“You’re
frowning all the way.”
“Yeah.”
I respond monotonously to the person who is sitting on the sofa, strumming the
guitar.
“Why
is that?”
“Well,
it’s because of that damn Jia, who is teasing me about getting together with
you.”
“(Chuckle)”
“Why
the hell are you laughing?” I swear while getting myself seated next to him.
“Because
you tend to wriggle this way, that’s why he always teases you.”
“How
do you know that I wriggle? So maybe if I sit still, they can’t tease me right?”
“A
person like you, there’s no way you can sit still, isn’t that so, Zon?” Said
Saifah with his eyebrows raised irritatingly.
“You
don’t know me that well, right?”
“Nope,
but one can tell only by looking at your behaviour.”
“Is
my behaviour that easy to see through?”
Ai’Saifah doesn’t respond. He just nods and lowers his head whilst continuing to strum the guitar.
Listening to the melodic acoustic tones that Saifah plays, I realise it’s a song from one of my favourite bands. The lyrics are about secretly loving someone but being unable to tell that person.
I
change my position, sitting cross-legged so I can look at his face as he
continues to play.
Damn
it, it’s so fucking charming when a guy plays a good solo. If it was me, I
think there might be no difference at all.
“So
pro!” As soon as Saifah finishes, I immediately applause loudly for him. “I
want to play like this too.”
“You
can.”
“I’m
not sure if I could ever get this good.”
“Have
a bit of confidence, Zon. Even I believe
that you can do it.”
“Even
when you just know me, Saifah? Where did you get your faith in me from?”
“Well,
I didn’t get it from anywhere. I just think you can do it.”
“…”
“Why
are you making such a face?”
“Nothing,
I’m just- Whatever, it’s better for you to continue teaching me.” I became
speechless when Saifah asked me this, because in the past I never encountered
someone who would say that I could do it.
Not
even once.
Even
my parents are still telling me to give up on writing my novel, but Saifah…
“Why
don’t we start with the easy chord first?”
“Sure.”
Him,
believing in me that I can totally work this out, is damn enough to make my
heart swell up in an unexplainable way.
Saifah
teaches me a few simple chords. At first, I did complain here and there but as
soon as I begin to grasp it, and I can finally strum a few chords which sound
almost like music, it begins to feel enjoyable as well.
Even
when my fingers are actually hurting quite a bit.
“Is it enough?” Saifah asks when I stop playing and hold my fingers, caressing them.
The fingers I used to press on the chord strings turned completely red.
Now I understand and can tell why people who play guitar would have calluses on
their fingers, because they have to press on the strings so freaking hard.
“Yes,
I think it’s enough. My fingers fucking hurt. Is there any way of not getting
them hurt?”
“There’s
one way.”
“What
is it?” I ask Saifah excitedly.
“Well,
you need to play a lot until the fingers are used to holding the strings and become
rough.”
“Seriously?!”
“Of
course, because if your fingers don’t have calluses on them, they will feel
hurt.”
“Are
yours also rough?”
“Yup.”
Saifah nods, answering me.
“I
meant your face na.” I couldn’t hold myself back and annoy him but Saifah
narrows his eyes at me as if he’s looking for a fault which causes me to bring
my hands up, surrendering.
“Then,
does it turn rough and ugly?”
“Do
you mean the face or fingers?”
“Fingers
of course. I was only teasing you just now.”
“They
didn’t turn ugly or anything. They just turn hard, stiff” Saifah replies, but I
just couldn’t imagine the look of it until I reach out for his fingers.
“You’re
right. They don’t look ugly, but when I touch them, they really are rough.”
“Told
you, but in the beginning, before they begin to peel off, they will become
uglier than this.”
“…”
If hold a girl’s hand when my fingers are rough, it surely won’t feel soft
anymore.
“Why
are you pulling this face?”
“Nothing.”
“You
worry that when you hold a girl’s hand, it won’t feel soft huh?”
“How
do you know so much?”
