Chapter 1 The Innocent Girl

Legend has it that before a human soul is born on Earth, it is crafted from starlight—stars in the sky made of male and female halves before they fall to the world. They will be born as babies into different families, circumstances, and times. Then, one day, time itself will... bring them together, regardless of their situations... The Twin Flame.

​This story unfolds in Bandung during the 1980s. A cool, breezy Bandung, still adorned with many large, lush trees.

​A girl runs towards her school, a heavy backpack slung across her shoulders. She's tall, wearing large-framed glasses—brown mixed with black—that she always wishes she could throw far away. She feels like her face is drowning in them.

​Sometimes Ratna thinks, "Am I... a little pretty? Well, I’m not sure. Sometimes when I look in the mirror, I think... yeah, I guess I might be... Ah, but I doubt it. Maybe pretty, but... these glasses make me look weird!"

​"Sometimes I want to take them off at school, just to be... pretty," Ratna muses. It’s puberty, after all, and Ratna has already developed an interest in boys. Sometimes, looking down from her second-floor classroom, Ratna removes her glasses. The breeze feels cool on her eyes. She longs to shout, "Hey, I am pretty, you know! I'm pretty without my glasses!"

​Ratna's family had recently moved to Bandung. Their house was quite far from the school. Ratna is the youngest of three siblings. Every day, the three of them had to get used to walking about 15 minutes to the public transport stop, followed by another 15 minutes on a 'angkot' (public minivan) to get to school.

​It was still early morning when Ratna folded her glasses into her wallet and walked out the door. As usual, her father, Pak Rikita, would yell, "Ratna, where are your glasses? Don't stumble around!" And with a heavy heart, Ratna would put them back on.

​Actually, Ratna’s prescription was still low. She could see fine without them—minus 0.5 for the left eye, minus 0.75 for the right. But... somehow, her father always insisted she wear them.

​Ratna was just an ordinary high school girl. Her hair was shoulder-length and slightly wavy. She wore a skirt five centimeters below the knee and socks that reached above her knees.

​She attended Harapan Muda High School (Young Hope), a school for the wealthy families of Bandung. She was currently in her first year. Her grade only had two classes: Ratna's class had 21 students, and the neighboring class had 17.

​It was genuinely hard for Ratna's parents to afford a "rich kids' school," but they insisted she attend, hoping she would get a good education and be able to enter a state university. Part of Ratna's tuition was covered by her grandfather, who was slightly better off than her parents.

​Going to a rich school often felt heavy because the students generally demanded conformity in everything: uniform jackets, uniform hats, even shoes. They also formed groups they called "gangs." The largest one was led by Harold, whose parents were one of the largest donors to Harapan Muda. Ratna was a quiet girl; she didn't want to join any gang, but... they weren't interested in a strange girl like Ratna anyway: a bookworm whose appearance was far from captivating.

​"You have to pay, now!" yelled Michael, a gang member, that morning, addressing Ratna. "The jackets are ready. Everyone has to buy one; it’s for class solidarity."

​"Um, but I don't have the money. If I ask my dad, he'll get mad," Ratna complained.

​All eyes turned to Ratna. They might not have been thinking anything, but Ratna felt scorned.

​"No, absolutely not! There is no money for unnecessary things at school!" Pak Rikita had thundered when Ratna asked for the money for the class jacket. "This cannot be allowed! Tomorrow I'm reporting this to the school. Today a jacket, tomorrow a hat, the next day shoes? Your friends are just looking to make a profit!"

​"Yes, you should be grateful you can even go to school. If your Grandfather didn't help, there wouldn't be money for school at all," added her mother, Ibu Sari.

​"Don't cause trouble. Study is study. Nothing else strange or unnecessary," her father stressed again.

​"Yes, you need to be mindful. We don't have much money; don't waste it on things you don't need," Ibu Sari chimed in, chopping vegetables for dinner. "You're sent to a rich people's school to take advantage of their good facilities and education, but you are not one of them," her mother finished.

​Ratna felt genuinely frustrated and angry. On one hand, she was pressured by her friends at school; on the other, by her own parents.

​There was bullying in the class, yes, bullying. Even among the girls. Their names were Vera and Rani. Ratna didn't know why they enjoyed throwing paper at her, laughing loudly and being so irritating. She wanted to scream. Fortunately, so far, they hadn't gotten physical. Ratna didn't know what she would do if they did. She usually just threw the paper back, pretending to laugh to give the impression that she wasn't bothered. Deep down, however, she truly cursed those two girls.

​Because of all this, Ratna honestly didn't feel comfortable at Harapan Muda High School. School days felt incredibly boring and heavy, but she kept trying to endure it because school was her only hope for social and economic mobility.

​Fortunately, Ratna had one kind deskmate, Helen. At least there was Helen; Ratna felt a little sane. Ratna didn't understand why Helen wanted to be friends with her. Helen looked like a typical teenager—not beautiful, but quite fashionable

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