The Estuary of Desire Baruna
Eps. #26 Who is this Man?

Time shows at five o'clock in the afternoon. That day was Baruna's first day working at her papa company.

Not much different from Arkha, Baruna was able to quickly adapt in that office and was able to do the tasks Arkha gave her very deftly.

Understandably, since childhood Baruna has very often heard his father discuss the problem of office work, be it with his mother or other business partners. So that without learning it, Baruna easily understood what Arkha used to do.

"Papa notice you seem to be agitated, Una. What's up?" arkha said, shaking her head, when she realized that afternoon her son looked unsettled and began to not focus on his work.

"Ee .. Can I go home first, Pa?" ask Baruna. "I have an appointment to see my friends" he lied while glancing at the circular watch in his left hand. He remembered that it was time he had to pick Floretta up from his place of work.

Arkha only smiled faintly and sighed deeply. Although his son was willing to follow his will and began to learn to manage his company, but Baruna was not fully able to get rid of his habit and still preferred to spend time having fun enjoying his youth with his friends.

"Alright, papa let you leave the office first. But remember, you don't go home tonight!" arkha insisted, but there was no intention of forbidding her son to meet those friends.

"Thank you, Pa. If so, I'll go first." Baruna rushed to grab her jacket and was about to leave the office immediately.

"Wait, Una!"

Baruna had not yet set foot, Arkha stopped her.

"A cloudy sky, Una. Looks like it's going to rain. You better not ride the bike, you use papa's car," Arkha suggested. Seeing the weather that began to be less good because it had entered the rainy season at that time, Arkha was a little worried about her son and did not have the heart to see Baruna riding a motorcycle.

"It's okay, Pa. I will not go far away anyway, will not be rained," Baruna refused. Of course, not because he was not afraid of the rain, but he would find it difficult to find an excuse when Flo later asked him about the car he was wearing.

"I'm coming home now, Pa," said Baruna, kissing the back of her papa's hand and hurrying to leave the office.

.

Baruna took off his big bike very quickly, realizing he was too late to pick up his girlfriend.

"I'm sorry I'm late, Flo. You must have been waiting for me a long time, right?" regret Baruna, when Flo's sweet smile greeted his arrival at the office where Flo worked.

"No problem, Bar. I know it's your first day at work. Anyway, I haven't been waiting here long, either" said Flo, still smiling sweetly. Although he had actually waited long enough, there was no resentment in his heart. He faithfully waited for his beloved to come to pick him up.

Baruna then drove the motor slowly. Considering Flo has now been piggybacked on him, he feels no need to speed again to get to the destination soon.

Amidst the journey, a sudden cloud grew thicker enveloping the entire city. So, the road became dark and the wind was also blowing quite hard. Raindrops began to fall from the sky and wet everything on the surface of the earth.

"The rain is quite heavy, Bar. Let's take the shade first!" screeched Flo in Baruna's ear while opening her helmet's glass.

Baruna then pulled over his motorbike and looked for shade to take shelter from the rain.

In front of an empty shophouse, they stopped and took shelter there. The longer the rain falls the more intense. Because Baruna did not equip himself with raincoats, they chose to stay in front of the shophouse and wait for the rain to subside.

"Your clothes are wet, Bar." Floretta rubbed Baruna's jacket wet by the rain that had flushed them before.

"Just a little, Flo. You're wet too." Baruna rubbed Flo's shoulder. He remembered that the rain that fell suddenly earlier, had managed to make them both wet.

The hour hand kept turning, but the rain was still very heavy, Baruna and Floretta also still chose to sit quietly in front of the shophouse.

"Are you cold, Flo?" Baruna hugged Flo's shoulder tighter.

"Slightly," said Flo briefly, as he wrapped his body into Baruna's embrace. Although the cold felt pierced to the bone, but a warm feeling filled the two people who were in love.

"Let'soo!!" Flo broke down and scattered, immersing his face in Baruna's arms, when suddenly there was a flash of lightning accompanied by thunderous roars.

"I was very afraid to hear the sound of lightning, Bar," Flo said with her lips trembling in fear, as the thunderous roar screeched in her ear. Baruna tightened her embrace. "Don't be afraid, Flo. There will be me here. You don't need to be afraid of anything when I'm with you," comforted Baruna with a smile, calming Flo who was growing trembling in her arms.

"If the rain has subsided, we'd better get home, Bar! I'm afraid of being outside the house during lightning like this" Flo lamented.

"Yes, Honey. Don't worry, I'll always be there for you." Baruna continued to comfort and tried to repel Flo's fear.

The two kept smiling and staring at each other. Although Flo was actually very afraid of the rumbling sound and lightning, but there was Baruna beside him who was able to eliminate all his fear.

A few minutes later, the rain began to fall. Without wasting any time, Baruna and Flo rush to leave their shelter towards Flo's rented house.

Although the rain was still drizzling, Baruna continued to drive her motorcycle through several puddles on the road that was slightly flooded after the rain was so heavy that it flushed the city.

****

Meanwhile at the same time.

From another corner not far from where Baruna and Flo were staying, a man smiled sinisterly at their closeness.

The man was tall, well-built and at that time was wearing formal clothing. His age did look quite mature, but there was an authority emanated from his face.

After Baruna and Flo had passed, the man walked through the raindrops to the side of the road and into a premium metalic ash SUV that had been parked there. After sitting in his luxury sports car, the man took the phone out of his pocket and looked at a photo he had just taken through his phone camera.

"Diaz! All this cannot be allowed!" The man clucked. A aura of anger emanated from the look in his eyes as he looked at the photo of Baruna and Flo on his phone screen.

The man then dialed a contact number on his phone.

"Diaz, have you received the photo I sent you on your phone?" The question was immediately thrown from the man's mouth when the person he was in contact with had received his call.

"You didn't immediately hand Flo over to me, but you instead let Flo get close to another man. Do you feel so good that you no longer need my help?" grinned the man, very disappointed to hear the answer of someone who was on his phone.

"I don't want to hear any more of your excuses, Diaz! Flo should be mine soon. Otherwise, I could have led you to the police station, and you would have been locked up in jail forever!" said the man was full of threats while hanging up the phone.

"I have to get married to Flo. If Diaz dares to mess with me, she will feel the consequences herself!" The man returned. Seeing the closeness of Flo and Baruna, making a burning emotion burn his soul.

"Aaah, shit! Who was that guy with Floretta?" acrimoniousness.

Braakk!

The man hit the driver of the car in front of him. "I also had to get rid of that snot guy who was with Flo. I won't let anyone have Flo except me!" furious with the man while stepping on the accelerator pedal of his car deeply and spurring him to leave the place.