This is my latest short story. I know some of you would prefer Indonesian, though the glossary are left in English for the sake of clarity, because I can't give you the pictures at the moment. I recommend you www.rockclimbing.com for further reference.
Next time, I will post the first 7 paragraphs of my draft, and let's see if any of you could manage to complete it... :p Perhaps it would be much better than that of my ending??
So, guys, here it comes!
AKU BISA MENGALAHKAN TAKDIR
by: Wahyu Adi Setyanto
Ia mendongakkan kepala, menatap kontur tebing itu lekat-lekat. Waktu sesaat berhenti berputar. Keadaan sekitar menjadi sangat sunyi; yang terdengar hanya nafasnya yang naik turun tak beraturan dan jantungnya yang berdegup kencang. Ia mulai menyadari gambaran mimpi buruknya semalam yang kini terpampang jelas di depan mata: tiga cerukan batu; terlalu kecil untuk digenggam dan terlalu jauh untuk diraih, tepat di bawah atap tebing yang menaungi sebagian wajahnya yang sedikit pucat dari sengatan matahari siang menjelang sore itu. Tangannya gemetar.
“Hei! Apa yang kautunggu? Sikat aja!!” teriakan Niko, sang belayer, melebur keraguannya seketika. Aku tak boleh kalah oleh mimpiku. Tidak akan, pikirnya. Sedetik kemudian—nyaris tanpa dikomando—tangannya menarik kuat-kuat, menyeret tubuhnya semakin tinggi dan tinggi. Kakinya tidak sedikit pun menjejak, hanya menari-nari seperti ekor cicak. Point pertama dan kedua dilahapnya dalam sekejap. Yang ketiga, digapainya dalam dua tarikan nafas.
“Yes!” desisnya mantap.
Senyumnya mengembang sejenak, lalu hilang seketika.
“Rockfaaalll!!” Didit berteriak sekeras mungkin. Serpihan batu sebesar kepalan tangan jatuh bersamaan dengan badannya yang terbilang gemuk untuk seorang pemanjat, mengayun seperti bandul jam dinding, lalu menghantam tembok batu belasan meter dibawahnya. Refleknya cukup bagus, namun benturan itu lebih keras daripada perkiraannya. Sikunya membentur dinding yang tampak hitam dan kasar seperti aspal jalan yang mengelupas. Darah menetes perlahan dari luka lecet dan memar itu.
“Dit?!” Niko memanggil dengan cemas. Sama cemasnya seperti tadi, saat ia merapatkan tubuhnya ke tebing, menghindari runtuhnya batu yang bisa menimbulkan cukup banyak masalah, sekalipun ia—karena sikap disiplinnya yang tak pernah luntur—selalu memakai helm pelindung kepala.
“Aku ngga apa-apa.” jawabnya. Meskipun jatuh semacam itu sudah menjadi makanan sehari-hari, wajahnya memancarkan kelegaan yang tak seperti biasanya. Lalu terdengar suara tertawa yang hambar, seperti dibuat-buat.
“Kenapa tertawa?” tanya Niko, keheranan.
“Woow! Baru kali ini aku bisa merasa bebas! Kau ingat mimpi yang kuceritakan tadi pagi?” katanya, dengan wajah berseri-seri.
“Yang itu? Jangan senang dulu! Masih 3 jam lagi sebelum sampai puncak. Apa pun bisa terjadi di sini selama 3 jam itu. Termasuk firasatmu,” Niko mengingatkan. “Itu pun kalau kau masih menganggapnya penting.” lanjutnya.
“Sudahlah. Jangan ungkit-ungkit hal itu lagi. Kau lihat sendiri, kan? Hexa ini masih lengkap,” sahut Didit, sambil memperlihatkan bandolier—sarat dengan gear hexa berbagai ukuran plus bermacam-macam gear pengaman jenis lain—yang tergantung di bahunya. “Kalaupun akhirnya kupakai, aku ngga akan seceroboh seperti dalam mimpiku...”
Kata-katanya mantap. Seolah ia sudah melupakan mimpi-mimpi buruk yang selama ini selalu menyiksanya. Hidupnya selalu dibayangi oleh takdir. Ia sering bermimpi lalu bangun hanya untuk menghabiskan hari-hari berikutnya dengan penuh cemas. Cemas karena tak sanggup membayangkan kejadian tragis apa yang akan terjadi pada sahabatnya, atau murid-muridnya, atau selebritis yang kenal baik dengannya, atau orang biasa yang ia jumpai. Tak sampai seminggu sesudahnya, pastilah sosok di mimpi itu didapatinya tak bernyawa lagi.
Akhirnya, ia memutuskan untuk lari dari bayangan itu dengan menggeluti lagi hobi yang pernah ia akrabi, yang membawanya ke tebing saat ini. Namun semalam, ia bermimpi lagi; ia bertemu anak kecil yang memegang hexa—darah menutupi kepala dan sebagian wajahnya—dengan mata yang masih menatap tajam ke arahnya. Tak tahan dengan teror berkepanjangan, untuk kali pertama ia menceritakan mimpi itu kepada orang yang ia percayai. Kepada Niko.
