A Password for the Net Mender

At dusk the harbour pier smells of salt and warm metal, and Yaw is the only person fishing at the far end. He comes here every evening after school, because the water goes silver just before it goes dark. Tonight, though, something at the edge of his eye keeps bothering him. A small yellow square is flapping on the railing beside the bait shed.

Saat senja, dermaga pelabuhan berbau garam dan logam hangat, dan Yaw satu-satunya orang yang memancing di ujung paling jauh. Ia datang ke sini setiap sore sepulang sekolah, karena air berubah keperakan tepat sebelum gelap. Namun malam ini, ada sesuatu di sudut matanya yang terus mengganggunya. Sebuah persegi kuning kecil berkibar-kibar di pagar di samping gubuk umpan.

He leans over to look. It is a sticky note, curling at the corners, covered in cramped handwriting. Under a smudged drawing of a trident, someone has written a password in words. It is Triton, with a number one instead of the i, then a dash, then four four nine one. A tiny arrow points at the one.

Ia membungkuk untuk melihat. Itu sehelai kertas tempel, ujung-ujungnya melengkung, penuh tulisan tangan yang rapat. Di bawah gambar trisula yang buram, seseorang telah menulis sebuah kata sandi dengan kata-kata. Itu Triton, dengan angka satu sebagai pengganti huruf i, lalu tanda hubung, lalu empat empat sembilan satu. Sebuah panah mungil menunjuk ke angka satu itu.

Beyond the railing, in the shadow of the shed, stands the pier's net mender. It is a squat machine on four wheels, with six thin arms folded against its chest like a sleeping insect. Normally it spends the evenings repairing torn nets for the fishing crews. Tonight a single amber light blinks on its side, and a small screen glows with two words: ENTER PASSWORD.

Di seberang pagar, dalam bayangan gubuk, berdiri si penyambung jaring dermaga. Itu mesin pendek gemuk beroda empat, dengan enam lengan tipis terlipat di dadanya seperti serangga yang sedang tidur. Biasanya ia menghabiskan malam dengan memperbaiki jaring-jaring sobek milik para awak nelayan. Malam ini sebuah lampu oranye berkedip di sisinya, dan layar kecil menyala dengan dua kata: MASUKKAN KATA SANDI.

"Looks like you're locked out, my friend," Yaw says to it.

"Kelihatannya kamu terkunci di luar, Kawan," kata Yaw kepadanya.

He reaches for the note, only to read it more carefully. At that exact moment, a voice rings along the boards.

Ia meraih kertas itu, hanya untuk membacanya lebih saksama. Tepat saat itu, sebuah suara menggema di sepanjang papan dermaga.

"Hey! Step away from that panel!"

"Hei! Menjauh dari panel itu!"

A boy of about seventeen is jogging down the pier in an orange vest, a tablet clutched against his chest. His badge says VOLUNTEER TECHNICIAN. He stops a few metres away, out of breath, and points at Yaw as if he had caught a thief.

Seorang anak laki-laki berumur sekitar tujuh belas tahun berlari kecil menyusuri dermaga dengan rompi oranye, sebuah tablet didekap di dadanya. Tanda pengenalnya bertuliskan TEKNISI SUKARELAWAN. Ia berhenti beberapa meter dari sana, terengah-engah, dan menunjuk Yaw seolah ia baru menangkap seorang pencuri.

"I haven't touched anything," Yaw says, lifting both hands. The sticky note is still pinched between his fingers.

"Aku tidak menyentuh apa-apa," kata Yaw sambil mengangkat kedua tangan. Kertas tempel itu masih terjepit di antara jarinya.

"You're holding the password," the boy says.

"Kamu memegang kata sandinya," kata anak itu.

"I'm holding a piece of paper. It was stuck on the railing."

"Aku memegang secarik kertas. Kertas ini menempel di pagar."

"A piece of paper that unlocks the net mender. Do you know how many people would like to take that machine apart? It has the harbour's whole fish-count in its memory." The boy narrows his eyes. "Who are you working for?"

"Secarik kertas yang membuka kunci si penyambung jaring. Tahukah kamu berapa banyak orang yang ingin membongkar mesin itu? Seluruh catatan jumlah ikan pelabuhan ini ada di memorinya." Anak itu menyipitkan mata. "Kamu bekerja untuk siapa?"

Yaw nearly laughs, but the boy looks so serious that he swallows it. "I'm working for my dinner," he says. "I came to catch something small and fry it. That is my entire plan."

Yaw hampir tertawa, tetapi anak itu tampak begitu serius sehingga ia menelannya kembali. "Aku bekerja untuk makan malamku," katanya. "Aku datang untuk menangkap sesuatu yang kecil dan menggorengnya. Itu seluruh rencanaku."

