Why Am I The Only One?

Rafi had one sworn enemy in this entire universe, and it wasn't a person, a thing, or even something conceptual. No, the bane of Rafi's existence was much simpler: it was his alarm clock. Every single morning, the hideous beeping sound of that little device would jolt him from his dreams, and every single morning, he would fantasize about launching it across the room with all the strength of the Hulk. But of course, Rafi wasn't the Hulk, and the clock had been bought with his savings. As much as he loathed it, he wasn't about to throw his hard-earned money into the trash just to satisfy a fleeting moment of rage.

So, the routine continued. Each day, as the alarm rang, Rafi would find himself in the midst of an internal battle—a wrestling match with his own sleep. His brain begged for more rest, his body clung to the comfort of his bed, and yet the shrill alarm relentlessly demanded that he wake up. After what felt like a never-ending back-and-forth struggle, Rafi would finally open his eyes, check the time, and today, as always, his temper flared.

It was four in the morning.

"Are you serious?" he groaned, glaring at the clock. The traitorous little device had tricked him again, waking him two hours earlier than necessary. His frustration boiled over, and for a fleeting moment, he considered hurling it into the wall. But then he sighed, knowing better. **It was his fault** for setting the alarm wrong, not the clock's. Still, the frustration didn't fade. Rafi tried to go back to sleep, but it was useless. Once he was awake, his brain cells refused to let him drift off again. They screamed at him that the day had begun, and his body responded by fully waking up.

"This is ridiculous," he muttered to himself, throwing off the covers. His room was dimly lit, with just the faintest hint of light from the pre-dawn sky filtering through his curtains. He dragged himself out of bed, feeling thirsty from the early wake-up call. He stumbled into the kitchen, grabbing a glass and gulping down two full servings of water.

As he leaned against the counter, he wondered what he should do with the time. It was far too early to start his day, yet his mind wouldn't allow him to rest. He glanced at his wardrobe, hoping for some inspiration. The only thing that caught his eye was a plain yellow T-shirt. It reminded him of **Himu**, a character from a book who wore a yellow *Panjabi* and wandered barefoot at night.

Rafi smiled to himself. "Why not?" he thought. **A walk would clear his head.** Sure, he didn't have a yellow *panjabi*, but a T-shirt would do. Besides, a nighttime stroll sounded peaceful. The city was always so noisy during the day, and he liked the idea of wandering around in the quiet, especially since the streets would be empty.

He lived on the second floor of his apartment building. As he made his way down the stairs, he noticed the security guard was asleep, his head slumped against the wall. The door wasn't even locked. Rafi briefly considered taking a picture of the sleeping guard to report him to management, but he let the thought go. What did it matter?

 At the end of the day, he just wanted to be left alone, and reporting the guard would only create more noise in his life.

He quietly slipped out of the building, the door creaking as it closed behind him. The early morning air was cool and crisp, a refreshing change from the usual city heat. Rafi found himself wondering if four in the morning really counted as night. The sky was a beautiful shade of deep blue, not fully dark but not quite light yet, and it gave the city an eerie stillness.

As he walked through the empty streets, he looked up at the sky. It was clearer than he had seen in a long time. Living in the city meant constant light pollution, but at this hour, when the streetlights were dimming and the buildings around him were mostly dark, he could actually see the stars. Rafi found himself in awe. There was something beautiful about the early morning sky, something calming in the way the stars twinkled down at him. It made him feel small in a good way, like all his problems were insignificant in the grand scheme of things.

He was so lost in thought, staring up at the stars, that he didn't notice the uneven pavement in front of him. His foot hit a stone, and he stumbled, wincing as pain shot through his leg. "Ow," he muttered under his breath, rubbing his shin. He glanced around, hoping no one had seen his clumsy moment, but the street was as deserted as ever.

Rafi kept walking, limping slightly from the pain in his leg. Soon, he reached the local park, a peaceful spot with a large lake at its center. The water was still, reflecting the stars and the faint glow of the horizon. For a moment, Rafi felt like he was completely alone in the world, just him and the quiet beauty of nature.

But then he realized he wasn't alone.

