Before we get into the reason behind this title post, I have 3 things to update here:
1. First vaccination: done!
Yes, I already received my first dose of COVID-19 vaccine (AstraZeneca) on 21 June 2021. I will receive the second dose on 13 September 2021. With the rising numbers of positive cases (again) recently, the vaccination programs gain even more attention from the public. Hopefully, everyone will get the vaccines soon!
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| I am never good with selfie so, please, pardon me, lol |
2. New family member: woof!
On 4 June 2021, on my Mom's birthday, a new family member arrived at our house! After a week or so considering everything, I finally adopted/purchased a Pembroke Welsh Corgi!
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| Isn't he the cutest? (until his sharp teeth meet your skin though, lol) |
His birth name is Gandalf but I decided to name it after one of my favorite names ever since I was in junior high school: Loki. He was born on 24 March 2021 so he's only 2 months when we welcomed him home. For your information, we never took care of a puppy before; usually, they're adults already when we started taking care of them.
The difference? This little boy is VERY active. He loves running around, playing stuff, biting toys (and our hands or feet, lol). We're trying to train him well. So far his potty training is going (kind of) well, he listens (kind of) well to sit and shake (right) hand. He can get along (sometimes) with our beloved 8-year-old Shihtzu, Luna.
On 8 June, he was sick with a fever. He barely did anything so we brought him to a vet. On the next day, he wasn't showing any better signs so we drove to Jakarta Pet Care Center in Pluit for another checkup and the vet diagnosed him with flu and cough but no virus (we did the test). We needed to give him medicine daily for the next 10 days but, after 2 days, he's showing healthy signs already! He's all good now as well!
Wish us luck to train him to do more tricks ;)
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| Hello from Loki |
3. Entertainments: what's new?
Netflix on the roll, of course! I have watched "Rurouni Kenshin: The Final" and currently celebrating the weekly new episode of "Hospital Playlist" Season 2. Also following "Loki" TV Series on Disney+.
Recently, instead of my Spotify K-Pop playlist, I often listen to YouTube for Japanese songs (anime, GRANRODEO, cover songs like kobasolo, Harutya, etc). This brings us to the main reason I'm writing this post.
As usual, I get inspiration to write something whenever I listen to songs that I like. I don't think I can commit myself to write a longer story so I'll be happy to put the words here for now.
I have 3 songs in mind which I have been listening to for the past few days so... I'll just pick one.
I'd recommend listening to the song while reading it.
Hopefully, it's a short story that you'll enjoy.
Inspired by
"Kimi no Namae"
by Fujikawa Chiai
The 1st ending theme of anime "The Rising of the Shield Hero"
"What am I looking at the empty sky?"
Another grey morning sky.
He heaved a sigh, resting his forehead on the window. For the next few seconds, he just stared at the sky blankly before finally straightening his body and turned around to face his messy working table.
He reached out the sealed white envelope that he had been trying to ignore since it arrived two days ago. Again, as if it would change anything, he read the sender's name silently.
"Why...," he whispered to no one, "...does it still hurt?"
"I don't even know the reason for waking upI am too afraid of believing thingsBecause I've thrown everything away"
After hesitating for another hour, he finally opened the envelope carefully. He did not find a handwritten letter like the one he received last month and two months ago. This time, the sender gave him a ticket to a small, private musical performance.
"Hope," he read the title printed on the ticket, frowning with confusion. "It's tonight..."
He checked the envelope again but found nothing that would explain anything about the ticket. Never once in his life, he attended a musical performance. The title was sounded so foreign for him and looking up for it on the internet did not help either. There was no reason for him to go to the unknown event.
Putting the ticket back inside the envelope, he shook his head and placed the white envelope back on the table. He walked to the door, ready to leave the room, and pretended that he saw nothing just now.
His hand was already on the doorknob when a thought crossed his mind.
Did he really have no reason to go?
"A world like this should just disappearMy heart is full of resentment, it's about to burstWhat can I believe in?"
"Welcome to Orion Theater," a young woman greeted him politely.
It's ten minutes before the showtime. Wearing his favorite black shirt, his mind was still wondering if it's a wise decision to come at all. He gulped, feeling nervous all of a sudden and starting to think that he should return.
"Are you here to watch 'Hope', Sir?" the young woman asked, keeping a professional smile on her face. "This is a private event so, don't worry, there will be no more than twenty people attending the show."
