Every Marble Counted

Aiko pushed the door of the vet clinic with her shoulder. She held her dog in her arms. In her other hand, she held a small cloth bag.

Aiko mendorong pintu klinik hewan dengan bahunya. Ia menggendong anjingnya. Di tangannya yang lain, ia membawa sebuah kantong kain kecil.

The dog was big and heavy. His eyes were half closed. He made a low sound in his throat.

Anjing itu besar dan berat. Matanya setengah terpejam. Ia mengeluarkan suara pelan dari tenggorokannya.

"Please," Aiko said to the girl at the desk. "I think he ate something bad."

"Tolong," kata Aiko kepada gadis di meja resepsionis. "Sepertinya dia makan sesuatu yang berbahaya."

"What did he eat?" the girl asked.

"Dia makan apa?" tanya gadis itu.

"Marbles," said Aiko. "Nine of them. Maybe more."

"Kelereng," kata Aiko. "Sembilan butir. Mungkin lebih."

The girl wrote on a card. "Please sit down," she said. "The doctor will see you soon."

Gadis itu menulis di sebuah kartu. "Silakan duduk," katanya. "Dokter akan segera memeriksa."

Aiko sat on a hard plastic chair. The waiting room was small and bright. A fish tank stood in the corner. A clock on the wall ticked loudly.

Aiko duduk di kursi plastik yang keras. Ruang tunggunya kecil dan terang. Sebuah akuarium berdiri di sudut. Jam di dinding berdetak keras.

Three other people sat there. A man held a cat in a box. A boy had a rabbit on his knees. A young man had nothing at all. He looked at his hands.

Tiga orang lain duduk di sana. Seorang pria memegang kucing di dalam kotak. Seorang anak laki-laki memangku kelinci. Seorang pemuda tidak membawa apa-apa. Ia menatap tangannya sendiri.

Aiko made glass pictures. It was her job. She used marbles in her work. She cut them, melted them, and set them into windows. That morning, she bought forty new ones at the market. They were deep blue, like the sea at night.

Aiko membuat gambar dari kaca. Itu pekerjaannya. Ia memakai kelereng dalam karyanya. Ia memotongnya, melelehkannya, lalu memasangnya pada jendela. Pagi itu, ia membeli empat puluh kelereng baru di pasar. Warnanya biru tua, seperti laut di malam hari.

She left the bag on the kitchen floor for a minute. When she came back, the bag was open and empty. Marbles lay all over the room. The dog stood in the middle of them. He had a strange look on his face.

Ia meninggalkan kantong itu di lantai dapur selama semenit. Saat kembali, kantongnya sudah terbuka dan kosong. Kelereng berserakan di seluruh ruangan. Si anjing berdiri di tengah-tengahnya. Wajahnya tampak aneh.

She picked up the marbles from every corner. She dropped them into the bag. Then she counted them. Thirty-one. There should be forty. So nine were missing.

Ia memungut kelereng itu dari setiap sudut. Ia memasukkannya ke dalam kantong. Lalu ia menghitungnya. Tiga puluh satu. Seharusnya empat puluh. Jadi sembilan hilang.

And the dog lay on the floor. He did not want to stand.

Dan anjingnya berbaring di lantai. Ia tidak mau berdiri.

She did not think. She lifted the dog and ran to the car.

Aiko tidak sempat berpikir. Ia mengangkat anjing itu dan berlari ke mobil.

Now she looked down at him. He put his head on her knee. His breath was warm and slow. She felt a cold fear in her chest.

Sekarang ia menunduk menatap anjingnya. Anjing itu menaruh kepalanya di lutut Aiko. Napasnya hangat dan pelan. Rasa takut yang dingin menyelimuti dada Aiko.

"What is in the bag?" the boy asked. He looked at her with big eyes.

"Isi kantongnya apa?" tanya si anak laki-laki. Ia menatap Aiko dengan mata besar.

"Marbles," said Aiko. "Blue ones."

"Kelereng," kata Aiko. "Yang biru."

"Can I see?"

"Boleh aku lihat?"

She did not want to talk. But the boy was kind, and she needed something to do. She opened the bag and poured the marbles into her hand. They shone under the lights. They clicked together like small bells.

