Six months later, Elsa, ready to go home, wheeled her wheelchair to Dr. Kelvin's office. She knocked on the door and entered,
"Excuse me, Doctor," Elsa greeted, peeking in.
"Oh, Elsa, come in, come in," Kelvin replied, standing and walking to the door.
Kelvin opened the door, then he pushed Elsa's wheelchair inside. After that, Kelvin returned to sit behind his desk, facing Elsa, who was in front of it. Kelvin pulled out his drawer and took out a brown envelope, then handed it to Elsa.
"What is this, Doctor?" Elsa asked, taking the brown envelope.
"Just open it first," Kelvin replied.
Elsa opened the envelope. Inside was an apartment ownership certificate in her name, complete with keys and access cards. In addition, there was also a set of keys to her house in Bandung inside the envelope. After that, she also saw a white envelope inside. She took it and opened it. It contained a passbook along with her ATM card, and also a plane ticket and visa to return to Indonesia. Elsa was slightly surprised to see the amount in the account, which was now in her name.
"Where did this money come from, Doctor?" Elsa asked.
"All of that is your grandmother's inheritance. She came here and entrusted it to me shortly after your operation," Kelvin replied.
"But this apartment is in another city," Elsa said.
"Yes, your grandmother also said that," Kelvin replied.
"Why did Grandma buy an apartment in Jakarta instead of Bandung?" Elsa murmured.
"It's alright, isn't it? Just hold onto it for now, or do you want to go to high school in Jakarta? Coincidentally, I have a contact who can get you into a school near that apartment," Kelvin replied.
"Eh... really, Doctor? How did you know?" Elsa asked, confused.
"Oh, sorry, I peeked. I was curious too, since I suddenly received an envelope like that," Kelvin replied.
"Oh, I see. Well, it's okay, Doctor (he's lying)," Elsa said.
"And you can go home tomorrow, right?" Kelvin asked.
"Yes, Doctor, I want to go back to school," Elsa replied.
"Alright, good. But come here every six months for a check-up, okay?" Kelvin replied.
"Understood, Doctor. In that case, I'll excuse myself to pack," Elsa replied.
Kelvin saw Elsa out, then closed the door. He walked back to his desk and immediately sat down.
"Huff... so tiring," Kelvin muttered.
Meanwhile, Elsa was still in front of Kelvin's office and listened to what Kelvin was saying inside. Her forehead furrowed slightly as she looked at the envelope in her hand.
"Why is Dr. Kelvin lying? This envelope isn't from Grandma, and he's also lying when he said he just 'peeked.' He clearly read everything. Why, I wonder?" Elsa thought to herself because she's a living lie detector.
Then she wheeled her wheelchair back to her room and placed the envelope on her lap.
"Well, as long as my intuition tells me it's okay to accept this envelope, I'll just go with it," Elsa said, wheeling along.
******
The next day, in the afternoon, Elsa arrived at Bandung International Airport and immediately took a taxi to her house. As soon as she arrived, Elsa, who had taken her suitcase out of the trunk, stood frozen, staring at the old, colonial-style house in front of her.
"I'm all alone in this house now," Elsa thought to herself.
With a heavy heart, Elsa wheeled her wheelchair through the gate, then she opened the main door and went inside. Once inside, Elsa paused in her living room. She looked at photos of herself as a child with her grandparents, photos of her parents' wedding, and photos from their vacation on the shelf.
"Can I really last here alone until I graduate junior high?" Elsa wondered to herself, full of doubt.
Tears suddenly streamed from her eyes. Elsa was confused because she felt she wasn't crying.
"Eh... why are my eyes watering? I'm fine... Oh... Auntie Irene, don't worry, Auntie. I'm okay. I'll go to Jakarta next year too and find your husband. Don't worry, Auntie," Elsa said, holding her chest.
She picked up her smartphone and turned it on. "Dling... dling... dling," many messages poured into her smartphone, mostly from her class group chat and school announcements that she hadn't opened for three months. One message was from Dr. Kelvin, informing her of his smartphone number. Elsa replied to him, then she read her messages one by one. While reading the messages,
"Oh yeah, what was Auntie Irene's husband's name? I forgot to ask," Elsa thought to herself.
"Dling," a message popped up on Elsa's smartphone. She immediately looked at it, and her face instantly changed. The sender was a guy named Remon, whose name appeared on her smartphone screen. Elsa opened the message; it was filled with irritating questions.
"What does this guy want?" Elsa thought to herself.
"Driiing... driiiing... driiiing," suddenly, an incoming call. It was Remon. He was calling because Elsa had read his message. Forced, Elsa answered.
"Elsa, how are you?" Remon asked.
"Fine," Elsa replied curtly.
"Where are you? Can I come over to your house?" Remon asked immediately.
"What for?" Elsa asked.
"Just to keep you company. I know you're still grieving the death of your parents and grandmother, right?" Remon replied.
"No need, no," Elsa retorted.
"Oh, don't be so cold with me. We're already engaged, aren't we?" Remon said.
"Huh? When? Never. Don't just make things up. You always tease and insult me in class, don't you? Why would I get engaged to someone I hate?" Elsa countered.
"Well, your grandpa said he was looking for an engagement for you, right? Then he met my dad," Remon said.
"That's a different matter. My grandpa went to your dad because he reprimanded your dad for making me cry until I didn't want to go to school. Besides, who told you my grandpa was looking for an engagement for me? Any guy who dares to come here, it'd be a miracle if he didn't get shot," Elsa snapped.
"Alright, alright, that's in the past. You and I are 14 now. In another year, we'll be in high school, right? Besides, you should be grateful. No guy would want a girl without legs like you, except for me," Remon said.
"Click," Elsa immediately hung up. "Driiing... driiiing... driiiing," Remon called back but was immediately rejected by Elsa, and his contact number was blocked. After that, Elsa threw her smartphone onto the sofa, her face turning red with anger.
"That crazy guy," Elsa shouted, releasing her anger.
Elsa grabbed a pillow and covered her face with it. "Waaaaaaaaaa," she screamed as loud as she could into the pillow covering her face so her screams wouldn't be heard. Suddenly,
"She's really home, isn't she?" a girl outside her house said.
"Yeah, she is. Should I just go straight in?" Remon said outside her house.
"Are you crazy? Don't mess around, Remon. I'll get angry if you go too far. You asked me earlier, right? Well, I saw a car stop in front of her house since my house is in front of hers, and then you come here and call her like that? Are you stupid or foolish, huh?" the girl replied.
"Yeah, yeah, sorry, Mer. But how can I help it? Even though she's like that, she's pretty, right? It's okay if she doesn't have legs; her body is good," Remon said.
"What are you talking about? I'm going home. I regret answering your question earlier, you jerk," the girl said, walking away.
"Oi Mer... Meri, wait up!" Remon replied, chasing after Meri.
Hearing the conversation of her two friends outside, Elsa was furious. Her hands clenched, and suddenly her desire to go to school vanished.
"I don't want to go to school there anymore. He always bullies me and spreads false rumors that make me sick. But what can I do? Only one more year until junior high graduation. Should I just go to Jakarta, but all by myself? Ugh, I'm confused," Elsa thought to herself.