A few days after Percy was gone, Dina felt as though the world had lost its color. She still went to school, still did her assignments, still joined group discussions—but everything felt as though it were moving slowly and blandly.
In class, Icha never stopped trying to cheer her up. Nia also always came whenever she had the chance.
"Din, want me to buy you your favorite matcha ice cream?" Icha asked, gently shaking Dina's shoulder.
Dina weakly shook her head. "No… thanks."
Nia tried as well. "Let's go to the mall after school, okay? Just walk around for a bit."
"No, Ni. I'm tired…"
Nia and Icha exchanged glances, both worried as they watched their usually lively best friend, who now seemed to have lost her voice.
And Ando?
He watched from a distance. Every time Dina tried to smile, Ando felt a pang instead. As if he felt himself breaking a little every time Dina tried to stay strong.
He was thinking about it—really thinking about it.
That night, Dina's house was dimly lit. The porch light glowed yellowish, illuminating some of the flower pots near the fence. Dina had just finished showering, her hair still half-wet, wearing an oversized gray T-shirt and black leggings. She opened her phone screen while sitting on her bed.
A message appeared.
Ando: I'm outside.
Dina was startled. She quickly got up, not even having time to check her appearance, then headed outside toward the porch.
Outside, Ando was sitting on his motorcycle. His helmet was hanging from the handlebars. He was wearing a black hoodie, his hair messy, and for some reason, his face looked nervous.
Dina opened the gate slightly. "Why are you here this late at night?"
Ando scratched the back of his neck—a typical gesture whenever he was nervous. "I… want to give you something."
Dina frowned. "Give me what? Come inside first."
"No need. Let's just stay here."
Dina stepped outside and walked closer to his motorcycle. Ando took a transparent pet carrier with a pastel-blue lid and handed it to Dina.
Dina froze.
Inside, a tiny orange kitten sat quietly, its sleepy eyes looking lazy—very much like a live-action version of Garfield. The kitten only stared at Dina, as if asking, "What am I doing here this late at night?"
Dina covered her mouth with her hand. "Ando… what is this…?"
"My mom said he needs a home," Ando replied softly.
"Are you serious?" Dina's eyes widened.
Ando slowly nodded. "Seriously. My mom was the one who suggested it. She said wounds don't disappear, but a new friend can make your days start moving again."
Dina stared at him for a long time. Her eyes began to glisten, not because she was sad, but because she was touched.
Ando continued more carefully, "You need a friend. He needs a home. So… it works, right?"
Dina held the pet carrier as if she were holding something incredibly precious. "Is this really for me?"
"Yeah. But if you're not ready, I can take him back. It's okay. Seriously."
Dina quickly shook her head. "No! I want him… I really want him."
Ando smiled—a relieved smile that Dina rarely saw.
"He's fully vaccinated. So you don't have to be afraid," Ando said. "My mom took care of everything."
Dina watched the kitten yawn incredibly wide like a tiny lion.
She squealed softly. "Oh my God… he's so cute!"
The kitten slowly blinked, its expression as if saying, "Of course I'm cute, so what?"
For the first time in several days, Dina let out a small laugh. A genuine laugh.
"Ando… thank you. Seriously… thank you." Her voice trembled slightly.
Ando slipped both hands into his hoodie pockets, smiling faintly. "You're welcome."
Dina hugged the pet carrier against her chest. There was a warmth she had not felt in a long time. It was comforting, making her chest feel less heavy than before.
Ando looked at her. "What do you want to name him?"
Dina turned back to him. Her eyes were still red, but they were no longer empty. She looked at him meaningfully.
"Do you think he looks like something?"
They both answered at the same time.
"Garfield."
They laughed. A light, small laugh, but make the night feel more alive.
In front of the small gate of that house, something new had arrived: a cute little friend, and Dina and Ando's relationship, which was slowly changing shape.
---
Click—click—click.
The sound of Icha stirring her ice cendol with a spoon was so loud that Dina had to glance over, but Dina's attention immediately returned to her phone screen. In the video, Garfield—her new orange kitten—rolled around, curled up, then made a soft clicking sound as if he were protesting because life was simply too exhausting.
Dina smiled widely, a smile that had not appeared for several days.
"Oh my God, he's so cute… Look at this, look at this. He just sleeps around all day. He's so spoiled."
Icha and Nia stopped chewing. They looked at each other with sparkling eyes.
Icha sighed dramatically. "Alhamdulillah… Dina is alive again."
Nia nodded quickly. "Seriously, you looked like a zombie for the past five days."
Dina pouted. "So meaaaan."
Icha placed a hand over her chest, pretending to be deeply moved. "Din… seriously, I'm touched seeing you laugh again."
Nia added, "For real, your face was so pale back then. Now—" she made an explosive hand gesture "—BAM! Bright again because of Garfield."
Dina went back to watching her cat's video, her cheeks lifting. "It's because he's so cute… seriously."
Nia leaned closer, narrowing her eyes suspiciously. "Not because of who gave him to you, right?"
Dina answered casually, pretending to be innocent. "Even if Arvin gave him to me, he'd still be cute."
Icha immediately grabbed Dina's arm dramatically like she was in a soap opera.
"Dinaaa… first, you're not obsessed with the name Alfa anymore."
Nia nodded. "Correct."
"Then… you don't talk about that Alfa guy anymore."
Nia nodded again. "Very correct."
Dina also just realized it. Even though Alfa still texted her several times, she was no longer interested in replying. She had also started talking to Alfa less whenever he visited her house. And somehow, those visits had also started becoming less frequent.
Icha pointed at Dina's chest.
"That's because your heart is already full of Ando."
Dina smacked Icha's forehead with her spoon. "What are you talking about?! No! No! Please, reset your brains!"
Nia grinned mischievously. "Hello? Open your eyes? Ando gave you a cat. He even made sure it was vaccinated because he knew you'd probably be traumatized by the whole vaccination thing. That's some serious effort, Din."
Icha chimed in. "And when you were in the hospital, he came to see you every day. Ev-er-y day. He's probably trying to compete with Nia and me."
Dina quickly covered Icha's mouth with her hand. "Stopppp. Listen to me. Ando still has Clara. I don't want to be the girl who steals someone else's boyfriend."
Nia and Icha exchanged glances.
"Who was it again who got sad when Ando ignored her the other day?" Icha pretended to ask Nia.
"Who was it, Cha? I seem to have forgotten," Nia replied, pretending along with her.
Dina growled while shooting them both a deadly glare. "You two…"
But in the end, the three of them laughed—light, loud laughter, and for the first time since that day, Dina's laughter had truly returned.