Fixed and Floating

Heidi unlocks the repair club door at nine. The room is small and bright. Long tables stand in rows, and shelves of tools cover the walls.

Heidi membuka kunci pintu klub reparasi pukul sembilan. Ruangannya kecil dan terang. Meja-meja panjang berdiri berbaris, dan rak-rak perkakas menutupi dinding.

The club has no boss and no pay. Every volunteer brings a skill. Heidi's skill is electric things. She can fix a toaster or a lamp in ten minutes.

Klub ini tidak punya bos dan tidak ada bayaran. Setiap relawan membawa satu keahlian. Keahlian Heidi adalah barang-barang listrik. Ia bisa memperbaiki pemanggang roti atau lampu dalam sepuluh menit.

This morning, a line of people waits outside. Nobody looks at the sign. Each one holds a sad, broken thing. There is a clock without hands. There is a chair with three legs.

Pagi ini, sederet orang menunggu di luar. Tidak ada yang melihat papan nama. Masing-masing memegang sebuah benda rusak yang menyedihkan. Ada jam tanpa jarum. Ada kursi berkaki tiga.

The radio belongs to Dinah. She is the first in line.

Radio itu milik Dinah. Ia yang pertama dalam antrean.

"It makes a noise like a cat," she says. "Then it stops."

"Bunyinya seperti kucing," katanya. "Lalu mati."

"Let me see." Heidi turns the radio over and opens the back. Inside, a wire hangs loose. She fixes it with a hot tool and a steady hand.

"Coba kulihat." Heidi membalik radio itu dan membuka bagian belakangnya. Di dalamnya, ada kabel yang menjuntai lepas. Ia memperbaikinya dengan alat panas dan tangan yang mantap.

"Try it now," says Heidi.

"Coba sekarang," kata Heidi.

Dinah turns the knob. A warm song fills the room. She smiles and claps her hands.

Dinah memutar tombolnya. Sebuah lagu hangat memenuhi ruangan. Ia tersenyum dan bertepuk tangan.

"It works! Thank you so much."

"Menyala! Terima kasih banyak."

"You are welcome," says Heidi. "Take it home."

"Sama-sama," kata Heidi. "Bawa pulang saja."

Dinah reaches for the radio. But it is not on the table. It floats above the wood. It turns slowly in the air.

Dinah meraih radio itu. Tetapi radio itu tidak ada di atas meja. Radio itu melayang di atas kayu. Ia berputar pelan di udara.

"Heidi," says Dinah. "Your table is broken."

"Heidi," kata Dinah. "Mejamu rusak."

"My table is fine." Heidi stares at the radio. She pushes it down gently. It sinks, and then it floats up again, like a soap bubble.

"Mejaku baik-baik saja." Heidi menatap radio itu. Ia menekannya turun dengan lembut. Radio itu tenggelam, lalu melayang naik lagi, seperti gelembung sabun.

"That is not normal," Dinah says.

"Ini tidak normal," kata Dinah.

"No," says Heidi. "It is not."

"Ya," kata Heidi. "Memang tidak."

At the next table, Marek hands a toaster to a woman. The toaster slips out of her hands and rises toward the ceiling. The woman jumps up and grabs it by the cord.

Di meja sebelah, Marek menyerahkan sebuah pemanggang roti kepada seorang perempuan. Pemanggang itu terlepas dari tangannya dan naik ke arah langit-langit. Perempuan itu melompat dan menangkapnya pada kabelnya.

"Help!" she says. "It flies away!"

"Tolong!" katanya. "Barangnya terbang!"

"Everything we fix today floats," says Marek. He looks confused. "The clock, the chair, the lamp. Look!"

"Semua yang kami perbaiki hari ini melayang," kata Marek. Ia tampak bingung. "Jam, kursi, lampu. Lihat!"

Heidi turns around. The chair with three legs, now with four, drifts across the room. The clock, now with new hands, sits quietly on a shelf. It is a few centimetres above the wood.

