After checking my temperature with a thermometer, I found myself to be in a non-sick state. There's still a lingering feeling of light headedness. The room is dark, dimly lit by the environment. She's sleeping quietly beside me, facing right at the nightlight that's dancing around the window sill.

As you may know, I'm living in the residential complex of J-MEF. To avoid any disturbing industrial noises, this part of our facility was made quiet using a mana activated sound barrier which shields us from any annoyances. That noise maker is of course coming from a land puncturing machine that goes down quite a distance, extracting the much wanted mana that's lying about, seemingly coming out of nowhere. Still a mystery to us on how or where its coming from, but we will play with the card that we're dealt with.

Carefully without waking up Parmadita, I walk up towards the porch to see how our facility is doing. I'm just wearing my tank top right now, but embarrassment is the last thing I care tonight.

A warm tea sits by my small table, don't remember ever making one. It is still warm, so I bet she made this not too long ago for me. Therefore, she just fell asleep and should not wake up anytime soon. This night is young, and I have nothing to do besides finishing this tea. Such a wonderful atmosphere, skipping to enjoy this comfortable vibes all around should be a crime.

Parmadita

You know that I never actually sleeps right?

Lukman

HOLY SH- YOU MADE MY HEART JUMP!

How are you still awake, go to sleep dude.

Parmadita

Nope, I won't. How is the tea by the way?

Lukman

It's lovely, thank you.

Aren't you worried that you will miss a good night sleep and get wrinkles all over?

Parmadita

Not since we are married.

Now I feel bad for ever disturbing her sleeping schedule. I decide not to talk back and continues to wallow. Staring into a quiet, uneventful night.

Not long after, I hear rustles of blanket and bed sheets, waking me up from a deep blank stare into those bleak sky. Cup clinking, water pouring, and sweet smell coming from our kitchen. She is making a new batch just for herself. Guess you can't really fell asleep when your partner is up and standing like this.

Her glass is placed right beside mine, on this wooden bar which I use to lean on. We don't worry too much about spilling it, because this glass was made with an anti-spill mechanism, powered by a measly bit of mana. Truly, our best purchase to date.

She put her whole weight on my left shoulder, drinking tea every so often without saying a word. This silence feels oddly natural, which is unnatural if you think about it. I thought talking to each other is the only way to prevent any awkwardness between couple. Guess that magazine is wrong after all.

Though, there's still some lingering question hanging at the back of my mind. Need to ease into asking it with several light questions. Let me start with how beautiful this night is. That will get things going.

Lukman

Hey Parma. This is a nice night to chill, isn't it?

Parmadita

Yeah, I suppose so.

Our conversation went dead. She goes back to her silent mode and doesn't follow it up. Though, I did get a glimpse of a smug expression in her eyes as she replied to my question. Don't quite understand where it's coming from, but I'm about to find out.

Lukman

What's up with that smug mug?

Parmadita

Whaat~

I'm not doing any smug mug~

Lukman

Yeah you did, I saw it just then. Look, you're doing it again!

Parmadita

Oh come on, just let me have this moment~

You look so agitated since I lean myself to you, are you embarrassed getting touchy with your own wife? Hmm~

Lukman

No I'm not! Stop teasing me pleaseee!

Parmadita

Nope, I will never not tease you, ever!

We laugh together, hitting each other with light slaps and touches. Our shriek of joy could be heard by everyone downstairs. Need to compose myself soon before someone is writing me a noise complaint.

Lukman

Okay okay I got it, hush hush.

It's in the middle of the night, we need to be quiet right now.

Parmadita

Alright then, I'm not going to tease you that much tonight.

Hey, this is a bit sudden but have you heard about a legend from my hometown?

Lukman

That's a bit sudden, but sure I'll listen to it. Where is your hometown by the way?

Parmadita

My hometown should not be far from the capital, about two bus ride going south. It has some landmarks like an ancient radio tower. But nowadays they use it as a museum for telecommunication though.

Anyway, have you heard of a legend called "The Love Curse"?

Lukman

Sounds familiar. I think someone was talking about it in middle school. Not like I remember it.

Parmadita

Really, I thought its a pretty easy folklore to pass around. Not like it has a complicated-movie-of-the-decade kinds of plot, you know.

Lukman

I guess my mind just work differently for things like this.

