Vienna, Austria [1]

I stand and stare at the yellow house with an orange roof, double-checked the address on the phone to make sure I arrived at the right address.

Yapz!

Sieveringer strabe, district 19, dobling 1190, Vienna, Austria. The house was built in the biedermeier architectural style. It looked classic and more like a villa. it seemed quite simple from the outside, with a small front door, a small balcony above the door, consisting of 2 floors, with glass windows that are not so big, and a small room that has a window. on the roof.

In front of the house there is a green garden, and quite a large tree, as well as a place to relax complete with small table chairs in front, separated by green space. There were hiking routes up to the hills around the vineyards.

I gently pushed the iron fence that wasn't too high and entered through the garden, opened the door and greeted me with a smile at the front of the house. "Welcome to Vienna, Jade. I really appreciate you taking the time to come."

"Please think of this as your home too because mother considers you like a child herself." Nathan replied as he walked leading me into the house. Nathan grabbed me and whispered before I reached the door of the house. "I'm sorry, but it looks like drama is about to start. I hope you won't get upset if I'll treat you a little affectionately."

I just nodded slowly.

The space inside the house looked simple, with wooden ornaments dominating the room, reminding me of the Dutch houses that are often found in the city of Yogyakarta, with his mother sitting in a wheelchair smiling. I saw a nurse standing next to her, looking at them both in thought.

I hugged his mother and kissed her cheeks. The mother's body looks thin, with black hollows around the cheeks. She wore a scarf that hid her hair loss due to the chemotherapy. My heart trembled hugging her. I jumped as I felt her thin and fragile body, I hugged her very carefully, I was afraid my hug could hurt her. Her eyes looked teary, but I was able to also see happiness there.

"Why is she here, Nathan? Shouldn't she be at the hospital?" I asked, glancing at Nathan.

"Tomorrow she will move to the palliative care center in Vienna, for late stage cancer patients such as her are not recommended to be treated in the hospital ward, it will only cause them stress."

"She will start palliative care in order to improve the quality of her life and also her comfort, there are also nurses and private doctors who intensively focus on treating patients and for sure my presence will be very much needed," he said again.

Nathan took out a ring box from his pocket...

"I want you to wear this ring, as a sign that we are officially engaged," said Nathan while placing the diamond-edged ring on my ring finger. I could only surrender to watch Nathan put the ring on my ring finger, I could see how happy Mom was to see that. Nathan then hugged me and kissed me on the cheek afterward.

In the afternoon after making sure that his mother was resting, we took the time to take a walk not far from the house, along the expanse of the vineyard in the afternoon. "I don't know what else to say to you, you are doing a very meaningful thing for my family," said Nathan.

"Don't overdo it Nathan, consider me doing this all for myself, I am an orphan, I love your mother, I see her as seeing my own mother. There is my own happiness when I do it."

The 19th district of Vienna, Austria has plenty of cafes, restaurants and log huts between vineyards and picturesque hills that can be used for hiking and sports, while feasting on the natural greenery, and fresh, healthy air, Nathan and I enjoyed delicious white bread and wine at a nearby cottage restaurant.

"What about this, Nathan?" I said, showing the ring on my ring finger. "You can have it Jade. You can take it off in front of Valter. Consider Vienna your home Jade, whenever you are tired, come back here. My mother and I will always be waiting for you. The house is the house of my grandparents, my father's mother, and your house too." said Nathan with a serious expression.

I was touched to hear Nathan's words, I wanted to hug him, but I couldn't do it, there were so many people around us gathered and chatting while enjoying the atmosphere. I miss my family, the brother I've craved since I was little, the mother I miss, the smell of the old house where we gathered and chatted, the peaceful rural atmosphere and the soothing air. I was dissolved by the atmosphere and Nathan's touching words, without realizing that my eyes filled with tears.

"Jade, what's wrong with you? Why are you crying?" Nathan said as he wiped the water droplets on my cheek. "I'm fine Nathan." I said firmly to convince Nathan.

I'm the one who should be grateful, not you, I thought to myself.

It's been 7 days since I left for Vienna, Austria, I was forced to postpone my plans to Frankfurt. I don't have time to go around enjoying the city of Vienna, let alone go to visit tourist attractions, most of my time is spent in the care center, taking his mother to walk around the park, telling stories about my life and telling stories about Indonesia, occasionally returning home to rest and change clothes.

"I'm jealous of your closeness," said Nathan, who was already standing not far from us.

We smiled seeing Nathan's arrival, Nathan walked over to me and kissed my cheek. It was Nathan's habit to show intimacy in front of his mother. And his mother would always put our hands together, if we were close to her.

Apart from the play that we created Nathan was a good older brother, he treated me with courtesy and care. "I have to go back to Munich tomorrow, Nathan," I said, glancing at him. We are on our way back home, after a long day accompanying his mother at the care center. Nathan seemed busy driving. "Mia is getting married, I become a Bridesmaid for her, I have to be at least 3 days before going to Frankfurt and also help her prepare in Munich." I explained again.

"I understand, I'll book you a flight tomorrow," Nathan said again.

The atmosphere was quiet, there was a bad feeling when I had to go home and leave my mother. I looked out the car window. The streets are deserted, and the shop windows look pitch black, Vienna is indeed a city that is not that crowded, like cities in Germany, Sundays are silent days for them, shops will be closed and people rarely see people doing activities outside the home .

The city has beautiful architecture in every corner, the atmosphere is not so crowded, with clean and orderly streets, wide sidewalks for pedestrians and lanes for cyclists which means this city was not designed for cars. The traffic is neat and there are no jams. Vienna also provides public transportation, such as trams, buses, a subway and high-speed trains. Everything is neatly arranged, it's no wonder Vienna is included in one of the cities with the best transportation system in the world.

Nathan looked at me sadly, as if he didn't want to let me go back to Munich.

"I'll come back often," I said.

"Take care of yourself." He said meaningfully.

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