Chaos.

Sometimes that is the only word that Irene can say about the world that is currently revolving around her. People in the station moving like they were getting chased by a horrible being, even though it’s only their effort to get to the platform faster so they could catch the earliest train.

People trying to serve food as quickly as possible to the other people whose stomach is currently roaring in hunger, before spilling everything and getting a heart wrenching scold by their boss who only cares about profit and not their workers.

People who are walking on the streets, being chased by the time trying to reach the place they intend to come. Don't waste any second if they can make more money in the process of wasting time.

Or the people who are on the streets, protesting about the governments who claimed themselves as the people’s representatives, when what they are doing and what they have been done is far from it. They are just making the people need to survive in this cruel and unfair world much harder than it already is. While they are enjoying the privilege that they get from getting a big salary and can do everything they want with the laws that are ruling the country.

And that’s what Irene thinks when she decided to grab a newspaper at one of the shops in the station, so she could read it while she was waiting for her train. Reading the headlines of it, being the first thing that greeted her when she opened the newspaper.

How there is a big scale protest happening in the whole nation of a country because of the law that they just passed as an official law. Making the people actually being at the disadvantage of this law, by their rights are being stripped off by their own country. Letting all the investors from another country can invest in their nation easily without the need to have a concern for their local workers.

A frown showed up on Irene’s soft features of her forehead. This is disgusting, and horrible. She actually has learned about this issue from the co-workers of the place where she works at currently talking about this thing, giving their insights about this problem that’s currently gaining international attention.

Irene sipped her warm milk tea, before focusing her gaze back on the article at the newspaper. Decided to keep up with the rest of the things that are currently happening around the world right now.

Actually, she always didn’t care about this kind of stuff. Not that kind of not care. It’s just, sometimes she doesn’t see why she needs to keep up with the things that are revolving around her world. She cares? Yes, but in her own ways. Her work has already caught her attention by making her pretty busy just to handle them, and she needs to know about the things that are happening around her?

No, rest sounds better than that.

But somehow, a show up of certain someone in her life suddenly changed her perspective of the surroundings around. Making her put more attention than she already is into the little things that are happening around her, including things that are happening inside the station.

Now she knows that there is a new stall that sells spicy rice cakes in the station. The street singers that always entertain the tired workers like her when they were about to top-up their tickets or just resting for a while before waiting at the platform, are nowhere to be seen now. Being replaced by this amateur saxophone player that is always playing jazz music. Maybe Louis Armstrong’s, she wasn’t updated that much in the world of jazz.

“I didn’t know you read the newspaper.”

Irene just shrugged, moving away the cup of her warm milk tea that she bought from the minimarket inside the station to the other side so she could give a spacious space for Wendy to sit. “Buy it just to avoid making the wait for my train boring.”

Wendy let out a hum, acknowledging her reply as she took the seat beside her. “Good reason.”

“You are dressed quite differently than usual,” voiced out Irene. Not like she was checking her out or something. It’s just that the difference it’s quite obvious even though this is the third time they met each other. The woman beside her usually wears something like a button up paired with a coat or a blazer, just a simple dressing. But now, a long sleeve t-shirt paired with black trousers is something that she didn’t expect for Wendy to wear.

“Oh, this?” asked Wendy, checking her attire for the day. “The office decided to hold some kind of a game day between the workers. That’s why I’m wearing this kind of clothing, so I could freely move without any restrictions.”

“A game day?”

“Mhm. It’s quite fun, if I need to state about my feelings of it being held,” chuckled Wendy lightly, focusing her gaze on the woman beside her who is looking at her with questions. “You know Harry Potter, don’t you?”

Irene frowned. She once heard it from a friend. “The magical world thingy?”

Wendy laughed softly. “Yeah, that one. So, we are kind of being divided into these four groups. And, if the group wins the game that they are playing to, they will get 5 points. And, in terms for us to actually win the game, the group needs to collect so many points so they could be the ultimate winner.”

“I think I understand so far,” nodded Irene. “Is your group the one who wins the game? The ultimate winner?”

She can hear a wince coming from her side. “Sadly, we are in second place. The gap between the winner and us is really close in terms of points. 10 points gaps.”

“That’s two games away.”

“I know,” sighed Wendy, leaning her back to the seat. “Quite actually. But that group is playing fair, so just need to it up.”

