Clara and John were in the car. The couple had just returned from a cafe in the east of the city, until the two of them got into an argument over something, and now everything was cold.
"You want to try something, honey? John is trying to break the ice between them.
Clara didn't answer, her face was sullen, her arms crossed over her chest. The woman looked straight ahead, while John looked in the rearview mirror and his lover in turn. He hoped for an answer.
"—honey?" John urges.
"I don't know! Just drive wherever you like," said Clara. She was wearing a dye pot T-shirt, with a picture of Bob Marley in it.
John was silent. He knew that his lover was still upset because of the answer he gave earlier. Half an hour ago they had just insisted. Clara wants a marriage, while John is still hesitant, even considering marriage is just a legality.
Now John turned the car around. At the end of the intersection, there is a billboard containing advertisements for last month's carnival filled with circus performer attractions. John had looked at the billboard. He himself actually had no idea where they were going at that time. He just wanted to lighten the mood.
“Look! John exclaimed after seeing a banner that read charity photography exhibition in a small building.
"Shall we go, honey?" he asked.
"Whatever," Clara replied curtly. Her face was still sullen.
Without waiting for an answer, John immediately pulled his car to the side of the sidewalk. When he got out of the car door, he screamed softly and said "Ouch!" while holding his knees. John has been having knee problems lately, since he got injured after his fight last month. John is a kickboxing fighter. He really doesn't need to complain like that because his knee doesn't hurt at all. He just wants to get Clara's attention, unfortunately, she didn't respond at all. John was annoyed, his acting was ignored, while Clara walked past him, ignoring John completely.
"Come on—" said Clara, who was now in front of John.
John shook his head, then quickly followed his lover. "What a heartless woman," John huffed, watching Clara walk in front of him.
They are now inside the photography exhibition building. The atmosphere was lively. The exhibition is arranged with several photography booths placed diaspora. Each stand has a different theme.
Clara stepped into one of the animal-themed booths. There was a frameless photo hanging and pasted on a gray wall.
"Hey, look, that's a turtle, honey," John exclaimed, pointing to one of the photos hanging in the corner.
"It's a gopher turtle," said the owner of the stand.
"Oh," John didn't know how to react. His eyes were busy watching Clara moving from one photo to another.
"They are a great kind of turtle," said the man who owned the stand again.
"Is that true?" John answered simply.
"Yeah, you know, the holes they dug are even places for other creatures to live. Great, isn't it?" the man explained.
"Wow," John put on a look of astonishment which of course was a fake.
"Hey, honey, what photo did you see?" John followed Clara who was already in the last row of photos.
"What animal is this?" asked Clara.
"Oh, of course that it's a buffalo," John caught the question, as if Clara was asking him.
"I'm not asking you," Clara looked at John out of the corner of her eye. John smiled wryly.
"That's musk ox," said the man who owned the stand.
"Oh, I thought it was a buffalo," said John. Again Clara looked at him with sharp eyes, as if John's voice sounded very disturbing.
"No, it's a kind of bison. You know, a male musk ox can give off a strong smell, to tempt a female musk ox, isn't that great?" explained the stand owner.
"Oh, they must also live from Africa, where the movie The Gods Must be Crazy was made?" John carelessly participated in the explanation with the intention of joking.
"Wrong! This is a mammal belonging to the family Bovidae whose natural habitat is in the Arctic region," suddenly the man who owned the stand was now beside Clara, with his hands twirling his chin, as if he was thinking.
"The feathers look good, don't they?" said the man. Clara was forced to smile, finding the man suddenly standing beside her.
"Yeah, that's great," Clara seemed amazed, even though it was actually a made-up reaction.
Meanwhile, in his heart John said, "OMG, After a while, I will beat this man too."
It didn't stop there, the male owner of the stand felt provoked to explain in more detail about the ecosystem of almost all the animals in the photos contained in his stand. He is an expert in his field, John was excluded from the conversation.
Clara glanced at John. Her boyfriend is like someone who doesn't know what to do. John just stood there, looking like an idiot, standing like a statue in front of the photos.
"John—" Clara called.
John didn't answer.
"John!" one more time, but this time Clara's voice was louder.
"—huh, honey, you called me?" John was like a surprised person.
"We go home?" asked Clara.
"—are you done? John asked back.
"—come on," said Clara.
"—thank you for the explanation, sir—" Clara said to the owner of the stand.
"Oh, yes, Anthony. Anthony Bradley," replied the man who owned the stand, taking off his hat and bowing slightly to Clara.
"Thanks for the photos and the explanation," said Clara.
"You're welcome, miss—" the man also wanted to know the name of the person he was talking to.
"Clara. Clara Loraine," Clara answered.
"And—" the man turned to John.
