“Your faithless love’s the only hoax I believe in.”

https://open.spotify.com/track/6MWoRt97mnSTXZhu3ggi9C?si=c28b3badf861402e

July, 2024.

Faint laughter was heard on the foyer the moment Atlas’ elevator reached Puspa’s home. His eyebrows furrowed as he checked his calendar; she had no doctor appointment, nor any other plans for the day. As he walked to open the door, he wondered who the guest was.

No one; Puspa was sitting alone in the living room while holding her phone. Her face lit up when she saw Atlas entered her house, and she immediately point her phone to his direction. “Tuh, baru diobrolin anaknya muncul. Panjang umur, dia. Atlas, sini! Ini Kai.”

He smiled immediately when he heard the mention of Kai’s name, but his smile disappeared just as quick when he saw someone was sitting next to Kai. A woman. She looked Indonesian, but none like the ones Kai had introduced to him as his friends.

“Hi, dude. Where you at?” He tried to keep his jealousy from showing, but he knew that Kai noticed. “Hi, just some bistro at Central Park.”

“Oh. Alone?”

“Not really… I’m with Rashi. Remember when I asked you about that tragic couple you like on Star Wars? Well, I was talking with Rashi here… She’s also a Star Wars nerd.”

“Oh.”

Awkwardness lingered, but thankfully Puspa didn’t notice it. “Ya udah, sarapan aja dulu kalian. Ini Mama mau makan malem sama Atlas dulu. Rashi, please tell him to eat a lot ya, look at him he’s soo thin… But I’m glad that he has you there. Kalian berdua baik-baik, ya. Talk to you later.”

Atlas still could not take his mind off of the sight he saw on that phone screen: that Rashi girl just casually rested her head on Kai’s shoulder, too close to his liking. Kai had never mentioned her at all, even after they agreed to give this relationship a try. What kind of try, Atlas didn’t know either. Kai hadn’t said anything further about what effort he was going to attempt, and Atlas was too blissful to ask. Now everything seemed to contradict to what he had hoped.

“… atau di luar?”

Atlas looked up and realized Puspa was talking to him. “Apa, Ma?”

“Aku tadi tanya, kamu mau makan disini aja apa di luar? Aku ada sisa sop buntut, kalau mau dipanasin aja. Or if you’re sick of it, we can just eat someplace.”

“Di rumah aja, Mama kan lagi gampang capek. Sop buntut sounds good.”

Puspa nagged under her breath upon the mention of her condition. “Kamu tuh suka lebih-lebihin kondisi Mama. I’m okaaaay.”

“Oh, ya? Said someone who got tired after walking less than 50 meters yesterday?”

Puspa looked defeated at Atlas’ counter remarks. “Fine, you won. Tunggu di ruang makan, aku ambilkan nasi.”