×Dispersed×
"Cheers!"
Staylie, who had gotten off work at 5 PM earlier, chose to hang out with her old college friends from Surabaya—where she completed her bachelor's degree. Well... eventually completed. It took her six years to graduate, mainly because she always got stuck at Chapter 3 of her thesis.
Why?
Well... because Staylie was always too busy thinking about love.
The result? A never-ending thesis and failed relationships. The last time she had a boyfriend was when she was 25. For the past two years, Staylie had been living her best solo life—more me time, no distractions, and definitely single.
"Sty, looks like we missed out on something big from you," said Airlangga, her friend from a different faculty.
He furrowed his brows as if something had just occurred to him, then turned to look at her directly.
"Missed what exactly?" Staylie responded with a question of her own.
"You know..." Kavian chimed in next. "The news about you that’s been making rounds all over Jakarta."
He was obviously hinting, hoping Staylie herself would spill the tea.
Staylie squinted, trying to dig through her memory to figure out what they were on about.
A beat later—her eyes popped open in realization.
“Crap!”
"You mean the whole thing where I slipped and fell at my dad’s birthday party? And then got soaked in red wine?” she said aloud.
Clarissa, sitting right beside her, shook her head slowly. “She confessed herself.”
“Classic Staylie...” Halda, another female friend, added dramatically.
Airlangga and Kavian both nodded in agreement with her earlier statement.
“If you guys are that curious, just check the internet. Everything’s there. End of story,” Staylie said, unwilling to revisit the painfully embarrassing memory again. She was just too tired of being reminded of the dumb thing she did—and the shame that came with it.
Drrt...
Suddenly, all four of her friends held up their phones right in front of her face in perfect sync.
“Huh?”
Yup. Airlangga, Kavian, Clarissa, and Halda had pulled up the exact footage of Staylie slipping and falling at her dad’s birthday party, right at the moment she screamed with her mouth wide open—right into the media cameras.
Blink. Blink.
Staylie stared blankly, blinking twice, speechless.
Feeling cornered, she quickly downed her iced coffee and bolted—no goodbyes, no explanation, just gone.
Tap tap tap tap...
Whooosh...
“Eh, Staylie! Where are you going?”
“Sty!!”
---
Thud!
Staylie collapsed face-first onto her bed, which had been perfectly made until she came crashing down and started rolling around in frustration.
“Aaaaghh, my whole body hurts...” she groaned, speaking her inner truth.
She sat up slightly from her sprawled-out position.
“Maybe I should get a massage... I’ll ask Mbo Ajeng if she knows any local masseuses.”
It was a brilliant idea. Better to fix her sore body tonight than suffer through work tomorrow in agony.
She had just seen Mbo Ajeng in the kitchen earlier, so she immediately made her way there to ask.
---
"Uuugh!"
Fresh from a traditional massage arranged by Mbo Ajeng, and after drinking some jamu—a traditional herbal drink prepared by the masseuse to restore her stamina—Staylie groaned.
Now ready for bed, she changed into her pink pajamas, decorated with the cartoon character Ice Bear from We Bare Bears.
Click.
Her bedtime routine always included snapping a mirror selfie to post on WhatsApp status—or more often, Instagram.
After the little photoshoot, she strolled over to her bed...
Thump!
Snore... Snore...
The second she laid down and closed her eyes, she was out. It took her less than a minute.
That was just how Staylie was—she could fall asleep anywhere, anytime.
When she was little, if her parents weren’t watching her closely, she could’ve been kidnapped while napping in some random corner. That’s why she always looked for a safe spot the moment sleepiness struck.
---
“Oh, my queen... would you grant me this dance?”
“With pleasure, my king.”
Staylie smiled graciously, taking the king’s outstretched hand.
She was dreaming—and in her dream, she was a royal queen in a majestic western-style palace.
Towering pillars, soft jazz echoing through the grand ballroom, a pristine white interior—it was like a scene from a fairytale. Staylie had never imagined living a night as a royal queen.
“Yes, my queen?” the king replied gently.
They were dancing across the ballroom, swaying left and right, twirling again and again. His hand was raised; hers followed. She smiled warmly, flowing with the music.
“Your hands are so soft,” she complimented, gazing at his face that resembled the prince from Beauty and the Beast.
“Of course. I use the finest hand cream prepared by the royal apothecary, my queen.”
“Oohh... I see...” she nodded in delight, continuing their dance.
One melody after another played across the ballroom, but Staylie remained bright and playful in her dream.
She and the king even ran around like kids, playfully chasing each other and hiding behind the massive marble pillars.
Soon, they found themselves on the palace rooftop under a sky full of twinkling stars.
Suddenly—a shooting star passed by.
“Let’s make a wish together, my queen,” the king said, already clasping his hands in front of him.
“Okay,” she responded cheerfully, joining him. She intertwined her fingers, closed her eyes, and whispered her wish:
“I hope someday, I meet a man who truly loves me and accepts me just the way I am. I just want to be the most beautiful chapter in his life so I can finally forget the painful past. I promise, God... I won’t waste the chance if You give him to me.”
A single tear fell from her eye as she silently prayed.
“My queen, are you crying?” the king asked, touched by her expression.
Staylie slowly opened her eyes and gave him a soft, wistful smile.
“Where would you like to go next?” he offered.
Staylie shook her head gently. “I don’t want to go anywhere. I just want to stay here with you.”
“In that case...” the king leaned in a little.
“May I kiss you?”
“Wha?” she blinked in surprise.
“I didn’t mishear that, did I?” she asked, maintaining eye contact.
“No, you heard me right, my queen,” he replied, now fully facing her. “I want to kiss you.”
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Staylie could feel her heart pounding. She swallowed hard.
“You mean... like... on the lips?”
The king let out a small chuckle and patted her shoulders playfully.
“Well, yeah. What else kind of kiss is there?”
Staylie’s cheeks turned a bright shade of red.
“Okay,” she finally agreed. “But only if...”
The king raised an eyebrow, waiting for the rest.
“You pay me. Nothing in this world is free, Your Majesty.” She squinted teasingly, enjoying the game.
The king burst into laughter.
He slowly leaned forward... Staylie closed her eyes...
Their lips were just about to meet when—
CRACK! BOOM!
Thunder suddenly roared.
Staylie bolted awake from her sleep in pure shock—her lips still puckered in a kiss.
THUD!
She rolled off the bed and hit the floor hard.
“Ow!!”
Her elbow and knee stung from the impact on her bedroom tiles.
Meanwhile, her phone began to ring loudly. The ringtone was Sam Smith – How Do You Sleep?—a song she’d set as her default ringtone ages ago.
“Ugh, shut up already...” she muttered at her blaring phone.
Quickly grabbing it off her nightstand, she glanced at the screen to see who was calling her at such a godforsaken hour.
Sigh...
She took a deep breath.
Tap.
She answered the call and placed the phone to her ear as she sat at the edge of her bed.
“Hello... Why are you calling so late, hmm?”
The moment she heard the voice on the other end, her eyes widened, and she practically jumped upright in surprise.