Rajata looked back, following Kalyana’s eyes. Rajata’s gaze met the torso wearing a suit.
A burly hand squeezed Rajata’s shoulder. “Hi,” said the owner of the hand.
Rajata looks on. Armand seemed to be smiling. “Hi,” replied Rajata, smiling awkwardly.
“Discussing plans for an art exhibition?” asked Armand.
“Art exhibition? No, I think.”
Armand’s smile slowly faded. “As expected,” he said.
“Armand …,” argued Kalyana.
“So what are you for Kalyana?” asked Armand to Rajata, ignoring Kalyana’s words, “her boyfriend?”
“I’m not!” Rajata stammered, “we are just friends!”
Armand grabbed Rajata by the collar and pulled him until Rajata stood up. “A friend who can make Kalyana stop talking to me, huh?” he snapped.
“Armand!” Kalyana snapped, standing up as well.
Armand’s hands were clenched into fists, ready to punch Rajata.
Rajata could see Armand’s fist sliding closer. He raised his hand trying to protect his
Rajata woke up quite late that weekend. Still half asleep, his eyes stumbled to the magazine on the study table. For fun, he took the book and then lay back on the bed and read the main article.The main discussion for the month was on ongoing research at CERN.‘Counsel Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire, CERN, a multinational organization in Geneva, Switzerland engaged in nuclear-physics. CERN has a device called the Large Hadron Collider, LHC, which is useful for crashing atomic particles at very high speeds. Every time two objects collide, whether a car or an electron, various materials will appear, and the materials produced by the LHC are useful in various nuclear research.’Rajata smiled wryly as he read about "Switzerland" and "physics", remembering Kalyana.‘One of the research projects carried out by CERN is about the Big Bang Theory, a theory that attempts to explain the origin of the universe. In trying to test the Big Bang theory, the LHC has pr
In the afternoon, Kalyana's phone rang. A call from Harso. Kalyana, who was spending time watching television, immediately picked it up."Hello? What’s the news, Har?" asked Kalyana."There is good news and bad news," replied Harso."The good news first, please," said Kalyana.“I've had discussions with my superiors, and after studying the story you told earlier, they allowed me to invite you as the subject of the experiment. We will help with a letter of recommendation for the Switzerland embassy in Jakarta to speed up processing your visa.""Wow!" Kalyana exclaimed stifled. "Then what's the bad news?""Since life events before death are not acceptable to the world of science, CERN does not authorize your travel and accommodation expenses," Harso replied in a weak voice. "I’m sorry, Na.""Woah!" Kalyana again exclaimed. "So what do you think I should do?""I, I hope you can come here, Na," replied Harso. "Although it cannot be proven
Harso seemed to return to the afternoon in Ouchy, the port of Lausanne. The girl, the same girl who was sitting on her back in a chair in a cafe on the edge of Lac Leman in Geneva, sat next to him, engrossed in writing. Unlike the scene in Geneva, this time there was no interference. The computer smoothly replays the events at Ouchy that afternoon.“I fall in love with you, Na,” said Harso's figure suddenly. His eyes were on the port of Ouchy.The girl stopped writing, her hands playing with her beloved black pen. “What? What do you mean, Har?” she asked, glaring at Harso.“I'm in love with you,” repeated the man, this time smiling at Kalyana.Kalyana was speechless. “Since when?” she muttered softly a moment later.Harso took a deep breath before answering. “Since I first saw you in Geneva.”Kalyana snorted. “‘Love at first sight’, you mean?” she said.
Rajata sat on the edge of the bed looking at the passport. An empty suitcase laid open on the floor. It has been a month since Kalyana invited him on an adventure to Switzerland, and finally, like a dream, the country's visa was attached to the passport book. In all his life, he had never even imagined going on a trip to Switzerland.The phone rings. Hurriedly he took the device. From Kalyana.“Hello? What's up, Na?” Rajata receives a call.“What are you doing?” Kalyana replied quickly.“I’m admiring the Schengen visa,” replied Rajata with a big smile.Kalyana burst into laughter. “Uh, you bumpkin!” she said jokingly.“Let me!” said Rajata. “I've never seen a visa sticker from any country, you know!”Kalyana continued laughing.“Have you finished packing the suitcase yourself?” replied Rajata.“I have!” Kalyana replied.
Rajata was stunned when he caught a glimpse of the stamp-ridden pages of Kalyana's passport. They had just passed the ticket and passport checking counter in the departure hall at Juanda airport. "Traveling often, huh?" he said.Kalyana chuckled lightly. "I used to, before Papa retired," he replied.The two of them shuffled slowly down the aisle of the plane, patiently waiting for the other passengers to put their suitcases, until they finally arrived at their seat numbers."You're lucky, Na, you've seen the world," commented Rajata while buckling up his seat belt.Kalyana snorted with a smile. "Lucky?" she said, "sometimes I envy you.”"Envy? About what?""I moved around too often, so I didn't have a place that I could call a hometown," muttered Kalyana, "there were times when I felt like I wanted to go home, but I didn't know where to go." Her eyes were on the aviobridge that was moving away from the plane.
Rajata chuckled, paused for a moment, then sighed. “Yes, I broke my heart with a friend from when I was in middle school,” he replied later.Kalyana changed her sitting position, leaning against the wall of the plane facing her friend. “How, how?”“What how?” said Rajata with a wide grin. “Nothing much to talk about. I was heartbroken because I didn’t dare to tell her my feeling towards her.”“Woah, why?” Kalyana chased.“Actually I almost ‘shot’ her, though,” muttered Rajata. “it was when our class visited Yogyakarta, and that night we ate at the Lesehan stall. The same stall where we met the other day.”“Wow, so that’s your nostalgic stall, huh?” Kalyana replied.Rajata just smiled with a shrug.“Then, why didn’t you ‘shoot’ her?”“Because she and I were of different ethni
The cold air immediately hit Rajata and Kalyana from the moment they set foot on the jet bridge. As soon as they got their baggage back after the immigration counter, they immediately took out their jackets. Kalyana then led the steps towards the train station below the terminal area. A few minutes later, a series of large two-story carriages with predominantly white and blue colors arrived on their platform.“Come on, let’s just sit on top!” asked Kalyana as they entered the carriage. “More comfortable, less crowded.”Rajata followed Kalyana to put the suitcase in the trunk at the end of the carriage, then went upstairs.The train leaves a few minutes later.“Wow, the train is really quiet!” exclaimed Rajata.“Yeah,” Kalyana replied, smiling, seeing her friend’s behavior.Leaving Zurich, a typical Switzerland scenery was displayed on the window. Rajata was busy taking pictures, som
A cool looking man was standing outside the door, wearing a dark blue sweater, black cloth pants, and sneakers. A bag slung over his shoulder. In no way he fit the classical image of a scientist.“Hi, Na, welcome in Switzerland,” he greeted with smile“Harso!” Kalyana exclaimed with a beaming face. “How are you?”Harso held out both hands.Kalyana reflexively hugged her old friend. Her body looked tiny in Harso's arms. After a moment, she broke free. Her face was flushed red. “Come, get inside!” she invited. “Oh, this is Rajata!”“Hi,” said Harso, holding out his hand. A big smile spread across his face.“Hi,” Rajata said, welcoming Harso's handshake.Harso then entered, then the three of them sat in the living room. Harso put the bag on the floor.“Mas Harso,” Rajata said as soon as they sat down.“Just call me Harso!&r