SEPTEMBER RAIN

And finally, the day came, the time Hira planned to say goodbye.

The rain suddenly fell down when Hira was about to leave after it had been overcast since morning. Hira postpones visiting the main house to meet Yulia and Billy.

She spent the afternoon upstairs, watching the raindrops falling to the floor and soaking the trees. Mount Malangbong is covered by clouds, the parrot looks cold, and Hira moves the cage a little inside.

Hira said goodbye to all the occupants of the 3rd floor, the trees, the favorite spots where she used to stand watching the sunrise and sunset, and the kittens who were sleeping rolled up. She pushed the cage deeper, so the rainwater no longer touched the cat's body. Winda's chicken kampung, which had just been brought from Garut, its feather was already wet by the splash of rainwater. Hira moved the cage under the hydroponic paralon.

That's how much she loves this house. This house is so Her. But she had to leave. So sad.

Hira remembers when little Icha, Winda, and Mrs. Yulia in the 3rd floor to see a cat that had just given birth to five. Yulia greet her, "Cool, washing early in the morning,"

"Yes, bu, later will be lazy," replied Hira while squeezing the clothes and hanging them on the clothesline.

Suddenly Winda cried again. She catfights with Icha, and as usual, Icha won.

"Stop, Winda. Don't cry anymore. Or your tears run out!!" Yulia snapped

For a moment, the kid was silent.

"Do tears run out mom?" Asked Winda funny

"Sure. Ibu's tears have also run out." Yulia emphasize.

"You don't have any tears?" Winda asked while looking into Mrs. Yulia's eyes.

Yulia shook her head thoughtfully.

Hira smiled at the funny scene. Whether it was something funny or what it felt like, Hira didn't know what to feel.

And this afternoon, her heart wept like the rain that cried for her departure.

Mrs. Yulia and Bibi escorted her to the back door. All of her belonging have been packed in the car. Billy was nowhere to be seen. The atmosphere was quiet and quiet as if there was no life—the rains of September witness to their sorrow.

***

'Kak Hira, kakak moved out because of Winda? I'm sorry, Winda likes to be noisy and disturbs you.' Viny chats upon Hira's arrival at a new place.

'Who said so? How come? Who brought the name of Winda?'

'Ibu and bibi. They said Winda was noisy. So kak Hira moved'

'No teteh. Wrong. Not like that.'

'Then who's at fault?

'There's nothing wrong with anybody. I just want to move. There is a new place closer to the office'.

'It must be because of Winda, kak'

'No. Fullstop,'

Why did you move so suddenly?

'I've wanted to move it for a long time. Not suddenly'.

'I'm sorry if Winda was wrong.' Vini insists on her guilty feeling.

'Eh. I told you there was nothing wrong.

'Yes, but Ibu and bibi blame Winda. They say she makes noise and cries all the time.

'If there's anything wrong, it's probably me'.

'How come Kak Hira was wrong?'

'I can be wrong about anything. Inside wrong, outside wrong. Below, above wrong, sitting, standing all wrong. Hahaha baper*

Viny didn't reply to his chat.

"Sorry, Teh, if I made a mistake while I was there," Hira wrote, ending the chat.

"Ya kak. I'm sorry too."

Oh, misunderstood again.

All family members were in the living room when she said goodbye, including Bibi. Icha was playing nearby, and Hira spontaneously commented, "De Icha is so calm, ya Bu. I have never heard her crying."

And it seems it translated in everybody's mind that Winda was noisy.

So complicated.

A name that became the real reason for her moving never came into words. All probably know the untold story buried deep inside everyone's hearts.

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How would I ever go on

Without you there's no place to belong

Well, someday love is gonna lead you back to me

But till it does I'll have an empty heart

So I'll just have to believe

Somewhere out there you're thinking of me

Till the day I let you go

Till we say our next hello

It's not goodbye

Till I see you again

*) It's not goodbye - Laura Pausini

*) Baper is a term for millennials that means being too sensitive or carried away by feelings in responding to an event.