Irene hummed as her mind worked hard, trying to make her do something. See, the problem with Irene is, she is not good with people. Or interacting as overall. She is never being the person who makes a small talk, especially not with a stranger. And now, her mind is roaring wildly, trying to make her show at least a small act of her sympathizing to Wendy. But she doesn’t know how or what she should do in this kind of situation.

“So, mind to tell me what have you been reading in the newspaper?”

Maybe Wendy is able to detect her agony, or if she just wants to change the topic. Nonetheless, Irene is grateful. “Just pure chaos. The world has turned themselves into madness, I think.”

“Well,” sighed the woman beside her, “that’s government for you. No matter what they do, sometimes there will always be a flaw that could cause a big effect on the people.”

She nodded in agreement. “Mind giving me your thoughts about the government?”

“This government? Or government as a whole?”

“Whatever fits your shoe,” shrugged Irene, folding aside her newspaper and tucking it right beside the now cold milk tea. She will continue to read it later, maybe inside the train. Since her journey from the station to her destination can be counted as quite far. But now, her attention is being piqued by Wendy.

“I don’t know. Government is a complex thing. They have so many kinds of forms, and we still don’t know which one is better than the other. Because, if we look at a much broader sight, they all have their advantages and disadvantages.”

“So, a perfect government is impossible for us to gain?”

Wendy sent her a small smirk. “There is nothing such as perfection in this world, Irene.”

Irene furrowed her eyebrows. “What do you mean?”

“Humans have always tried to reach this so-called place named as perfection. An existence where things are just running the way they want, without having any flaw in our fault in the process,” explained Wendy. “Which is impossible for me. Because, no matter how you look at it, everything always has its own flaw.”

“Even the kindest people alive?”

“Even the kindest people alive.” Wendy changed her gaze from looking at the big clock hanging on the platform, to Irene’s face who was still sporting a puzzlement expression. “What do you think the flaw that the kindest people alive have, Irene?”

The woman hummed as her mind tried to come up with an answer. “The fact that they are kind?”

A soft chuckle slipped out from Wendy’s mouth with grace. “It’s quite close, but it’s not really the answer. You see, what do you usually associate the kindest person with? It can be a word.”

“I don’t know,” muttered Irene, furrowing her eyebrows once again like her mind is currently working hard to give her an immediate answer. “A perfect person?”

This time, Wendy responded with a smile. “And that’s their real flaw. Maybe you will think, why becoming a perfect person is their biggest flaw?”

Irene just looked at her, inwardly asking the same thing as she waited for her answer.

“Because that person is going to keep thinking about ‘How can I stay perfect for all my life?’. They will feel burdened with the needs of being this perfect person. Like they need to always show their kindness and positivity to someone else. It’s like a light who claims that they can light the whole room as long as they can, and people believe it. But when the light dies out, and is replaced by the eternal darkness, who will light it back?”

“No one,” muttered Irene in a disbelieving tone. “Because no one believes that the light can’t light the room anymore. And they didn’t believe that the darkness has replaced the light forever.”

“Bingo,” grinned Wendy, giving her a wide smile. “And that’s why, nothing is perfect in this world.”

She just blinked, still processing about the answer that she just got earlier. It’s not that hard for her to understand. It’s just hard for her to fathom that it is, indeed, that perfection is non-existent in this world. Even though people will always spend their whole lives thriving and catching it.

“And, it’s my time to go,” sighed Wendy as she stood up from her seat. “It’s a good talk tonight with you, Irene.”

“Glad that I can be a pretty good partner for you to talk to.”

Wendy chuckled from her answer as she shook her head softly. “Never sell yourself short, Irene. You are so much more than that.”

The woman immediately bids her goodbye to her, and Irene can only see her figure stepping inside the train without the need to bother to reply to her bid. Until the woman left the station.

She doesn’t know how, but the words that Wendy just said to her just strike to her core immediately. Immensely shaking her, making her numb and can do nothing beside just looking with her empty eyes.

Irene never rated herself as a good person. Overall, if she needs to point that out. It’s not like she also rates herself as a bad person. It’s just, she doesn’t see that there is something inside her that is quite worth it for her to keep and for her to find something new that she could make it as her own advantage.

So, she just got hit with shock as fast as the lightning struck down the earth when Wendy said that to her. Because that is the first time she ever receives that kind of words from someone. That she is so much more than what she thought she is. And she has something more for people to see her real worth in this cruel world.

That there is a light inside her, whom she thought just filled monotonously with grey and black. Slightly erasing it and filling it with colours, blue and pink.