbook in his hand.

He could feel his joy, see the smile on his face, and hear the hum he sang when he wrote on each page.

But now, this pocketbook and all its contents would no longer be useful.

Pandu ordered him to study law, and law school was where he would go. Maybe he could sabotage his exams, but Pandu's threats echoed in his ears.

Aditya clenched the pocketbook tightly in his hand until his fingers turned white. He looked back at the river in front of him.

Maybe he would survive if he entered this river, but the small pocketbook in his hand wouldn't.

Its pages would get wet, the writings inside would be ruined, and this pocketbook would sink to the riverbed or be swept away by the current.

It would kill... kill his dream.

Tears that had been held back flowed down his cheeks.

"Sorry, Dad... I'm crying... but... I can't hold it back anymore," Aditya said with a bitter smile on his face and tears wetting his cheeks.

Aditya prepared to throw the pocketbook into the river. But before he could lower his hand, his movement stopped, and his body froze.

Aditya fell to the ground, feeling the pain in his buttocks.

But he didn't care because of how quickly his breath was racing.

"Huft! Huft! Huft! Huft! Huft! Huft!"

He couldn't bear it... he couldn't bear to discard his dream just like that.

Aditya curled up and cried silently.

For a few minutes, he remained in that state.

Until finally, Aditya looked back at the pocketbook. He wanted to read its contents for the last time. Remembering the world he has created over the past two years.

Page by page, he read slowly.

With each page, Aditya felt more and more unwillingness.

Until he finally stopped at one page that only wrote one line of poetry.

"The time has come when my human clock ticks. Time never stops, slows down, or speeds up. Only emptiness stops, only boredom slows down, And only happiness speeds up."

Suddenly, Aditya felt tickled and he couldn't hold back his laughter.

"Hahaha... What is this? Did I really write this? Damn, so emo!! I didn't know I could be this deep... HAHAHA," he continued laughing until he ran out of breath and his stomach hurt.

But when he stopped, there was no more emptiness in his eyes, no more boredom on his face, only joy.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

--Present--

"My name is Aditya Mahendra. My parents gave me the name of a legendary king! That's why I am destined to become a king in this world!"

*Bam!

The surface of the shield in Aditya's hand slapped Bob 3's face, breaking his nose. Before Bob 3 could react, Aditya opened his mouth wide and bit into his neck.

The smell of rusty iron assaulted his nose and the saltiness of sweat stung his tongue, but Aditya ignored it, clenching his jaw.

Bob 3's neck flesh and skin tore, blood spraying out and drenching Aditya's face.

*Glup!

"How could you possibly defeat me! I am destined to be a king! You should bow down and lick the soles of my feet! BECAUSE I AM ADITYA MAHENDRA!!!!!"

At that exact moment, Aditya, who had lost his entire lower body, died.

[Congratulations, you have died for the 66,666th time!]