NOTE 13

The headmaster's room was the venue for the party.

Although Dirja said it was a party, what they were doing more or less resembled a feast. The entire class thirteen had gathered there, dressed in the uniform they had worn on the first day at the academy and were enjoying what Shaqe had prepared. From roast beef fillet, roast duck, honey chicken, veal tenderloin, vegetable buffet, and some desserts like pudding and ice cream. For the drink themselves, she prepared orange juice, coffee, lemon tea, and water.

At the end of the room, Alanka could see how much fun they were having.

“And yet here you are. Alone in the corner,” said Cakra. His face was no longer full of bruises and wounds. “Why not join?”

“Later. Right now I just want to enjoy the food.”

“That so?”

“What about you? Shouldn’t you be joining them too?”

“Nah, I’m fine here. Besides, right now those three should be the star.” He leaned against the wall next to her.

“Hm?”

“Anyway, I’ve noticed that you’ve been improving lately. Been training with that bodyguard of yours? Uh… What’s her name?”

“Thia,” said Alanka. She took a sip before continuing. “Thanks to her at least I’m sure I won’t trouble you guys on when we exploring the ruins.”

“No way!” said Cakra followed by laughter. “There’s no way you could trouble us. After all, you’re a Maidengard.”

Alanka was silent.

“Ah, not fond of that name?”

“Not really.”

For a moment, Alanka though about telling Cakra about her condition. Although it had been two months since she was in the class thirteen, none of them had been told or known her state of memory loss. They had only speculated, not wanting to offend her with question that might hurt her mentally especially when they knew she had just been discharged from hospital. And from what she heard, most of them believe that what happened to her during her disappearance affected her ability to fight.

After all, they still idolise The Maidengard, Alanka Jangkarbumi.

“What are you two doing in that corner!?” shouted Karangka. “Come here! And don’t let any food go to waste! Especially you, Cakra!"

“I will! I will!”

“I assume you are enjoying this party?”

All attention was immediately drawn to the source of the sound. From behind the door, with a smile stretching across his face, Dirja walked in. Before anyone could replied, he continued.

“What about the dishes Shaqe makes? Isn’t it delicious!? She’s the best!”

Dianka tried but quickly interrupted.

“Oh! The homemade coffee! You must try this!” said Dirja excitedly. “I don’t know what she does to make it taste so good BUT! I highly recommend it!”

“I’m just doing my best,” said Shaqe.

“Very good! Very good! Come now, no need to be shy! There still—” His words were cut short when he saw Alanka and Cakra. “Oh my…”

“It’s not,” said Alanka.

“Is this love? Is this love? Is this love in bloom!?” His voice was raised high enough to make the whole room fall silent in a cringe for a while. He took a deep breath and straightened his suit jacket then looked at everyone in the room as if nothing happened. “My deepest apologies.”

“Is he high?” whispered Karangka.

“I am not! I just… got myself too excited.” Replied Dirja in more appropriate manner. “Anyway, I have a special surprise for you guys. I want you to pay attention to the entrance of this room.”

Alanka immediately felt her entire body shiver. Her eyes were wide open and her breathing slowly became heavier. As much as possible she tried not to look at the door, trying to find something else that could hold her attention, but couldn’t. As the door opened even wider, all those feelings became more and more intense until she couldn’t hear anything.

She saw unfamiliar faces enter the room. Some tried to restrain themselves from running, others don’t. She saw Karangka surrounded by man with broad smile embraced her around the neck broadly and a woman smiling gracefully at the two. She also saw Dianka and Kertanegara each kissing the hand of figures that looked similar to them but much older. They were all smiling, looking happy, excited, missing, and somewhat… proud.

And then she felt a tap on her shoulder. Instinctively, Alanka twisted her body to see who it was. A man with hair that was already half bad, a woman with a gentle look on her face, and a girl, slightly younger than her. And she recognised each of them.

“What’s with the face? Surprised?” said the man. His voice was gentle.

“It’s alright, dear. After all, it’s been a while since we last met,” said the woman. Her voice was soft and soothing.

“Stupid sister. Instead of returning home first, you went straight back to the academy. Stupid,” said the girl. Though she tried not to look directly at her, Alanka could feel the sense of longing in her voice.

Although they tried to hide it, Alanka could see it. The exhaustion from waiting and the anxiety that build up in both the man and the woman. Compared to the last photo she had seen, both looked much thinner. She could also see the bags under their eyes hidden behind the modest make-up on their faces. The sign were much obvious for the woman, her hair was starting to lose its black colour, they are turning grey. Yet both of them were still smiling.

In retrospect, they must have felt awkward too, wondering what to say when they met her. However, they had both tried to open up a conversation, no matter how clumsy it was. Now they were waiting for a reply from their daughter who they thought had disappeared later to be found and then left to choose her studies over coming back home. Just one reply, one reply was enough.

But there was not a single word she could say to them. Her brain was spinning violently, trying to force the words out. But whatever she was feeling, it kept getting in the way.

The three of them were the family of Alanka Jangkarbumi. Suripto, the man’s name—her father’s name who had lost half of his hair due to his age. Yani was the woman’s name, her mother who had soft, soothing voice. And Rita, her younger sister who based on the photo she saw was admire and quite close to her. These were just the information she knew about these three, all based on what she saw from the photos and this first meeting. Other than that there was nothing. Only a cold, empty memory.

“Eh?” Alanka looked down and saw Yani hugging her gently.

“It’s alright. You already did your best,” said her.

“But I—”

“You don’t have to push or doing everything yourself. We still have plenty of time and we will use it as much as we can. Isn’t that right, papa?”

“Of course!” shouted Suripto. “Leave it to papa! If necessary, I’ll drop by the academy every morning to bring you mum’s lunch!”

“You don’t need to—”

“That right, pa!” This time it was Rita who spoke up. “If she really wants to try mummy’s cooks, let her come to the house herself!”

Alanka looked at them and slowly she could feel it, the warmth called compassion.