Writing Paradise

In the Moonlight © aicchan . Sonia Heidrich walked briskly through the mildly crowded street. Her attention was divided between trying her best not to bump at pedestrians, slipping through to reach her destination, and listening to the one talking at the other end of her phone call—Souma, her boyfriend who is six years younger than she is, around the same age as her half-brother Eden. Well, actually only paid attention to what he said when she finally arrived in a small alley which would lead her to the kitchen of a restaurant where she worked at. She is late for her part-time shift, for Christ's sake. "Yeah," she opened the back door and walked in hastily, closing the door behind her then hung her sling bag and jacket on the hanger, "yeah, I get it already. Look, I need to do my part-time work now, okay? I'll see you on Saturday." She ended the call and was slipping her phone onto her pants' pocket when she heard someone whistled mockingly. Turn...

In the Moonlight © aicchan . It was past midnight when Asmita decided to have a night stroll. Most stores had closed down for the day, obviously, but not the convenience stores. He originally intended to buy a magazine or some other things from there and went to the closest park to enjoy them, but he forgot all about it when he saw Defteros coming out from an convenience store, carrying a plastic bag of canned drinks and light snacks. For a few moments, they just stood frozen on the spot, staring straight at each other. Then Defteros regained enough composure to make a remark, "Are you out to make a fight with some mobs again?" Asmita blinked fast. "What?" "Like the other day." The taller of the two had his arms folded in front of his chest and gave Asmita half-accusing, half-joking look. "Beautiful people these days... they always hold some kinda dark secrets. I bet yours is that you love to walk around at night like this and pick on a fi...

In the Moonlight © aicchan . It was past midnight when Asmita decided to have a night stroll. Most stores had closed down for the day, obviously, but not the convenience stores. He originally intended to buy a magazine or some other things from there and went to the closest park to enjoy them, but he forgot all about it when he saw Aspros coming out from an convenience store, carrying a plastic bag of canned drinks and light snacks. The man was still clad in the uniform, meant that he hadn't return to his home yet. This was confirmed when they began to chat, and Aspros informed him that he just finished dealing on a case just a few blocks away from there. "I won't be coming home anytime soon, I think. There are still a lot of things to do," he chuckled as he shifted his posture. The items he bought made rustling sounds when he did so. "I feel bad for my little brothers, but so far they'd manage taking care of our house while me and Defteros are...

In the Moonlight © aicchan . . . Suara gaduh mengusik tidurku, menarikku dari alam mimpi kembali ke dunia nyata. Dalam usahaku untuk kembali sadar sepenuhnya, perlahan aku menyadari apa yang menimbulkan bunyi gaduh itu. Suara pintu digedor keras-keras, suara Pefko berteriak, dan satu-dua prajurit berusaha menenangkannya. Ketika aku mulai bertanya-tanya dalam benakku apa yang menyebabkan sepupu kesayanganku itu bersikap heboh begitu, aku mendengar suara Dohko. Begitu jelas, tidak seperti suara Pefko dan para prajurit yang sedikit teredam karena sepertinya mereka ada di balik pintu. "Mengertilah, Pangeran. Ini semua demi Tuan Putri dan kesejahteraan kerajaan ini." "Tetap saja!" Pefko masih terus menggedor pintu. "Kenapa harus Agasha yang dikorbankan!?" Agasha? Mendengar nama itu disebut, aku kontan bangkit dari posisiku berbaring. Mengerjap beberapa kali, rupanya aku berada di kamarku meski anehnya aku tidak ingat pergi ke kamar untuk tidur— —...

In the Moonlight © aicchan . There was another long silence then. Asmita waited for the others' reaction patiently, repeatedly shifting her gaze between Cardinale and Shijima. Neither showing signs of them going to give him a sermon, but he did catch them trading glances with each other, as if communicating through mere eye contacts—he won't be surprised if they do have that kind of ability, considering the long history they had together. "... well, what would you like to hear?" Shijima finally speak after the long wait, which surprised Asmita. Not because he didn't expect him to be the first one to speak, no, but more toward the context of his question. What would he like to hear? He certainly didn't want to hear another preach, possibly a long one, in the topic of letting himself be treated by some humans and risked his identity to be revealed. He can go for the option of answering 'no, I don't want to hear anything' and maybe the...

In the Moonlight © aicchan . Asmita said nothing to Cardinale's preach. He had admitted that he was being careless and underrated the vampire hunters—humans who underwent numerous training to exterminate his species. Ah, no. Perhaps he was actually overestimating his ability. He had introspected, so there was no need to heed further scoldings from Cardinale, regardless of how rude he was for doing that to that temporary guardian of his. . Being a vampire that belonged to no family, Asmita had went through his whole life shifting between countless small vampire clans since he was separated from his first one. The process would averagely work like this: an adult vampire took him into the group they were part of, cared for him as if he had been part of theirs since its founding, then when the time comes for the group to move away in order to avoid human's suspicions of their ageless appearance, he will separate himself from them and looked for a new group in a new place. A...

In the Moonlight © aicchan . Asmita's eyes remained fixed on the name card in his hand even as he came out of the bus and walked the way to his home. It was Defteros's. He gave it to him when they reached the bus stop close to his detective office, saying that—he wasn't sure whether the taller man was joking or not—he can contact him with the numbers listed on that card if he need help or just want to have someone to talk to. Asmita wasn't sure whether he should be offended with the implication that he had no friends and thus offered a way to relieve some loneliness through talking to someone like Defteros. Nonetheless, he appreciated the little gift. Looking up, he nearly walked past his destination—a three-floored building that is owned by his relative. An eye-catching plank hung over the awning, telling people who cared to look that the building hosted a restaurant specialized in Indian cuisine on its two first floors. The topmost floor was served as the owne...

