Hujan, Cinta, dan Nina (Rain, Love, and Nina)

Nina Adriana selalu tersenyum setiap kali hujan turun.

Bagi Nina, hujan bukan sekadar air yang jatuh dari langit. Hujan adalah alasan untuk berlari kecil tanpa payung, menengadahkan wajah, dan tertawa lepas meski sepatu basah. Ia gadis muda yang ceria, energik, dan percaya bahwa cinta bisa hadir sesederhana hujan sore.

Berbeda jauh dengan Dominic Fernando.

Dominic menyukai hujan dan sangat menyukainya. Ia menyukai bau tanah basah, suara rintik di atap, dan langit kelabu yang membuat dunia terasa sunyi. Namun, satu hal yang tak pernah ia sukai adalah arti cinta. Menurutnya, cinta hanya kata yang terlalu sering disalahpahami dan berujung kecewa.

Mereka bertemu hampir setiap sore di halte kecil depan kampus.

Nina biasanya datang dengan tawa dan cerita. Dominic datang dengan buku dan diam.

“Hujan hari ini romantis, ya?” Nina pernah berkata sambil menatap langit.

Dominic hanya mengangguk singkat. “Hujan itu tenang. Bukan romantis.”

Nina terkekeh. “Kamu aneh, tahu?”

Dominic tidak membantah.

Sejak hari itu, Nina sering sengaja duduk di bangku sebelah Dominic. Ia bercerita tentang hal-hal sederhana mulai dari kopi favoritnya, lagu yang ia dengar saat hujan, mimpinya jatuh cinta pada orang yang tepat.

Dominic mendengarkan. Selalu mendengarkan. Tapi tak pernah menanggapi soal cinta.

“Kenapa kamu nggak suka cinta?” tanya Nina suatu hari.

Dominic menatap hujan yang jatuh lurus ke aspal. “Karena cinta selalu datang dengan harapan. Dan harapan sering kali gagal.”

Nina terdiam sejenak, lalu tersenyum lembut. “Tapi hujan juga kadang bikin banjir. Masa kamu berhenti suka hujan?”

Dominic tidak menjawab. Untuk pertama kalinya, pikirannya terasa bising.

Hari-hari berlalu. Hujan datang dan pergi. Nina tetap ceria, tetap percaya pada cinta. Dominic tetap pendiam, tetap menyangkal perasaan yang mulai tumbuh pelan-pelan seperti hujan yang awalnya rintik, lalu deras tanpa izin.

Suatu sore, hujan turun lebih deras dari biasanya. Nina tak datang.

Dominic menunggu lebih lama dari biasanya.

Esoknya, ia melihat Nina di kejauhan, tersenyum pada orang lain, tertawa seperti biasanya. Entah kenapa, dada Dominic terasa sesak.

Sore itu, ketika hujan kembali turun, Dominic berdiri di depan Nina.

“Aku masih nggak suka arti cinta,” katanya pelan.

“Tapi… aku kehilangan hujan kalau kamu nggak ada.”

Nina menatapnya, matanya berbinar. “Kadang cinta memang nggak perlu arti, Dominic. Cukup dirasa.”

Hujan turun di antara mereka. Tidak lagi sekadar tenang, tapi hangat.

Dan untuk pertama kalinya, Dominic Fernando membiarkan dirinya percaya pada hujan, pada Nina, dan pada cinta.

[Bahasa Inggris]

Nina Adriana always smiled whenever it rained.

For Nina, rain was more than water falling from the sky. Rain was a reason to run barefoot without an umbrella, tilt her face upwards, and laugh freely even when her shoes were soaked. She was a cheerful, energetic young woman who believed that love could appear as simply as a rainy afternoon.

Very different from Dominic Fernando.

Dominic loved the rain—truly loved it. He loved the scent of wet earth, the patter on rooftops, and the gray sky that made the world feel silent. Yet, there was one thing he never liked: the meaning of love. To him, love was a word too often misunderstood and inevitably ending in disappointment.

They met almost every afternoon at the small bus stop in front of campus.

Nina usually arrived with laughter and stories. Dominic arrived with a book and silence.

“Today’s rain feels so romantic, doesn’t it?” Nina once said, gazing at the sky.

Dominic simply nodded. “Rain is peaceful. Not romantic.”

Nina chuckled. “You’re weird, you know that?”

Dominic didn’t argue.

From that day on, Nina often chose to sit beside Dominic. She told him about simple things her favorite coffee, the songs she listened to while it rained, her dreams of falling in love with the right person.

Dominic listened. Always listened. But he never spoke of love.

“Why don’t you like love?” Nina asked one day.

Dominic stared at the rain falling straight onto the asphalt. “Because love always comes with expectations. And expectations often fail.”

Nina was silent for a moment, then smiled softly. “But sometimes rain causes floods. Do you stop liking rain because of that?”

Dominic didn’t answer. For the first time, his mind felt noisy.

Days passed. Rain came and went. Nina remained cheerful, still believing in love. Dominic remained quiet, still denying the feelings growing quietly inside him like rain that starts as a drizzle, then pours unexpectedly.

One afternoon, the rain fell harder than usual. Nina didn’t come.

Dominic waited longer than usual.

The next day, he saw Nina in the distance, smiling at someone else, laughing like always. Somehow, his chest felt tight.

That evening, when the rain returned, Dominic stood before Nina.

“I still don’t like what love means,” he said softly.

“But… I lose the rain if you’re not here.”

Nina looked at him, her eyes shining. “Sometimes love doesn’t need a meaning, Dominic. It just needs to be felt.”

Rain fell around them not just peaceful anymore, but warm.

And for the first time, Dominic Fernando allowed himself to believe in the rain, in Nina, and in love.