Day 7621 – Sayang

A week after we got together, everything still felt new.
We were still learning how to hold hands,
how to stand close without overthinking it.

That night, Semarang felt quiet.
The streets were almost empty, the air warm with leftover rain.
We sat side by side, not rushing to go home.

She turned to me and asked softly,
“Can you call me sayang?”

My chest tightened.
I said it slowly, like a secret I wasn’t sure I deserved to say.
“Sayang.”

She smiled, not wide but enough to make me forget the world.
We were quiet for a moment.
Then I leaned in,
and for the first time, our lips met.

It wasn’t perfect.
It was shy, uncertain, almost trembling.
But it felt real.
Like the beginning of something we didn’t yet have words for.

Years later, after rings and vows,
I still remember that kiss more than any crowd at our wedding.
Because that night, under quiet Semarang skies,
“sayang” became ours forever.