Aiko tidak ingin bicara. Tetapi anak itu baik, dan ia butuh sesuatu untuk dikerjakan. Ia membuka kantong itu dan menuang kelerengnya ke telapak tangan. Kelereng-kelereng itu berkilau di bawah lampu. Bunyinya berdenting seperti lonceng-lonceng kecil.

"They are so pretty," said the boy. "Are they magic?"

"Bagus sekali," kata anak itu. "Apa ini kelereng ajaib?"

"No," she said. "But I like them very much."

"Bukan," kata Aiko. "Tapi aku sangat menyukainya."

"How many are there?" he asked.

"Ada berapa?" tanyanya.

"Thirty-one," said Aiko. "The dog ate the rest."

"Tiga puluh satu," kata Aiko. "Sisanya dimakan anjingku."

The boy looked at the dog. Then he looked at the marbles. "Can I count them?" he asked.

Anak itu menatap si anjing. Lalu ia menatap kelereng-kelereng itu. "Boleh aku hitung?" tanyanya.

"Why?" said Aiko. She felt a little tired. But she gave him the marbles anyway.

"Untuk apa?" kata Aiko. Ia merasa agak lelah. Tetapi ia tetap memberikan kelereng itu kepadanya.

The boy put them on the chair between them. He moved them into rows of five. The rabbit watched with its nose twitching. It was very quiet.

Anak itu menaruhnya di kursi di antara mereka. Ia menatanya dalam barisan berisi lima. Si kelinci memperhatikan sambil menggerak-gerakkan hidungnya. Suasana sangat sunyi.

"Five, ten, fifteen, twenty, twenty-five, thirty," the boy said. He picked up the last marble and held it up. "Thirty-one. That is right."

"Lima, sepuluh, lima belas, dua puluh, dua puluh lima, tiga puluh," kata anak itu. Ia mengambil kelereng terakhir dan mengangkatnya. "Tiga puluh satu. Benar."

"Yes," said Aiko. "I told you."

"Ya," kata Aiko. "Sudah kubilang."

At that moment, the vet opened a door. He was a tall man with a kind, tired face. His name was Caspian.

Saat itu, dokter hewan membuka sebuah pintu. Ia seorang pria tinggi dengan wajah ramah yang tampak lelah. Namanya Caspian.

"Next, please," he said. "The dog with the marbles."

"Berikutnya, silakan," katanya. "Anjing yang makan kelereng."

Aiko stood up fast. The marbles fell. They rolled across the floor in every direction. The cat in the box meowed. The young man looked up for the first time.

Aiko berdiri dengan cepat. Kelereng-kelereng itu jatuh. Mereka menggelinding ke segala arah di lantai. Kucing di dalam kotak mengeong. Si pemuda mendongak untuk pertama kalinya.

"Oh no," Aiko said. She dropped to her knees to pick them up.

"Aduh," kata Aiko. Ia berlutut untuk memungutnya.

The boy helped her. So did Caspian. The three of them crawled between the chairs. They found marbles under the fish tank and under the desk. One was under the cat's box.

Anak laki-laki itu membantunya. Caspian juga. Mereka bertiga merangkak di antara kursi-kursi. Mereka menemukan kelereng di bawah akuarium dan di bawah meja. Satu ada di bawah kotak si kucing.

Aiko put her hand in her coat pocket to find her keys. Then she stopped.

Aiko memasukkan tangan ke saku mantelnya untuk mencari kunci. Lalu ia berhenti.

Something clicked there. She pulled out her hand. It was full of blue glass.

Ada sesuatu yang berdenting di sana. Ia menarik tangannya keluar. Tangannya penuh kaca biru.

She stared at it. Her mouth opened. She counted them in her palm. One, two, three, all the way to nine.

Ia menatapnya. Mulutnya ternganga. Ia menghitungnya di telapak tangan. Satu, dua, tiga, terus sampai sembilan.

"Oh," she said. "Oh no."

"Oh," katanya. "Astaga."

Caspian looked at her hand, and then at her face. "Nine," he said. "That is the number you gave the girl."

Caspian memandang tangan Aiko, lalu wajahnya. "Sembilan," katanya. "Itu jumlah yang Anda sebutkan kepada gadis di meja depan."

"I put them in my pocket," Aiko said slowly. "I did it when I picked them up. My hands were full, and I was in a hurry. I forgot."

