The Alarm Clock in Carriage Nine

The night train left the city at ten. Carriage nine was almost empty. The heater under the seats was broken. It blew out cold, dusty air and nothing else.

Kereta malam itu meninggalkan kota pukul sepuluh. Gerbong sembilan nyaris kosong. Pemanas di bawah kursi rusak. Alat itu hanya meniupkan udara dingin yang berdebu dan tidak ada yang lain.

Imani sat by the window in her big coat. She pulled her scarf up to her nose. She could see her own breath in the air.

Imani duduk di dekat jendela dengan mantel besarnya. Ia menarik syalnya sampai ke hidung. Ia bisa melihat embusan napasnya sendiri di udara.

One other passenger sat at the far end. He was a tall man with a toolbag on his knees. He wore two scarves and a wool hat. He looked as cold as she felt.

Satu penumpang lain duduk di ujung seberang. Seorang pria jangkung dengan tas perkakas di pangkuannya. Ia mengenakan dua syal dan topi wol. Ia tampak sedingin yang dirasakan Imani.

At twenty past ten, a loud bell rang. It was a harsh, shaking sound, like an old school bell. Imani jumped up from her seat. The noise came from her own bag. The bag stood on the floor under her seat.

Pukul sepuluh lewat dua puluh, sebuah bel nyaring berbunyi. Bunyinya kasar dan bergetar, seperti lonceng sekolah tua. Imani melonjak dari tempat duduknya. Bunyi itu berasal dari tasnya sendiri. Tas itu tergeletak di lantai di bawah kursinya.

"Sorry!" she called. She pulled out a round brass alarm clock. She bought it that morning at a street market. The seller let her have it for almost nothing.

"Maaf!" serunya. Ia mengeluarkan sebuah jam weker kuningan yang bulat. Ia membelinya pagi tadi di pasar jalanan. Si penjual melepaskannya dengan harga hampir cuma-cuma.

"It's a little loud," the seller said. She thought that was funny then. She did not think so now.

"Bunyinya agak keras," kata si penjual. Waktu itu ia menganggapnya lucu. Sekarang tidak lagi.

She pressed the button on top. The bell stopped. The clock showed twenty past ten. She did not set any alarm. She was sure of that.

Ia menekan tombol di bagian atas. Bel itu berhenti. Jam itu menunjukkan pukul sepuluh lewat dua puluh. Ia tidak mengatur alarm apa pun. Ia yakin akan hal itu.

The tall man came down the carriage. "May I look?" he asked. "I fix machines at work. My name is Xander."

Pria jangkung itu berjalan menyusuri gerbong. "Boleh saya lihat?" tanyanya. "Saya memperbaiki mesin di tempat kerja. Nama saya Xander."

"Please do," said Imani. "I'm Imani. I only got it today."

"Silakan," kata Imani. "Saya Imani. Saya baru mendapatkannya hari ini."

Xander turned the clock over in his big hands. He looked at the back and the bottom. He touched the small lever at the side. "This is the test lever," he said. "Push it and the bell rings once. The alarm is off. It should be silent."

Xander membolak-balik jam itu di tangannya yang besar. Ia memeriksa bagian belakang dan dasarnya. Ia menyentuh tuas kecil di sisinya. "Ini tuas uji coba," katanya. "Kalau ditekan, bel berbunyi satu kali. Alarmnya mati. Seharusnya jam ini senyap."

"But it rang," said Imani.

"Tapi tadi berbunyi," kata Imani.

"Yes, it did." He gave the clock back. "Let's see if it does it again."

"Ya, benar." Ia mengembalikan jam itu. "Mari kita lihat apakah akan berbunyi lagi."

They sat together on the same bench. It was warmer with two people close. Xander took a pencil and an old ticket from his pocket. He wrote the time on the back. Twenty past ten.

Mereka duduk bersama di bangku yang sama. Rasanya lebih hangat dengan dua orang yang berdekatan. Xander mengambil sebatang pensil dan tiket lama dari sakunya. Ia menulis waktu di baliknya. Pukul sepuluh lewat dua puluh.

Nothing happened for a long time. The train rattled through dark fields. Lights from far houses flashed by and were gone. Imani put the clock on the floor. She watched it.

Lama tidak terjadi apa-apa. Kereta berderak melewati ladang-ladang gelap. Cahaya dari rumah-rumah yang jauh berkelebat lalu lenyap. Imani menaruh jam itu di lantai. Ia mengawasinya.

At twenty to eleven, the bell rang again. Imani almost dropped the clock. Xander laughed and wrote down the time. "Twenty minutes," he said. "It rings every twenty minutes."