“Hei!! Ini bukan waktunya melamun!” Niko membentaknya, berang. “Tebing bukan tempat untuk menyelesaikan masalahmu. Kau cuma butuh istirahat panjang dan nasihat pakar parapsikologi yang handal. Ambillah cuti setelah ini. Itu pun kalau kau masih sanggup mencapai puncak sebagai leader!” lanjutnya sinis.
“Kau belum kenal siapa aku,” balas Didit, tak terbiasa diremehkan siapa pun, apalagi oleh rekannya itu. “Absen setahun bukan berarti aku kalah gesit darimu. Dan ingat, akan kupastikan mimpi itu tidak terjadi. Lihat saja nanti!” lanjutnya geram, menyadari bahwa tantangan yang dihadapinya telah bertambah dan semakin tak mudah.
“Slack!!” teriaknya memberi aba-aba, lalu mulai beraksi. Kali ini ia mencoba jalur ke kanan, menghindari atap tebing beberapa meter di atasnya.
***
Matahari membiaskan warna jingga yang lembut pada mega di ufuk barat, saat Didit berhasil membuat pitch terakhir di puncak dan dengan girang mengucapkan aba-aba yang selalu terdengar merdu oleh belayer mana pun.
“Off belay!!” teriaknya.
Niko yang masih tergantung puluhan kaki di bawahnya mulai bersiap menyusul. Karena dikejar waktu, ia memanjat dengan peralatan bantu. Hanya berselang setengah jam lebih sedikit, dia sudah sampai di puncak
“Kau pasang tenda, biar aku yang membereskan alat-alat ini.” kata Niko.
“Dua jam empat puluh menit. Masih lebih cepat dari perhitunganmu tadi. Terbukti kan? Aku masih lebih tangguh darimu,” katanya, sedikit angkuh. “Tinggal satu lagi yang harus kubereskan.”
Ia mengambil beberapa hexa yang baru saja dirapikan Niko.
“Pinjam sebentar” katanya singkat.
“Mau apa kau dengan hexa itu?” tanya Niko.
“Lihat saja sendiri.” sahutnya tanpa menoleh.
Didit memasang pengaman di pinggangnya, yang dihubungkan ke tali yang tertambat pada sebuah pasak, lalu berdiri di bibir tebing yang agak miring dan berwarna kehitaman itu. Ia merentangkan kedua tangan, seolah ingin menantang ngarai yang terbentang luas di hadapannya. Sunyi. Hanya terdengar angin yang bersiul di kejauhan. Ia tersenyum, tertawa kecil seperti orang tak waras, lalu berteriak sekeras-kerasnya.
“Aku bisa mengalahkan takdiiirrr!” Suaranya menggema ke lembah-lembah yang jauh. “Lihat hexa di tanganku! Kau tidak bisa merebutnya untuk mencelakan orang lain! Tidak akan! Hahaha...!!” Ia melompat-lompat kegirangan.
Niko hanya menggelengkan kepala sambil tersenyum, sebelum air mukanya tiba-tiba berubah.
“Hei!! Kau bisa ter...” teriak Niko.
Belum selesai Niko bicara, sudah terdengar bunyi gemerincing logam yang menghantam bebatuan. Didit terpeleset dan jatuh terjerembab; hexa berbagai ukuran yang terikat menjadi satu itu terlepas dan jatuh beberapa meter di depannya. Ia merangkak dan mencoba meraih hexa itu, tapi tali pengaman yang melilit di pinggang mencegahnya. Ia hanya terpaku dengan mulut ternganga, melihat hexa itu bergerak perlahan ke tepi jurang dan kini, sudah tidak tampak lagi. Bahkan bunyi dentingan logam yang dia harapkan pun tidak terdengar.
“Kau memang masih Didit yang dulu, leader yang tangguh tapi ceroboh!” kata Niko, setengah mengejek. “Berdoalah supaya hexa itu tidak diambil oleh penduduk sekitar sini yang berkeyakinan aneh itu, atau aku akan membunuhmu!” lanjutnya, dengan tampang serius. Ia memang bisa memahami kecerobohan, tapi tidak di tebing, tidak dengan alat-alat miliknya, apalagi jika nyawa orang lain yang dipertaruhkan.
Didit hanya terdiam, seolah tak mendengar Niko—atau siapa pun—bicara. Tangannya masih saja menggulung tali yang telah menahannya tadi, lalu membereskan peralatan yang tersisa. Meskipun cerita-cerita tentang penduduk yang senang mencari dan mengumpulkan benda yang jatuh dari tebing untuk suatu tujuan pemujaan atau semacamnya itu sudah sering didengarnya, ia tetap tak peduli; besok mereka akan segera turun untuk mencari dan menemukannya lebih dulu. Hexa itu tak akan membawa korban di senja hari seperti ini. Tidak akan, pikirnya, mantap.
