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Everyone always said to me that being the youngest is lucky.
Well... I kinda agree with that.
But in my opinion... every family is different. Every role has its own pain too.
It's true that I'm lucky to be the youngest—the youngest of six brothers. Lucky me, right?
Even more, there's a big age gap between us. My brothers always spoiled me when I was small, and even now... they still spoil me.
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"Blaze! Give back my notebook!"
"Catch me if you can~"
"Here we go again..." Gempa said as he took a sip of his morning hot chocolate, totally ignoring the chaos behind him. It's normal—at least they're not hitting each other, so he let them be.
"I want hot cocoa too," Ice said sleepily as he entered the kitchen, probably smelling the nice aroma.
"Coming right up," Gempa said as he grabbed another cup and poured the hot cocoa he had just made.
After that, he handed it to Ice.
"Thank you," Ice said as he quickly drank.
"Ahhh~ This is so nice..." Ice burped after finishing his drink.
Gempa just nodded, minding his own business before the chaos started again.
"I need to finish it today or the teacher will be mad at me!"
"Heh, you think I care about that?"
"Give it back!"
"Don't wanna~"
Gempa's eyes twitched as the noise came back from behind him.
"These two..." Gempa huffed, still ignoring what was happening.
"Gempa, Blaze and Solar are fighting with each other!" Thorn said worriedly.
Alarmed, Gempa stood and went to the scene of the fight.
"Both of you, stop or I will—" Gempa froze as he arrived; they weren't fighting anymore. What shocked him more was the scene he saw.
In front of him, Blaze was tickling Solar, who seemed to have already accepted his fate, laughing as he tried to get free from Blaze's grip.
"Blaze... stoppp!" Solar tried to push Blaze's hand but ended up laughing even more.
Gempa just smiled softly, enjoying the scene for a moment.
"Blaze, stop that. Look at Solar, he's already out of breath," Gempa said, pointing at Solar who was gasping for air after Blaze stopped tickling him.
"Okay, okay~" Blaze gave up and let Solar go.
"You... meanie..." Solar said weakly, still gasping.
"Heh, say that again—I know you love me so much~" Blaze winked, making Solar hide his face, blushing.
"Aww~ You're blushing~" Blaze teased, giggling.
"No, I'm not!"
"Yeah, yeah, say it to my face."
"I hate you..."
"I love you, kiddo."
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"Kids! Come here, your mother and I have a surprise for you!" Dad called from the living room. They all went from their rooms to the living room.
"Yes, Dad?" Taufan asked, tilting his head.
"Ehem, so... as you know, tomorrow is the start of the holiday, and your mother and I have planned a picnic at the beach." Dad said happily. They all stayed silent for a moment.
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"WHAT?!"
"We're having a picnic??"
"Yayyy! A family moment!"
"We're going to the beach!?"
Dad just laughed at their reaction.
"Yup, so make sure you all wake up early tomorrow." Dad reminded. They all nodded with a 'yes' as a reply.
"Good. Now brush your teeth and go to bed." Dad said, giving them the signal to start their night ritual.
"Okay~" they all chimed as they went in different directions.
"Do you want me to help with anything for tomorrow?" Gempa asked as the others already went to the bathroom.
"Nope, we've prepared everything," Mum replied. Gempa just nodded before kissing his parents' hands and going to bed to sleep.
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"Take this, Ice!" Thorn happily splashed water in Ice's direction, making the boy yelp.
"Hey! What's that for?!" Ice pouted but didn't forget to splash Thorn back.
"For attacking Solar earlier!" Thorn said. Solar, who heard that, just laughed beside them.
"HAHAHAHA! You deserve it!" Blaze laughed as he heard that. Ice just sent him a glare.
"You want me to do the same to you?" Ice smirked, knowing Blaze really hated playing with water at the beach.
"Nu-uh, I prefer not," Blaze said, standing ready to run if needed.
Ice didn't reply but gave Blaze a big smile, making Blaze feel uneasy.
"Thorn, give me the bucket," Ice said. Thorn gave Ice the bucket.
"Run!" As Blaze realized what was going to happen, he ran for his life.
"C'mon here!" And with that, the chase began.
Hali, who was sitting on the mat their family brought, was used by Blaze as a shield—only to get a punch from Hali.
