Part 9 - Shocking News
His eyes are droopy but clear. Her face was pale but radiant. His lips were dry but peaceful. Very reassuring.
"How are you, Elsa?" He smiled gently.
"Thank God, I'm fine. You too, right?"
"Geography did, right?"
At times like this, he still cares.
"It's you. It hurts to be fussy. I'm fine. You're not good yet. Get well soon. So I can read poetry again. Go to the bookstore for more books."
"Just looking for a book? Not buying it?"
"You like to look for books that are open first. Smell the aroma, if it's suitable, buy it," comforted Alvin.
"You can do it, okay?"
"Sa, I'm sorry. So far I don't understand you."
"So what, Alvin?"
Alvin drew closer. He gripped his left hand tightly. Calm his worried face.
"It's okay. I just feel guilty. So far you've been listening to anything and everything. Even minor complaints you hear without buts. But for me?
"The work is being pursued by the editorial deadline. And your gentleness is caring for the smiles of the orphans. I just found out, Sa." He lowered his head in his own hands.
"I will always listen to you, Alvin. Be a good listener," she said quietly.
"No, Sa. From now on I'm the one who wants to learn to listen to you more. I'm a man. I should be able to be your support. He just smiled. Touch the walls of the sky. Sitting him on the caress of Alvin's downcast head.
"It's unfair that you always try to understand me, but me?"
"That's it, Alvin. I'm fine. I'm like that too because I need it. Think of it as my business so that later I can work in publishing. At least, a bookstore."
"Bookstores? Let's get a free sniff of the scent the first time?" Alvin laughs.
"Ha ha ha." Elsa laughed.
"Besides, Elsa, listening to you are happy. Where is the unfairness? Seeing other people happy is happy," he added.
"Your hand needs time to heal. I promise I will be your hand to design again. Write more poetry. I will also help you read the book you want to read, if necessary. I promise."
"Editing? I don't know. That's what I'm struggling with."
"Want to read poetry? How are you doing?" Alvin tried to comfort her.
"Thank you, handsome Alvin Mahardika." The joke.
***
"In the end, women who are beautiful and just simply beautiful will lose by attracting women who like literature, art, books, and the like. Who likes one of the four. Not because of coercion, or encouragement from their environment."
"Elsa, I love you. And will continue to love you. With everything I do." Alvin wrote in his diary.
But tomorrow remains a question mark. Alvin and Elsa will meet various obstacles in their lives. "How are you tomorrow?"
The ringing of the notification disturbed Alvin's deep sleep. Ironically, it was only an hour ago that he was able to bury himself in the pillow of dreams. Alvin held her head which felt dizzy.
"Alvin, is it true that your father was arrested?"
"Alvin, the news on television is just gossip, right?"
"Alvin, how much corruption is your father?"
"You act like you're fighting corruption, but your father is a corruptor. You're a hypocrite!"
Rows of incoming messages strafe Alvin again. Some message senders may ask because they care. Others seem to be limited to feeding their curiosity and flexible tongues.
Alvin's memory tape has not yet been crumpled, which records his struggle to uphold idealism. Line up neatly with fellow organizations, voicing the anti-corruption, collusion, and nepotism movement. Even when one of his city members were accused of being caught in a corruption case, Alvin was at the forefront, demanding his arrest and investigation.
Even when a similar case occurred on his campus, he did not hesitate to be in the front row. But now, unexpectedly, that idealism has been paralyzed by his father. Alvin felt fooled, disgusted by the body's pulse which was unwittingly contaminated with illicit money.
A glass of water-drenched Alvin's parched throat. The white water that is gulped is unfortunately not enough to save a heart that is engulfed in the fire of hatred. Aksa staggered towards the family room, where she usually found entertainment.
"Rudi Mahardika, who has been arrested by the authorities on charges of corruption in the social assistance fund is now officially languishing in a detention cell. The funds are estimated to be worth more than nine billion rupiahs. It is planned that tomorrow afternoon Rudi Mahardika will be flown to the central KPK building located on Jalan HR Rasuna Said Kav C-1, Jakarta."
The reporter's report from one of the national television stations had killed Alvin's appetite for watching. He quickly pressed the off button on the remote and then threw the plastic tool onto the sofa.
A few moments later, Alvin grabbed his motorcycle jacket and keys.
Regardless of worrying about his mother's prohibition—a calm woman who hardly ever gets angry with her only son—Alvin drives his blue automatic motorbike out of the housing complex.
At the crossroads, rows, and rows of various motorized vehicles are waiting for the green light to shine. The countdown to the turn of the lights seemed to crawl. Alvin grumbled quietly.
"Newspaper… Newspaper? Lots of recent news." A small child peddling newspapers approached Alvin.
Alvin idly bought a local newspaper. His pair of eyes skimmed through each title on the first page. In just a few minutes, his chest felt like it had been hit by a fist when his gaze fell on a piece of news in the far left corner. THE ARRANGEMENT OF RUDI MAHARDIKA: CORRUPTOR OF SOCIAL ASSISTANCE FUND.
Immediately the doomed newspaper was folded and tucked into a jacket pocket. A gasp full of emotion drove Alvin's motorcycle, ignoring other road users.
"The change!" A small child was trying to chase Alvin but did not arrive.
The smog close to the city air seemed to suffocate Alvin's mind again.
Alvin was confused, didn't know where to go and who to ask for an antidote. Or just tell a story. He chose to go home. Even if it comes to someone's name. None other than Elsa. He never thought that his father's news would appear in the mass media.
"Where are you, Elsa? How are you? I miss you." He whispered.