The morning I waved over the fence, and the new town brought by a six-hour train ride.
Good morning, the last morning
Good morning. When I woke up it was 7:30. I packed everything into my backpack and checked out of the hostel. Because I’d been showering and such, I didn’t have much time. I figured she probably wouldn’t arrive exactly on time, so I messaged that I’d be a little late. Sure enough, I arrived about twenty minutes late, but she still hadn’t shown up.
As I walked down Malioboro wondering where to go first, I found a photo booth like a purikura. I decided to start there.
Two people approaching each other on the map
She shared her location on WhatsApp, and we agreed to meet in the middle. We walked while looking at the map, and I could see her getting closer and me approaching. My heart fluttered a bit as I walked. At times like this, surprising the other person can be really fun. But that wasn’t possible—there was nowhere to hide (laughs).
There she was! We said good morning and started walking together. She looked really, really tired, kind of sleepy. When I asked, "What time did you go to bed yesterday?" she said, unbelievably, four o'clock. She’d only slept four hours again today and looked worn out. Still, she walked on saying, "I’m okay."
Actually I was very sleepy too, not at full power, so I couldn’t really get very emotional.
Still, I enjoyed the time with her. While walking I didn't know what to say. It was a new feeling. But I thought there was no point forcing conversation.
Nerves at the photo booth
'Let's take pictures in the photo booth together!' I suggested, and she said, 'Sure~', so we decided to take photos together. I was a little nervous inside the booth. After all, I don't get photographed all the time, so I was really nervous.
The reason was the anxiety over what poses to do. You have to do about six poses, with maybe two standard poses, and then you have to improvise other poses. We weren't that close yet, so I felt this awkward in-between distance was the hardest part.
But once I decided to just fully commit to having fun, the photo session was over in no time. We only took three different sets of photos.
While the photos were printing, we amused ourselves by taking pictures together in the nearby mirror. In a space just for the two of us I still felt nervous, but for me it was the perfect distance.
An unexpected gift
I went back to the hostel to retrieve my backpack. She was very surprised by how much stuff I had. Like, 'That's an insane amount~.'
Next to us was a souvenir shop, and she was looking at something there—bracelets and accessories. She asked, 'Which pattern do you like?' and it seemed she was going to buy me a present. I was really happy.
She picked out a quirky accessory with a Jogja pattern and handed it to me. I subtly hinted that I’d prefer a bracelet over an accessory, but she bought the accessory. Maybe a bracelet would have been too meaningful.
Then she gave me two things. Surprise—both an accessory and a bracelet. The bracelet wasn't hers; it was meant for me. It had been like that from the start. I hadn't expected her to give me something, so I was really happy.
I wanted to give her something too, but I didn't like the idea of hurriedly buying something on the spot. So I decided not to.
The café piano and a letter
We took a taxi together to a café near the station. Apparently there was a piano there, and we wondered if we might play together. I suddenly got nervous—I’m not used to performing in front of people.
When we arrived at the café we decided to have breakfast, but nothing really appealed, so we ended up ordering just coffee and tea. It was crowded, so we sat outside.
While ordering coffee she rummaged through her bag and pulled out a piece of paper, handing it to me. A long letter was written on it. It was addressed to me. She said, 'You can read it here,' so I read it.
It was very much like her—encouraging me and cheering me on. I don’t remember the details, but she wrote that she was sad I was leaving Jogja, that she would miss me, and that I was doing something amazing so I shouldn’t give up on my dreams but keep going. It was very moving.
I remember she said, 'Don’t cry, okay?' while I was reading. I don't know whether that was a joke or serious, but that one line cooled me off a bit.
Realizing she expected me to be moved made me feel a bit put off. I don’t cry easily; I can’t get that emotional. Still, I was very happy about the letter. Knowing she had thought a lot and written it despite being tired filled me with gratitude and thanks.
Then she put the bracelet she had bought on my wrist. Our coffee arrived. I had ordered lemonade, but for some reason something else came. Oh well, I drank it. If you ask whether it was delicious—not really.
She kept asking, 'Will you play the piano?' so I mustered the courage and played. I played a Lana Del Rey song. I have perfect pitch, so if I've heard something once I can play it. But I can't remember lyrics or titles. I also played Elvis's 'Can't Help Falling in Love.'
There were many people seated around, so I was nervous and couldn’t play loudly. She watched over me from beside me the whole time. I could hear myself, but she probably barely could. I played thinking she might be wondering, 'Why are you playing so softly?'
What’s funny is I realized I might be overly self-conscious. When I looked around, no one was watching my playing. That's how it is. If you play thinking 'I don’t want people to watch,' it shows in your feeling and nobody watches. But if you play thinking 'I want people to see my great performance!' it can attract people—even if you're bad.
Her aura, and my confidence
Since it was almost time to go, we took lots of pictures together: two-shot selfies and having a security guard take one at the entrance. Maybe because she gives off some special aura, people seemed to regard her with respect. It felt like we were being treated as real people.
Even though there are always people passing by while taking photos, when I was taking pictures with her I felt we were being treated very carefully, and somehow being next to her filled me with confidence. I think that was thanks to her presence and atmosphere. It was a very fresh feeling and felt true to myself.
