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Cantika never understands what’s so good about wearing high heels. Yes, the boots she usually wears do have heels, but they’re still relatively low compared to those displayed at the shops. High heels are such a hassle. First of all, they hurt as hell, you can only wear them for a short period of time; and second, how are you gonna run in them when the enemies ambush you? Taking them off will leave you defenseless while it gives them more time to attack. They should be left out of fashion, no one should be wearing them—Jenar is an exception because she’s got knives in her heels. That’s the only exception. High heels are good only if there are weapons in them.
“It’s all about the appeal, Kak,” Jenar once said to her, “High heels dan female sexuality sudah kaya’ satu paket gitu, they make me feel sexy and give me the pretense that I’m a weak defenseless lady lalu... Bam! You beat the shit out of them!”
Still, doesn’t that mean the point of high heels is just to objectify and sexualize women?
Cantika doesn’t wear one of those high heeled shoes. She doesn’t like wearing them, she even avoids to—unless Bapak tells her to.
And tonight is one of that rare occasion.
Cantika tries her best to hold back a yawn. She doesn’t understand why she’s here, in a party held by Ghapharmacy Corp.. She knows the CEO of the company is none other than one of Bapak’s associate, still, she doesn’t get why she has to come as well. Normally Bapak will just bring Kamal along to events, but for some reason, he asked Cantika to attend the party as well, even telling her to dress up and sending her a new dress and a pair of stilettos. Is it because she’s a surgeon and Bapak thinks it’s a good idea for her to widen her connections with the people here, or maybe there’s someone here that Bapak wants her to assassinate, she doesn’t know—but she’s ready if it’s the latter. Cantika always has her needles with her, so it won’t be a problem.
As expected, she’s only been wearing the shoes Bapak gave her for not even an hour but she can already feel her legs hurting. Of all chances in the world, it’s a stand-up party. She hasn’t found anywhere to sit, standing hurts, walking around hurts, and Bapak and Kamal are nowhere to be found. She should’ve stayed in the car.
She sighs, what rotten luck, maybe she really just should get back in the car. She’s not a fan of big crowd and she doesn’t really get the point of staying there anyway. If Bapak or Kamal needs her, they can just call her.
Cantika turns around, not even three steps later, she trips on her heels. Cantika yelps, losing her balance, her body sways sideway, but before she hits the ground, Cantika feels a hand gripping hers and another on her waist, stopping her right before she falls.
She turns her head, eyes still wide from shock, and finds a beautiful woman, face only a few inches from hers.
“Kamu nggak apa-apa?” The woman asks her, her voice soft.
[Cantika.exe has stopped working]
Cantika finds herself forgetting all the letters and words she has learned.
“Halo?” the woman waves one hand right in front of Cantika’s face. Cantika blinks and shakes her head, pushing the other woman slowly away from her. “Nggak apa-apa, mbak, terima kasih,” she doesn’t know why she adds the ‘mbak’ there, maybe for the sake of formality, but it only earns a small smile from the woman.
“Kamu mau ke mana? Bisa jalan?” the woman asks. She looks at Cantika, eyes bright under the dim lighting. Cantika swears she could see stars in those eyes.
Hah.
“Um, parking lot?” her tone sounds more like a question at this point. She’s dying to get to the car and take off these damned stilletos, but she also doesn’t wanna let go of this beautiful woman before her.
Sebentar gimana.
“Ya sudah, aku antar, pegangan,” the woman says, tenderly holding Cantika by the arm, guiding her steps slowly, “Nanti jatuh lagi,” she adds with a laugh.
Wow. Her laugh echoes in Cantika’s ears. It sounds somewhat like a melody, something Cantika has never heard before, making her eyes wide and her mouth agape.
Baik, itu terlalu cheesy, Cantika, ada apa denganmu? She exhales exasperatedly, trying to regain her composure. She hasn’t had a single drop of alcohol tonight, so that’s not the case. Maybe it’s her legs hurting that got her all confused.
Iya, pasti itu, Cantika thinks. Assuring herself that it’s just her tired legs that caused her to make a fool out of herself.
“Aku Nani, by the way, Nani Wijaya,” the woman—Nani, says, her lips quirk to a small smile. “Nggak usah pakai mbak.”
Cantika blinks once, then twice, then thrice, then—
“Cantika,” she says, a bit too loud, right next to Nani’s ears. Nani only grins from ear to ear.
Tapi masih tetap cantik.
Oke Cantika, what the hell.
Cantika has never wanted to curse so loud in her life.
“Cantika, cantik, sama kaya’ orangnya,” Nani says, chuckling. Hearing that, Cantika stops on her feet. There’s no way she can tell, but she’s 100% sure her face must’ve been bright red by now.
“Eh kenapa?” Nani notices her. The grip on Cantika’s arm loosens, and Nani’s fingers are now intertwined with Cantika’s. “Kakimu nggak apa, kan? Dress mu? Sepatu mu?” a hint of worry can be heard in Nani’s tone. She eyes at Cantika from top to bottom, making sure that she isn’t hurt. Cantika glances down, her dress is still okay, her shoes are also still fine. Damn these heels—but now that she thinks about it, it’s thanks to them she gets to meet Nani, so Cantika can’t really hate them, can she now.
“Ng, Nggak, nggak apa kok, cuma...” Cantika’s brain halts for the umpteenth time since she first met Nani, and she only met Nani a few minutes ago. Good job, brain, Cantika thinks to herself.
Nani tilts her head, curious, “Cuma...?”
“Kaget,” Cantika somehow blurts it outloud, “Disebut cantik.”
“Loh, kan memang,” Nani grins, a bit mischievously and Cantika finds her heart pounding like crazy.
“Kamu cantik.”
It was a miracle for Cantika not to fall on her feet after hearing that.
Cantika doesn’t really like wearing high heels... But maybe these high heels aren’t so bad after all.