There was no change in Aulia's response. Victor became reluctant to approach her again. However, he also still wanted to pay attention to the girl. After watching her repeatedly, he realized that Aulia's face was cute when she was asleep too. He was also still worried if Aulia would actually fall asleep and fall from that height. Secretly he climbed onto another tree which was not far from Aulia's usual hiding place.
A girl was leaning against a tree trunk and had a backpack on her lap. Either the bag contains today's textbooks, food, or there is nothing in it. Victor was surprised by Aulia's luggage. Does she also take lessons at school? Victor became curious about Aulia's daily life apart from the tree. Does she live with her parents? Where is her house? Victor's thoughts also wandered all over the place as he watched the sweet charm of Aulia's face while sleeping.
Suddenly Aulia opened her eyes. Victor immediately hid behind a tree trunk and peeked out a little from behind it. Aulia was listening to music while enjoying a sandwich and enjoying the cool air. It appeared that Aulia did not realize that she was being watched from afar. Victor's lips curved sweetly and he hurried down from the tree.
Actually, when he was walking here, he realized from the beginning that he was being followed by two people. He scrambled to climb a nearby tree to hide and wait for the two of them to leave. When he had just reached the lowest branch of the tree, he looked around to make sure that the two people were no longer there. It feels very uncomfortable for those who want to find out about his lives. He also realized that Emma really liked seeking his attention but he didn't want to give her the slightest hope. There is no feeling of attraction to girls who always want to look strong by attacking other people.
Before walking away from the tree he was climbing, he looked back at Aulia for a moment. The girl closed her eyes. Isn't she afraid of falling? He asked the same question again in his heart. Victor realized that it was very comfortable there but he was still worried about the height. He decided to watch from a distance in case something dangerous happened to Aulia. Victor also tried wearing earphones and enjoyed the atmosphere on the tree while watching Aulia's face from a distance.
"Sweet," Victor muttered in his heart. Yes, the second time those words were spoken in my heart. Aulia's face looked very calming in Victor's eyes. He smiled. He also imagined that he could sit on a nearby branch and enjoy the song together. "It'll be fun." thought Victor. Victor suddenly woke up from his reverie.
"What's wrong with me?" he muttered again. He didn't understand why he had such imagination. Unaware that he had been blinded by his feelings. Every time he sees the girl's face, there is a feeling of calm and joy in itself. The girl's body leaned against the tree and her eyes were closed. Is she asleep? Victor couldn't stop watching her. His attention continued to be focused on the girl's face.
Victor didn't want to bother her again like yesterday. Didn't want to make the girl hate him even more. Just watching from afar was satisfying for him. However, is there no way to get closer to her? The question arose by itself. Victor really longs to be with Aulia but doesn't know what to do.
Seconds turned to another seconds. Time continues to pass. Victor sat there playing games on his cellphone. He shot the enemies there with his gun. The points he got continued to increase. However, the rustling of leaves on a neighboring tree distracted him. It was seen that the sound came from the tree branches that Aulia stepped on to get down from the tree. Does she want to go home yet? That question he wanted to ask but didn't have the courage to ask it. Just stay and watch from afar.
***
This is not the first time the girl has been haunted by her past. The same dream still comes back today. A dream she desperately wanted to avoid. Without any change in the story, dreams about her past often haunt her. Sometimes she wakes up and cries in the middle of the night. Sometimes she wakes up in the morning with a very deep pain in her heart. She also didn't want to remember the incident but dreams kept reminding her.
"Daddy! Where are you going?" cheered Aulia. She saw her father carrying luggage and getting ready to open the door of the house. Aulia did not understand what was happening.
There was no answer from her father. He only stopped for a moment when he heard Aulia's voice, however, he still opened the door and left the house. There was deep pain in Aulia's heart. It feels very devastating.
The light felt dazzling, Aulia woke up from her deep sleep. Today is Sunday. No class. She closed her eyes again and remembered the dream. A dream she had repeatedly had since the people she loved left her. I don't know how many there are now. She didn't want to count them because she didn't want to remember them either.
The sadness still lingers as it reminds her about the dream. Tears gathered but she tried to hold back the drops. She again tried to comfort and calm herself with the sound of the piano playing on her cellphone. Terrace Wind by Haneda Ryoko. The sound of the piano playing in different tones continued until the song calmed her mind and her feelings moved away from her old sadness.
The aroma of wine wafted back. Every day, she was never free from this scent. Of course, it's because Grandpa sells wine down there. But this aroma couldn't distract her from feeling bored with her current position. This comfort made her feel like closing her eyes again - falling asleep without dreaming of anything. Don't want her to dream of her past coming back. She wants to leave her past behind but it continues to haunt her through dreams. She could never forget the painful departure of her parents.
The song has also changed to the Truth that You Leave by Pianoboy. Unfortunately, her stomach starts crying out to be filled but she has no desire to fill it. Is it better to leave it alone? Aulia doesn't want to feel all this anymore.
