Rifki opened his eyes. The ceiling sat above him in all its dull glory, a faint light from the window illuminating it. Rifki quickly sat up. It seemed to him as though he had slept for hours. Had he missed his alarm somehow and slept through the entire night? He turned to his left to check for his phone, expecting it to be next to him in his bed, but it wasn't.
Letting out a frustrated sigh, Rifki grabbed his bedsheet and tossed it aside. Still unable to locate his phone, he decided to look out the window to get an answer.
The dim light of late evening reflecting on the neighboring buildings reassured him that only a few hours had passed. Walking back to his mattress, Rifki looked on the floor to see if his phone had fallen off his bed. It wasn't there.
Rifki tried to rack his brain, thinking of where his phone could be. He usually left it next to him on his mattress, but he could not remember what he had done with it. For some strange reason, the events of the afternoon seemed as though they had taken place days ago. Stepping out of his room to head downstairs, Rifki was greeted by something odd: silence. He quickly realized he was home alone.
His siblings had left for takbiran, he remembered. But the quiet felt heavier than usual. It was malam takbir—the entire neighborhood should be alive with celebration. Unless Fajar and Kartika had gone out early to claim a spot, he had no clue how long they'd been gone. He wondered for a second if he should go back to sleep, but finally decided against it, not wanting to sleep anymore. That left him with two options; brood in silence in his home or enjoy the evening with a pleasant walk.
Without much deliberation, Rifki chose the second option. Stepping out to the quiet street, Rifki walked down the path that would take him to the ocean. As his journey began, the sights and the dim bustlings of the town seemed to lift his spirits. Every distant hum of car tires or click of residential doors opening and closing was familiarity he welcomed.
In the distance, he could hear it—takbir echoing from the masjid, voices proclaiming "Allahu Akbar" through loudspeakers. The sharp crack of petasan punctuated the night air, making him flinch each time. Kids' laughter drifted from somewhere nearby. Malam takbir was in full swing.
Rifki could see the breeze begin to pick up as he wandered, a sheet of paper being carried past him in the aimless wind, knowing he was getting close to the water's edge.
Indeed, soon the young man saw the glimmer of the ocean in the distance, veiled by a grove of trees. Making his way through, his eyes gazed upon a sea of sand, its grey surface reflecting the dull light of the dying sun, nothing more than a sliver of red visible above the shallow coast to the west. Rifki slowed to a rigid stop, watching as the last bit faded beneath the waves, teasing him with a brief flash of green before that too disappeared beneath the horizon. The only light that remained was the scarlet sky of dusk, along with the nearly full moon that had already climbed a bit above the mountainous horizon in the east.
Not wanting to remain still any longer, Rifki began to walk forward once more towards the water, looking for the cool relief of the ocean after his grueling day. But as he stepped into the foamy waves and let them wash over his feet, he did not feel any different. The air, the water, the sand, all of these things did nothing to affect the stagnation he was experiencing as he stood there on the dimly lit beach. It was as if the environment, just like the young man, had baked fruitlessly under the blazing sun all day as well. Rifki remained there for a second, eyes scanning from one edge of the horizon to the other. For as far as the naked eye could see, not a soul was within eyesight, or so he thought...
Wanting to feel some relief, or simply anything, Rifki decided to venture in further to the waves, hoping the gentle waters would help him feel relaxed. Yet, as he walked out further, it was seemingly to no avail. Stopping once more, Rifki let his mind idle, and wondered about his plans for the next day...
It was in this moment of absent thinking, that he did not immediately notice a strange shape approaching upon the water. When he did finally turn and notice it on the water's surface, he merely assumed it was a rock he had neglected seeing before. Yet, as it drew closer to him, he questioned his previous assumption, wondering instead if it was driftwood. Once again, he revised his theory as he noticed it was not traveling with the waves, but instead independently, making him wonder if it was a dolphin.
But then, Rifki saw something strange appear as the shape grew closer that would challenge his previous assumption, a white skin-like substance on the bottom of the dark shape. It would take a few more seconds, but finally, he realized that what he was seeing was a human head. At that exact moment, a new feature could be seen; eyes. But these eyes were not dull and lifeless, but instead were looking right at him. As the head approached, more features became visible. Ears. A nose. Mouth, smiling. Shoulders. The dark shape he had mistaken for previous objects, now above the water, was finally correctly identified as long indigo and blue hair, not adulterated by even a single drop of water.
