As Tiger walked through the streets, he noticed that people were still looking at him. He had become somewhat used to the attention after everything that had happened, but before he could think much about it, someone suddenly called his name from behind. "Tiger! Tiger!" Tiger stopped and turned around. It was Rizard. "Rizard... you?" Tiger said, slightly surprised. Rizard walked toward him and replied, "Yeah. I was thinking we could go to a café."
"A café?" Tiger asked. Rizard smiled slightly. "Come on, man. You've been looking depressed lately, so I thought maybe I could lighten your mood a little. After that, we can visit a temple." Tiger looked confused for a moment. "Wait... there are temples in Japan?" Rizard stared at him. "You didn't know?"
Tiger quickly clarified, "No, I mean... I'm talking about Indian temples."
Rizard replied, "Yeah, there are. There's one a little further away. Look, we're already near the café anyway. Do you want to go?"
Tiger nodded. "Yeah. Let's go."
The two entered the café and sat down.
A waiter soon approached their table and asked, "What would you gentlemen like?" Rizard answered first. "One black coffee. What about you, Tiger?"
Tiger looked down and replied, "I don't really feel like having anything."
Rizard sighed. "Tiger, seriously... you're always depressed." He then looked toward the waiter and said, "Two coffees."
The waiter nodded. "Alright, sir." writing their orders in small pocket notebook
After receiving their coffees, the two sat quietly for a while. Then Rizard asked, "So, which temple should we visit first?"
Tiger thought for a moment before replying, "Let's go to the Japanese temple first."
Rizard nodded. "Alright." When they finished, the waiter brought the bill.
Tiger immediately took it and paid before Rizard could react.
"Thank you, sir," the waiter said.
Rizard looked at Tiger. "Why did you pay? I could've paid."
Tiger simply stood up and replied, "Forget about it. Come on, let's go."
They eventually reached the Japanese temple. Tiger looked around the area with curiosity and asked, "So... this is a Japanese temple?"
Rizard looked at him strangely. "Yeah, this is it." As they entered, Rizard quietly thought to himself, Has Tiger seriously never been to a Japanese temple before?
The two spent some time there and prayed before eventually leaving and heading toward the Indian temple.
While walking, Rizard suddenly asked, "Tiger, you've really never been to a Japanese temple before?
" Tiger calmly replied, "No, I haven't."
Rizard continued, "And what about an Indian temple?"
Tiger answered, "No. I've never been to one either."
Rizard became confused. Then how does he even know about Indian temples? He looked toward Tiger and asked, "Tiger, how do you know about Indian temples when you don't even know much about Japanese temples?"
Tiger remained silent for a moment. "I don't know either..." Then he looked ahead and said, "Maybe we've arrived at the Indian temple." Rizard immediately looked forward and became even more confused. How did he know that? Maybe he has some kind of connection with India... Tiger noticed Rizard's expression. "What happened? Isn't this an Indian temple?" Rizard quickly replied, "No, no. It is. We've arrived."
The two entered the Indian temple and prayed. After they were finished, they came outside, and Rizard suddenly noticed something on Tiger's hand—a small green object resembling a ruby. "Tiger, what's that small green ruby-like thing on your hand?"
Tiger looked toward it and answered, "This? It's Swiga."
Rizard looked confused. "Swiga? Your name is Tiger Swiga too, isn't it?" He began thinking to himself, Tiger... Swiga. Is Swiga his surname?
Tiger looked at Rizard and said, "When we meet again, I'll tell you everything—about my Swiga and about myself."
With that, Tiger began walking toward his rental flat.
Rizard watched him leave and eventually started walking home as well.
When will we meet again? I want to know more about Tiger. They had only recently become friends, and yet Rizard already felt that there was much more to Tiger than what he showed on the surface.