"John Staroz, Clara's fiancé," John answered firmly and proudly, as he held out his hand, shaking the man named Anthony. Meanwhile, Clara looked at John with a questioning face.
"Oh—, congratulations, congratulations—" the man said as he shook John's hand.
"Thanks Anthony," John replied.
"Come on, honey," John took his lover's hand.
"What was that?" asked Clara as she walked.
"What—, which one?" John answered with a smiling face.
"—fiancé?" Clara stopped. John stopped too, because their hands were holding each other.
John immediately turned around and approached. He then stroked the bangs and then down to his lover's cheek. His hand stopped there. Clara was silent, their eyes met each other.
"I've thought about it, honey," John said.
Clara shrugged her shoulders.
Suddenly John knelt down and took something out of his shirt pocket.
"Will you marry me?"
Point |
Description |
| Tittle | Will You Marry Me? |
| Author | @mosin-nagant |
Clara dan John sedang berada di dalam mobil. Pasangan kekasih itu baru saja pulang dari sebuah kafe yang ada di kawasan timur kota itu, sampai keduanya terlibat perdebatan mengenai sesuatu, dan kini semuanya terasa dingin.
"Kau ingin mencoba sesuatu, sayang? John mencoba memecah kebekuan di antara mereka.
Clara tidak menjawab, wajahnya tampak cemberut, kedua tangannya disilangkan di atas dada. Perempuan itu menatap lurus ke depan, sementara John melihat kaca spion dan kekasihnya secara bergantian. Ia berharap mendapat jawaban.
"—sayang?" John terdengar mendesak.
"Aku tidak tahu! Menyetirlah ke mana pun sesukamu," jawab Clara. Gadis itu mengenakan baju kaus berwarna dye pot, dengan gambar Bob Marley di tengahnya.
John pun terdiam. Ia tahu bahwa kekasihnya itu masih kesal karena jawaban yang diberikan olehnya tadi. Setengah jam yang lalu mereka baru saja bersikukuh. Clara ingin sebuah pernikahan, sementara John masih ragu, bahkan menganggap pernikahan hanyalah legalitas.
Kini John membelokkan mobilnya. Di ujung simpang jalan itu terdapat sebuah baliho berisi iklan karnaval bulan lalu yang dipenuhi aktraksi circus performer. John sempat memandang baliho tersebut. Ia sendiri sebenarnya tidak memiliki ide akan ke mana mereka saat itu. Lelaki itu hanya ingin meleburkan suasana.
"Lihat! John berseru setelah melihat spanduk bertuliskan pameran fotografi amal di sebuah gedung kecil.
"Kita ke sana, sayang?" tanyanya.
"Terserah," Clara menjawab dengan ketus. Wajahnya masih cemberut.
Tanpa menunggu jawaban, John segera meminggirkan mobilnya ke sisi trotoar. Ketika keluar dari pintu mobil, ia sempat berteriak pelan dan berkata "aduh!" sambil memegang lututnya. John sedang mengalami **knee problems" belakangan ini, sejak ia cedera pasca pertarungannya bulan lalu. John adalah petarung kickboxing. Ia sebenarnya tidak perlu mengeluh seperti itu karena lututnya sama sekali tidak terasa sakit sedikit pun. Ia hanya ingin menarik perhatian Clara, sayangnya, perempuan itu tidak merespons sama sekali. John kesal, aktingnya tidak digubris, sementara Clara berjalan melintasinya, tidak mengacuhkan John sama sekali.
"Ayo–" ucap Clara, yang kini berada di depan John.
John menggeleng kepala, lalu segera menyusul kekasihnya itu. "Dasar perempuan yang tidak memiliki hati," John dongkol, sambil menatap perempuan itu melenggang di depannya.
Mereka kini telah berada di dalam gedung pameran fotografi. Suasana pun terlihat ramai. Pameran ditata dengan beberapa stand fotografi yang ditempatkan secara diaspora. Setiap stand memiliki tema yang berbeda-beda.
Clara melangkah ke salah satu stand bertema hewan. Di sana terdapat foto tanpa bingkai yang digantung serta ditempelkan di dinding berlatar abu-abu.
"Hei, lihat, itu kura-kura, sayang," John berseru, sambil menunjuk salah satu foto yang tergantung di sudut.
"Itu kura-kura jenis gopher," timpal laki-laki pemilik stand tersebut.
"Oh," John tidak tahu harus menanggapi dengan reaksi seperti apa. Matanya sibuk memerhatikan Clara yang berpindah dari satu foto ke foto yang lainnya.
"Mereka jenis kura-kura yang hebat," kata lelaki pemilik stand itu lagi.
"Benarkah?" John menyahut seadaanya.