Rifki was fearful of what he was seeing, yet, he did not move from his spot in the shallow waters. Perhaps morbid curiosity of this strange creature had clouded his judgement, or perhaps, his mental fogginess prevented him from formulating a proper retreat, but in any case, he remained motionless as this thing drew closer.
As more continued to emerge, what Rifki saw resembled a beautiful woman, wearing some sort of darkly colored dress. The water continued to recede around the figure, and it was as that motion continued, that Rifki would begin to notice just how tall this mystery creature was. Despite her distance, the water now lapped at her waist, in water that for Rifki he was certain would be around the height of his shoulders.
Whatever this womanly being was, she was tall, at least two meters if not more in height. As Rifki caught sight of the approaching creature's purple eyes, his curiosity began to disintegrate, replaced with a chilling fear as she approached.
Knowing he should depart now, Rifki quickly looked back to the shore, then back to the towering giantess. It was only a brief glance, but long enough for him to know that he would not make it back in time. As the fingertips and wide hips of this mysterious creature appeared above the water's surface, Rifki decided to confront her, it, whatever face-to-face, unable to hide his fear as he began to tremble.
For a fearless man of adventure, his explorer's spirit seemed to have timidly vanished as the dark-haired being closed the remaining gap between the two.
As she came face to face with Rifki, only a few feet from him, she stopped walking, simply looking at him intently, the two close enough to touch each other's hands if they reached out. Still shaking in fear, Rifki took a second to examine her as she towered over him.
She was a sight that Rifki knew he would never forget. Skin that looked like pearl, eyes more vibrant than amethyst, hair a deeper blue than the depths of the ocean, an unexplainable yet gentle smile that could thaw even the coldest heart, and finally, there was her outfit...
An indigo dress with cosmic patterns of stars, nebulae, and moons graced her elegant figure. On her ears were golden crescent moon earrings. Her nails were painted blue, and there was a beautiful silver trim on her dress. Right below the edge of her skirt, she was wearing a bright blue ribbon on her thigh, tightly held in place by a golden star buckle. Not even a drop of water had perforated her body or outfit, as she stood there, completely dry.
Rifki had no idea if he was hallucinating, dreaming, or seeing something real. But as the two stared at each other, and Rifki re-examined the complexity of her design, he began to think that maybe what his eyes were looking at was not in fact, a delusion.
Without warning, the mysterious woman extended her hand. Rifki jolted a bit. He looked at her, a face of uncertainty meeting her smile. He didn't know exactly what she wanted, but part of him theorized if he took her hand, he would be pulled underwater to an untimely death. He had heard stories before as a child about Nyai Roro Kidul. He didn't know if this was really her, or perhaps something else.
As the seconds ticked by, the woman's smile faded at his hesitancy, replaced by an almost pleading look. Rifki had never seen a woman make that face before, and especially not directed at him. He began to feel his rationality and better judgment falter as he slowly lifted his hand towards her.
By the time he realized what he had done, one of his hands was holding hers, and the other sat clasped around her waist. He expected something horrible to follow, yet it never did. Instead, the two began to gently sway through the shallow water. It only took Rifki a few seconds to realize that the two were dancing together. Feeling less afraid, he got a better grip on her hand, surprised that it fit perfectly in his. Looking up to make eye contact with the beautiful amazonian, he saw that her smile had returned, now more passionate and loving than before. The young man had never shared this level of affection with a woman in his life, yet, as he danced with her, it seemed as though this routine was one they had practiced for together their entire lives.
Rifki felt a slight twinge of embarrassment, wondering if the dance could be perhaps too intimate an activity for this woman he had just met. Nevertheless, for some reason, she seemed to enjoy his company, and for an inexplicable reason, that was all the justification he needed.