Parmadita

Well anyway, its a story about a guy. Not some ordinary uneducated peasant they portray in novels, but a proper educated magician. It was told that he's a pretty smart guy with a lot of money. But after a while, he realized that there's one thing that money can't really buy. A true love.

All of his past relationship turns sour, as soon as his partner caught wind of his immense fortune. This happens often enough that this guy just breaks. Like a very thin stick under a big anvil. He can't handle it and decided to put away everything he's working on and solve this problem.

Now logically, he could just donate most of his money away so his lover can't really take advantage of those enormous wealth. Maybe work with some unknown charity, get to know a woman on that organization, and marry her. But this guy has gone past his breaking point, so logical steps aren't necessarily in the menu. To solve this "curse" he thought he has, he uses...

She is that annoying yet cute face again. A wide smile, raised eyebrows, and slightly open mouth. I think she is anticipating an answer from me, to fill in the blanks in the story.

Lukman

He uses magic to solve his problem?

Parmadita

EEEEEEEEEEEKK WROOONG!

He can't use magic, because by nature magic can only manipulate dead things like water, air, wood, and steel. This story calls for a kind of magic. A kind that manipulates human beings and are known as "curses".

As you know, magic uses mana as a "form of payment" for an activity. Like electricity for a phone. Meanwhile, curses are paid by inflicting other curses! They called it "The Rule of Equivalent Exchange".

Lukman

Who's deciding that something is equal to another?

Parmadita

Don't know, probably there's a reason why it's only a legend.

Now to continue my rudely interrupted story, that man then goes to an adventure to find a curse that would give him a true love. He goes everywhere from the top of Ha towards the bottom, left and right, deep or above the ground.

Being a bit meta here for a second, the people of my hometown saw this part of the story as an opportunity to create many-many-many-many alternative take on this legend and sell them as "the true telling" for a profit. Because of that, the original legend didn't survive the test of time and is lost to history. However, my mom claim that her version is the original one because her mother tell the same story and her mother also did, and yadda yadda yadda you get what I'm saying.

What differs in my mom's story is the way that the man found his true love, if he ever did.

So after a long and arduous adventure, he finally found a book which contains the curse that he's looking for. But my mom's version didn't end there, because on his way home, the man came across a woman needing some help. She is dirty, starved, and tired from an unknown circumstances. Maybe because he felt bad for her or knowing that he already found his curses so it's not too bad to help another in need, at the end he decided to help her.

He feeds her, bought her clothes, and treated her wound. Everything good that you can do to a woman is done to her, by him. She of course kindly return the favor by helping him with his daily task. Like laundry, dusting, and making dinner. I mean, that's the only thing she can do, might as well do it.

Eventually, the man forgot that he needs that book of curse and decided to marry this woman he found somewhere, basically from a ditch. They then got married, have kids, work as a farmer or whatever, and then live happily ever after.

Lukman

I guess the real adventure is the wife that we found along the way.

Parmadita

That's one way to put it.

She sips her tea while I collect my thought. I really want to know what's all that story really mean. I can't really connect it to questions that I gave her this morning. It's obviously a love story, but which one am I out of both of the characters is still a mystery.

Lukman

I'm sorry, I don't get it.

Parmadita

Do you want me to repeat the story? Am I speaking clearly or...

Lukman

No, you told the tale just fine. It's just, I don't get the meaning of it.

Parmadita

Well it's a legend, I'm sure everyone have their own interpretation of what it really means.

Lukman

No, you don't get it. What I'm saying is that, I don't see a connection between this story and my question this morning.

Parmadita

Ah there it is. That's one habit that you need to adjust whenever you are with me. You're overthinking this whole stuff, love. There's no hidden meaning behind me telling this story.

Lukman

But you know how I feel.

I still don't get how to be a "good husband", nor on how to make you feel good. Those reasons, made me anxious. I've said this before, but you're being unfair by doing everything perfectly.

Parmadita

Again, with this question. We are going to be in this circle of conversation for eternity, if you're not going to tell your worries to me straight. What is your problem, really.

Lukman

I...

Don't have one.

Parmadita

Good, cheers to that.

Our tea cups clink with one and another. She smiles and hides away her blushing cheek. It's true, I don't have a problem with her. Not a single complaint.