The Unanswered Text

Ines sends Tobias a long message on Tuesday night. She explains why she can't make it to his sister's birthday dinner. She waits for a reply. None comes.

Ines mengirim pesan panjang kepada Tobias pada Selasa malam. Ia menjelaskan mengapa ia tidak bisa datang ke makan malam ulang tahun adik perempuan Tobias. Ia menunggu balasan. Tak ada yang datang.

By Wednesday morning, the message still shows only one gray checkmark. Tobias hasn't opened it at all, as far as she can tell. Ines starts imagining reasons why. Maybe he's angry, maybe he's decided her explanation wasn't good enough, maybe he's pulling away.

Pada Rabu pagi, pesan itu masih hanya menunjukkan satu centang abu-abu. Sejauh yang bisa ia lihat, Tobias sama sekali belum membukanya. Ines mulai membayangkan berbagai alasan. Mungkin Tobias marah, mungkin ia menganggap penjelasannya kurang pantas, mungkin ia sedang menjauh.

She almost texts again, just to ask if everything is okay. But she stops herself. If she sends another message and he still doesn't answer, she'll feel even worse than she does now.

Ia hampir mengirim pesan lagi, sekadar menanyakan apakah semuanya baik-baik saja. Tetapi ia menahan diri. Kalau ia mengirim pesan lagi dan Tobias tetap tidak menjawab, ia akan merasa lebih buruk daripada sekarang.

Instead, she goes through her day distracted, replaying the message in her head. Did it sound like an excuse? Did she explain herself clearly, or did it come across as cold?

Sebaliknya, ia menjalani harinya dengan pikiran melayang, mengulang-ulang pesan itu di kepalanya. Apakah kedengarannya seperti alasan yang dibuat-buat? Apakah penjelasannya sudah jelas, atau malah terkesan dingin?

That evening, her phone finally buzzes. It's Tobias, calling instead of texting.

Malam itu, ponselnya akhirnya bergetar. Tobias, menelepon, bukan mengirim pesan.

"Sorry," he says, before she can even say hello. "My phone died Tuesday night, and I only got it charged an hour ago. I've had zero signal all day at work."

"Maaf," katanya, sebelum Ines sempat mengucapkan halo. "Ponselku mati Selasa malam, dan baru satu jam lalu aku bisa mengisi dayanya. Seharian di kantor aku sama sekali tidak dapat sinyal."

Ines lets out a breath she didn't realize she was holding. "I thought you were upset with me," she admits. "I've been assuming the worst since yesterday."

Ines mengembuskan napas yang tak ia sadari sedang ia tahan. "Kupikir kamu kesal padaku," akunya. "Sejak kemarin aku membayangkan yang terburuk."

"I wasn't even close to my phone," Tobias says. "I had no idea you were waiting on anything."

"Aku bahkan tidak dekat-dekat ponselku," kata Tobias. "Aku sama sekali tidak tahu kamu sedang menunggu sesuatu."

"I should have just called instead of guessing," Ines says. "It felt easier to wait than to ask directly."

"Seharusnya aku langsung menelepon, bukan menebak-nebak," kata Ines. "Rasanya lebih mudah menunggu daripada bertanya langsung."

"Let's make a deal," Tobias says. "If either of us doesn't hear back within a day, we call. No more guessing games."

"Ayo kita buat kesepakatan," kata Tobias. "Kalau salah satu dari kita tidak mendapat kabar dalam sehari, kita saling menelepon. Tidak ada lagi tebak-tebakan."

Ines agrees, relieved that the whole thing turned out to be nothing more than a dead battery. They talk for another twenty minutes. By the end of the call, she has already forgotten what she was so worried about.

Ines setuju, lega karena semuanya ternyata hanya gara-gara baterai yang habis. Mereka mengobrol dua puluh menit lagi. Pada akhir telepon, ia sudah lupa apa yang tadi begitu ia khawatirkan.