It's all over.. yes.. it's all over. The girl kept mumbling to divert her mind from the nightmare earlier. Because her stomach couldn't stand waiting for food, she got up from her position and left the room to get the food that was available. Bread along with mushroom soup is available on the table. While she was enjoying the soup and bread, Carole offered cookies that had just been made and were ready to be sold along with the wine that Aloys was selling. Carole's cookies are cookies that are quite famous in the area because of their delicious and unique taste. The recipe was obtained when Carole was still young.
"How many cookies do you want?" asked Carole.
" One, please."
Carole left one of the cookies on a small plate near the soup. Aulia was just silent and didn't seem to really care about all that. Aloys and Carole were also familiar with the way Aulia responded to them. Since the departure of her mother and father who ran away from reality, Aulia changed drastically to become like this coupled with their carelessness at that time. Aloys and Carole also don't know how to help Aulia recover from all of that. They also realized that since that incident, Aulia had no friends. She was always alone and didn't want to get close to anyone. The environment that once looked very cheerful turned gloomy in an instant.
After eating, Aulia went back into the room to get her things and rushed out of the house. She wanted to go back to enjoying the comfort of sitting on the tree branch again.
***
The sound of footsteps could be heard in the stairwell. Someone was stepping down to see Aulia's condition. In his mind they wanted to decide not to see Aulia again but the heart cheered to see her again. The deepest feeling of longing continues to cheer. Victor only dared to watch Aulia from a distance. He didn't want to make Aulia hate him.
He looked for the mysterious girl's whereabouts from a distance. His gaze continued to penetrate Aulia's classroom window. The girl hasn't been found yet. Victor became worried about Aulia. Is he sick? Or fell while climbing a tree? He doesn't know why he doesn't feel good right now. It's like something happened to Aulia. Is this just feeling? Victor didn't know why he felt uneasy just because he couldn't see Aulia right now.
One of the girls Aulia's age had just come out of class and was walking to where the stairs were. She was walking down to the cafeteria but Victor intercepted her.
"Excuse me. Do you know where Aulia is?"
Aulia's classmate knows that Victor is their school's basketball player. He was not a top player but his handsome face made many people secretly idolize Victor more than any other basketball team. They didn't dare to express themselves, let alone approach Victor, because Emma and Chloe were often with Victor. Plus, Emma and Chloe are very famous for picking on younger classmates who approach Victor or are notoriously annoying at the school. Victor didn't know that the people Emma was targeting were some of his fans or those who had expressions challenging juniors when they passed him. He only knew that Emma really liked looking for sensations so that many people would fear her. The girl he asked about Aulia was never a victim. Victor thinks maybe she wasn't Emma's target.
Unfortunately, that person's answer made Victor even more uneasy. Victor's eyes widened. His gaze became serious. A tragedy between Emma, Chloe and Aulia occurs again. He became increasingly restless. Worried about what they are doing to Aulia. Victor rushed to the designated location. It's no different from where they hit Aulia before.
The footsteps looked very fast. The sound of his footsteps could be heard by many people and the unexpected speed of his steps became a source of attention for many people who were gathered on this floor. They didn't understand why Victor was in such a rush. Just stared for a moment then went back to doing their respective activities.
Victor didn't realize that this was disturbing other people's comfort. He just wanted to quickly help Aulia. It must be because he was careless yesterday. He had expected it to turn out like this. Small mistakes that spill over into other problems. He also became increasingly reluctant towards Aulia because he had ruined Aulia's comfort again. From the time he disturbed Aulia while she was alone on a tree branch, to now destroying the girl's comfort at school. It is certain that Aulia will avoid him even more because of this carelessness. He admitted that maybe it wasn't his destiny at this time to be close to that mysterious girl.
Three women were seen there. Two people cover the existence of one person. Of course it was Emma, Chloe and Aulia. They were both seen pushing Aulia. Aulia's back hit the wall very hard. There was no response of pain or fear even though she had hit the wall. Very cold, like not feeling the slightest fear.
Victor tried to speed up his steps. There was no reaction but it definitely still hurts from being hit like that. Chloe heard the footsteps from a distance. He elbowed Emma and gave the code to look to the right. Emma also saw Victor coming. She increasingly couldn't accept seeing Victor here. Most likely Victor will defend Aulia, destroying her relationship with Victor. She realized that She had made a mistake in inviting Victor to confront Aulia a few days ago. If only she hadn't asked Victor, maybe she wouldn't be heartbroken like this.
The atmosphere is getting tense.
"You don't have to be so arrogant! He won't want to be with you!" Emma snapped.
Aulia became increasingly annoyed with that sentence. She was never interested, let alone approaching the boy. It was the boy who repeatedly disturbed Aulia's life. She also didn't accept it because she was the one who was blamed. Aulia's face looked even more angry at the two of them.
Emma's hand pulled Aulia's shirt a little to challenge her again. Aulia began to not accept this treatment. She held Emma's hand tightly. It turns out that this person doesn't regret it yet. Aulia was not afraid at all of this second collision. Aulia knew that the last time she slammed Emma's hand, Emma's hand was in pain. She wanted to do the same thing to Emma's hand. It doesn't matter if Emma's hand hurts again like that time. As long as she could deter them both from this behavior, that would be enough.