Malam itu, Didit masih mendapati mimpi yang sama.
***
Pagi harinya, mereka sudah sampai di kaki tebing, tempat start mereka dua hari yang lalu. Mereka sibuk menyibak ilalang, berharap dapat segera menemukannya.
“Mestinya jatuh di sekitar sini!” kata Didit, sesekali menggaruk kepalanya sambil melihat ke atas, memastikan bahwa mereka berada di sisi tebing yang tepat sesuai perkiraan. Bukan hilangnya alat itu yang mengganggunya, tetapi reputasinya sebagai pemanjat yang dulu bersinar, kini terancam. Bukan oleh pemanjat lain yang lebih mahir, melainkan oleh kelalaiannya sendiri.
Mereka masih saja mencari ketika tiba-tiba terdengar sayup-sayup suara orang membentak, dan disusul suara-suara lain yang lebih pelan.
“Kau dengar itu?” tanya Niko, tangannya diangkat ke samping telinga.
“Apa?” tanya Didit. Ia menoleh ke arah Niko, sambil mencoba mendengarkan suara yang dimaksud.
“Suaranya dari sebelah sana!” kata Niko yakin, lalu bergegas menuju sumber suara. Tak ingin cerita tentang penduduk sekitar itu menjadi kenyataan, Didit segera menyusulnya.
Tak jauh dari kaki tebing, di balik bongkahan batu yang menyerupai helm raksasa dan semak-semak yang rimbun, mereka melihat dua orang anak bertengkar, saling menghardik dalam bahasa yang tak mereka pahami.
“Nik, itu ‘kan hexa kita?” Didit berseru. Tangannya menunjuk benda yang menjadi sumber pertengkaran. Anak yang satu mempertahankan hexa yang ingin direbut oleh yang lain; dan tanpa diduga, salah satu dari mereka memukul kepala yang lain dengan hexa yang sama.
“Hei! Hentikan...!!” Didit mencoba melerai tetapi terlambat.
Anak itu terkapar dengan luka di kepala, pingsan. Temannya yang telah memukul itu tampak ketakutan, lalu membuang hexa di tangannya dan langsung kabur begitu saja. Dengan cekatan, Niko memeriksa keadaan korban.
“Dia masih hidup.” katanya, tak mampu menyembunyikan senyum kelegaan.
“Syukurlah!“ sahut Didit, yang dengan bersemangat segera membuka ranselnya dan mengambil kotak P3K.
”Aku telah berhasil mengalahkan takdir.” desisnya, hambar. Diliriknya hexa yang tergeletak tak jauh dari situ; ada sedikit bercak merah di ujungnya. “Aku yang menang kali ini.” katanya lagi.
***THE END***
Glossary
Bandolier - n. A short sling with a padding worn over the shoulder by the leader to hold a rack that is too big to be accommodated by gear loops.
Belayer - n. the person keeping the climber safe by controlling the rope.
Hexcentric - n. Commonly reffered to as a Hex; a hexagonal shaped metal piece of protection. Allows for passive protection when placed one way and camming action when placed another.
Off Belay - n. Common climbing call from a climber to a belayer letting them know they are safe and no longer require belaying.
Cerpen ini telah dikirimkan ke tabloid TrenC&R pada tanggal 29 Agustus 2003
Tuesday, December 30, 2003
Sunday, December 28, 2003
Brainstorming Techniques HOWTO
The brainstorming technique I explain to you is based on Donald H Weiss' best selling book "How to Write Easily and Effectively" first published in 1986, with some modification I found suit my style (noted with "modification"). I still love the technique for it is simple and takes only 10-15 minutes of your precious time. All you need to perform effective brainstorming is paper and pencil, and perhaps a cup of coffee and some donuts, in case you got hungry afterwards (optional :p). Are you ready? Let's get it on!!
1. Think about something you want to write (a keyword, keyphrase, but never key clause :-)). Hold it tight in your mind, especially if you're kinda scatterbrain (people who get distracted easily by any simple things).
2. For about 10-15 minutes (not more or less, for reasons I will tell you later), write anything related to the keyword that crosses your mind during this period as fast as you can, as much as you can. Ignore the spelling, diction, or anything that slow down this process -- you're gonna correct it later. I repeat, later.
3. You probably got only 3 - 7 points of ideas written, usually in the form of sentences or sentence fragments. Don't worry. It's normal. Jump directly to no 5 if you trust Donald H. Weiss better than me :p.
4. [modification] Over your limited (but so much precious) ideas from no 3, perform additional brainstorming IF AND ONLY IF you have to narrow your scope down to what makes you interested most.