"Then why were you reading the note?"

"Lalu kenapa kamu membaca catatan itu?"

"Because it was flapping at me. I thought it was rubbish." Yaw glances at the screen. "Is the machine really that important?"

"Karena kertas itu berkibar-kibar ke arahku. Kukira itu sampah." Yaw melirik layar. "Memangnya mesin itu sepenting itu?"

"It is the only one on the pier that can read the migration signals," the boy says. "Without it, the nets are not mended, and the counting stops. And somebody changed the password three days ago. I have been locked out since Monday."

"Hanya mesin itu satu-satunya di dermaga ini yang bisa membaca sinyal migrasi," kata anak itu. "Tanpanya, jaring-jaring tidak diperbaiki, dan penghitungan berhenti. Dan seseorang mengganti kata sandinya tiga hari lalu. Aku terkunci di luar sejak hari Senin."

"Somebody changed it?"

"Seseorang menggantinya?"

"The harbour office did. They sent it to me in a message, and I was supposed to remember it." He rubs his forehead. "I have a terrible memory for anything that is not a number sequence I can sing. So I wrote it down. I wrote it on a yellow note and stuck it somewhere safe, and then I lost track of where."

"Kantor pelabuhan yang menggantinya. Mereka mengirimkannya kepadaku lewat pesan, dan aku seharusnya mengingatnya." Ia mengusap dahinya. "Ingatanku buruk sekali untuk apa pun yang bukan deretan angka yang bisa kunyanyikan. Jadi aku menuliskannya. Aku menulisnya di kertas tempel kuning dan menempelkannya di tempat yang aman, lalu aku lupa di mana."

Yaw looks at the note in his fingers. He looks at the boy's vest, and the small trident drawn on the tablet's cover, the same shaky trident that is drawn on the note. Slowly, the boy's expression changes as he follows Yaw's gaze.

Yaw memandang kertas di jarinya. Ia memandang rompi anak itu, dan trisula kecil yang tergambar di sampul tablet, trisula goyah yang sama dengan yang tergambar di kertas itu. Perlahan, raut wajah anak itu berubah saat ia mengikuti arah pandang Yaw.

"Oh," says the boy.

"Oh," kata anak itu.

"Is your name Anand?" Yaw asks, reading the badge. "Because I think this is your handwriting."

"Namamu Anand?" tanya Yaw sambil membaca tanda pengenalnya. "Soalnya kurasa ini tulisan tanganmu."

"That is my handwriting." Anand stares at the sticky note. For a moment he seems to forget how to speak. "I stuck it on the railing so I would see it when I walked past. Then I walked past it every day and never once looked at it."

"Itu memang tulisan tanganku." Anand menatap kertas tempel itu. Sesaat ia seperti lupa cara berbicara. "Aku menempelkannya di pagar supaya terlihat saat aku lewat. Lalu setiap hari aku melewatinya dan tidak pernah sekali pun melihatnya."

"Three days?"

"Tiga hari?"

"Three days," Anand says miserably. "And I accused the one person who actually found it."

"Tiga hari," kata Anand dengan sedih. "Dan aku menuduh satu-satunya orang yang benar-benar menemukannya."

"You did," Yaw agrees, but he is grinning. "It was quite a good performance, though. The bit with the finger was very official."

"Memang," Yaw setuju, tetapi ia nyengir. "Tapi aktingmu lumayan bagus. Bagian menunjuk dengan jari itu sangat resmi."

Anand laughs, a short, surprised sound, and his shoulders drop. "I am sorry. I have been sleeping badly. All I could think about was the fish-count, and the people who would blame me if the data was lost."

Anand tertawa, suara pendek yang terkejut, dan bahunya merosot. "Maaf, ya. Aku tidur nyenyak pun tidak belakangan ini. Yang bisa kupikirkan hanya catatan jumlah ikan, dan orang-orang yang akan menyalahkanku kalau datanya hilang."

"Well, here." Yaw holds out the note. "You had better use it before it blows into the harbour."

"Nih." Yaw mengulurkan kertas itu. "Sebaiknya kamu pakai sebelum tertiup ke pelabuhan."

Anand takes it as though it were something very fragile. He steps up to the machine and, with great concentration, types the password one character at a time. He double-checks the capital T. He double-checks the one. Then he presses the green key.

Anand menerimanya seperti benda yang sangat rapuh. Ia melangkah ke mesin itu dan dengan konsentrasi penuh mengetikkan kata sandi satu karakter demi satu. Ia memeriksa ulang huruf T kapital. Ia memeriksa ulang angka satu. Lalu ia menekan tombol hijau.