Across the lake, about a hundred meters away, stood another person. Rafi squinted, trying to get a better look. The figure was tall, probably around his age, but there was something off about him. His posture was stiff, unnaturally still, and though he was too far away for Rafi to see his face, he could feel the intensity of the stranger's gaze.

Rafi's heart began to race. There was something unsettling about this person. He wasn't sure why, but an overwhelming sense of fear gripped him. The stranger hadn't moved, hadn't said anything, but Rafi felt as though he was being watched—no, more than watched, **studied**.He started walking again, this time faster. His mind raced as he tried to make sense of his fear. Was it the stranger's deathly stillness? The way he stood, like a statue, too perfectly posed to be natural? Or was it just the unsettling feeling of being out so early in the morning, when the world was still in that in-between space between night and day?

Whatever it was, Rafi couldn't shake the feeling of dread. He glanced over his shoulder, but the figure remained where he was, still watching. **Or at least Rafi thought he was watching.**Rafi quickened his pace, his heart pounding in his chest as he walked through the empty streets, the sun beginning to rise in the distance. By the time he reached his apartment building again, he was sweating, despite the cool morning air.

The newspaper had been delivered, lying neatly by the front door. He picked it up and flipped through the pages absentmindedly, hoping to distract himself from the strange encounter at the park.

One headline caught his eye:

**"Bride Robs and Murders Lover While Fleeing from Her Own Wedding."**

Rafi stopped in his tracks, his eyes scanning the article in shock. The story was brutal—a woman had fled her wedding, robbing and killing the man she supposedly loved in the process. It was the kind of thing that made Rafi question everything. Could someone really be that selfish, to kill the person who loved them just to escape?

Rafi couldn't help but think of Hanifa, the girl he had loved for so long. He had always imagined that if he had the choice between ten million dollars and her, he'd choose her every time. **Because he loved her.**

He let the paper fall to his side, shaking his head in disbelief. It seemed unimaginable to him that love could end in such a way. But then again, what did he really know about love? Later that evening, Rafi found himself at his high school's final party. The finals were over, and this was the last time he and his classmates would all be together. But Rafi wasn't in a celebratory mood. He had always been a bit of a loner, and in seven years of high school, he had made exactly one friend: Navilla.

It wasn't that he disliked people. He just wasn't good at making friends. For the first five years of school, he had gone without any close connections. Navilla had been a surprise. She was bright, bubbly, and completely unlike him. They shouldn't have gotten along, but somehow, they did. She had a way of dragging him out of his shell, whether he liked it or not.

Rafi wandered around the party, looking for her. He had been searching for over thirty minutes, with no luck.

"YO, AHO!"

Rafi smiled instantly. **Aho** was a Japanese word for "idiot," and Navilla was the only one who ever called him that. He turned, spotting her waving at him from across the room.

"There you are," he said as he walked over to her. He had been oddly desperate to find her, though he couldn't explain why.

"Happy Birthday, Navilla," he said, smiling awkwardly.

"I wasn't expecting someone like you to remember," she teased, her eyes sparkling. "Where's my gift?"

Rafi shrugged. "I didn't buy one. I figured I'd ask you what you wanted and give you that instead."

Navilla grinned mischievously. "Anything?"

"If it's within my power, yeah."

"Will you stand naked in front of everyone and shout 'Navilla, you are the greatest!'?" she asked, her eyes twinkling with mischief.

Rafi's face flushed red. "Absolutely not."

"Fine," she said, her tone playful. "Then I want your phone"

"What is it?" Rafi asked, confused.

"Give me your phone for five minutes."

"My phone? Why?" Rafi couldn't help but feel suspicious. Navilla had a history of doing unpredictable things.

"Yeah, that's my gift. Don't you wanna give me that much?" she said, flashing him a mischievous smile. The kind that usually meant trouble.

Rafi hesitated for a moment, considering the possible outcomes. What could she possibly do with his phone? Navilla was his best friend, but sometimes she took things too far. Still, he trusted her. Reluctantly, he handed her the phone.

"Alright, but be quick," he said, narrowing his eyes slightly as he handed over the device.

As soon as she had the phone in her hand, Navilla began typing furiously, her fingers flying over the screen like they had a mind of their own. Rafi's curiosity was piqued, and he tried to lean over to catch a glimpse of what she was doing. But she shielded the phone with her body, pulling it close to her chest and giving him a playful scowl.