"Iya, anda tahu, lubang yang mereka gali bahkan menjadi tempat bagi makhluk lain untuk hidup. Hebat, bukan?" lelaki itu menjelaskan.
"Wow," John menunjukkan raut wajah takjub yang tentu saja dibuat-buat.
"Hei, sayang, kau lihat foto apa?" John menyusul Clara yang sudah ada di deretan foto terakhir.
"Ini hewan apa?" tanya Clara.
"Oh, kerbau," John menangkap pertanyaan tersebut, seakan Clara sedang bertanya kepadanya.
"Aku tidak bertanya kepadamu," Clara menatap John dengan ujung matanya. John tersenyum kecut.
"Itu musk ox," sahut lelaki pemilik stand.
"Oh, ku kira kerbau," timpal John. Lagi-lagi Clara menatapnya dengan ujung mata yang tajam, seakan suara John terdengar sangat menganggu.
"Bukan, itu sejenis bison. Anda tahu, seekor musk ox jantan bisa mengeluarkan bau yang tajam, untuk menggoda musk ox betina, hebat bukan?" jelas pemilik stand.
"Oh, mereka pasti juga tinggal dari Africa, di mana film The Gods Must be Crazy dibuat?" John secara asal-asalan ikut memberi penjelasan dengan niat bercanda.
"Salah! Ini adalah hewan mamalia anggota keluarga Bovidae yang habitat aslinya berada di kawasan Arktik," tiba-tiba laki-laki pemilik stand itu kini telah berada di samping Clara, dengan tangan yang memilin-milin dagu, seakan sedang berpikir.
"Bulu-bulunya tampak bagus, bukan?" ujar laki-laki itu. Clara terpaksa tersenyum, mendapati laki-laki itu tiba-tiba sudah berdiri di sampingnya.
"Ya, bagus sekali," Clara seakan takjub, kendati itu sebenarnya merupakan reaksi yang dibuat-buat.
Sementara itu, di dalam hati John berkata,"lama-lama akan aku hajar juga laki-laki ini."
Tidak berhenti sampai di sana, laki-laki pemilik stand merasa terpancing untuk menjelaskan lebih detail mengenai ekosistem hampir semua hewan yang ada di dalam foto-foto yang terdapat di dalam standnya. Ia memang ahli di bidangnya, John pun tersisih dari pembicaraan itu.
Clara sempat melirik John. Pacarnya itu seperti orang yang tidak tahu harus berbuat apa. John hanya berdiri di sana, dan terlihat seperti orang tolol, yang sedang berdiri seperti patung di depan foto-foto tersebut.
"John—" panggil Clara.
John tidak menyahut.
"John!" sekali lagi, tetapi kali ini suara Clara terdengar lebih keras.
"—hah, sayang, kau memanggilku?" John seperti orang yang terkejut.
"Kita pulang?" tanya Clara.
"—kau sudah selesai? John balik bertanya.
"—ayo," ajak Clara.
"—terima kasih atas penjelasannya, tuan—" kata Clara kepada pemilik stand tersebut.
"Anthony. Anthony Bradley," jawab laki-laki pemilik stand sambil membuka topinya, dan sedikit menunduk kepada Clara.
"Terima kasih atas foto-foto dan penjelasannya," ucap Clara.
"Sama-sama, nona—" laki-laki itu juga ingin tahu nama orang yang sedang berbicara dengannya.
"Clara. Clara Loraine," jawab Clara.
"Dan—" laki-laki itu berpindah kepada John.
"John Staroz, tunangannya Clara," John menjawab dengan tegas dan bangga, sembari memberikan tangannya, menyalami laki-laki bernama Anthony itu. Sementara, Clara menatap ke arah John dengan wajah penuh tanda tanya.
"Oh—, selamat, selamat," ucap laki-laki itu sembari membalas salaman tangan John.
"Terima kasih Anthony," balas John.
"Ayo, sayang," John pun meraih tangan kekasihnya.
"Tadi itu apa?" tanya Clara sambil berjalan.
"Apa—, yang mana?" John menjawab dengan mimik wajah tersenyum.
"—tunangan?" Clara berhenti. John ikut berhenti, karena tangan mereka saling menggenggam.
John segera berbalik dan mendekat. Ia lalu membelai poni kemudian turun ke pipi kekasihnya itu. Tanganya berhenti di sana. Clara terdiam, mata mereka saling bertemu.
"Aku sudah memikirkannya, sayang," ujar John.
Clara mengangkat kedua bahunya.
Tiba-tiba John melutut, lalu mengeluarkan sesuatu dari saku kemejanya.
"Maukah kau menikah denganku?"
Poin |
Keterangan |
| Judul | Will You Marry Me? |
| Autor | @mosin-nagant |