5. Arrange your ideas into logical flow. It could be deductive (general to specific), inductive (specific to general) or causal (causes to effects), depends on what you want to convey. Revise the spelling too, throw anything irrelevant (but DO NOT add something you think better, it's too late for now). As a result, you have an outline of your writing; a powerful one.
6. You must have seen the big picture: a red line that draw up your outline. It is called thesis statement. Write down your thesis statement clearly. Why? It has two purposes. First, it defines your scope of writing. Second, it helps you defining your goals, i.e: to convince your readers (argumentative writing).
Anyway, thesis statement should only state your scope of writing explicitly, but still imply the objective somewhere in its tone.
7. Use your thesis statement as a guide to find supporting reference. You'll be so thankful you're not overcrowded by irrelevant documents that come on your way because of it. If you can't find any references supporting your ideas then blame yourself for either thinking about stupid ideas any other writers won't even take a glimpse onto or discovering brilliant ideas others haven't come up to. Either way, you're not goddamn lucky (hehehe...). But of course, the second is slightly better.
8. What else do you expect from this step? Start writing. You've already had anything you need...
In my experience (as suggested by Donald himself), a period of 10 to 15 minutes is the most effective. Neither can you explore adequate ideas in shorter period of time nor find more of your own in longer one. A useful finding: when I do it for an hour, I notice that for the rest 45 minutes, I only write down minor ideas that is either a paraphrase of or merely supporting ideas to the existing ones. What a waste of time!
OK, I hope you find it easy and full of fun. C'mon, guys! brainstorm your head for superb ideas!
1. Think about something you want to write (a keyword, keyphrase, but never key clause :-)). Hold it tight in your mind, especially if you're kinda scatterbrain (people who get distracted easily by any simple things).
2. For about 10-15 minutes (not more or less, for reasons I will tell you later), write anything related to the keyword that crosses your mind during this period as fast as you can, as much as you can. Ignore the spelling, diction, or anything that slow down this process -- you're gonna correct it later. I repeat, later.
3. You probably got only 3 - 7 points of ideas written, usually in the form of sentences or sentence fragments. Don't worry. It's normal. Jump directly to no 5 if you trust Donald H. Weiss better than me :p.
4. [modification] Over your limited (but so much precious) ideas from no 3, perform additional brainstorming IF AND ONLY IF you have to narrow your scope down to what makes you interested most.
5. Arrange your ideas into logical flow. It could be deductive (general to specific), inductive (specific to general) or causal (causes to effects), depends on what you want to convey. Revise the spelling too, throw anything irrelevant (but DO NOT add something you think better, it's too late for now). As a result, you have an outline of your writing; a powerful one.
6. You must have seen the big picture: a red line that draw up your outline. It is called thesis statement. Write down your thesis statement clearly. Why? It has two purposes. First, it defines your scope of writing. Second, it helps you defining your goals, i.e: to convince your readers (argumentative writing).
Anyway, thesis statement should only state your scope of writing explicitly, but still imply the objective somewhere in its tone.
7. Use your thesis statement as a guide to find supporting reference. You'll be so thankful you're not overcrowded by irrelevant documents that come on your way because of it. If you can't find any references supporting your ideas then blame yourself for either thinking about stupid ideas any other writers won't even take a glimpse onto or discovering brilliant ideas others haven't come up to. Either way, you're not goddamn lucky (hehehe...). But of course, the second is slightly better.
8. What else do you expect from this step? Start writing. You've already had anything you need...
In my experience (as suggested by Donald himself), a period of 10 to 15 minutes is the most effective. Neither can you explore adequate ideas in shorter period of time nor find more of your own in longer one. A useful finding: when I do it for an hour, I notice that for the rest 45 minutes, I only write down minor ideas that is either a paraphrase of or merely supporting ideas to the existing ones. What a waste of time!
OK, I hope you find it easy and full of fun. C'mon, guys! brainstorm your head for superb ideas!
A Brown-eyed Girl Like You: The Making
You know something? Within the whole month searching the idea, including 3 days full of typing-revising-typing cycles for those scaterred scenes in my mind, I manage to complete this story. Why does it take so long? you might ask. Well, that's the question. The answer is: to cook the story long enough to make it quite reasonable, though some of my friends have spot those weirds: the way Ajeng gets through all of her problem and the ending that has somewhat vague relationship in contrast with the opening.
The story is so much influenced by /anonymous/, my best friend, whose emails somehow help me collecting those puzzles of what it really looks like living away your homecountry, especially if you're a girl with kinda conservative (--from Eric's point of view--) way of thinking. Those conflicts go the way it should be and I find it rather simple to put them altogether. Things seem to work very well, until I realize I have to deal with the vocabs, particularly words describing what an angry person would do or say or any verbs, which is very time-consuming when handled in ordinary way: opening up my dictionary over and over.
