A DIFFERENT SABINA

"Ah, I'm sorry. I have to get back to the office right away. The director called me to go back there immediately," Brian said goodbye to Mr. Jerry and Mr. Basil while holding out his hand politely, "For whatever reason, I am very happy to meet my dad's old friend," he continued.

"You're not the only one who's happy, son. We feel the same way," Mr. Basil replied kindly.

"Yeah, he's right. I hope I can see you next time, son. I'd still love to spend some time chatting with you, but it seems Bagaskara is suspicious of me and Basil, so leave. Don't make your uncle wait and spread misunderstandings that don't exist. See you later, Brian!" Mr. Jerry shook hands with Brian and let Brian go with a smile.

The sad look was once again imprinted on Mr. Jerry's face.

"Why are you showing your sadness to Brian? It's our first time meeting the boy. Although we both know that Brian's potential to become a businessman is very good, it doesn't necessarily mean that he has the qualities and thoughts of Aditya. It's possible that when Brian finds out what kind of trouble you're in right now, he won't be able to understand even if he's just being a good listener!" Mr. Basil gave an opinion.

"Who knows. I guess I'm desperate at this point. My daughter is very different from my old daughter. What he is doing now is very shameful and will probably destroy the future of our company in the days to come," Mr. Jerry lamented.

"Stay with your patience, Jerry. I will help your company if you need it. But right now, I'm interested in the idea Brian proposed today."

"I like the idea Brian has, and it seems like I heard from you a few years ago. That's why I called you here to meet that kid!" Mr. Basil said his true meaning.

"What kind of idea is that? I forgot to ask you when Brian was here," asked Mr. Jerry again.

"Do you remember when you told me the idea your daughter mentioned before she had the accident?" Mr. Basil started asking to continue the story. And sure enough, Mr. Jerry's face immediately turned serious, "Yeah, the idea I heard from Brian today sounds the same as the idea I heard from you at that time,"

Mr. Basil continued his speech by telling the idea that Brian presented at the meeting at the Cakradara Bandung office today. Every detail was discussed by Mr. Basil until Mr. Jerry gasped in disbelief.

"That's not possible!" Mr. Jerry replied in disbelief.

***

"Nothing happened, Uncle. Mr. Basil didn't ask or talk about anything suspicious about the idea I presented earlier. He also didn't talk about anything other than-"

Kraak!

Brian hadn't finished his call with his uncle when the cell phone he was holding fell and shattered onto the floor. It happened because his body accidentally bumped into a pair of men and women who were holding hands and showing off their disgusting affection.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I accidentally bumped into you, Master!" said the man who accidentally nudged Brian.

Brian still couldn't respond cause shock and immediately crouched down to pick up his broken cell phone.

"Never mind, Devan… You don't have to be like that. He's the one at fault for walking recklessly!"

The curt words from the woman who was beside the man named Devan immediately made Brian stop picking up his cellphone.

'This is Sabina's voice,' Brian immediately recognized the voice and said in his heart.

Brian looked up and saw the figure of a woman who had just spoken.

"Sabina?" short call.

"You know my lover, sir?" Devan asked but a second later his hand was immediately pulled by the woman.

"Even though he knows me, I don't know him. So let's go and just ignore that stupid guy. Come on, honey… I miss you!" the woman who looks like Sabina whines at Devan.

"Sabina? W-why are you here?" asked Brian in surprise.

"What's your business? I don't know you, you know?!" the woman who looked like Sabina said half-snarled at Brian. And after that she was seen reaching into her small bag, "Take this! It's to replace your broken phone! Don't waste my time and get out of our sight now!" she continued as she tossed Brian a pile of pink notes.

The money fell to the floor because Brian didn't catch it. Brian's eyes only focused on the woman who was being rude to him at this time.

"Devan, let's go now. I no longer want to follow you to meet my dad. I told you my dad was boring. Come on, let's go to my apartment. I miss you!" the woman continued to whine with indulgence at Devan while continuing to pull Devan's hand to walk away from Brian.

Brian's mind went blank for a moment as he watched the woman who looked like Sabina leave. Even to give a response to Devan who bowed his head slightly in apology, he couldn't afford it anymore.

'Sabina, why are you like this?' he said confused.

Several times a tap on Brian's shoulder managed to break his daydream.

"Master, this is yours. Take it and buy you a new cell phone," said the man in security uniform to Brian as he handed over the pile of money that had fallen earlier.

Brian was still expressionless stunned. His face was like a confused person when he received the money. His gaze and thoughts seemed to be carried away by the departure of the woman who was similar to Sabina.

After a while, Brian realized that he had been daydreaming about the two people who had left a long time ago.

Brian, feeling unwell and exhausted, decided not to go back to the office and went straight to his apartment.

What for? Of course to find out where Sabina is and ask for an explanation of what he experienced that afternoon.

"Assalamualaikum, Sabina!" he said as he entered the room and closed the door. But still, like this morning, Sabina was nowhere to be seen.

"Isn't she home yet? Was the woman from earlier really Sabina? If that's true, why didn't Sabina talk to me and instead act arrogant like before?" Brian muttered to himself.

Brian sat on the sofa where Sabina usually sat. Loosening the tie around his neck, Brian let out a shaky breath in confusion.

"Sabina, are you still mad at me?" he continued, confused.

Brian waited for a moment. Waiting for any sound or movement that Sabina might make.

"Alright, I'm going to take a shower. My clothes are dirty and wet from the drizzle on the street," he muttered as he lazily stepped into the bathroom.

But Brian who had just entered the bathroom was immediately shocked and shouted.

"Aaargggghhh!" Brian screamed as loudly as he was shocked and unconsciously his shock made his legs slip as he was about to come back out of the bathroom.

Brian's body lost balance and his head hit the edge of the tub. The pain was real but Brian's vision blurred as he tried to get up from his body lying on the floor. Slowly but surely, Brian's eyes began to close as his vision darkened.

***

Brian felt his body warm and comfortable. It was too lazy to open his eyes and wake up, but a voice that sounded faint and familiar to him kept ringing in his ears and calling his name.

"Brian, wake up!" Sabina called out to Brian and her voice became clearer and louder, making Brian want to open his eyes immediately.

Slowly, Brian's eyelids opened, and immediately saw Sabina sitting beside the bed while watching him.

"Are you aware? Why did you pass out in the bathroom?" Sabina asked Brian, but he wasn't focused on answering the question. Brian's eyes still looked at Sabina's body which looked like it had lost its color.

Either because of her blurred vision, Sabina's body is more transparent than before. Brian tried to rub his eyes slowly and hoped that his eyes were wrong. But it wasn't.

"Sabina, why are you like this? Why is your body getting faded and losing color?" Brian couldn't contain his curiosity about Sabina's weirdness.

"Ignore my form like this first. Now tell me, which part of your body still hurts? Is your head dizzy? I saw a little blood coming out of your head on the back of your head. But the wound wasn't that big and thankfully the bleeding stopped after I put a little pressure on it. You should have your head checked at the hospital tomorrow!"

Seeing Sabina who was currently nagging as usual in front of him, for some reason Brian's heartfelt calmer.

Instead of wanting to refute Sabina's chatty words, as usual, Brian just kept quiet and smiled. Brian seemed to have rediscovered Sabina who made him comfortable even though he had to listen to chatty words like a woman who pays attention to the people she loves.

"Why do you just shut up and smile. Answer me, Brian. Which part of your body still hurts? Or maybe your brain shifted because you fell earlier?"

Brian immediately laughed at Sabina's concern that sounded exaggerated to him.