“Kardia? Daripada mengisengi pacarmu, bagaimana kalau kau menjelaskan plot film ini?” “Haah?” Kardia mengangkat sebelah alisnya. “Kenapa harus gitu? Memangnya kamu nggak nonton?” “Bukan begitu maksudnya, Kardia. Kamu diminta menjelaskan ke penonton yang sedang menonton acara ini,” Dégel menjelaskan dengan sabar. “Memangnya para penonton nggak nonton film kita?” Aphrodite mengerang frustasi. “Sepupu kamu, ‘kok, tolol, ‘sih, Mil?” “Nggak tau, kayaknya waktu kecil dia bukannya dimasukkin ke rumah sakit umum tapi malah dijeblosin ke rumah sakit jiwa, jadinya agak error gitu,” Milo menyahut acuh tak acuh. “Kalian ngomong kayak yang digosipin nggak denger gitu, ya...” Kardia bergantian menatap tajam ke arah dua orang pria yang lebih muda darinya itu. “Gosip apa? ‘Kan kenyataan kalau kamu tolol.”

Sesuai perjanjian, Ilias menyelesaikan menu latihannya hari itu dengan sempurna, membungkam Kratos yang mencoba mengomelinya karena terus-terusan meremehkan pentingnya latihan bagi seorang calon Saint. Setelah membersihkan diri dari peluh keringat dan segala kotoran lainnya, ia menapaki ribuan tangga, melewati kuil-kuil kosong, dan mencapai Kuil Pisces. Rischa menyambutnya di depan pintu masuk kuil. Pakaiannya berbeda dari yang dikenakannya siang tadi, meski topengnya tetap sama—emas dengan sebagian besar permukaannya menyerupai sisik ikan berwarna biru kehijauan. Ketika mereka berjalan beriringan ke area pribadi untuk penjaga kuil, Rischa memulai pembicaraan. "Tumben-tumbennya kau wangi, Ilias. Kau ingin mencoba menggoda muridku atau apa?" "Tidak juga? Thuri membawa sigung dari hutan ke kamar kami tadi." Ilias tersenyum tipis saat mendengar Rischa berusaha menahan tawanya dan melanjutkan, "Meski sigungnya sudah dikembalikan ke hutan, kamar kami tetap bau...

Hari itu hari terbaik di Sanctuary. Matahari dan awan bekerja sama dengan baik, menghangatkan area di sekitar tanah suci milik Dewi Athena itu dengan intensitas yang cukup. Angin pun berhembus sesekali, lembut dan membawa efek soporik yang bagi beberapa orang begitu menyebalkan karena berkali-kali mereka harus mengingatkan diri sendiri untuk fokus kepada pekerjaan yang sedang dilakukan. Hanya Ilias yang memilih untuk mengesampingkan segala kewajibannya sebagai calon Saint dan berbaring telentang di sebuah padang rumput tak jauh dari Sanctuary, menikmati hari terindah yang dianugerahkan alam. Selain itu, ada satu lagi faktor yang menurutnya berkontribusi membuat hari ini menjadi hari terbaik di tahun itu, meski hanya terbatas untuk dirinya pribadi. "I. Li. As!" Ilias membuka sebelah matanya, melihat sosok yang mendekatinya dengan langkah menghentak-hentak. Begitu tiba di dekatnya, sosok itu langsung berjongkok dan mencubit pinggangnya, membuatnya meringis. ...

In the Moonlight © aicchan . . . Matahari mulai tenggelam di ufuk barat ketika Mu masuk ke dalam kamar yang disediakan untukku beristirahat, atau lebih tepatnya, kamar tempatku ditahan hingga Shion kembali. Prajurit muda itu mengabarkan bahwa pembawa pesan dari ibukota tadi baru saja tiba, mengatakan bahwa komandan mereka akan tiba di penginapan ini beberapa jam lagi sambil membawa apa-apa saja yang mereka janjikan untukku pada negosiasi kami tadi. “Bagus kalau memang benar begitu.” Aku tersenyum lebar. “Jadi... sambil menunggu dia tiba, bagaimana kalau kau menemaniku mengobrol di sini?” Kukira pria muda itu akan berhenti sejenak untuk berpikir, menimang-nimang keputusan yang bisa diambilnya, lalu menerima tawaranku karena kurang lebih aku adalah tamu kehormatan di kerajaannya, tapi, tidak. Ia langsung menggeleng mantap. “Saya diperintahkan untuk berjaga di luar dan dilarang untuk meninggalkan pos saya kecuali untuk menyampaikan pesan ini. Permisi.” Begitu saja. Ia pergi ...

In the Moonlight © aicchan . . . “Kak, yakin tidak mau aku saja yang membawa buket bunganya?” Aku melirik ke arah adik sepupuku, Pefko, yang berjalan di sebelahku. Tangannya memang sedang tidak menggenggam apa-apa, jadi bisa saja aku menyerahkan buket bunga mawar yang ada di dalam pelukanku untuk dibawanya, membiarkannya bersikap seperti seorang gentleman sebagaimana ia seharusnya. Namun, tidak, aku menggeleng dan menolak menyerahkan buket itu padanya. Aku, toh, punya cukup kekuatan otot untuk sekedar membawanya. Lagipula, aku lebih tua daripadanya. Agak tidak etis, menurutku, untuk membiarkan yang lebih muda membawakan sesuatu untuk yang lebih tua jika yang lebih tua itu masih sehat walafiat. “Kalau dilihat Komandan Shion, bisa-bisa dia panik, lho.” Senyumku melebar mendengarnya. Shion memang terlalu protektif, bukan hanya karena dia adalah tunanganku, tapi juga karena ia adalah pemimpin pasukan elit kerajaan yang tugas utamanya adalah melindungi kami, keluarga kerajaan. ...