“Well,
your face is telling me that. However, if you are so worried about your fingers
turning rough, then you just can’t play that excellent na. They will feel hurt
like before as well. See, the guys with kind of callused fingers, they play
very well.”
“Yes. I can imagine it.” I sigh while caressing the fingertips that belong to the person in front of me.
He enjoys it until the moment I gaze up, looking at the
guy who is staring back at me with a questioning look, as if to ask me that
what I am doing right now is not extremely strange.
“Sorry.”
I
awkwardly let go of Saifah’s hand. My other hand is brought up to scratch my
own cheeks as I begin to feel shy. How can I not feel shy when there are two
guys sitting here with one of them caressing the other’s fingers.
“After
this, do you want to look for something to eat?” Ai’Saifah asks as though he didn’t
really pay attention to my previous discomfort, which is good actually.
“I
want to”.
“There
will be a market today, near my house.”
“If
that’s the case, let’s learn a few more chords and then we’ll leave.”
“…”
I didn’t answer.
I
puff and pout like telling the person before me, can it be enough for today? I
don’t want to continue to learn a few new chords. Just these already made my
fingers hurt badly.
“You
can’t anymore?”
“Hmm.”
“Just
one other chord na.”
“I
don’t want to wait anymore na Saifah. My fingers hurt. Can’t you see these
fingers of mine already turned red.” I complain while getting on my feet.
“Let’s go. Pack your things and let’s go to the market together, that’s much better.”
“You-”
Saifah shakes his head in disbelief, but still gives up to fulfil my wish in
the end.
I once said before that Saifah is a considerate person, but now I know another good point of ai’Saifah. A point that a person like me really likes. Because even when Saifah really loves to make an annoying expression, he is also a person which gets along well with others.
And it seems like he has a weak point
when someone is begging him.
And
so it turns out, he couldn’t help but to follow my way.
♫
Two
weeks later
It
has been more than two weeks since I started learning to play guitar with
ai’Saifah. I begin to memorize a few chords but not all of them, even though
right now the chord strings I press onto are no longer out of tune because I now
press onto them tightly.
However,
my fingers are hurting just like when I started out, though I can endure it
longer than before, but not as long as Saifah, who can play much longer.
“Are
you okay?”
“I’m
not, my fingers hurt.” I whine and lean against the couch I sit on.
“I’m
used to seeing you complaining like this.”
“Well, it’s you who likes to lie to me, saying it will get better by time, yet my fingers turn out to be like this.” I bring my fingers up for Saifah to see where they turned red and peeled all over.
Some of them are even slightly bruised
as well. I don’t know if there’s any cases of playing guitar until pus comes
out of the wounds or not. But I don’t want it to be that way na, because this
already hurt so badly.
“Where?
Let me see.”
“Go on take a look at all of them clearly.” I move and let my body face Saifah even when my head is still leaning against the couch.
I give the hand which I use to
press the chord string to the person in front of me without a thought of what
he was planning to do.
“Ow!
It hurts!”
Saifah
presses onto my fingers directly and even when he presses onto it gently, it
still hurts.
“If
that’s so, should we take a break next week?”
“Let’s
wait for this Saturday first, just in case it recovers.”
“Then,
let’s apply this first and see if it might help a bit.” I see Saifah taking out
a small medicine box which is similar to a Vaseline or wax cream.
“Are
you sure it will help?”
“I’m
not sure. But let’s apply it first just in case it does help.” The bigger guy
says only that before he starts to apply the medicine on my fingers.
“Does
it hurt?”
“Nope.”
“Is
it sting?”
“Not
at all.”
“If
it stings anywhere, do tell me.”
“Sure.”
I nod at him. In my mind right now, only the good feeling of having someone
taking care of me is there, even though that person is Saifah.
I can’t believe that a person like Saifah will treat a friend as gentle as this. I can imagine that if he has a girlfriend, he would take care of his girlfriend very well. I’m a person who prefers to take care and rely on myself all the time.
Therefore, to meet someone who looks after me like this, I couldn’t help
but feel good.
♫
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