Heidi berbalik. Kursi berkaki tiga tadi, yang kini berkaki empat, melayang melintasi ruangan. Jam yang kini punya jarum baru bertengger diam di rak. Posisinya beberapa sentimeter di atas kayu.

People start to laugh. A boy tries to catch the chair. A man pulls his lamp down from the air with both arms. Soon, the room is full of floating things and happy noise.

Orang-orang mulai tertawa. Seorang anak laki-laki mencoba menangkap kursi itu. Seorang pria menarik lampunya turun dari udara dengan kedua lengan. Tak lama, ruangan penuh dengan benda-benda melayang dan suara riang.

Heidi does not laugh. She thinks hard. The club always fixes things in the normal way. Fixed things stay on the ground. Something is different today.

Heidi tidak tertawa. Ia berpikir keras. Klub ini selalu memperbaiki barang dengan cara biasa. Barang yang sudah diperbaiki tetap berada di tanah. Ada sesuatu yang berbeda hari ini.

"Dinah, what did we do differently?" she asks.

"Dinah, apa yang kita lakukan secara berbeda?" tanyanya.

"Nothing," says Dinah. "Nobody did anything."

"Tidak ada," kata Dinah. "Tidak ada yang melakukan apa-apa."

"Something changed. Something small."

"Ada yang berubah. Sesuatu yang kecil."

Heidi walks to the door and goes outside. She looks at the front of the building. A wooden sign hangs over the entrance. It is painted in big white letters on a green board. She reads it slowly.

Heidi berjalan ke pintu dan keluar. Ia memandang bagian depan gedung. Sebuah papan kayu tergantung di atas pintu masuk. Tulisannya dicat dengan huruf putih besar di atas papan hijau. Ia membacanya pelan-pelan.

REAIR CLUB.

REAIR CLUB.

Her mouth falls open.

Mulutnya ternganga.

"Dinah, come here! Look at the sign."

"Dinah, ke sini! Lihat papan itu."

Dinah comes out and reads it. "Reair Club," she says. "That is a funny name."

Dinah keluar dan membacanya. "Reair Club," katanya. "Nama yang lucu."

"It should say Repair Club," says Heidi. "The letter P is gone."

"Seharusnya tertulis Repair Club," kata Heidi. "Huruf P-nya hilang."

"So? It is only a letter."

"Lalu kenapa? Itu cuma satu huruf."

"No. Look at the new word." Heidi points. "Reair. It has the word air in it. We do not repair things now. We put them in the air."

"Bukan. Lihat kata barunya." Heidi menunjuk. "Reair. Ada kata air di dalamnya, dan dalam bahasa Inggris air artinya udara. Sekarang kita tidak memperbaiki barang. Kita menaruhnya di udara."

Dinah looks at her for a long moment. Then she bursts out laughing. "You mean the sign controls the club?"

Dinah menatapnya lama. Lalu ia tertawa terbahak-bahak. "Maksudmu papan itu yang mengendalikan klub?"

"I think the sign is the boss of the club," says Heidi. "Maybe that is why our repairs always hold. I never saw it before."

"Kurasa papan itu bosnya klub," kata Heidi. "Mungkin itu sebabnya hasil reparasi kita selalu awet. Aku tidak pernah menyadarinya."

"Why is the letter gone?"

"Kenapa hurufnya hilang?"

"I do not know. Maybe it fell off. Maybe a bird took it." Heidi turns in a circle and searches the ground. "We must find it."

"Aku tidak tahu. Mungkin copot. Mungkin diambil burung." Heidi berputar di tempat dan mencari-cari di tanah. "Kita harus menemukannya."

They search the street. Dinah checks the flower pots. Heidi looks under the bench and behind the bins. Marek comes out and looks up at the roof. A boy crawls under a parked car.