For the first time, I am so lucky. I find my novel (Whirlwind, by James Clavell) very useful. I know there were lots of high-temper expressions and the likes, so it will be much easier to pick one or two situations that that lead to emotional condition similar to Ajeng's. It was simply as recalling "O, I've already read this anger before, somewhere on page 4xx just before someone do something". To me, it is much easier than skimming through dictionary. Moreover, it's more practical yet beneficial, I guess, since I can learn something from others work: the way others stirr readers' emotion. Hence, I can take one step further to create one of my own.
On the brainstorming phase, there's one thing I knew I could take as a starting point. It's about email. Right. Having not less than 50 emails with /anonymous/ alone for almost 2 months, along with her story in my mind about how hard she feels to manage her life as a brown eyed girl in the western side of the globe, I made the opening clear: Adi (most readers will associate him with me in personal, I think) reminded Ajeng just to be more careful taking care of herself. I don't know exactly why I love this opening so much. Perhaps it has something to do with my own feeling about those emails with /anonymous/. Well, I don't want to get involved too much to their character; hence I have omitted some aspects that coincide the real life, such as the setting where Ajeng and Brian met for the first time. I also create some verbal symbols such as big motorcycle and exchanging each others' room key to drive certain assumption in my readers' mind, which happen to be western lifestyle and way of thinking. These symbols obviously have saved my time and energy from telling the readers about their backgrounds from scratch.
What dissatisfied my is that I myself cannot understand what's there in Ajeng's mind either. After 2 years being exposed to western culture, Ajeng should have learnt anything. My friend too, has posed this oddity to me. I think we both should agree that reality has distracted us from the story and character I'm working on. It's still the weakest part of this story. I have to admit it.
The next big hurdle beside telling the character's background in short is making a smooth transition from the chatting time to the kissing part. I work around this by connecting their appointment to watch the Queen's Day Festival in the past and silly accident they had on that event that make them lough out loud. So far I've noticed that right after a long laugh, there's always a time when people loose their control over themselves. That would be perfect time for kissing to take place.
Another gap in the story I have to manage. I insist that Ajeng should be separated from Brian one way or another. I make this happen by obligation to attend summer class which anyone could hardly bear the shame and loosing any chance to enjoy the vacation otherwise. A "C" grade will be more than enough to drive her upset, let alone the fact that Brian (I pushed him so hard, didn't I?? :p) have deliberately committed love affair with other girls, right in front of herself.
W... wait! it's kinda sinetron right? Too much coincidence. Hahaha... I wish I could get rid of this part for I hate most sinetrons much as I hate smoking. Yeah, you win. It's the second best weakness.
Ouch, it hurts me so much to criticize my own piece of work. So, I have to move on quickly to the third best weakness: one terrible event that suddenly, out of the blue, Adi showed up with no particular reason but asking Ajeng to establish their boutique together. O my! such a romantic but weird ending of this telenovela. (yakk!!!) It's simply because I cannot afford spending more time to shape the ending; the deadline is waiting the following morning... another rush-to-the-last-minute project to accomplish :-)
Well, that's all. If you want to learn more about how to perform effective brainstorming, I'll be happy to share it on my next post very soon.
The story is so much influenced by /anonymous/, my best friend, whose emails somehow help me collecting those puzzles of what it really looks like living away your homecountry, especially if you're a girl with kinda conservative (--from Eric's point of view--) way of thinking. Those conflicts go the way it should be and I find it rather simple to put them altogether. Things seem to work very well, until I realize I have to deal with the vocabs, particularly words describing what an angry person would do or say or any verbs, which is very time-consuming when handled in ordinary way: opening up my dictionary over and over.
For the first time, I am so lucky. I find my novel (Whirlwind, by James Clavell) very useful. I know there were lots of high-temper expressions and the likes, so it will be much easier to pick one or two situations that that lead to emotional condition similar to Ajeng's. It was simply as recalling "O, I've already read this anger before, somewhere on page 4xx just before someone do something". To me, it is much easier than skimming through dictionary. Moreover, it's more practical yet beneficial, I guess, since I can learn something from others work: the way others stirr readers' emotion. Hence, I can take one step further to create one of my own.
On the brainstorming phase, there's one thing I knew I could take as a starting point. It's about email. Right. Having not less than 50 emails with /anonymous/ alone for almost 2 months, along with her story in my mind about how hard she feels to manage her life as a brown eyed girl in the western side of the globe, I made the opening clear: Adi (most readers will associate him with me in personal, I think) reminded Ajeng just to be more careful taking care of herself. I don't know exactly why I love this opening so much. Perhaps it has something to do with my own feeling about those emails with /anonymous/. Well, I don't want to get involved too much to their character; hence I have omitted some aspects that coincide the real life, such as the setting where Ajeng and Brian met for the first time. I also create some verbal symbols such as big motorcycle and exchanging each others' room key to drive certain assumption in my readers' mind, which happen to be western lifestyle and way of thinking. These symbols obviously have saved my time and energy from telling the readers about their backgrounds from scratch.
