The rain poured heavily. Sira had just folded her prayer mat after finally performing the Isha prayer, delayed by Gavin's arrival. Meanwhile, the man seemed to have left several minutes ago after receiving a call from his beloved fake fiancée.
Sira lay down to rest. It was as if the universe were hounding her to do everything in the shortest time possible. It felt like only yesterday that she had reunited with Gavin after saying goodbye at their graduation five years ago. And then, on that very day they met again, the universe seemed to trap her into marrying him.
That day, Gavin had just been transferred to become the principal at the school where Sira had been teaching for the past two years. They were still talking when a call from Sira's mother came in, informing her that Sira's father continued to complain of excruciating pain despite receiving treatment at the hospital.
Sira still remembered that day clearly—the moment she hurried out of Gavin's car in the hospital parking lot without even having a chance to thank her old friend.
"Who is that, Ra?" her father suddenly asked, his attention shifting toward the door after he had spent some time talking with Sira about his pain.
Sira turned and followed her father's gaze. Gavin was standing there, looking worried. For a moment, Sira was stunned as she stared at him, not knowing what to do. She had thought Gavin would go straight home after dropping her off in the parking lot.
"I'm Gavin, Sira's friend, sir," he said, introducing himself politely as he kissed her father's hand. The weak man lying in bed smiled with relief, his eyes lighting up happily at the sight of Gavin. But his reaction made Sira suspicious.
"I want to talk to Gavin for a moment. You and your mother wait outside for a bit, okay, Ra?" her father said, suddenly changing his mind and leaving Sira confused and even more worried.
"Dad... what do you want to talk about? Just talk to Sira."
"Just for a moment, Ra. I only want to talk for a little while. Wait outside."
"But, Dad..." Her mother tugged on Sira's hand, as if asking her to simply do as her father wished. Sira hesitated for a moment, then saw Gavin nod in agreement with leaving her alone.
With heavy steps, Sira finally left Gavin there, a thousand questions slowly filling her mind.
Gavin closed the door at her father's request after Sira and her mother left the room.
"Just relax, Ra. Your father isn't going to do anything weird to your friend," her mother said soothingly before sitting beside Sira's two younger sisters, Dinda and Lisa.
After fifteen minutes, the hospital-room door finally opened and Gavin stepped out. His face was furrowed, and he looked shocked and confused, but the only thing he said was that Sira should go in and see her father immediately.
"Sit down, Ra," her father said as soon as she entered the room.
"I don't want the surgery, Ra," the middle-aged man said weakly, gazing at his eldest daughter.
"Why not, Dad? The surgery is already scheduled for two days from now."
"I'm sorry I couldn't be a good father to you and your siblings, Ra." Her father drew a breath and slowly let it out, holding back the pain that seemed to be returning.
"I don't think I'll have two more days to wait, Ra," he continued, smiling. The tears Sira had always tried to hold back suddenly spilled down her cheeks.
"Before I go, I only have one wish, Ra. I want to see you married." Tears began to fall from her father's eyes as well.
Sira had never once seen her father—the man who always seemed so strong—cry or even shed a tear. But what could she do when his request was too difficult to fulfill in such a short time?
"But I don't have a fiancé, Dad," Sira replied as she wiped away one of her father's fallen tears.
"I've already talked to your friend, and he agreed."
"You mean Gavin? What did he agree to, Dad?" Sira could only stare in disbelief at what her own father had just said.
"Marrying you," her father answered with a smile.
"But, Dad... Gavin and I are just friends."
"I know, Ra. And I also know you've never brought a male friend to meet me. So if you brought him here, he can't be just an ordinary friend to you, can he?"
"Yes, but it's not like that, Dad..." Sira ran out of ways to explain it to her father. To Sira, Gavin was more than just a friend, but to Gavin, Sira was only an ordinary friend. And she hadn't actually intended to bring him here anyway—he had come on his own, without being asked.
"I don't want anything else, Ra. I think I could die peacefully after seeing you married," her father said again, his eyes still filled with hope.
For a moment, silence fell. Sira tried to calm herself, then let out a heavy sigh.
"I'll talk to Gavin first, Dad," Sira said as she wiped away her tears and left her father's hospital room.
Sira took Gavin to the far end of the hospital parking lot, where few people passed by.
"What were you thinking, Vin? Do you know what you just did? How could you agree to my father's idea without giving it any thought? Did you forget that you're getting married in two weeks?" Sira couldn't hold back her anger over what had happened, even though she knew it wasn't entirely Gavin's fault. Gavin could only let out a quiet sigh.
"Gavin..."
"Do you have another solution, Raa?" Gavin suddenly cut her off just as Sira was about to scold him again.
"Not yet, but if you hadn't agreed, I might have found another solution," Sira replied, turning her gaze away from Gavin.
For some reason, everything felt wrong to Sira whenever she faced Gavin, especially under circumstances like these. She had once hoped to marry him, but certainly not like this.
"What? You want to find some random man and marry him just like that? You're crazy, Raa!" This time, Gavin was the one who grew angry with Sira.
"Maybe that would be better than marrying someone else's future husband," Sira shot back carelessly, ignoring Gavin's anger.
"Talk to my father again. Tell him you can't marry me."
"How can you be so heartless when your father is in that condition, Raa?" Gavin said softly. His words immediately brought tears to Sira's eyes again as she remembered her father's condition.
"Marry me, Sira," Gavin said again, startling her with his sudden proposal.
"But I can't promise you anything. I can only marry you in a secret marriage. I can't promise you happiness or a future. But I can promise you one thing: I can fulfill your father's last wish."