The other siblings watching just laughed at Blaze's pain.
"Heh," Ice smirked as Blaze got punched by the eldest.
Just as Blaze was about to reply, their mum called them to eat.
"Kids, time to eat." And with that, they all gathered around their mum, waiting for food.
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I hope we stay together like this forever...
But...
Seems like it's impossible for now.
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"Good luck with your studies, Hali. I know you can do it." Dad hugged Hali, giving a last hug before sending him off to the flight.
"I will. Thanks, Dad," Hali replied, hugging him back. The others just cried in the background.
Then, they waved goodbye as Hali took the escalator to the main gate.
He was off to Harvard Law School in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
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And then... Taufan continued his studies at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, France.
"I'm gonna remember all of youuuuu," Taufan whined, crying before he even reached the main gate, hugging our parents tightly.
"We're going to miss you too, son," Dad said, wiping his tears away.
"Do your best," Mum added, which made Taufan cry even harder.
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Then Gempa continued his study of Anthropology at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton, Canada.
"I will miss you guys..." Gempa hugged our parents. They just nodded, knowing their son well.
"Gempaaaa! I'm gonna miss youuuu," Thorn whined, hugging Gempa tightly.
"Hehe, I'm gonna miss you too," Gempa said, patting Thorn's head softly.
"Now, I need to go or I'll be late. Love you, Mum. Love you, Dad." Gempa gave another last hug and headed for the main gate.
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I'm not mad that they all continued their studies overseas. Mostly, I'm happy for them.
But...
I miss them...
So much...
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It was the day after Gempa was sent to the airport—the same day three of his older brothers left for their studies.
Solar yawned as he just woke up.
He went downstairs.
Silent.
Literally silent.
Then he remembered... Gempa wasn't here anymore.
He went to the kitchen counter, his mind recalling how he and Gempa used to cook breakfast together.
He sighed heavily, opened the fridge, and took out whatever he could use to make breakfast.
While chopping vegetables, cooking eggs, and preparing drinks, he missed how Gempa always asked him about his day.
Now, Gempa wasn't here...
It was only him preparing breakfast alone.
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"Blaze! Lets play with us!" Thorn said happily, Thorn and Solar stand next to Blaze who are studying at his room right now.
"Sorry, kiddo. But.. I have exam coming soon, mom will be mad if she found out I'm not study anything yet." Blaze give a appologize pose, Thorn and Solar just nodded, they don't mind.
"Oh, okay." Thorn take Solar hand and they move to the playground.
"Humm... What are we going to play Solar? Its only two of us..." Thorn sigh, they usually play chasing each other or hide and seek, but now its only two of them. They need something else that suit for two player.
"Umm... what about that?" Solar point at the slide not far from them.
"Or what about that!" Then Solar point at swing next to them. Thorn just smile softly.
"Okay, hop in!" Thorn said, he take one of the swing while Solar take the other one.
Then they just play together.
Only two of them.
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Two years later...
Blaze and Ice went to their dream university.
University of Exeter in Exeter, England.
Lucky for them, they could study abroad.
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"Thorn, what are you doing?" I said as I entered Thorn's room. He was focused on his studies.
"Just studying, preparing for the next exam," he said, still focused on his book.
Right...
Now it was his year...
The year he would take the SPM.
It's all happening fast...
If I remember it just Blaze and Ice go for continue their study...
Now Thorn gonna leave him too?
I miss the days when we all had fun together...
But as life goes on.
Not everything needs to stay the same.
Everyone has their own dream, and who am I to stop them from chasing it?
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"Solar, do your best in your studies. I know you can do it. You're the smartest person I've ever known in this world," Thorn said to me as he hugged me before going to the main gate.
Yeah...
It's time for him to leave me too...
"Umm," I nodded, trying to hold back tears that were about to fall.
"G-good luck with your studies at the University of Florida..." My voice started trembling.
Thorn looked at me with a sad smile.
"I'll do my best. I'll try to come back every time I have a long holiday. Love you, Solar."
And with that, I started to cry and hugged him as tightly as I could.
Now it's only me, my mum, and my dad.
In this life, you can't guarantee that your life will stay the same as your old days.
You need to steady yourself through the changes.
I just hope...
In another life...
It's just us...
Happily...
Without worrying about the future...
Silly me for hoping that, right?