I recently realized that when someone who takes the lead is near me, I tend to rely on them. That makes me worry I might become weak. But with her, being together felt like we could raise each other up.
Lately I’ve realized that if I constantly rely on others, I lose myself. I tend to be more composed when adventuring alone. At the same time, I want emotional support. But if that person is introverted, I’ve experienced being pulled by their energy and becoming less sociable myself.
So I wasn’t sure which suited me. I want someone to support me, but I want them to be independent and have their own axis. Maybe that’s my ideal.
The station gate, a movie-like hug
We took a taxi to the station. I printed my ticket and went to the gate. Since I was the only one allowed beyond that point, we hugged for about ten seconds in front of the attendant.
I don’t think hugging is very common in Indonesia, so I wondered if we were doing something strange, but it was a nice memory and it was how we felt. Gratitude—'thank you'—and loneliness. We wanted to express that with a hug.
She cried. At the same time, even though it had been only two short days, I was glad I had moved her heart. It gave me confidence.
And I envied her ability to be emotional. I felt how much she cared for me. Thank you so much. I was full of gratitude. Yet I couldn't cry at all.
When I looked back after passing through the gate, she was walking away backward, as if in a scene from the movie Meet Joe Black.
Reunion over the fence
As I walked along the platform looking for my car number, there she was waiting! She was standing behind the fence, so I walked over. We took a picture together. Taking a photo through the fence really felt cinematic.
The train arrived, so I had to go. I grabbed her hand and said, 'Bye-bye. Let's meet again,' then boarded. With some time before departure, I put down my bag and stood between the cars to wave at the end. When I actually waved, she suddenly noticed and hurriedly waved back while recording video on her iPhone.
I had only spent two days with her, but it was such a great story and I was glad to have met such a wonderful person.
A meeting on the train, and a six-hour journey
Before I could dwell on it, I had a meeting, so I connected on my iPhone right after boarding the train. The signal was pretty bad since we were traveling through rural areas.
It had been a while since a meeting with the CEO and director, and since I've been traveling the world and busy, I worried a bit that this spotty connection might be a reason to be cut from the meeting.
After the meeting ended, I spent the time listening to music and watching the scenery. It takes about six hours to get to Malang. I thought it was really long.
There were lots of foreigners on the train, all carrying backpacks. They were probably going to Mount Bromo. At one point a trolley came through selling food, so I ordered nasi goreng.
The package was big but the contents were small. Kind of so Indonesian, I thought.
Arrival in Malang, the camaraderie of backpackers
After six hours I finally arrived in Malang. As soon as we arrived, almost everyone got off. I shouldered my backpack and got down, and to my surprise there were many foreigners with backpacks, and just knowing we were all headed to the same place gave me a sense of camaraderie and made me happy.
I felt like one of them. Even though we didn't know each other, I felt the same fire burning inside us. That moment moved me deeply.
Then I called a motorcycle taxi to go check into the hostel. After checking in I looked for a laundry, but I figured that ordering laundry this late at night wouldn’t finish even in express service in three hours. So I had no choice but to buy new T-shirts.
The human warmth of Malang
The hostel organizing the Bromo-Ijen mountain tour was close, so I decided to walk.
While walking I found several clothing shops and looked for T-shirts. There were tons, but many had poor silhouettes, cheap fabric, odd colors, or weird text/patterns printed on the front—nothing I wanted to pay for. In the end I bought a plain brown T-shirt.
At the register about three Indonesians helped me. I was glad by their warm service. One of them, nervously, asked 'Where are you from?' I said Japan, and they were surprised. She was innocent and pure. By the time I wanted to take a photo with her, I had already left the shop.
I grew to like Malang. The motorcycle taxi driver was really friendly, speaking broken English but smiling. So we took a photo together.
As expected, the more rural the place, the more human stories you find.
Signing up for the tour, and Yoshinoya's gyudon
I went to the hostel organizing the tour and paid. It was around 25,000 yen, I think. They would take me to Bali and it included two nights and three days. I thought that was way too cheap. It felt like a good investment. There was a bit of back-and-forth about the schedule with the receptionist, but they handled it kindly.
Then I called a motorcycle taxi to the shopping mall. Looking for laundry, I had my friend Faqi call to ask if express two-hour service was possible. Of course it wasn't. So I went fully with buying T-shirts.
For dinner I had gyudon at Yoshinoya. It was moving to find a Japanese chain like Yoshinoya even in a rural place like Malang. I was also very happy that everyone else there was Indonesian; it felt special. Surely there aren’t many foreigners living in a town like Malang.
After that I found a New Balance store, rifled through T-shirts, and ended up buying two. One was a perfect fit, but the other was oversized and a bit too big.
But oh well, that's fine. The shop staff earnestly searched for sizes, which I appreciated. When I said thanks and took the items, they didn't make eye contact—maybe they were shy?
Anxiety about tomorrow
I returned to the hotel, took a shower, and prepared for tomorrow. I wanted to sleep but couldn't. What will tomorrow be like? Will I make friends? Will I be okay? Will I end up alone? I had a lot of those anxieties. It's the same worry that's been with me since middle school class changes. And I've never been truly alone before. Here is where I learned that 90% of fears never happen.
