The email came.
The one she is waiting for feels excited but sad at the same time
It arrived on a Tuesday afternoon, Kara sitting cross-legged on her bed, the piano untouched in the corner, her guitar still out of tune. Her heart stuttered as the notification popped up. She clicked it open, hands trembling.
Accepted.
The word looked unreal. She blinked once, twice, like it might vanish if she stared too long. A laugh bubbled out of her throat—high-pitched, shaky, almost hysterical. She clapped her hand over her mouth, and then suddenly tears spilled down her cheeks.
She was excited. She was terrified. She was free. She was chained. Every feeling collided at once until her chest ached. She flopped back onto her bed, laptop glowing beside her, her eyes locked on the ceiling. This was it. What she wanted. A national-grade university. Bali. A chance to be just Kara, not Gideon's shadow, not her mom's project, not Dean's punchline.
But the thought tightened her throat: How am I going to tell them?
She grabbed her phone, fingers trembling, and scrolled to Freya's name. Her cousin picked up on the second ring.
"Kara? What's with the voice note spam this morning, I was—"
"Freya." Kara cut her off, laughing through a sob. "I got in. Bali. The uni."
A squeal burst through the speaker. "Are you serious?! Holy shit, Kara! That's—wait. Did you tell your mom yet?"
Kara groaned, pressing her palm over her eyes. "No. God, no. That's why I'm calling you. How do I even? She'll flip. Dean will never let me hear the end of it. Dad will just… stay quiet like always."
Freya softened, her voice calmer. "You can't hide it. Rip the bandage off. Do it at dinner—where they can't storm away. Just… own it, Kara. Don't make it sound like a question."
Kara nodded, chewing on her lip. "Okay. Dinner. Got it."
Still, when she hung up, her chest buzzed with nerves. She dialed Alec next, because if anyone knew how bad family dinners could get, it was him.
"Hey, sis," Alec answered, his tone wary. "Why do you sound like you just robbed a bank?"
Kara burst into another laugh-sob. "Because I just did something insane. I got accepted—Bali. National grade. It's official."
For a moment, silence. Then Alec's low whistle. "No way. That's huge, Kara. I'm proud of you."
Her throat tightened. "But how the hell do I tell Mom?"
Alec sighed. "Carefully. You know she'll go nuclear first, then act like it's about family image. And Dean, just ignore him, he's addicted to being an ass. Just… be firm. Don't let them twist it into something about Willow. This is your life."
Kara clutched the phone tighter, whispering, "Thanks, Alec."
"Anytime," he said softly. "And hey, if it all blows up tonight, call me."
Kara chuckled, wiping her cheeks. "Deal."
When she hung up, she stared at the email again, her stomach flipping between butterflies and bricks. She was ready. She wasn't ready. Maybe both could be true.
Dinner that night was quiet at first. The clatter of cutlery, the faint hum of the AC, Dean scrolling his phone under the table. Kara's chest burned with the secret she was about to detonate.
Her mother finally broke the silence. "So, Kara… any plans yet? Or are we still waiting for you to take things seriously?"
Dean smirked without looking up. "She's probably still trailing after Willow like last year."
Something in Kara snapped. She set her fork down with a sharp clink. "Actually… I got accepted. A national-grade university. In Bali."
The table froze.
Her mom's lips tightened. "Bali?"
Dean barked a short laugh. "Wow. That's bold. And what—Willow's tagging along?"
"No." Kara's voice cracked but she held her ground. "This isn't about Willow. It's about me. Alone."
Her mom's eyebrows arched, sharp as knives. "You expect me to believe this has nothing to do with her? Last year you shut me and Dean out for nearly a year over that girl. You wouldn't even sit at the same table with us."
Kara's throat burned. "Because you treated her like she was garbage. And I wasn't going to let you decide who I love."
"Love?" Dean scoffed. "She's a distraction. Always was."
Kara glared across the table. "At least she never made me feel like a joke."
Dean smirked, but his jaw tightened.
Her mom sighed, shaking her head. "This is exactly what worries me. You and Dean can barely talk without a fight. Alec's already in Yogyakarta. If you go off to Bali… what's going to happen to this family? We'll all be scattered. Is that what you want, Kara?"
Kara swallowed hard, forcing the lump down her throat. "I want a chance. Just one. To breathe. To figure out who I am without constantly being compared or underestimated."
Her father, quiet until now, finally spoke. "Let her try." His voice was soft, but it cut through the tension. "She's old enough."
Her mom shot him a sharp look, but he didn't flinch. The table fell back into an uneasy silence, forks scraping, nobody really eating anymore.
Later, when Kara slipped into her room, the knock came. Alva leaned on the doorframe, helmet dangling from his hand.
"Come on," he said simply.
Minutes later, the city roared around them as they sped through the Jakarta night. They stopped by the old riverside road, the water black and slow under the orange glow of streetlamps.
Alva killed the engine, pulling off his helmet. "So… why Bali?" His voice wasn't accusing, just curious.
Kara hugged her knees, staring at the water. "Because if I stay here, I'll drown. Mom won't stop comparing me to Dean. Dean won't stop treating me like I'm a mistake. And I'll keep feeling like I'm… stuck. Bali's far enough for me to breathe. To start fresh."
Alva lit a cigarette, took a drag, then handed it over. Kara shook her head, but he just shrugged. "And us? What happens to us if you go?"
She turned to him, eyes soft. "I'm not disappearing, Al. I'll come back every four, maybe six months. Holidays, breaks. You'll still have me. Just… not every day."
Alva studied her for a long moment, jaw tight. "It's just… weird. You've always been the one who gets it. The one who doesn't make me feel… small."
Kara nudged his shoulder gently. "I'll still be that. Just from farther away. And when I come back, I want you to see me stronger, not broken. This is how I make sure I don't lose myself, Al. So I can still show up for you."
Alva flicked ash into the water, exhaling slowly. "Then promise me one thing."
"What?"
"That when you come back, you'll still be my sister. Not some stranger from Bali."
Kara smiled through the sting of tears. "Promise."
The city hummed around them, horns in the distance, water lapping at the bank. Two siblings, heavy with their own fears, clinging to a promise under the Jakarta night.