Aulia knew that the boy they both loved was running here. She also knows that Emma is very possessive about having Victor and likes to make people, especially girls, afraid of being close to Victor.
"Living with anxiety just to have someone. Likes to assert themself by attacking other people to attract their attention. Are you too cheap to be afraid of someone competing with you?" Aulia deliberately wanted to stir up their emotions. Emma, who heard that sentence, fell silent. Never thought Aulia would say something like that. This is also common knowledge for many people who see the way Emma seeks Victor's attention wherever they are.
"You..." Emma's cheeks turned red. Not because Victor would get here but because those words made her ashamed of herself.
When Victor was only five steps away from being able to intervene between them, Aulia squeezed Emma's hand and said firmly, "Why should I be close to him? I don't need him!"
Victor stopped. Emma looked back and saw Victor. Even though what happened wasn't what they wanted, they got something positive. Victor heard Aulia say that. They tried to cover their smiles and quickly moved elsewhere.
Aulia realized that those words were very rude and very offensive. There was a slight feeling of guilt but she still tried to justify herself. She looked away sharply and turned her head away. Her feet walked quite quickly and slowly she was no longer visible.
Victor continued to look at where Aulia was walking. It took time for Victor to accept that sentence. The guilt he felt was increasing. He just realized that Aulia was really very disturbed. Without being able to understand the meaning, he felt the wound deepening in his heart. Wounds that he himself couldn't understand the cause of.
Holding back those feelings, he walked back to his classroom. Look at the blackboard in front of you. Many numbers are written there. Mathematics lessons started again.
***
Aulia sat back on a tree branch. Enjoying the cool air and the delicious music she was listening to through her earphones. She leaned against the tree trunk and closed her eyes. The sound of the thick leaves rustling was covered by the sound of the piano playing. She didn't realize that someone was watching her secretly. A boy who still likes to steal attention from her. Never mind making friends, Aulia herself had no intention of getting to know the boy.
Even though he always got rude answers, Victor continued to mumble from a distance because he was worried about him. He couldn't leave Aulia alone since he first saw that Aulia liked to sleep up there. He didn't want to ruin Aulia's comfort but he also didn't want Aulia to fall from that high place. Only gazing from a distance can answer all that confusion. He realized that his choice from the start to watch from a distance was not wrong.
Time continues to pass. Aulia still had her eyes closed there. Victor just continued to sit hidden, playing games on his cellphone, while stealing attention from the girl. The color of the sky started to become orangish-pink, decorated with clouds that looked dark gray. As time went on, the sky turned slightly darker. Black clouds covered the bright sunlight. Victor became worried because the raindrops were coming. What if he slipped and fell?
The sound of thunder woke Aulia. Aulia realized that it was going to rain. She looked at her watch. At 5.26 pm. It's almost evening. She's packing up her things. She put the snacks she took out earlier back into the bag. However, the raindrops have come. Aulia quickly came down from up there. Because the branches were wet, Aulia had to be even more careful. Just as she was about to move to the last branch, her foot slipped.
Without second thought, Victor ran from behind the tree where he was hiding and quickly detained Aulia. Aulia felt strange because her spine, which collided with a branch, didn't hurt much. He opened his eyes and saw that he fell on Victor. Victor's right elbow was bleeding from friction with the ground and tree roots. Victor's uniform was also wet and covered in dirt.
"You..."
"Are you okay? Is there any wound?"
There was no answer from Aulia. She was just trying to get up from her position. Her hands tried to support her weight by holding on to a tree branch. Her left leg supports her body first and then the right leg. Apparently, her right leg couldn't hold it. There is visible swelling in the right ankle. Without asking, Victor picked up Aulia and walked away carrying Aulia and Aulia's bag. When he brought the bag, he no longer saw the fast food/junk food that she always carried. Or has she already eaten somewhere else? Victor was surprised but didn't want to ask.
"Get down!"
Victor ignored her.
"I'll scream if you don't put me down."
Victor still doesn't care for Aulia. He stopped in front of a house and let Aulia sit on a chair near the entrance. Aulia wanted to run away but when she tried to stand up from the chair, she couldn't stand the pain in her ankle. Victor looked for the house keys and opened the door. Aulia knows this house. She felt very familiar because the location of this house was not far from her house. But she just found out that this was Victor's residence.
"What do you want?" Aulia continues to suspect Victor. She didn't believe Victor.
"I want to treat the wounds on your feet and hands." He opened the door and picked up Aulia again.
He put Aulia on the sofa. The sofa that previously looked very nice became wet because Aulia was caught in the rain. Victor immediately walked to the cupboard where they kept the still dry towels. After taking the towel, he lent the towel to Aulia. Aulia just accepted it with her right hand and then dried her hair which was already very wet.
"I'll take the bag in front and the medicine kit. You better wait there." Victor's sentence didn't feel like an invitation but rather an order. Aulia frowned even more because she felt ordered.
He went back out and took his bag and Aulia's bag which had been left on the terrace earlier. He placed the bag near the table near the sofa where Aulia was sitting. He got up again from his bent position and walked to the cupboard near the TV. He opened the cupboard and took the box containing the medicines.