“Romeo and Juliet,” replied a woman lying face down on the bed. She had long hair and was wearing a white dress. Her name was Alesha Caroline, a beautiful 22-year-old woman.

“I guess you’ll be Juliet. Then I’ll be Romeo..”

Alesha chuckled softly. “Come on, Aldrich, there’s no Romeo who leaves Juliet for years and never comes back. Then Juliet will be the one who goes after Romeo.”

A slight jab at her boyfriend who hadn’t come home in the past few years. At first, Aldrich used to return once or twice a year, but for the last two years, he hadn’t come back. He said there was too much work there that couldn’t be left behind.

“Sorry…” Aldrich showed his guilty expression, his cute face visible.

“Aldrich,” Alesha replied, annoyed. Aldrich was like a comedian—always joking around.

Aldrich laughed lightly. “Really, sweety. Once I make a lot of money and have plenty of wealth, I’ll come back and propose to you. You’ll be able to leave the Orphanage, and we can live happily together.”

That was their shared dream. Aldrich worked abroad in Italy, seeking wealth so he could marry Alesha and take her out of the orphanage. The orphanage that raised Alesha couldn’t just release its children. The Orphanage raised children with a royal system, training them to behave like princesses. Then, when they came of age, people from high society would adopt them.

The reason Alesha was still in the Orphanage, even though she was an adult, was because Alesha had talent. She earned her own money by performing ballet. Even though Alesha could refuse adoption, the Orphanage still couldn’t release her. Someone with a stable financial background had to come to take her.

Alesha smiled. “I hope the universe hears the prayers of this man who never prays.”

“The universe always supports me to fight for our relationship,” Aldrich winked. “Alesha, my princess. I love you.”

Alesha was used to it by now. Besides being a comedian, Aldrich was also a smooth talker. “I love you more, my big boy.”

“By the way, who will play Romeo?”

“Alex.”

“Come on, babe. Alex? He’s more suited to be Juliet than Romeo.”

Alesha was startled when she saw the flash of a flashlight coming through the window. It was probably the Orphanage guard doing a check to see if everyone was asleep by 10 PM.

“Looks like you need to sleep.”

Alesha pouted and nodded. “See you in Italy. Ti amo.” She quickly hung up, pulled the blanket up to her neck, and pretended to sleep as the staff began opening the doors one by one.

~~

Only a few students from the Ballet Academy were chosen to perform in Italy. One of them was Alesha. Now she had set foot in Italy. Her long hair fluttered in the wind. Alesha closed her eyes—it felt like being freed from prison. She could finally breathe the air freely without worrying about anything.

Before practicing, they were invited to relax at a beach. It was truly beautiful. Until now, Alesha had only seen it on her phone screen. She pointed her phone at the vast blue ocean in front of her, took a few pictures, and sent them to her boyfriend.

“Alesha,” someone called from beside Alesha.

“Yeah?” Alesha turned to look.

“I hope I can be like you, Alesha. I want to refuse to be adopted and have a handsome and humorous boyfriend like Aldrich,” Freya said, really hoping her fate would be like Alesha’s.

Alesha nodded, gently patting the shoulder of the younger girl. “You can do it, Freya. The Orphanage never rejects its talented children. So, you must stay motivated to prove that you can succeed.”

Alesha chose to be alone. She walked while taking pictures of things that caught her eye. Her gaze stopped on an object that had just fallen. Alesha picked it up—a box containing still-full cigarette sticks. The owner was probably one of the group of people dressed in black who started walking away.

Alesha quickly ran after them. “Sir,” she called out.

Before she could speak further, one of them held up five fingers, signaling rejection.

“But your item fell,” Alesha said in English.

“No beggars allowed,” replied one of them.

Alesha blinked. “I just want to return this to you.”

Now all eyes were on her. Some of the men there shook their heads wearily, thinking Alesha was really just like a beggar asking for money.

“Why cause trouble? Want to die?” asked a man wearing sunglasses. His aura was different from the others. He looked cold with his low voice, and now he was walking toward Alesha.

Alesha frowned for a moment. Boldly, she grabbed the man’s hand. “This is yours that fell earlier,” she said, then looked up at him. “GWS, sir. Don’t treat death like a joke,” she said in Indonesian.

Then she immediately turned and walked away, running to catch up with the group that had already entered the bus. Unbeknownst to Alesha, the man was holding back his emotions, which were about to explode. He crushed the cigarette box in his hand until it broke.

~~

Alesha was now ready. She was wearing an off-white dress. Romeo and Juliet, a classic story that had always been one of her favorite romantic tales. Alesha was happy to play Juliet, even though her Romeo wasn’t Aldrich.

“Al, I’m so nervous, please,” Alex said, taking Alesha’s hand and rubbing it gently.

Alesha could feel that Alex’s hands were really cold. She was nervous too, and understandably so—it was their first time performing in a foreign country.

“We can do this. Everything will go smoothly,” Alesha reassured, gently rubbing the back of Alex’s hand. “I’ll be right back.” Alesha quickly ran outside.

She smiled when she saw a man dressed entirely in black, holding a flower in his hand. Alesha immediately ran toward him and threw herself into Aldrich’s arms.

“I miss you so much,” Alesha said, her emotions overflowing. She kissed Aldrich’s cheek a few times. She was really happy to see her boyfriend.

Aldrich lifted Alesha’s body effortlessly, spinning her a few times. After that, he kissed her forehead for a few seconds. “I miss you too. It feels like I’m going to die from holding back my longing.”

“ALESHA, IT’S TIME TO GET READY,” shouted her teacher. Alesha reluctantly let go of her grip.

“I’ll see you later.” Aldrich patted Alesha’s head.

Alesha nodded. She took the flower Aldrich gave her and walked back into the building. Before she completely entered, Alesha made a heart shape with her hands for Aldrich.

The performance had started—Alesha followed her script. Alex lifted her body, then made a spinning motion. The audience clapped. Fifteen minutes of the performance had passed. Occasionally, Alesha glanced at Aldrich, who was sitting in the middle seat, making sure her boyfriend was still there watching her until the end.

DOOR

DOOR

Everyone there was shocked. Alesha stopped. Her body went weak—within a fraction of a second, she saw her boyfriend lying with his head covered in blood from a gunshot.

“Aldrich…”