What dissatisfied my is that I myself cannot understand what's there in Ajeng's mind either. After 2 years being exposed to western culture, Ajeng should have learnt anything. My friend too, has posed this oddity to me. I think we both should agree that reality has distracted us from the story and character I'm working on. It's still the weakest part of this story. I have to admit it.
The next big hurdle beside telling the character's background in short is making a smooth transition from the chatting time to the kissing part. I work around this by connecting their appointment to watch the Queen's Day Festival in the past and silly accident they had on that event that make them lough out loud. So far I've noticed that right after a long laugh, there's always a time when people loose their control over themselves. That would be perfect time for kissing to take place.
Another gap in the story I have to manage. I insist that Ajeng should be separated from Brian one way or another. I make this happen by obligation to attend summer class which anyone could hardly bear the shame and loosing any chance to enjoy the vacation otherwise. A "C" grade will be more than enough to drive her upset, let alone the fact that Brian (I pushed him so hard, didn't I?? :p) have deliberately committed love affair with other girls, right in front of herself.
W... wait! it's kinda sinetron right? Too much coincidence. Hahaha... I wish I could get rid of this part for I hate most sinetrons much as I hate smoking. Yeah, you win. It's the second best weakness.
Ouch, it hurts me so much to criticize my own piece of work. So, I have to move on quickly to the third best weakness: one terrible event that suddenly, out of the blue, Adi showed up with no particular reason but asking Ajeng to establish their boutique together. O my! such a romantic but weird ending of this telenovela. (yakk!!!) It's simply because I cannot afford spending more time to shape the ending; the deadline is waiting the following morning... another rush-to-the-last-minute project to accomplish :-)
Well, that's all. If you want to learn more about how to perform effective brainstorming, I'll be happy to share it on my next post very soon.
Saturday, December 27, 2003
A Brown-eyed Girl Like You : The Short Story
Let's start with how I work around my fave short story: "A Brown-eyed Girl Like You".
Ups! You haven't read it yet?? OK. OK. Take it easy! Put down your shoe and sit down calmly... :D
Here it is... And on the next post, I will tell you something about the making behind it.
A Brown-eyed Girl Like You[1]
by : Wahyu Adi Setyanto
"...feel good, eh? Leaving your hometown for Diemen, to study fashion management? Aren't you afraid of things that can make your brown eyes turn blue? You couldn't be anything but simply the face in the crowd there...
Anyway, take care of yourself, will you? it's me, Adi."
***
Ajeng smiled and whispered. "Of course I will..."
It was an email from her online friend she met somewhere on the Internet during her second year here. She clicked the reply button and started typing. She felt so happy that she decided to skip her regular jogging schedule, no matter how beautiful the tulips were on that day. The park isn't dying to see me anyway, she thought. There were a lot of people down there, and my absence won't make any difference.
She was about to finish typing when her cell phone buzzed. Her boyfriend, Brian, was speaking.
"Hi, Ajeng! what are you doing?"
“Hi, Brian! I'm writing email to my friend, and it's almost done. What's up?"
She stood up and walked toward the window. It was a warm and sunny afternoon out there, which means that he might ask her for a ride to the downtown on his big motorcycle. Just like they did on the Queen's Day, a few days ago.
"Can I come to your place?"
"Right now?"
"Yeah, why? Are you going out or something?"
"I'm kinda busy right now. I have to review my gown design and write the project report. Tomorrow morning is the deadline."
"What about the day after? 8 pm?"
She hesitated. "Well, that will be fine..."
"OK, I'll see you around then..."
She put her cell phone on the desk and laid herself down on the sofa, staring a pair of keys hung near the table lamp. One key was Brian's, the other was hers. To exchange their room keys was an important decision they had made in the previous week, though she didn’t know if that was the right one.
Then she got up, went to her desk, and started to type the project report.
***
Ajeng had already been dressing up when she heard the bell rang. It must be Brian, she thought, because he always comes on time. She walked to the door and opened it.
"Hi, Ajeng..."
"O, hi! I knew it was you. Come on in!"
Brian stepped inside and sat on the sofa. Ajeng took the space beside him. For the next 2 hours, the world is theirs. They laughed out loud when they were talking about the minor accident they had: grazing a clown and hitting a food stall on their way to the Queen’s Day Festival.
They stopped laughing, and were staring each other. There was a silence for a moment. Slowly, he leaned over her, and almost instantly, his lip was on hers. They were kissing.
“What was that?” she asked suspiciously.
"It was my love for you, because you're the brown-eyed girl I'm dying for..."
He was about to lean and kiss again, when suddenly she looked aside and shifted her position, making extra space between them.
"Is there anything wrong?” he asked.
"No, I just think it's too fast for both of us to do this, and I need some time alone to think about us and our relationship."
He couldn’t really get through her head. He thought she was ready for it.
