new year

entering 2011 with renewed determinations. tic toc of the clock keeps ticking. distant stars keep shining. new year is coming. another milestone. marking the moment we blacken the pages in the books of our lives. with lessons.

last night i walked the historic distric of capitol hill on the new year's eve. national mall. passing by the neighbourhood where the solemnness of january icy night resides. my thoughts were mainly of a face and a name. and at times, of reflection of lamplights once seen from across the bridge in inverness scotland. a strange fragmented combination of thoughts. in two hours of stroll at night, dc offered me space and silence. no firework. no trumpet. no loud music. no jubilation. no camera flash. no giggles. no traffic. just stars, ducks, frozen pond, and heartbeats of the moon.

a small groups of people sitting on the staircase of lincoln memorial hall. holding in their hands a drink or two, which the security guards later took from them due to the respect and courtesy to the heroes in memoriam.

i saw a merry couple wedded in the first minutes of the new year's eve. only a small number of guests were present. a priest. and an accoustic guitar. what a timing for a wedding. when the night was dark and air piercingly cold. midnight and twinkling red lights on the top of washington monument obelisk were their witnesses.

jakarta celebrated the new year's eve twelve hours ahead of me. twelve hours that separated us in two different numbers of years.

bismillah, 2011 is coming in. and with steadfastness it brings within, i will keep on walking.