As the dance continued, Rifki caught the water's surface out of the corner of his eye. What he saw shocked him. The two were no longer dancing in the shallow waves of the sea, but instead were now meters above the water, their feet standing on nothing but air. For some reason, Rifki didn't feel afraid. He continued his dance, moving his hand a bit lower to where it would be easier for him to dance with her, taking into account her much taller height. His eyes shifted away nervously as he did so, afraid that she might take his motions the wrong way and feel uncomfortable. To his relief, her smile remained intact, and the dance continued unabated, the two ascending slowly in the dim sky.
That sky had by now faded from evening to dusk, the spectacular array of stars in the sky now complementing the dress of the mysterious beauty who danced by Rifki's side. Distant sounds of celebration—takbir, petasan, voices—drifted up from the town below, a reminder that Lebaran was only hours away. The dance grew more intricate as their altitude increased, with marvelous spins, balancing stunts, and footwork too complex to be replicated as the two swayed in the glistening twilight.
Suddenly, the amazonian slowed, before coming to a stop as she held Rifki's hands. The pause gave Rifki time to look around. By now, the waves and the water were so far below that the latter looked like ripples on a puddle. The dimly lit mountains in the distance looked like footstools, and the moon...the moon seemed close enough for Rifki to touch. For a mere second, he raised his hand towards it, in awe of its glowing beauty.
But Rifki did not let ignorance cloud his mind for too long. He knew there was something even more breathtaking only an arm's length away. Letting his hand travel away from his dance partner's hand, he moved it to her cheek, caressing her face gently, complementing her beauty, gentleness, and talent. It didn't take long before he noticed a bit of a blush beginning to form on her face. Her hands shyly met his cheeks, but instead of replicating his earlier move, she leaned down towards him, seemingly having something different in mind.
Suddenly, without warning, the beautiful woman got very close to him. Rifki could feel her warm breath, tickling his face. Before he could even react, she leaned in to kiss him on the lips.
Rifki's heart began to race, closing his eyes as he drowned out his senses to enjoy the wonderful moment. Though he did not see it, a glorious selection of shooting stars trickled across the sky in those intimate moments, perhaps celebrating their first kiss.
After an untold number of seconds, Rifki felt the mysterious woman's lips part from his. Standing up straight again, she took his hands again, her passionate violet eyes staring into the depths of his soul. Despite their hands being linked, she did not return to the dance, the two simply maintaining their position.
Rifki's mind was flooded with many thoughts; confusion, excitement, passion, love, and even a bit of anxiety flooded his psyche. After what seemed like an eternity, when he finally looked away from the amazonian, he saw the waves of the ocean, no longer distant, but instead only a few meters away from their feet. Turning back to face his dance partner, Rifki saw a satisfied look on her face, as if everything that had happened had gone exactly the way she wanted.
Once his legs came to a rest among the rippling waves, Rifki raised the beautiful creature's hands, offering her another dance yet it never came. Silently, the woman slid her hands away, and took a single step back.
Rifki looked at her in desperation, now imploring her with his eyes as she had done earlier. But it seemed that trick did not work so easily on her. After gently petting the young man's head for a few brief moments, the woman walked past him towards the deeper water, as if looking to return to where she had come from. She turned to face him as she went, her eyes fixated on him as she widened the gap between them.
Heart racing, Rifki attempted to follow her, frantic to not lose sight of her. But as he did so, he could see the water getting deeper around him, until soon, it was sloshing well above his waist. Laughing silently, the woman waved him a final farewell, before returning to her walk, seemingly to the depths she had come from. Rifki watched as inch by inch, more of her disappeared under the waves, just like the sun had earlier. And before he knew it, she had vanished into the sea.
Still in the shallow waters, Rifki stood there in silence among the gentle waves, trying to make sense of what had just transpired. Finally, unable to reach a conclusion, he turned and meandered back to the shore. His thoughts swam in turmoil as he saw the water recede around his legs, the events of before replaying over and over in his mind.
Looking down once more, he saw that he had arrived back on the shore. Nothing greeted him on dry land, and as he let his eyes wander out into the ocean as it reflected starlight, he no longer felt euphoric, but instead like the loneliest man in the world.
Today's fun fact: I wrote the final handwritten draft of Biru Tua on paper that was made in Indonesia. And yes, I did that intentionally!