Me in Another 10 Years

 In Another 10 Years                                                

Faris Kartawijaya

I was sitting with my friend, Felix. We were having a lazy talk near the beach while enjoying the beautiful Hawaiian sunset.  We were really intended to enjoy this relaxing moment, since by tomorrow, on 9 AM, we will be in Red Line Subway Station, heading to Hollywood to meet and negotiate with Ubisoft Inc., the number one gaming sotware company in the US. 

This negotiation is going to be  a golden ticket for our film studio company, Fast House Entertainment. It is going to be a milestone to enter the worldwide film industry. I’ve already asked Fatur, one of Felix’ relatives, to book our subway ticket for our tomorrow trip to Hollywood. We were planning to pack our stuffs by 10 PM once we’ve got back to the hotel. And by 12 AM tonight, we will going to depart from Kahului Airport straight to Oregon, U.S.

Felix drank his coconut water, and then he asked the details and what would we do once the contract with Ubisoft is signed. I replied that by 1 or 2 PM tomorrow, we might have going to be in Ubisoft Tower,  discussing about technical plan and concept of the film we are going to make based on one of their big game"Assassin's Creed". If the negotiation went smoothly, we would be receiving USD 250 million as the down payment and the copyright of Assassin’s Creed tm. For two and a half years – which mean, in the next two years, we will be in our working station doing this big project.

Felix laugh happily, I smiled. Fast House Entertainment, the film studio that I built over 5 years ago is growing rapidly and is climbing the ladder to success. "Ris" Said Felix, "If our fortune kept on going like this, I could predict that in 4 – 5 years from now,  Fast House Entertainment will have been in a top of World Film Industry, competing even beating WarnerBros, 20th Century Fox, and even Paramount Picture!". I laughed.

Well, I actually did not see it coming, that my movie studio that I built with my last penny would have been this successful. I was so grateful to meet Felix – such a genius dreamer. I met him in the Art Institute in my home country, Indonesia. He had this high sense for art, he was also fun to be with and a very hard worker. It was him who first joined the film studio that I founded. I could still remember his joke when we were in difficult times. "Take it easy, Ris! I promise you, with the hard work and a bit of luck, in several years from now, we would have been one of the biggest film studio in the world!” And I knew, I knew from the beginning I met him, he was a dreamer, just like me, but he did not just a dreamer, he would try to reach out and realize his dream, he had hard determination. I never doubted him.

Felix gazed and looked over the horizon, he looked so serious. I was sipping my favorite smoothies when he asked me, “Are you sure you’re going to marry her?”. I put down my smoothy and smiled at him, I knew who he meant by ‘her’. I nodded and said that I will going to propose her next year, exchange our vows and spend the rest of my life with her. I told him my dream, that once we’ve got married, with my share from the downpayment, we would be able to buy small house near California beach. I would not wanted to have a big fancy house, I would like the simple life despite my  uncounted digits wealth. I would not wanted to have a maid, I would wanted my wife do all the housework and raise our children, and by the I got home, I would like to see the house is all clean and perfect by my own wife, not by others. And who knows, I will have been a father of two handsome sons, just like me. We both laughed. 

"How about you, my friend?" I asked Felix, "Would you like me to introduce you further to Vaniese?".

Felix gave a simple smile "Venise? I don’t have the guts for that kind of thing, I did not even dare to approach her"

“It’s okay. Don’t you worry. Next week, we’re going to have a dinner, you could chat with her then. Who knows, by midnight, you’re will be going to spend the night dancing with her.” I tried to encourage him. The sun was going down anytime soon. We both silently enjoying the Hawaiian Sunset and wished for this moment to never end.

"I'll get the taxi and I’ll going to call you once it’s ready” said Felix. I nodded. The sky was getting darker and the sun had sunk deep in the seabed. I took off my sun glasses and finished my smoothies. Felix called me from a distance, after I left a little tip on the table, I followed Felix heading to Taxi that would took us to the Honolulu Hotel.

Our taxi passed Ala Moana Boulevard near Water Front Plaza. We made a quick stop there to buy some souvenirs, Felix seemed to be interested in the Totem Kahōālii god sculpture, god of the Underworld that said to be the god of death who punish evil man. I was not so interested in sculpture, but I saw one painting which blew my mind. A painting of God’s World, with a touch of white brush and high contrast, the painting looked glowing in my eyes. Either because of a magic trick or anything, I was willing to pay 10 million USD to brought the painting home, after buying souvenirs and other accessories (I bought a Hawaiian-style sunglasses, since I like to collect sunglasses) Felix reminded our schedule, we should have been in the hotel by 7 PM and prepared to got to Ureon, US.

On our way to the airport, Felix received a phone call from one of his buddies, Reza. He seemed very upset and after he hung up, he said to me, “Jakarta, has been getting worse".He told me that now the JakartaTraffic Deadlock and floods have been hit almost 15% of its territory.

This brought me to the past, when I was still in high school. At that time me and my class mate, Daniel,were busy arguing about the future of Jakarta since it was in every news, a prediction that said Jakarta would be sink. At that time, I argued that in another 50 years, Jakarta would gone due to the decreasing of underground water which supposed to hold Jakarta. In another 50 years, we would all be swimming in Jakarta and our children would only know Jakarta as a big lake. Well, it was only 10 years had passed, and my prediction was almost happened. 

I felt like I was being a traitor, I was born and grew up in Jakarta, and then I left it. But deep down, I felt grateful – going abroad was a right choice. I lived well here, more than enough. I had good friends. I had a great job and next year I will going to be father. 

I smiled all the way back to the hotel, this reminded me of my youth in the past, when I was in my high school, My English teacher gave me an assignment to write ‘What would you be in the next 10 Years?’, and this is where I am now. Almost all my dreams came true. I am grateful for all the hard work, struggle, fight and all my prays, and one important thing which always encouraged me and gave me hope... 

            Dream.

Click her for Indonesian Version