Love that Never Withers

My life changed the day you let me call you “Mother”

You embraced me and gently kissed me and that’s all I could remember

My mind failed to recall the last time I felt love so pure and tender

If we’ve just met each other, why does it feel like I’ve known you forever?

My heart swelled with joy and my soul leapt like a child as you walked closer

Everything didn’t seem to matter when you wrapped your arms around me and whispered, “My daughter.”

With love that never withers, my heart knows no barrier and there’s nothing too big to conquer.

I love you, Mom.

mamaro

Dedicated to Robin Lim, my personal hero whom I proudly call Mother.

Soulmate

Saya tidak percaya konsep soulmate. Bagi saya, soulmate adalah sesuatu yang abstrak. Konsep rekaan manusia untuk melariskan dagangan bunga, cokelat, kartu Valentine, fiksi romantis dan apa pun yang menghasilkan duit.

Soulmate, menurut saya, adalah konsep yang konyol, kalau tidak kejam. Manusia dikotak-kotakkan dan dicemplungkan dalam wadah kedap udara. Kamu baru lengkap kalau sudah menemukan soulmate-mu. Bagaimana jika belum? Selamat, kamu akan menghabiskan sisa hidupmu mencari soulmate. Puteri bersepatu kaca atau pangeran berkuda putih yang, akui sajalah, makin sulit ditemukan di rimba beton yang sarat macet ini.

(Excuse me, I need to breathe!)

Lantas, katakanlah, kamu berhasil menemukan seseorang yang paling mendekati definisi dan deksripsimu tentang soulmate, plus tidak keberatan disebut soulmate. Selamat, Anda layak dapat bintang. (Itu iklan apa ya, by the way?) Namun jangan lupa, pasangan yang paling romantis pun bisa berpisah, bisa cerai, bisa selingk—ahem, putus. Lalu, apa yang bakal terjadi kalau kamu kehilangan soulmate-mu? Akankah kamu kehilangan keutuhanmu?

Semua pemikiran di atas, akhirnya membuat saya berpendapat kalau konsep soulmate adalah sesuatu yang tidak masuk akal.

Sampai saya bertemu dia.

Dia, barangkali, satu-satunya lelaki yang saya izinkan melihat air mata saya tanpa limit. Dia orang pertama yang saya hubungi dengan lutut bengkak berdarah usai kecelakaan yang nyaris menyebabkan saya jadi sandwich gepeng. Dan saya melihatnya duduk di lantai kamar saya, menangis terisak-isak, tersedu di ujung telepon, di pundak saya, dan banyak lagi. Akses tidak terbatas untuk mengetuk kamar saya di tengah malam? Siapa lagi kalau bukan dia pemiliknya.

Jika sampai sekarang ada orang yang membuat saya percaya bahwa tidak semua laki-laki di dunia begundal, dialah orangnya. Dia manusia paling murah hati, dan barangkali paling tolol, yang pernah saya kenal. Yang tidak pernah menunda berderma atau berlama-lama menawarkan bantuan, lalu melupakannya begitu saja.

(EMANGNYA DUIT BISA METIK DARI POHON, NYET?! – maaf, suka kebawa emosi.)

“Lo kenapa nggak bilang-bilang kalo nggak punya duit buat bayar sewa?” omelnya suatu saat. Jawabannya sederhana saja, karena saya tahu dia akan segera membobok tabungannya untuk menolong saya, dan saya tidak ingin itu terjadi. Dia perlu belajar memilah, dan saya perlu belajar mandiri.

Dia juga tidak segan mengulurkan tangan. Kapan pun, pada siapa pun. Pelukannya selalu tersedia dan telinganya tidak pernah bosan mendengar. Kepada dialah, saya mencari tempat bernaung saat perahu cinta saya kandas tanpa menyisakan apa-apa, dan dia dengan senang hati membukakan rumahnya, plus kedua lengannya, ketika saya memerlukan. Dialah pelampung yang dalam masa-masa paling kritis dan rapuh, menjaga saya tidak tenggelam.

Relasi kami bukan tanpa syarat. Hubungan kami bukannya sepi konflik. Ditambah, kami sama-sama punya lidah setajam silet. Berkali-kali saya jengkel, kesal, sebal, dan lebih dari sekali dua kami terlibat perdebatan sengit. Yang, tidak peduli betapa pun hebatnya, tidak pernah sanggup bertahan lama. Ejekan konyol dan lelucon bodoh selalu berhasil memecahkan tawa dan membuat kami berdamai kembali. Dan cuma dia satu-satunya orang yang dengan bebas bisa memanggil saya sebutan apa pun yang dia mau.

Saya tidak percaya konsep soulmate, sampai saya bertemu dia. Soulmate boleh jadi konsep paling absurd di jagat raya, namun saya berharap kamu, kamu, dan ya, kamu yang membaca tulisan ini, suatu saat nanti, akan dipertemukan dengan paling tidak seorang soulmate. Dan kalau kamu beruntung, kamu akan menemukannya dalam wujud seorang sabahat.

soulmate

Bitch you later, Alexander @aMrazing Thian.

