Reason
1610 Words
"Thanks," said Carolina to the waiter who brought their food before the waiter left. She then started picking the french fries she ordered.
"Earlier what you wanted to say, ndrew?" asked Carolina, remembering that Andrew had wanted to say something.
Andrew was silent for a moment, stirring the drink he ordered.
"It's now or never," thought Andrew.
"That… Actually… every time I see you, you inspire me to always try to be the best. You and I for the past 3 years have always been everywhere together, and talked about a lot of things," Andrew was silent for a moment, trying to see Carolina's facial expression. But Carolina still looks out to sea.
"Oh, from the side, you're really pretty," thought Andrew, who really fell in love.
"And hmm, the more time I spend with you, the more special that time feels to me."
"I mean ... hmm ... I like you, not just as a friend, but I like you as a woman."
"Will you be my girlfriend?" Andrew asked, scratching the back of his head which did not itch at all, and smiled shyly, his face slightly flushed but obscured by the light of the setting sun.
Carolina looked at Andrew who was still scratching the back of his head. She could see Andrew's sincerity there, but… this was not the time for her to be involved in a romantic relationship.
She had to search and find her father!
At first, she thought that her father who disappeared 11 years ago had died or had indeed left his mother and brother for another woman. Her father has disappeared since she was 6 years old, and the vague memories of her father are starting to fade.
But one day, when she came to the boarding house from college on her first day, she got a strange message on her cell phone.
[Hre Eygrr, gzntxees bt iytrxmyg gni Dmnxx Fnvbicsvzc, Oaqjc do cxsfd bl czu. Ok glrrlyw. Dnjhj lbbid yba]
At first, Carolina ignored the message, the sender's number was also missing, anyway. It could be some pranks. But when she was about to enter the password on her laptop. She suddenly remembered something.
Password!
Three months before her father disappeared, her father taught her how to compose a message that required a special code in order to read it!
Carolina even remembers how her father and she played as if they were spies and her mother was the criminals who shouldn't read the message.
She then searched the internet for something similar and found that it was called encryption.
After learning the basic theory, she tried to break the message.
First, she tried to apply the technique of shifting each letter according to a number. She then started it from the date of her birth, but the message was still unread. Next, she tried the month of birth, but the result was still the same. Likewise with the last digit of the year of birth.
She then tries all the numbers that are meaningful to their family. Starting from the birthday, her father, her mother, her brother, the marriage of her father and mother. But the message is still unclear.
Carolina then tried to apply another technique that could use letters as her special code. She tried to use her name, her brother, her father, her mother, and all the words she could think of to make her special code. But the result is still the same, the message is still unclear.
In a state that almost gave up after trying it for 10 hours but still to no avail. Carolina rested for a moment in bed, trying to remember the memories of herself and her father.
"Daddy, daddy, why do you sometimes call Lina Angel? Lina's name is Carolina, not Angel," asked little Carolina to her father who was cool in front of the computer.
Little Carolina at that time was almost 6 years old but she already understood that her full name was Carolina Akai. She just wondered why her father often called her by the name Angel even though it was not her name.
"Angel in English means angel, dear. You are an angel sent by God to daddy and mommy," said her father, who then picked her up and placed little Carolina on his lap.
"But mommy said the angel was there and it was taking care of Lina," said little Carolina pointing up.
Her father smiled seeing little Carolina's cute behavior.
"Hmm, then Lina is an angel who fell from there to take care of daddy," said her father.
"Okay! Lina will be the angels of daddy, mommy, and Chandra!" said little Carolina with a smile.
"Lina needs to go now, let me go daddy, Lina wants to play with Chandra first," said Carolina trying to get away from her father's lap.
"Kiss daddy first," said her father then handed her his left cheek which was immediately kissed by Carolina.
"Next to it again," said her father who this time thrust his right cheek.
"Muah," kissed little Carolina who then immediately ran to find her brother.
Carolina threw a blank, "Hahaha, how could I forget that," she said then wiped the tears that turned out.
What a wonderful memory!
She then rose to her feet and tried the input Angel as code. The special name was given by her father. After a few minutes, the message began to clear.
[Hey Angel, congrats on entering the Smart University, Daddy so proud of you. Be careful. Daddy loves you]
Carolina's tears flowed as she read the message.
It really was a message from her father!
Her father is still alive!
But she frowned slightly when she read the word for caution. Is her father in danger? So that her father sends her an encrypted message and tells her to be careful?
From that day on, Carolina decided to find her father. She then began to learn about security systems and how to hack. With the hope that she can contact or be contacted by her father.
Until finally there was a company that issued a challenge to give money if it succeeded in hacking into their company's security system. Carolina then manages to hack it and because she will be paid, she shares a sophisticated method to increase their security.
The money she received from the job was bigger than she thought, so she decided to do a similar job on the side, adding up her allowance.
After that she just took the highest paying job, a single high-paying job is better than doing several jobs for the same pay.
Carolina finally realized that she needed a name to do her side job, she decided to go for the FA. Short for Fallen Angel.
She could only hope that her father would realize it was her. By using an acronym, she was already careful, as the message from her father.
But three years have passed since the message she received, but her father hasn't contacted her at all and she hasn't been able to trace it at all.
She even made Yui, so she could help her track down her father when she was on campus. Although the main reason for making Yui was because initially, it was only from watching anime.
Andrew is indeed a nice guy, and if she doesn't know that her father is still alive, maybe she will immediately accept him to be her boyfriend.
But ... right now, is not the right time for her to get caught up in a relationship.
She had to find her father!
"Ndrew ..." said Carolina quietly and looked at Andrew with a look of guilt.
This was the first time Andrew saw Carolina's face like that. Her face looked like she was having a hard time saying anything.
Andrew exhaled. It might not be the outcome he had hoped for, but at least he had already expressed his feelings.
"It's okay, I understand," said Andrew, smiling. It was as if he knew that Carolina was going to say things that weren't what he expected.
"I'm sorry! You're a good man. I'm sure there's someone better for you," said Carolina, still smiling.
"You don't need to apologize at all. I'm relieved to finally be able to express my feelings to you. We can still be friends, right? Well, if you change your mind later and want to be my girlfriend, you can too, hehe," said Andrew, who was still smiling. But his eyes began to tear up.
"Yes, we can still be friends. Wow! The view is beautiful!" Carolina suddenly looked away from Andrew and stared at the scene before her.
Andrew used the moment to rub his eyes. He didn't want his tears to fall at this time. At least not in front of Carolina.
Carolina silently exhaled.
Two more years, if in two years she couldn't find her father or her father would not contact her again. She will give up, stop being the FA, and try to live like an ordinary woman.
If that time had come and Andrew still felt the same way. She will accept the man's feelings.
But for the time being, she couldn't say the reason nor make the man wait for her. What's more, when she saw Andrew's eyes that was teary and almost crying. She even deliberately shifted her gaze to give the man a chance to rub his eyes. She could not bear to see the man crying in front of her.
Andrew is a good man.
It would have seemed too selfish to tell Andrew to wait when she couldn't even say the reason.
- Writer