"Fine, maybe it's not the right time, or the right place to do such a thing. We'll do that some other day, OK?"
"I don't know, just leave me alone, will you?"
***
Ajeng was on her way home. It was a very bad day for her. She got C in Oriental Fashion Design, which means that she had to take summer class and couldn’t have a chance to take a trip to Milan with her friends. To make it worse, she herself red handed Brian kissing another girl! That really got her goat! She never thought Brian could have a heart to do that to her! She left them behind, and was almost crying. Brian was dumbfounded, didn’t know what to do.
Just the time she finally came in front of her room, she saw a bouquet of red rose lying on the doormat. She felt annoyed, thinking that Brian could be the sender. She took the flowers, flipped the card and read it.
To: Ajeng. I hope you always grows and blossoms just like these red rose. From a friend.
She bewildered, wondering who “a friend” really was. Suddenly her cell phone rang again, blowing her fancy away.
It was Brian calling. "Hi, sweetie..."
"It's you again! What do you want?" she snapped him.
"I'd like to ask you to go out for dinner, to apologize..."
"No, thanks!", she interrupted, " Our story ends up here. I've been thinking the whole night, realizing that all you want from me is my virginity, as you always do to dozens of the other so-called brown-eyed girls of your dreams... From now on, I'll take my own way. Thanks for your offer, I am not interested. It should be addressed to somebody else..."
"But..." Brian tried to make an excuse.
"End of discussion!"
She was so happy and relief that she felt like throwing a huge stone out of her mind... She took a deep breath and felt better in a couple of minutes. It's all over now, she thought. She slipped her hand into her pocket, picking her room key. Brian's key was still there, tied up with hers. She took it off and threw it away. It's all over, Brian, she said to herself.
Just before unlocking the door, she heard somebody called her.
"Excuse me, are you Ajeng?"
She turned her head, astonished.
"Yes, I am. Do I know you?"
"A friend. Just like the one written on the card. I took the chance you were here and had just read it."
"Oh, these sweet roses were from you? I love it. But we don't know each other, how could..."
"A brown-eyed girl who never knows what makes her eyes turn blue and...”
Suddenly, she remembered her online friend.
"Oh, Adi! What a surprise!” she smelled the flowers, “and you're so sweet too!“
“Yup! That’s the way I am” Adi said proudly
”But I'm sure I didn't tell you where I live..." she asked
"That's what hackers created Google for..." Adi smiled pleasantly.
They both laughed. It was because of Google too that Adi had found out her email. There was silence for a moment. Adi broke the ice.
"So, what do you think about our plan?"
"Emnm... that plan? To set up our own boutique when we meet offline?"
Adi nodded and smiled hopefully, waiting for a good news.
She smiled. "We'll see about that."
** The End **
Acknowledgement:
The author wish to thank his friend, /anonymous/, for her lovely and inspiring emails ever since , and also his special thanks to Roxette for one of its fantastic songs: "The Look" (What is in the world can make a brown-eyed girl turn blue?).
[1] This short story is submitted to the “CnS 2nd Anniversary Short Story Writing Contest” held by Pusat Penerbitan LIA on June 6, 2003.
Ups! You haven't read it yet?? OK. OK. Take it easy! Put down your shoe and sit down calmly... :D
Here it is... And on the next post, I will tell you something about the making behind it.
A Brown-eyed Girl Like You[1]
by : Wahyu Adi Setyanto
"...feel good, eh? Leaving your hometown for Diemen, to study fashion management? Aren't you afraid of things that can make your brown eyes turn blue? You couldn't be anything but simply the face in the crowd there...
Anyway, take care of yourself, will you? it's me, Adi."
***
Ajeng smiled and whispered. "Of course I will..."
It was an email from her online friend she met somewhere on the Internet during her second year here. She clicked the reply button and started typing. She felt so happy that she decided to skip her regular jogging schedule, no matter how beautiful the tulips were on that day. The park isn't dying to see me anyway, she thought. There were a lot of people down there, and my absence won't make any difference.
She was about to finish typing when her cell phone buzzed. Her boyfriend, Brian, was speaking.
"Hi, Ajeng! what are you doing?"
“Hi, Brian! I'm writing email to my friend, and it's almost done. What's up?"
She stood up and walked toward the window. It was a warm and sunny afternoon out there, which means that he might ask her for a ride to the downtown on his big motorcycle. Just like they did on the Queen's Day, a few days ago.
"Can I come to your place?"
"Right now?"
"Yeah, why? Are you going out or something?"
"I'm kinda busy right now. I have to review my gown design and write the project report. Tomorrow morning is the deadline."
"What about the day after? 8 pm?"
She hesitated. "Well, that will be fine..."
"OK, I'll see you around then..."
She put her cell phone on the desk and laid herself down on the sofa, staring a pair of keys hung near the table lamp. One key was Brian's, the other was hers. To exchange their room keys was an important decision they had made in the previous week, though she didn’t know if that was the right one.