On Loving and Losing

Something wasn’t right
Something wasn’t in tune
And I couldn’t tell what, or why, as the sky looked all blue and perfect

“Anyone knows where is Coco?”
That’s how I knew something was wrong
Nobody saw him and he didn’t come to me running, begging for food

“I’ll go ask the owner of the building,” a friend stood up.
Off she went, leaving everyone looking all puzzled
Coco never disappeared. Not even once. He was that sweet of a fella

That’s when I started looking for him
All the while trying not to stare at the grey cloud cruelly appearing in my blue sky
Ignoring the sinking feeling, heavy unspeakable weight on my chest

“No news yet?” I tried to prolong my denial
In the splitting seconds, right before she mouthed those words, I knew
Coco was no longer with us. And he will never be. Ever again

I went home all wobbly, so close to getting hit by a pick-up and couldn’t care less
I spent the entire afternoon crying, looked at Coco’s pictures
I slapped instagram filter to make them look better, and cried some more

The pain felt strangely similar to the one I had not too long ago
A feeling that once again made me build a fortress
The same pain that got me wondering if it was all worth it

Then it dawned on me
I wasn’t afraid of getting hurt. I was afraid of losing
I was not in love with anyone, and I lost anyway

It caught me off guard, took me by surprise
At the time I least expected it, when everything seemed perfect
When I thought this heart of mine was so well protected it couldn’t get any safer

Amidst the scattered memories and filtered photos, a thought sunk in
Could it be, the only way not to lose is by not being afraid to lose?
Could it be, that loving oneself is the closest thing to the love you’ll never lose?

Maybe it’s true, that everything happens for a reason
Perhaps Coco left so I can begin to see things right
Still, I wish he were still here; my little fella.

(Not) Another Mumbo Jumbo

I’m sick of dating, relationship and (want to get) married talks.

I work in social media and it seems that the only terms that really ‘sell’—whatever that means—are ‘soul mate’, ‘single’, ‘relationship’ and ‘marriage’. Oh, don’t forget ‘move on’ and ‘ex’. These are considered to be the easiest way to get lots of retweets and bunch of likes. Just come up with something, it can be random or totally common even obnoxious, add one of those terms, et voila.

I’m a bit annoyed by my circle of friends too. Don’t get me wrong, I heart my friends and heaven knows I’d go to hell and back for them. But I’ve had heard and read enough—again, I work in social media while residing in a small town where it successfully became the best tool to catch up with everything in the big city where almost all my friends and relatives live. I can’t escape all relationship, dating and marriage mumbo jumbo, and I’m overwhelmed. Not by the talks per se, but by the realization on how much it dominates our life.

Sure it’s normal, wanting to get married or simply have a beautiful relationship. Heck, I’d love to have one. But talking about it every day and bringing it up every time we have the chance?

Have we ever looked inside to figure out what is really happening? Do we really want a marriage, or are we merely longing for love and security? Are we ready for a healthy, stable relationship or are we simply too afraid of being alone? Is the thought of a future with no one beside you completely blows you off your feet that you’d be willing to jump on anyone with ‘available’ lights on their heads?

Being in a beautiful relationship is undoubtedly a mini paradise on earth. Being in love is magical and wonderful. I bet the butterflies in your stomach feel amazing beyond words. I’d vote for love any given time. Hell, it’s nice to have regular sex with someone. But being obsessed over (the idea of) love, relationship and marriage is something else. When it dominates your thought, words and actions, how does it affect your whole being?

Mind-blowing, isn’t it?

Yesterday I was scrolling through the news feed mindlessly and stumbled upon numerous single-dating-relationship-want-to-get-married (THIS YEAR! I WANT TO GET MARRIED THIS YEAR! …OK, maybe next year?) status updates and I couldn’t help but paused and wondered: Are we that incapable of enjoying ourselves when we are alone? Can we have a normal, daily (should I mention ‘healthy’ or would it come off too harsh?) talks without desperation written all over the place?

Alone. Alone. Alone. Is it such a scary word? Can we be content and satisfied with who we are and what we have, without over-thinking or regretting the fact that we, here in this moment, are alone?

Aren’t we enough?

Some people were born in pairs. But most were born alone. Perhaps it’s nature’s way of telling us that we *are* enough. One is enough. If we can find someone suitable to spend the rest of our lives with, it’s great, but if not, it’s also fine.

Because I don’t think our happiness, or our well being for that matter, should depend on the existence of someone else. Because as much as it sounds like a denial, I truly believe that each of us is good enough, at least for ourselves, to the point that being alone should not hinder us from leading a joyful life. Because the absence of a significant other is only a situation, not a death penalty.

Enough now.

Let’s talk about something else. How’s your dog?

 

*This writing was published on Thought Catalog.

The Power of Guilt

Guilt injects you with regrets and, even more so, a dose of satisfaction; satisfaction that you get from cheating life despite all pressures and boundaries it puts upon you.

Guilt drives you nuts with adrenaline rushes, yet you know you’d do it all over again had you were given the chance; as much as it fills you up with nasty remarks of yourself only you will ever know, it also leaves you with amazing memories of those things you did with great abandon.

Guilt pumps energy into your boneless figure and you know that you’re alive, that live doesn’t stop here, that you’re not stuck; you can and always have the chance to do something different.

Guilt fuels you; you know you’re capable of more.

Guilt boosts your confidence, your level of excitement and sense of adventure knowing that you hold a secret no one knows.

Guilt makes you the best husband, an amazing wife, a wonderful partner, a loyal friend, and a generous company.

So do wrong. Care less. Break the rules. Cross the boundaries.

Just know when to stop. And how.