He was not really listening. His mind was visited by unwanted memories, causing him to sweat even though the air conditioners were working perfectly inside the building. Clenching his fists, he closed his eyes and took a step back.
He felt as if he just wanted to disappear now before even more memories came and hit him harder.
"Sir," the young woman spoke softly, "the show is going to start soon."
"The floating clouds keep piling up on that dayThey remind me that I've failed to keep your promiseAnd I endure it myself"
"Hey."
A familiar voice brought him back to the Earth. The person tapped his shoulder lightly, calming him somehow, "Are you alright?"
A familiar voice brought him back to the Earth. The person tapped his shoulder lightly, calming him somehow, "Are you alright?"
He looked up to the person as his eyes widened with disbelief, "Arvin?"
Arvin smiled at him before giving a small nod to the young woman who worked as the ticketing officer, showing her the ticket, "The show hasn't started yet, right?"
"It will start in five minutes, Sir," she responded, checking the ticket before returning it to Arvin. "Thank you, Sir. You can step in now."
"Where is your ticket?" Arvin turned his attention back to his friend. "Can't go in without a ticket, you know. Let's go. I don't want to miss the show."
He was so confused because Arvin sounded like he had been waiting for the musical performance. Not to mention that it looked like Arvin had expected to see him here.
Taking out his own ticket from the pocket, he finally handed it over to the officer who gave them the direction to go straight to the staircase and turned right to find the available best seats. Arvin thanked her and gave a sign to his friend to follow him.
"Enjoy the show, Sir."
"I doubt my life and deceive myselfMy tears have already completely dried upI keep repeating the bad things, drown in the dreamsAnd, just like that, I lose my way"
Arvin sat to his right, making himself comfortable on the seat. The lights were already dimmed so he could not really see the people around him when he walked in but he was sure he saw one or two persons that he had met before.
He clutched his shirt, having mixed feelings of confusion, sorrow, and anger. He wanted to ask Arvin about the invitation but, before he could even think of the words, a middle-aged man had caught his attention by standing on the stage in suits.
"Welcome to Orion Theater, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Hart, the owner of this beloved theater. Today is a very special day as 'Hope' will have its one and only musical performance here. I want to thank you all of the musical casts who have trained so hard for the past three months and...," the man stopped, scanning the audience as if he was looking for someone.
"I want to thank all of you who have made time to come here. Without further ado, Orion Theater presents to you...," Hart announced with a proud smile.
"Hope."
"But then...See, your voice saves me by keep calling and calling me"
'Hope' told a story of a man who loved to sing and dreamed about becoming a professional singer. He lived alone in an apartment, far from his family who lived overseas due to his father's job. The man usually recorded himself singing some cover songs and uploaded it on the internet without revealing his real identity.
One day, he was humming one of his favorite songs while working as a part-timer at a coffee shop. Apparently, a customer recognized his voice, telling him that she was a fan of his covers.
"Neo?" the actress who portrayed the girl called out the man's name cheerfully. Her face beamed with happiness when she finally met the voice that always accompanied her through music. "Hi, Neo!"
The two became friends quickly as both of them loved music despite the difference in their ways to show it.
While she loved to hear him singing, he really appreciated her songwriting skill. She let him listened to her creative works. They would call each other, talking about their daily routines and ideas to discuss.
They finally made a promise that she would write special songs for him and he would sing them.
"But now...That's right, your singing voice is just like the break of dawnThe gentle light that you gave me are filling my sad heart completely"
"Neo," she stopped playing the guitar, tilting her head cutely as she looked at the man who was sitting across from her. "Have I ever told you that your voice helped me through my darkest days?"
The man chuckled, "Yeah, you were rejected by your crush, failed your college exam, and got caught in the rain on your birthday. You're trying so hard not to cry but, when you accidentally heard one of my covers, you finally cried your heart out."
"You made it sound like it's a bad thing!" she hit his shoulder playfully. "Well, of course it is bad but... It's the first time that I feel that a voice can make me feel warm. Can you believe it? Someone that I didn't know at all. Yet your voice made me feel that I am not alone and it's okay for me to cry because I've done good enough."
"You always do," he ruffled her hair. "Cry but-"
"But show the world the even better you tomorrow, right?" she completed his sentence.
The two laughed.
