We, From The First
#29. Crying Together

December 2000...

That night, it rained heavily all over the city. The sound of lightning flashes mixed with the wind, further adding to the dark atmosphere of the night. And in front of one of the modest houses in the settlement, a little boy was curled up in front of a locked door. He shivered with cold and fear.

While from inside the house, there was the sound of moans and screams of his Mama in pain, as well as the voice of his Papa who kept shouting and cursing. Alvin, the 6-year-old little boy, covered his ears while holding back his cries and the coldness that continued to whack his tiny body.

His father did often commit acts of violence on Alvin and his mother. It started when the business he built over the years suddenly went bankrupt. Their lives have changed completely since then. Bima –Papa Alvin often comes home drunk. He will then go mad, and slam whatever is in front of him. In fact, not infrequently, Alvin who is still very small must repeatedly hear his Papa calling Mama as the unlucky carrier woman. And it left a scar on his heart.

Every time Bima would commit violence, Regina would immediately lock Alvin in a room, or even outside the house, just so Alvin did not see the terrible incident. But even so, Alvin who was then 6 years old, had begun to understand what really happened. Several times too, Alvin witnessed his Mama being hit by his Papa by accident.

The following year, in early 2001, Regina decided to sue Bimantara Danadyaksa for divorce, and brought Alvin out of the 'hell' that had shackled them all along. Then, the next year again, in 2002, Regina remarried to her former lover who is none other than Adryan Abhimana, who is now a Connecting Father to Alvin, who is now a, but still treat him like his own son.

Adryan was previously married and had a son who was the same age as Alvin. But unfortunately, Adryan must accept the fact that his wife and child died in a plane crash. Before Regina came back into her life, Adryan had lived a life as dark as Regina.

And to throw away the figure of Bimantara Danadyaksa who has given too much suffering in his life and also Alvin, Regina and Adryan agreed to change the name of Alvin with the name of the late son of Adryan, Calvien Nicolas Abhimana's.

Not without reason Regina wanted to change her son's name. The name Alvin Dafandra Danadyaksa was once given by Bimantara himself. He gave the name with pride and hope. That is the reason why Regina really wants to remove the traces of Bimantara from her life and also Alvin. He could not let even a trace of him be left behind.

"Nico. From now on your name's Nico, huh?" Adryan said with full sincerity to little Alvin who at that time still looked scared. He even hid behind his mother for fear that Adryan would hurt her.

6 Months passed, after Nico befriended Aira, he began to be able to open up, and was no longer afraid of Adryan as well as the people around him. Adryan also takes Nico away to a psychologist to recover his mental state. Slowly but surely, Nico regains his cheerfulness thanks to Aira who is always with him. Although occasionally, the trauma always comes to haunt him in a nightmare in the middle of a rainy night.

And Nico, still secretly in love with Alvin's name, slowly begins to give up his birth name so that his mother is no longer hurt, or to remember the dark days they have been through.

It was the only secret Nico never shared with anyone but Aira. Only Aira knows. Only Aira gave her a hug to those dark secrets.

...****...

"Ma...he's how are you?" Ask Nico to his mom one day. At that time Adryan was going out of town. And Nico felt, that this was the right time for him to ask his mother.

He Nico meant his father. Even her father had never seen her face again in the last ten years. Although he had been so hurt and so scared because of his Papa, Nico still wanted to know how he was now.

Regina, who was enjoying her breakfast in the morning, immediately removed the knife and fork on the plate to make a loud clanking sound. Regina did not expect at all that Nico would ask about the man.

Aira, who was going to the dining room, immediately abandoned her intentions as soon as she heard the conversation between the mother and the child.

"Nico just wants to know." Answer Nico honestly. But he also could not escape his guilt for having asked about 'That Person' to his Mama.

"Really! That's your name. You are Calvien Nicolas Abhimana. You are the son of Adryan Abhimana. And I hope you keep remembering that until you die. Don't drag him down for anything, and don't be curious about what he's doing now, alive or dead. Understood?"

"Ma..."

"Enough, Nic! Mama's appetite is gone." Said Regina coldly. He got up from his chair and left Nico alone.

Moments after his mother left, Nico immediately regretted what he had done. Even though he was very curious, he should not ask his mother who had been desperately struggling to forget the suffering of her past. Nico suddenly felt very angry at himself.

Nico sighed softly, then rubbed his face with both hands while lowering his face. Not long after, Nico could feel someone was already standing before him now. Nico raised his face. That was when, he immediately found Aira who was staring at him wryly.

"Rho? You want breakfast?" Nico Tegur. As much as possible he tried to make his tone sound fine, even though it was far away, his heart was being ambushed.

Aira shook her head in response. His gaze could not be separated from Nico's eyes. From the look of those eyes, Aira seemed to be able to peer into Nico's heart. And he saw that Nico was in a storm.

This time, without saying anything, Aira immediately hugged Nico who was still in a sitting position. Nico glued for a while. Then slowly, her tears suddenly descended.

There was a feeling of longing but hate that he always craved for 'The Man'. And Aira could read it clearly.

Nico grabbed Aira's waist. When he was no longer able to stem all his feelings, Nico finally poured out his cries in the arms of Aira.

That's when Nico realizes that he needs Aira in his life. He needs Aira to calm the storm inside him. He needs Aira as his strength. And he needs Aira as a crumbly support figure of her.

"I hurt Mama, Ra. But I can't lie, I want to know the man's circumstances." Nico Lirih. He immersed himself in the arms of Aira.

Aira said nothing and just listened. He leaned his chin directly above the top of Nico's head while gently rubbing his shoulders to strengthen it. And without Aira noticing, her tears just escaped.

They cried together without a sound.

^^^To be Continued...^^^