"No peeking!" she snapped. "It'll ruin the surprise."

Rafi raised an eyebrow. "Surprise? What kind of surprise are we talking about here?"

"You'll see," she replied, her grin widening.

He watched as she continued typing for what felt like an eternity. He could feel the unease building inside him, but he reminded himself that this was Navilla—his best friend, the person who had been by his side through thick and thin. She wouldn't do anything to seriously mess with him, right?

Finally, after nearly five minutes, Navilla handed his phone back to him with a look of satisfaction plastered across her face.

"There. Done."

Rafi took the phone from her cautiously, his hands tightening around it as if it were suddenly fragile. He looked at her, his confusion growing. "What did you do exactly?"

Navilla put on an innocent expression. "Me? Wasn't it you who typed those messages in WhatsApp?"

"Me?" Rafi repeated, his voice rising in disbelief. He quickly unlocked his phone and opened WhatsApp, his heart pounding. He wasn't ready for what he saw. His eyes scanned the message, and he could feel his stomach drop as the words sunk in.

"Hanifa, it's been seven years. I haven't talked to you that much in the last seven years. All I want to say is that I never brought myself to say it before. I was a coward, scared of rejection. But since it's the last day of our school, I want to tell you something. I want to tell you what I couldn't bring myself to say from the first day I saw you. Hanifa, I love you. I don't know how much, but I do. Sometimes, I feel like it's more than anything else in the universe. I love you, Hanifa."

Rafi blinked at the message in complete shock. Navilla had pretended to be him and confessed his love to Hanifa. And just his stupid luck, Hanifa had seen those messages right away. The little "typing" dots were already appearing, signaling that she was responding.

Rafi felt like he was going to throw up. This was too much, too fast. He wasn't prepared for any of this, least of all for Hanifa to be reading this right now. His entire body tensed up, and his hands trembled as he held his phone, staring at the screen in horror.

"What did you do?" Rafi asked in a low, shaky voice, his eyes darting between the phone and Navilla.

Navilla stood beside him, looking almost too pleased with herself. She started speaking, her tone nonchalant as if she hadn't just turned his life upside down.

"This is the last day of our school, don't blame me for anything! I know that if I hadn't done it today, you would never have told her how much you love her. And I'm your best friend, right? Helping you is my top priority."

Rafi could feel the anger rising in him, burning through the initial shock. His heart was racing, and his pulse pounded in his ears. He couldn't believe what she had done. "Navilla... You confessed to her... in my name, on my sight, that's okay?"

"Huh? That's okay?" Navilla repeated, raising her eyebrows.

"But why the fuck didn't you tell me any of this? I could have told you so many things about her, things you should've known before you sent a message like that."

Navilla frowned, clearly not understanding why he was so upset. "What are you talking about? I was just trying to help."

"In your message," Rafi said through gritted teeth, "you said I loved her for seven years."

"Yes, I did. Isn't that way too romantic? Imagine, a thirteen-year-old kid being in love for seven whole years! That's practically a fairytale."

Rafi clenched his fists, trying to control his frustration. "Navilla, can I tell you something?"

"Yeah, sure," she said, still not realizing the gravity of the situation.

"Hanifa's only been at our school for four years. Four years, not seven."

There was a sudden, deafening silence between them. Navilla's face went pale as the realization hit her like a brick. A pin-drop silence filled the air as neither of them spoke for what felt like an eternity. Navilla had completely misjudged the situation, and now there was no way to undo it.

And then, just as if fate wanted to pour salt into the wound, Rafi's phone buzzed in his hand.

It was a message from Hanifa.

"I have a boyfriend. You're a week too late. I did have a crush on you for a long time, but you never showed any intention of proposing to me. So, I moved on a week ago. And just so you know, I've been at this school for not more than four years, not seven. If you don't even know that, you disgust me."

Rafi stood there, staring at the screen, his entire world crashing down around him. He didn't know what to do, what to say. He felt like his legs were about to give out from under him. Everything had gone wrong in a matter of minutes. Navilla stood beside him, frozen in place. Neither of them was brave enough to speak. Neither of them could fix what had just happened.