↷✦; w e l c o m e ❞
Three days after the "Failed Tarzan" incident with the frangipani tree, Edwin strictly forbade Carliam from engaging in any strenuous physical activity. But Carliam was still Carliam.
To him, silence was a betrayal of existence.
"I'm bored. I need a stage," Carliam muttered, staring at the stark white ceiling of his room.
Justin Darwin entered carrying an acoustic guitar with rusty strings. "Anara said she's sad because Mochi, the cat, is traumatized by the tree branch. She needs entertainment, Liam. And I have a brilliant idea."
"What? We're bringing the circus to her house?" Carliam asked enthusiastically.
"No. Serenade under her bathroom window," Justin replied seriously. "I heard that every night at 7 p.m., Anara always takes a shower while listening to music. If you sing from outside her bathroom vent, your voice will echo, creating a dramatic natural reverb effect."
Kevin Julio immediately stepped in as artistic director. He wrapped Carliam's body in battery-powered Tumblr lights. "If your voice can't touch her heart, at least your light can blind her eyes, Liam. Aesthetics is key."
That night, they crept up to the side of Anara's house. Unfortunately, Anara's bathroom window was quite high. Carliam had to stand on a pile of buckets and scrap wood that Edwin had arranged.
"Come on, Liam. Sing a song that makes her feel like a queen," whispered Amos Adipati, holding a poetry book under the flashlight. "Think of this ventilation as the gateway to her soul."
Carliam began strumming the guitar. His raspy, wet voice began to sing a romantic song. "Anara... you are a rainbow in the drizzle..."
The echo in the bathroom was extraordinary. Anara, who was inside washing her hair, was shocked. She thought the house was haunted or the radio had short-circuited.
"Who is it?!" Anara shouted from inside.
"It's me, your prince on horseback... but his horse is parked out front!" Carliam replied, trying to hit a high note.
However, just as Carliam was about to hit the high note, Elio Adibrata, who was in charge of maintaining the situation, accidentally knocked over Carliam's pile of buckets while he was busy chasing mosquitoes.
"Hey! Elio! Move!" Carliam shouted in panic.
PYAARR!
The pile collapsed. Carliam fell headfirst, but his feet got caught in the bathroom vent. His body hung from the outside wall, head down, and the Tumblr light on his body began flashing red and white like an ambulance's lights.
A panicked Anara immediately poured a bucket full of water through the vent to chase away the "intruder."
BYUURRR!
"You're doomed, I've been blessed!" shouted a drenched Carliam, his guitar emitting a discordant 'twang'.
Anara opened the small window and looked out. She saw Carliam hanging upside down with flickering lights all over his body.
"Carliam again? What are you doing... using it as a wall lamp?"
Carliam, with the last shreds of dignity he had left, tried to smile even as soapy water got into his eyes. "No, Anara. I just wanted to make sure... is the water in your house warm enough for your precious skin?"
Anara laughed so hard she dropped her ladle. "You're crazy! You're absolutely crazy!"
After her friends rescued Carliam and took him home, the car fell silent. Carliam wasn't laughing like he usually did.
Suddenly, Carliam's nose bled. It was thick red and wouldn't stop.
"Liam! You're bleeding!" Justin shouted in panic.
Carliam wiped his nose with a trembling hand. He looked at the blood stains on his palm and then smiled faintly at his friends.
"Don't worry. It's just... my body's way of telling me that my voice was too 'hot' for this world," Carliam joked, though his voice sounded very weak.
Behind the laughter, Carliam knew the hourglass inside his body was ticking faster than he expected. This ridiculous episode was probably one of the few remaining breaths he had left to make Anara happy.