"Saya memasukkannya ke saku," kata Aiko pelan. "Saya melakukannya waktu memungutnya. Tangan saya penuh, dan saya terburu-buru. Saya lupa."

Nobody said anything. The clock ticked. The boy tried not to laugh. He held his hand over his mouth.

Tidak ada yang berkata apa-apa. Jam berdetak. Si anak laki-laki berusaha menahan tawa. Ia menutup mulutnya dengan tangan.

"So there are forty marbles," Caspian said. "Thirty-one in the bag, and nine in your pocket."

"Jadi kelerengnya ada empat puluh," kata Caspian. "Tiga puluh satu di dalam kantong, dan sembilan di saku Anda."

"Yes," said Aiko. She felt very small. "I am so sorry. I wasted your morning."

"Ya," kata Aiko. Ia merasa sangat kecil. "Saya benar-benar minta maaf. Saya sudah menyia-nyiakan pagi Anda."

"You did not," said Caspian. "Your dog is still sick. Something made him sick. Let us find out what."

"Tidak sama sekali," kata Caspian. "Anjing Anda tetap sakit. Ada sesuatu yang membuatnya sakit. Mari kita cari tahu."

He lifted the dog onto the table in the next room. Aiko followed. He pressed the dog's stomach with careful fingers. He looked in his mouth. He looked in his ears.

Ia mengangkat anjing itu ke atas meja di ruangan sebelah. Aiko mengikutinya. Caspian menekan perut anjing itu dengan jari-jari yang hati-hati. Ia memeriksa mulutnya. Ia memeriksa telinganya.

"Did he eat anything else today?" he asked.

"Apa dia makan hal lain hari ini?" tanyanya.

Aiko thought. "I gave him his normal food," she said. "Oh. And the bin in the kitchen was open when I came back."

Aiko berpikir. "Saya memberinya makanan biasa," katanya. "Oh. Dan tempat sampah di dapur terbuka waktu saya kembali."

"What was in the bin?"

"Apa isi tempat sampahnya?"

"A paper bag from last night," she said. "A lot of fish and chips."

"Kantong kertas dari semalam," katanya. "Banyak sekali ikan dan kentang goreng."

Caspian nodded slowly. "That explains it," he said. "Too much oil. Too much salt. He ate a whole dinner, I think. And he found the marbles and played with them. That is all."

Caspian mengangguk pelan. "Itu penjelasannya," katanya. "Terlalu banyak minyak. Terlalu banyak garam. Kurasa dia menghabiskan satu porsi makan malam penuh. Lalu dia menemukan kelereng itu dan bermain-main dengannya. Itu saja."

"He is not in danger?" Aiko asked.

"Dia tidak dalam bahaya?" tanya Aiko.

"No. He needs water, rest and a plain meal. He will be fine by tomorrow."

"Tidak. Dia butuh air, istirahat, dan makanan yang hambar. Besok dia sudah sehat."

Aiko sat down on a stool. All the fear left her at once. She laughed, and then she nearly cried. The dog opened one eye and looked at her. He looked almost proud.

Aiko duduk di atas bangku. Seluruh rasa takutnya hilang seketika. Ia tertawa, lalu hampir menangis. Si anjing membuka satu mata dan menatapnya. Ia tampak hampir bangga.

"I am sorry," she said again. "I counted wrong. I even made a boy count for me."

"Maaf," katanya sekali lagi. "Saya salah hitung. Saya bahkan menyuruh anak kecil menghitung untuk saya."

"He counted right," said Caspian. "You only forgot your pocket."

"Dia menghitung dengan benar," kata Caspian. "Anda hanya lupa pada saku Anda."

Aiko took the dog's head in her hands. She kissed his nose. Then she stood up and took the bag from the table.

Aiko memegang kepala anjingnya dengan kedua tangan. Ia mencium hidungnya. Lalu ia berdiri dan mengambil kantong dari atas meja.

Caspian opened the door for her. In the waiting room, the boy and the rabbit waved.

Caspian membukakan pintu untuknya. Di ruang tunggu, si anak laki-laki dan si kelinci melambai.

"Well," Caspian said, with a small smile. "Next time, count your pockets first."

"Nah," kata Caspian sambil tersenyum kecil. "Lain kali, hitung dulu saku Anda."

"I will," said Aiko. "And I will close the bin."

"Baik," kata Aiko. "Dan saya akan menutup tempat sampahnya."