"Although the true hope...The true hope that you give me is still smallBut it is keeping me on the right track"
Little did she know, Neo also felt that he was saved by her. He was not really sure what to do or which direction to go as he did not really have a close friend, not to mention he lived alone. He spent most of his time working part-time jobs or singing in his own room.
Meeting her actually changed his life somehow.
He became more friendly to his friends at college. He tried new things, from cooking to visiting new places. He made new memories, celebrating his life to the fullest.
One day he decided to reveal his true identity on the internet. He would do that when he published the original songs written by her.
The day never came.
"And the warm feelings that you gave me...That's right, in return, I will keep calling for your nameI'll hold your hands tightly, I'll never let go"
She was sick.
There were times she mentioned headaches but she believed that it's because she often stayed too late to write songs. She lost appetite and often dropped things, feeling not well to go to somewhere new with Neo to find new inspiration.
She did not tell Neo when she was diagnosed with a brain tumor.
She did not tell Neo when she was hospitalized because she was not able to do daily activities anymore without feeling like someone hit her head over and over again.
"Yeah, sorry, Mom still wants to stay here for a little while," she said to him on the phone, telling him that she needed to accompany her mother in another city. "Don't worry. Original songs are still in progress! I will send them to you as soon as possible. No. No e-mail. I will send it through the mail just because I want to!"
She did send it. She kept the promise.
She prepared three different envelopes to be sent out one for each month.
Unfortunately, she could not send it to Neo by herself anymore.
"No matter where you are, no matter how many timesI'll keep calling for your name again and againUntil my voice is lost"
Neo received the first letter from her and, as he read the letter, the female cast performed the voice-over for the audience of the performance to be able to know what's written in the letter which came along with the pieces written by her and a demo track in a CD.
"I'm sorry for hiding this from you. I'm sorry that I am not able to stay by your side when you're singing anymore. These are the songs that I've written for you. I poured my heart into these pieces as the lyrics remind me of you, especially the one titled 'Hope' so... I hope you will always remember me the way we met for the first time.Remember, Neo, your voice saved me. It's your singing that I listened to when I was fighting the war inside my head.Who knows that somewhere, someone might be saved when you're singing these songs that I have written for you, right?"
Neo never sang it. He was heartbroken. He felt useless. Instead of what she asked him to do, Neo stopped singing. He stopped uploading anything. He was drowned in sorrow, blaming himself since he felt that he should notice something was up when she left the city for a long time.
She knew him very well.
The second letter arrived the next month. It's shorter than the first letter.
"You haven't sung them, have you? I knew it.Don't blame yourself. It's me who didn't tell you.Sing the songs, okay? For me."
Both of the letters were kept by Neo but he never tried to listen to the demo track nor singing the lyrics.
The third letter arrived.
"Neo. Thank you for coming here," the voice-over echoed in the theater.You see, Arvin, your best friend, helped me to prepare all of these. Well, to be exact, I only wrote it but never sent it to him so, no, he did not know about my condition. I have feelings that my letters would not reach your heart. I hope this one will work for you.Remember what you told me? It's okay to cry as long as you show the world the better you tomorrow.I'm thankful that you cry for me, Neo, but I would appreciate it even more if you remember me when you're singing my song.When you're singing, it's like you're calling out my name, you know?So, Neo, I really wish you can sing again like you always do.Like how I love you."
"Before the break of dawn, I look at the rainbowIn a world where no lie exists, I want to love you more and more"
The performance had ended.
Some of the audiences, including Arvin, clapped to appreciate the performance. Hart returned to the stage, thanking the cast and audiences once again before announcing the last message, "This performance would never happen without the help of Arvin who was contacted by her parents after they found her letters, along with the three letters she had prepared for Neo."
"And of course...," Hart looked at the person who sat next to Arvin with a gentle gaze, "...as the third letter mentioned, thank you for coming here, Neo. You might only receive a ticket two days ago but a third letter did exist. I'd like to give it directly to you if you could meet me backstage after this."
Arvin looked at his friend who had not stopped crying since the first letter was read. He could not stop crying even when Hart was speaking to him.
"We'd wait for you to sing the new song, 'Hope', and release it as you two have promised," Hart bowed to him and finally closed the show by announcing the special gratitude.
"All of the songs performed in this show are written by our one and only, who also wrote all the letters by herself..."
"Melody."
"No matter what the future holdsAs long as I'm with you, I won't run away"
- end
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