Mereka menyisir jalan. Dinah memeriksa pot-pot bunga. Heidi mencari di bawah bangku dan di belakang tempat sampah. Marek keluar dan menengadah ke atap. Seorang anak laki-laki merangkak ke bawah mobil yang diparkir.

"Here!" the boy shouts at last.

"Ini!" teriak anak itu akhirnya.

He holds up a white wooden letter. It is dusty, and one corner is cracked. But it is clearly a P.

Ia mengangkat sebuah huruf kayu putih. Hurufnya berdebu, dan satu sudutnya retak. Tetapi jelas itu huruf P.

"Where was it?" asks Heidi.

"Di mana tadi?" tanya Heidi.

"Under the car. It is a bit dirty."

"Di bawah mobil. Agak kotor."

"A bit dirty is fine." Heidi takes the letter with both hands. "Thank you. You are a hero."

"Agak kotor tidak masalah." Heidi mengambil huruf itu dengan kedua tangan. "Terima kasih. Kamu pahlawan."

She runs back inside. She takes a hammer and two nails from a shelf. Marek brings a ladder. Heidi climbs up with the P in her pocket.

Ia berlari kembali ke dalam. Ia mengambil palu dan dua paku dari rak. Marek membawa tangga. Heidi memanjat dengan huruf P di sakunya.

Between the E and the A, there is a small gap. It is clean and empty. She holds the letter against the green board. It fits exactly.

Di antara huruf E dan A, ada celah kecil. Celah itu bersih dan kosong. Ia menempelkan huruf itu pada papan hijau. Pas sekali.

"Hold the ladder," she tells Marek.

"Pegangi tangganya," katanya kepada Marek.

"I hold it."

"Sudah kupegang."

"Hold it harder."

"Pegang lebih kuat."

She taps the first nail into the wood. The sign shivers. She taps the second nail. A soft wind goes through the street. The white paint shines for a moment, like new snow.

Ia mengetukkan paku pertama ke kayu. Papan itu bergetar. Ia mengetukkan paku kedua. Angin lembut berembus melewati jalan. Cat putihnya berkilau sesaat, seperti salju baru.

Then, behind them, there is a gentle sound. It is the sound of a hundred small things landing.

Lalu, di belakang mereka, terdengar bunyi yang lembut. Itu bunyi seratus benda kecil yang mendarat.

Heidi looks down. In the club, the chair stands on its four legs. The toaster sits in the woman's arms. The lamp, the clock, and the radio all rest on the tables. A boy lies on the floor and laughs.

Heidi menunduk. Di dalam klub, kursi itu berdiri di atas keempat kakinya. Pemanggang roti berada di pelukan si perempuan. Lampu, jam, dan radio semuanya bersandar di atas meja. Seorang anak laki-laki berbaring di lantai sambil tertawa.

"It worked," says Dinah. She stands at the foot of the ladder. "You fixed the club."

"Berhasil," kata Dinah. Ia berdiri di kaki tangga. "Kamu memperbaiki klubnya."

"We fixed the club," says Heidi.

"Kita memperbaiki klubnya," kata Heidi.

She climbs down and wipes her hands on her trousers. Dinah picks up her radio and turns it on. A warm song begins.

Ia turun dan mengelap tangannya pada celananya. Dinah mengambil radionya dan menyalakannya. Sebuah lagu hangat mulai mengalun.

It stays right in her hands.

Radio itu tetap berada di tangannya.

"Now it is a real repair," says Dinah.

"Sekarang ini baru reparasi sungguhan," kata Dinah.

"Yes." Heidi smiles. She looks up at the sign. The letters are straight and white.

"Ya." Heidi tersenyum. Ia memandang papan nama. Huruf-hurufnya lurus dan putih.

Then one small nail falls from the P. It rings on the street.

Lalu sebatang paku kecil jatuh dari huruf P. Bunyinya berdenting di jalan.

Dinah looks at Heidi. "Hold the ladder," says Dinah.

Dinah menoleh pada Heidi. "Pegangi tangganya," kata Dinah.