Chapter 13 : Late Night Talks

"Hey, Kate. What's up?" I asked her when I finally get over my emotion. The feeling earlier stopped, maybe because I forced myself to do it so. 

"Nothing special," she answered. "By the way, are you okay now?" 

"Huh? Of course, I am. Why wouldn't I?" I asked her. 

It's too late before I realized that I sound so defensive. I almost shout when I answered her. 

"Okay. I'll just agree with what you said even if I'm not convince," she said before letting out a sigh. 

"Why did you call me, by the way?" I asked Kate to change the topic of our conversation. 

It's a bit unusual that Kate is calling me in the middle of the night. I think this is about school stuff or something very important. Well, that's only a guess. I'm confuse why she's calling me. 

"I just call to check you. You seemed shocked and quite flustered earlier. You even stopped walking in the middle of the road," she answered.

"I did that?" I asked. I'm not really sure that happened. My mind is empty that time and there's an unfamiliar feeling circulating inside my body. 

"You can't remember? I slapped you because of that. You looked like you saw a ghost," she replied.

"Oh. I remember when you slapped me, but when I stopped in the middle of the road, I can't remember it clearly. Well, let's just forget that," I stated.

"Fine, and also, I call you because I need someone to talk to."

"Why? Are you going under sad things? Under pressure?" 

"Nah. I just can't sleep. I thought talking to someone will help me sleep, and I think of you, so that's it," she explained.

"Oh," I reacted. I thought it is something serious. I thought this is the time to show my 'comforting skills', but I gues this isn't a good time.

"What are we going to tall about?" I asked her.

"I am not really sure. How about you? Can you give a topic? The one that's interesting?" 

I didn't answer her at first, for I am thinking deeply. I'm not used to this kind of this. Usually, I'm not the one who's doing the first move. When I'm talking to someone, especially with Dhaile, she is the one who introduce the topic, and I'll just get along with it.

"Oh! I know!" I exclaimed. 

"What is that?" she asked.

"Since you are a new teacher in Felghana and we don't know so much about you, I think you should tell me about yourself or your past. You know, I already told you a sort of my past. I think it's good if you will tell yours also," I explained to her.

"Okay," she paused to some moments before she continue on talking. 

"I already told you that I came from Altoga right?" she asked. I just hum to tell her that I already know it.

"I grew up in a province far from the Capital of Altoga. Our province is called Ubuyaki. Our place is far from civilization. Unlike in the Capital, we don't have large buildings, electricity, and internet. We only have the river and sea nearby as the source of water," she discussed. 

"Woah. I didn't know that. I can't imagine it. No electricity? I can't live without that! No internet? My life will be boring!" I reacted.

"Well, that's for you. But for a person like me who grew up in that kind of place, that's normal," she replied. 

"Since we don't have electricity, we are just using our lamps or candles to have a light during nighttime. We're satisfied with that, but the problem is that almost every month, some houses in our province were put in fire because of the lamps and candles. I remember, I was nine when our house was destroyed by fire. Good thing that my father and brother knows how to build a small house," she explained to me. 

"Aren't you studying that time?" I asked her. I was just curious if she got an education when she was little.

"Of course. There is a small school in the province near us. My siblings and I are studying there. That's for free so we don't have to pay anything. What we are concerned of is the transportation. Thd school is too far from our house, but of course we makena way for that. We are really eager to learn. Besides, our parents have high hopes for us that we can improve our life," she answered.

"Yeah, and that's happening now. Look, you're now a teacher in a big university," I compliment her.

"Yeah. My sibling also have their own jobs here in Felghana. My older brother is already an engineer while my little sister is a nurse. We already bought a house here. I can say that we're already in a good state of life, far from where we were when we're little."

"That's good to hear. I'm happy for you,"  I said. 

That's a very good news. Imagine, from living in a non-civilized province to living in a Capital City with your own house, that's amazing. I know that Kate and her siblings worked so hard for that. 

"Are those information enough? Or you want me to tell you more about me?" she asked.

"Maybe? If you want to tell me something more, go on. I will listen," I said. I put the loudspeaker on and stretched my body and arms. 

"Hmm. What else can I say?" she asked herself even though I can hear what she is saying.

"Aha! I know," she said. I placed my phone near me to hear what she is going to tell me. 

"I remember, last time, a boy went to the school and he confront you, right? Is he your boyfriend?" 

"Correction, ex-boyfriend," I said firmly. "What's with him?" 

"Well, he reminded me of my ex-boyfriend. Like him, he is also stubborn. I broke up with him when I found out that he cheating. He is dating another girl. When I broke up with him, he pleaded me to came back. But what the hell? It's his fault that I broke up with him," she stated.

"I bet your ex-boyfriend has a thick face," I answered.

"Yeah."

"But in my situation, my boyfriend didn't cheat on me," I said.

"Then why did you broke up with him?" she asked.

"The spark and love faded," I answered, not mentioning that I am a lesbian. Even though I feel comfortable with Kate, I can't tell her my secret, now that she already know the law of Felghana about persons like me. Besides, I didn't even told Dhaile about it even if she is the person I trust the most.

"Oh, that's sad," she reacted. 

She changed the topic. We talked and talked for several hours. We didn't even notice that it's already late. If Kate's mother didn't call her, we will not stop on talking to each other.

"Bye, Kate. I have a nice time talking with you," I said.

"Bye. Thanks for the time," she said before hanging up her phone.