Visitor from the past
A month had passed since the incident with Vero. It was Saturday, Adrian and Elsa were relaxing in Adrian's apartment unit. Suddenly, "knock... knock... knock," Elsa heard someone knocking on her apartment door.
"Dri, can you check who's at my apartment door?" Elsa asked, leaning back against Adrian.
Adrian looked over. He saw a girl standing at the door of Elsa's apartment unit, then he looked back.
"There's a girl, but I don't know her," Adrian said.
"What does she look like?" Elsa asked.
Adrian looked again, staring intently at the girl knocking on Elsa's apartment door, observing her in detail. Then he looked back at Elsa.
"Hmm, her hair is a bit curly, her nose is slightly pointed, her skin is brown, and she has a few pimples on her face," Adrian said.
Elsa immediately sat up straight, then turned her head as she still heard the knocking.
"Why?" Adrian asked.
"Are you serious about what you just said?" Elsa asked.
"Yeah, serious. Oh, and her stomach is big," Adrian replied.
"Huh? Really?" Elsa asked.
"Yeah, really. Who is it, anyway?" Adrian asked.
"You remember, I told you I had a friend in Bandung who lived across from my house? That's her. How did she get here? How did she know? I changed my smartphone number and never told her this address," Elsa explained.
"Want to meet her first?" Adrian asked.
"No way. You go out. If she asks about me, just say I'm not here," Elsa replied.
"Okay, I'll go next door first," Adrian said, standing up.
He walked to the wall behind the sofa and rotated it. Elsa immediately jumped onto her bed and watched TV casually. Adrian walked out of the room, then opened the door. The girl behind the door was surprised to see Adrian.
"Good afternoon, is this Elsa's house?" the girl asked.
"Who are you?" Adrian asked.
"I'm her friend, Meri. I'm from Bandung," Meri replied.
"What do you need?" Adrian asked.
"Excuse me, may I know who you are, sir?" Meri asked.
"I'm her fiancé," Adrian answered.
"What?!" a man behind the wall yelled. The man immediately jumped forward towards Meri and pushed her, but "tap!" Adrian immediately caught his neck.
"You think I didn't know you were standing there, huh?" Adrian said roughly.
"L-l-let go!" the man yelled.
"P-please, let him go," Meri said.
"Why should I let him go?" Adrian asked, turning and glaring at Meri.
"H-he's the father of this child," Meri said, stroking her stomach.
"Then why did he push you and scream when I said I was Elsa's fiancé? Anyway, I know you're here looking for Elsa, who are you?" Adrian asked, tightening his grip on the man's neck.
"Thump... thump... thump!" The man kicked Adrian repeatedly, but Adrian didn't budge and instead gripped the man's neck even tighter until the man's face turned red and blue from lack of air.
"Dri, that's enough," Elsa said from behind Adrian.
"You said you didn't want to come out?" Adrian asked, turning to Elsa.
"Just let him go first. We'll talk inside. It's embarrassing for the neighbors," Elsa replied.
"Okay, but if he tries anything, he's ready to drown in the sea or become Galvin's food," Adrian warned.
"Yeah, yeah. Come on in, Meri," Elsa said, inviting Meri inside.
"E-Elsa? You have legs?" Meri asked, surprised.
"Yeah, now I have legs," Elsa replied, showing off her legs.
Finally, Adrian released the man and put his arm around Elsa, leading her inside. Then he looked back.
"Meri, right? Please close the door. Bring that thug inside," Adrian said.
"Y-yes, thank you," Meri replied.
Meri helped the man she was with inside, then closed the door. They walked into the living room and sat in front of Elsa.
"Who is he, Elsa?" the man asked, holding his neck and pointing at Adrian.
"My fiancé, why?" Elsa asked, raising one leg and crossing her arms.
"You're really cruel to me, Elsa. I love you so much, you know?" the man yelled.
"Who is he?" Adrian asked.
"His name is Remon. He's the one who made me move from Bandung to Jakarta by myself," Elsa replied.
"Oh, okay, drown him in the sea," Adrian said, standing up.
"W-wait, calm down first. He's under the influence of drugs; he doesn't realize what he's saying," Meri said, holding Adrian back.
"Who else would want a crippled person like you, Elsa? Only me... only me," Remon yelled.
"Okay, I'm going to fold him," Adrian said, standing up again.
"Oh no... sorry... truly sorry, please don't do anything to him. He really isn't in the right mind," Meri pleaded, defending Remon.
"Why are you defending him, Meri?" Elsa asked sharply.
"I'll tell you, Elsa, everything," Meri replied.
Meri looked at Remon, who was sobbing uncontrollably. Then she began to tell her story. Meri had dated an older student and then got caught up in drugs because her boyfriend's older brother was a gang member. After she became pregnant, Meri was abandoned. Finally, she went home and was kicked out by her parents. While she was wandering around, Remon took Meri into his home, but when Meri's belly grew larger, Remon's parents asked Meri about it.
Before Meri could answer, Remon immediately told his parents that he had gotten Meri pregnant and was willing to take responsibility. Remon's father, who was an official, immediately became enraged and kicked both of them out of the house. Finally, they both wandered the streets and were expelled from school. Then they tried their luck in Jakarta, but when they arrived, a shaky Remon fell into the trap of drugs. Eventually, as they were running from a dealer who was pressuring Remon to sell drugs, they met a high school student who went to school near where they were running.
From that student, they learned about Elsa's apartment because the student went to the same school as Elsa, who didn't have legs.
"Haaaah... I think I know who told them," Elsa said.
"Yeah, me too. (He turned to Meri) Was that student pretty, had a mole near her lips, and long, wavy hair?" Adrian asked.
"Yeah, that's right. She said she knew Elsa," Meri replied.
"It really was Vero, wasn't it, Dri? Oh, for heaven's sake," Elsa said.
"So what do you two want here?" Adrian asked.
"W-we just wanted to hang out, because we missed you and haven't seen you in a long time," Meri replied.
"Oh my god, Meri, why did you get yourself into such a mess?" Elsa asked.
"I fell in with the wrong crowd, Elsa. It's my fault," Meri replied, crying.
"And please be honest, what do you want here? There's no way you just missed me; we weren't that close," Elsa pressed.
Meri looked down. She looked at Remon, whose head was on her shoulder, and she raised her hand to hug Remon's head.
"Sorry, Elsa, I'll be honest. Can I borrow your house in Bandung, at least until this baby is born?" Meri asked.
"What?" Elsa asked, standing up.