For a moment, nothing happens. The amber light keeps blinking. Yaw is beginning to think that the password has expired as well. Then the machine gives a soft hum, like a cat settling into a chair. The six arms unfold one by one. The light turns from amber to a calm blue, and the little screen fills with scrolling numbers.

Sesaat, tidak terjadi apa-apa. Lampu oranye itu terus berkedip. Yaw mulai berpikir bahwa kata sandi itu sudah kedaluwarsa juga. Lalu mesin itu mengeluarkan dengung lembut, seperti kucing yang meringkuk di kursi. Keenam lengannya terbuka satu per satu. Lampunya berubah dari oranye menjadi biru yang tenang, dan layar kecilnya dipenuhi angka-angka yang bergulir.

"Good evening," the machine says, in a voice that sounds a little like a polite librarian. "Three days of nets are waiting. Shall I begin?"

"Selamat malam," kata mesin itu, dengan suara yang terdengar agak seperti pustakawan yang sopan. "Jaring tiga hari sedang menunggu. Haruskah saya mulai?"

"Please," says Anand, and his voice cracks. He turns to Yaw. "That is the first thing it has said to me since Monday."

"Silakan," kata Anand, dan suaranya pecah. Ia menoleh kepada Yaw. "Itu hal pertama yang ia katakan kepadaku sejak hari Senin."

"I think it missed you."

"Kurasa ia merindukanmu."

"It is a machine."

"Ini mesin."

"It is a machine that said good evening," Yaw replies. "Most of my teachers cannot manage that."

"Mesin yang mengucapkan selamat malam," balas Yaw. "Kebanyakan guruku tidak bisa."

Anand laughs again. He taps the screen, and the net mender rolls out of the shadow toward a heap of tangled netting beside the crates. Its arms start to move, quick and precise, tying and tugging, so fast that Yaw can hardly follow them. A faint blue pattern ripples along its side whenever it finishes a knot.

Anand tertawa lagi. Ia mengetuk layar, dan si penyambung jaring bergulir keluar dari bayangan menuju seonggok jaring kusut di samping peti-peti. Lengan-lengannya mulai bergerak, cepat dan tepat, mengikat dan menarik, begitu cepat sampai Yaw hampir tak bisa mengikutinya. Pola biru samar beriak di sisinya setiap kali ia menyelesaikan satu simpul.

"Would you like to see the fish-count?" Anand asks. "I mean, as an apology. It is quite interesting, actually. It follows the migration lines all the way to the open sea."

"Kamu mau melihat catatan jumlah ikan?" tanya Anand. "Maksudku, sebagai permintaan maaf. Sebenarnya menarik sekali. Catatan itu mengikuti jalur migrasi sampai ke laut lepas."

"I would like that very much," says Yaw. "But the light is almost gone, and I still have no dinner."

"Aku mau sekali," kata Yaw. "Tapi cahayanya hampir habis, dan aku masih belum punya makan malam."

"Fishing, then. Go ahead." Anand grins and sits on an upturned crate beside the machine. "I will keep an eye on your rod while you tell me what you are hoping to catch."

"Kalau begitu memancinglah. Silakan." Anand nyengir dan duduk di atas peti terbalik di samping mesin itu. "Aku akan mengawasi jorammu sementara kamu memberi tahu aku apa yang kamu harapkan tertangkap."

"Anything that is small and stupid."

"Apa saja yang kecil dan bodoh."

"Then you have come to the right pier."

"Kalau begitu kamu datang ke dermaga yang tepat."

Yaw laughs, takes up his line, and checks the hook. The water below is a dark mirror now, with the first stars trembling on its surface. Behind him, the net mender hums, and Anand is reading numbers aloud to himself with an air of great relief. Somewhere out beyond the breakwater, a ship sounds its horn.

Yaw tertawa, mengambil talinya, dan memeriksa kailnya. Air di bawah kini menjadi cermin gelap, dengan bintang-bintang pertama bergetar di permukaannya. Di belakangnya, si penyambung jaring berdengung, dan Anand membaca angka-angka dengan lantang pada dirinya sendiri dengan raut lega yang besar. Di suatu tempat di luar pemecah ombak, sebuah kapal membunyikan klaksonnya.

He draws back his arm, swings the rod in a long, smooth arc, and sends the line out over the water. It lands with a quiet ripple, and he settles back to wait.

Ia menarik lengannya ke belakang, mengayunkan joran dalam lengkungan panjang yang mulus, dan melempar tali pancing ke atas air. Tali itu mendarat dengan riak yang tenang, dan ia bersandar untuk menunggu.