Halo, jiwa-jiwa korsa!

Tiga puluh hari di desa pada akhirnya berlalu.
Sepasang kaki ini kembali menginjakkan diri di rumah dan menyapa sepi.
Meskipun awalnya memakan waktu untuk beradaptasi, tidak dapat dipungkiri beberapa hal kini justru dirindukan. Bahkan terimakasih pada pengalaman tersebut, diri ini mendapat kesempatan untuk mengenal Indonesia lebih jauh, mendapat banyak teman baru, dan akhirnya dapat menyaksikan, mendengarkan, serta merasakan langsung apa yang selama ini hanya digambarkan oleh media yang belum tentu kebenarannya.

Dear Athira..

It's been years and still counting. How are you? I hope you, your siblings -- which I am sure have grown into teens now -- and your parents are in the finest condition wherever all of you are. Do you still remember me? I just, once again, want to thank you (: knowingly or not, you've taught me valuable lessons. The most memorable one is tolerance. I can't forget how you kindly accompany me going to the toilet to take wudhu, a ritual washing performed by Muslims before prayer. One of the part of the body which needs to be washed is foot and as a public school in a muslim minority country, there is no special facility to take wudhu which leaves the sink as an option. I had to lift my foot one by one and put it under the tap. Honestly, I was and still find it uncomfortable whenever people see me doing that though I understand they might find it strange because they just unusually see it. I know that you also found it strange at first but later, that became one of the time we worked together as a team. You helped to cover me by stand by on the door and make sure no one comes in to the toilet before I have done taking wudhu. Yet, you still patiently wait until I have done taking prayer at the beginning of lunch time in an unused room in the library. You see, how could I not possibly miss you so bad? That is still not included how we spend most of the time together at school, class' camp in Victor Harbour, your house when I visited there for unknowingly the first and last at the same time, and how we share stories to each other. You are really a pleasure to be (best)friend with and will never be forgotten. I am truly sorry for what I haven't but should be done as friend. I hope to meet you again someday even though you might hardly remember me. Please take care of yourself whenever and wherever you are. 

Sincerely,
your only Indonesian ex-classmate in Adelaide Secondary School of English.

Stranger

(noun) a person whom one does not know or with whom one is not familiar.

Referring to what is already defined above,
I am doubtless that none of us never met one,
or even been one of them.
Especially when you're going away from home,
getting yourself lost to unknown places you want to explore,
making yourself a stranger in the middle of strangers.

Dengan segala teka-teki diantara keasingan terhadap satu sama lain, ada yang memilih untuk hanya diam. Menebak-menebak atau bahkan tak mengacuhkan sama sekali segala pertanyaan yang muncul dalam benak.
Ada yang entah karena terbawa budaya, menanggapi keingintahuan, membunuh bosan, atau sekedar basa-basi sehingga membuka percakapan dengan pertanyaan-pertanyaan umum, membagi kisah sebagian sisi kehidupan, menawarkan makanan ringan yang dibawa, atau melakukan bentuk ramah-tamah lainnya.
Diluar itu, selalu ada yang tidak diduga-duga. Ada yang menjadikanmu merasa malang, namun ada pula yang membuatmu merasa bersyukur karena uluran tangan yang tak memandang "siapa" sebagai persoalan.

So, which stranger have you met?
or..
which one are you?

Perjalanan tidak hanya menjadi tempat-tempat baru yang dijelajahi, pemandangan-pemandangan yang dibingkai melalui lensa, atau ragam rasa yang dikecap oleh lidah, namun juga cerita yang lebih hidup karena mereka yang menyandang predikat "asing" membuatmu tidak memainkan peran sendiri dan membantu membentuk kesan atau bahkan mendapat pelajaran dari lelah letihnya langkah-langkah kakimu.

Home

Nowhere is her new home,

where her ears doesn't need to be plugged with loud music on the earphones to fade the shouts
where her eyes doesn't need to pretend to see no live drama
where her heart finally could let the tears fall free

because the old one is no longer than a battlefield

where she left breathless by all the hatred in the air
where she found out that heroes are just in Marvel's fantasy
where she learned that she was just a little girl in a big world.

Jatuh Cinta

Anda pernah merasakannya?
Manusiawi kok :) karena pada dasarnya cinta, suka, sayang, atau apalah orang menyebutnya merupakan fitrah, sesuatu yang dikaruniakan oleh Allah kepada setiap insan manusia. 

Akan tetapi, apakah lantas perasaan tersebut dapat sesuka hati dengan lantang disuarakan kepada dunia?