Credit Scene

When you know the movie is over and the credit scene starts rolling, you still choose to stay seated because you realize that after this, you will go back to your boring routine. Strolling around looking for food, doing assignments, buying electricity tokens, up to staring at a chat from your crush that has been ignored for a week.

You just want to enjoy the moment while it lasts, taking a brief escape from reality.

There is nothing more heartbreaking than a canceled plan with someone you already bought tickets for since last week. The movie date plan that was supposed to be filled with leaving early to pick them up, buying popcorn together, and stopping by the photobooth in front of the cinema, has now just become a fictional fantasy like last night's dream. A typical Yandy Laurens romantic comedy that was supposed to make us laugh together, now feels like a Joko Anwar film that requires hard thinking to digest.

I am not sad at all that the ticket went to waste and the seat next to me just became a place to put my Asus bag and a popcorn wrapper. No. I am just feeling numb, not understanding what I am actually feeling right now. Little misfortunes like this feel like they have become a monthly event. Three months ago my wallet was lost, and then I got a B- in my favorite subject. This series of events makes me think, do I really deserve all of this?

When I was a kid, I always thought we were the main characters in a feature film. But now, I realize we might just be one of the names in the credit scene whose existence is rarely noticed by people. Or maybe, when all the audience has left the studio, our name just appears tucked among fifty other crew names. But that is okay. No matter how small it is, we still have a role.

Then, what should we do? We might not be that special in people's eyes, but we have a purpose, which is ourselves. We are the main characters of what we experience. From childhood, adolescence, adulthood, up to the point where we do not even know where we are anymore, the only one who can help us the most is ourselves.

The person who cried yesterday because a wallet containing 400,000 was lost has now evolved into someone much more careful about placing things. The person who was once left by their crush and was in denial, pretending not to be sad, has now started to bravely express their feelings honestly to someone trustworthy.

The dark atmosphere of a cinema is indeed the most comfortable place to hide for a long time. But the cinema lights are not off forever. They will be bright again when the movie is truly over. And when we all get up from the cinema seats, it is not just because the movie is over, but because we have to return to face reality. A reality that we ourselves do not yet know whether we will be strong enough to face or not. But as long as we believe in what we are doing, I believe everything will go smoothly. It just takes belief.

Now, I no longer put my bag on the seat next to me. I am also no longer sad about buying a ticket that eventually goes to waste. Now, I actually buy three tickets at once to watch a movie: one for the person who has accompanied me through hard times, one for the little kid who always asks for ice cream every time the movie ends, and one more for myself. I am the person who always believes that even a credit scene is worth watching.