I Should Have Told You

I hate to see you go. I should have not let you go. I should have told you that I want you longer than the summer. Hell, I want you longer than forever. I did not want you just over the coffee break that ended when the melted ice leaving traces by the bottle like the morning dew. I should have told you to stay, not to go on that plane that take you back to your life. Just stay — with me. We could count the stars, watch the sun rise, filmed the world, go on arguing which row is the best seating on IMAX theatre or we could just talk under the moonlit sky. I’d tell you how much I loved the sea side yet how scared I was of the ocean. I’d tell you stories I would not share with anyone else, like my mum’s habit. I'd tell you this not just because you know her, but because talking to you gives me the sense of belonging and being acknowledged, though in the least bit, in the way I have always wanted. Then I’d listen to you too, as this would be my favourite part of the day — I get to listen to what’s in your mind. I loved the part when you told me that you have just visited the place where you grew up last weekend and how surprised you were because it had not change a bit, unlike this metropolitan city with vast growth of construction and traffic. You'd rolled your eyes trying to remember the sound of cricket at night, and then you'd smiled. You'd smile over the fact that you used to collect stones and buried it under the mango tree when you were seven. You’d smile, like it was the best day in your life, as if you have just won the world at the carnival and you disclose happiness. Across the table, I’d smile too, for you and with you, noticing I have found the best version of you. And over dinner, you'd say everything starting to matter in your last night before your flight calls in the morning. Even though we were just having small bites of fried chicken in one of the overrated American fast food chain at this newly-built mall on the Southern part of Jakarta, you said, it matters. Right there was where I should have told I want you to stay in this this city and grow old on the road with me. We’d speak the same language and continue to love and hate this place at the same time by mocking the laws, economy and politicians in between the empty seconds before the red light turns green.

I should have told you I want you to stay.

I should have told you that I want you.