Then she got up, went to her desk, and started to type the project report.
***
Ajeng had already been dressing up when she heard the bell rang. It must be Brian, she thought, because he always comes on time. She walked to the door and opened it.
"Hi, Ajeng..."
"O, hi! I knew it was you. Come on in!"
Brian stepped inside and sat on the sofa. Ajeng took the space beside him. For the next 2 hours, the world is theirs. They laughed out loud when they were talking about the minor accident they had: grazing a clown and hitting a food stall on their way to the Queen’s Day Festival.
They stopped laughing, and were staring each other. There was a silence for a moment. Slowly, he leaned over her, and almost instantly, his lip was on hers. They were kissing.
“What was that?” she asked suspiciously.
"It was my love for you, because you're the brown-eyed girl I'm dying for..."
He was about to lean and kiss again, when suddenly she looked aside and shifted her position, making extra space between them.
"Is there anything wrong?” he asked.
"No, I just think it's too fast for both of us to do this, and I need some time alone to think about us and our relationship."
He couldn’t really get through her head. He thought she was ready for it.
"Fine, maybe it's not the right time, or the right place to do such a thing. We'll do that some other day, OK?"
"I don't know, just leave me alone, will you?"
***
Ajeng was on her way home. It was a very bad day for her. She got C in Oriental Fashion Design, which means that she had to take summer class and couldn’t have a chance to take a trip to Milan with her friends. To make it worse, she herself red handed Brian kissing another girl! That really got her goat! She never thought Brian could have a heart to do that to her! She left them behind, and was almost crying. Brian was dumbfounded, didn’t know what to do.
Just the time she finally came in front of her room, she saw a bouquet of red rose lying on the doormat. She felt annoyed, thinking that Brian could be the sender. She took the flowers, flipped the card and read it.
To: Ajeng. I hope you always grows and blossoms just like these red rose. From a friend.
She bewildered, wondering who “a friend” really was. Suddenly her cell phone rang again, blowing her fancy away.
It was Brian calling. "Hi, sweetie..."
"It's you again! What do you want?" she snapped him.
"I'd like to ask you to go out for dinner, to apologize..."
"No, thanks!", she interrupted, " Our story ends up here. I've been thinking the whole night, realizing that all you want from me is my virginity, as you always do to dozens of the other so-called brown-eyed girls of your dreams... From now on, I'll take my own way. Thanks for your offer, I am not interested. It should be addressed to somebody else..."
"But..." Brian tried to make an excuse.
"End of discussion!"
She was so happy and relief that she felt like throwing a huge stone out of her mind... She took a deep breath and felt better in a couple of minutes. It's all over now, she thought. She slipped her hand into her pocket, picking her room key. Brian's key was still there, tied up with hers. She took it off and threw it away. It's all over, Brian, she said to herself.
Just before unlocking the door, she heard somebody called her.
"Excuse me, are you Ajeng?"
She turned her head, astonished.
"Yes, I am. Do I know you?"
"A friend. Just like the one written on the card. I took the chance you were here and had just read it."
"Oh, these sweet roses were from you? I love it. But we don't know each other, how could..."
"A brown-eyed girl who never knows what makes her eyes turn blue and...”
Suddenly, she remembered her online friend.
"Oh, Adi! What a surprise!” she smelled the flowers, “and you're so sweet too!“
“Yup! That’s the way I am” Adi said proudly
”But I'm sure I didn't tell you where I live..." she asked
"That's what hackers created Google for..." Adi smiled pleasantly.
They both laughed. It was because of Google too that Adi had found out her email. There was silence for a moment. Adi broke the ice.
"So, what do you think about our plan?"
"Emnm... that plan? To set up our own boutique when we meet offline?"
Adi nodded and smiled hopefully, waiting for a good news.
She smiled. "We'll see about that."
** The End **
Acknowledgement:
The author wish to thank his friend, /anonymous/, for her lovely and inspiring emails ever since , and also his special thanks to Roxette for one of its fantastic songs: "The Look" (What is in the world can make a brown-eyed girl turn blue?).
[1] This short story is submitted to the “CnS 2nd Anniversary Short Story Writing Contest” held by Pusat Penerbitan LIA on June 6, 2003.
Printing Problem at Work
Have you ever tried printing line-per-line basis, using no automatic formatting? You have to control where exactly the printer head should point to, print formfeed just to pick it out of the printer, or simply make sure your text doesn't goes too far beyond right alignment you specified. All is done just using Delphi at Linux??
Well, If you haven't, I tell you: It sucks! But I haven't found any way out yet. Soon, I'll be right here with tip(s), if I found any :p See ya. I've got to back to work.
Well, If you haven't, I tell you: It sucks! But I haven't found any way out yet. Soon, I'll be right here with tip(s), if I found any :p See ya. I've got to back to work.
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