Pukul sebelas kurang dua puluh, bel berbunyi lagi. Imani nyaris menjatuhkan jam itu. Xander tertawa dan mencatat waktunya. "Dua puluh menit," katanya. "Jam ini berbunyi setiap dua puluh menit."

"But why?" asked Imani.

"Tapi kenapa?" tanya Imani.

"That is the puzzle," said Xander. "We have eight hours and nowhere to go. Let's solve it."

"Itulah teka-tekinya," kata Xander. "Kita punya delapan jam dan tidak punya tujuan lain. Mari kita pecahkan."

Imani liked that. Her fingers were cold, but her mind woke up. "Clue one," she said. "Every twenty minutes."

Imani menyukai itu. Jari-jarinya dingin, tetapi pikirannya terbangun. "Petunjuk satu," katanya. "Setiap dua puluh menit."

"Good." Xander wrote it down. "Now we watch for clue two."

"Bagus." Xander menuliskannya. "Sekarang kita tunggu petunjuk dua."

At eleven, they both sat very still. The train hummed. A door banged far away. Then something knocked under the seat. It was a hard, short knock, like a hand on a drum. A moment later, the bell rang.

Pukul sebelas, mereka berdua duduk diam sekali. Kereta berdengung. Sebuah pintu terbanting di kejauhan. Lalu sesuatu mengetuk di bawah kursi. Ketukan keras yang pendek, seperti tangan di atas gendang. Sesaat kemudian, bel berbunyi.

"Did you hear that?" whispered Imani. "First a knock. Then the bell."

"Anda dengar itu?" bisik Imani. "Mula-mula ketukan. Lalu bel."

"Clue two," said Xander. He wrote the words "knock first". He looked pleased.

"Petunjuk dua," kata Xander. Ia menulis kata-kata "ketukan dulu". Ia tampak senang.

Imani looked at the clock on the floor. Xander put his hand under the seat. He waited with his eyes closed. After a few seconds, he smiled.

Imani memandang jam di lantai. Xander meletakkan tangannya di bawah kursi. Ia menunggu dengan mata terpejam. Setelah beberapa detik, ia tersenyum.

"Clue three," he said. "Warm air. It comes out of the heater after the bell. It stays for one minute. Then it goes cold again."

"Petunjuk tiga," katanya. "Udara hangat. Keluar dari pemanas setelah bel. Bertahan selama satu menit. Lalu dingin lagi."

Imani felt the air with her own hand. It was true. A thin, warm breath touched her fingers and then went away.

Imani merasakan udara itu dengan tangannya sendiri. Benar. Embusan hangat yang tipis menyentuh jari-jarinya lalu pergi.

"A knock, a bell, and warm air," she said. "What does it mean?"

"Ketukan, bel, dan udara hangat," katanya. "Apa artinya?"

"I don't know yet," said Xander. "But the clock and the heater are friends. I am sure of that."

"Saya belum tahu," kata Xander. "Tapi jam itu dan pemanas ini berteman. Saya yakin soal itu."

He opened his toolbag and took out a small lamp. Then he got down on the dirty floor. He looked under the seat for a long time. Imani held the lamp for him. Her arm began to shake, but she did not mind.

Ia membuka tas perkakasnya dan mengeluarkan lampu kecil. Lalu ia berlutut di lantai yang kotor. Ia memeriksa bawah kursi lama sekali. Imani memegangkan lampu untuknya. Lengannya mulai gemetar, tetapi ia tidak peduli.

At last, Xander started to laugh. He laughed so hard that he had to sit on the floor.

Akhirnya, Xander mulai tertawa. Ia tertawa begitu keras sampai harus duduk di lantai.

"What is it?" said Imani.

"Ada apa?" kata Imani.

"Look," he said. He pointed with the lamp. "There is a pipe under your seat. The heater valve is stuck. Every twenty minutes, the pipe jumps and knocks. Your clock stood on the floor, right next to it."

"Lihat," katanya. Ia menunjuk dengan lampu. "Ada pipa di bawah kursi Anda. Katup pemanasnya macet. Setiap dua puluh menit, pipa itu melompat dan mengetuk. Jam Anda berdiri di lantai, tepat di sebelahnya."

"The knock hit the clock," said Imani slowly.

"Ketukan itu mengenai jamnya," kata Imani perlahan.

"It hit the little lever. The bell rang. Now watch the next part." He pointed again. "The bell is so loud that it shakes the pipe. The shaking opens the valve a little. The heater coughs out some warm air."

"Mengenai tuas kecilnya. Belnya berbunyi. Sekarang perhatikan bagian berikutnya." Ia menunjuk lagi. "Bel itu begitu nyaring sampai menggetarkan pipa. Getaran itu membuka katup sedikit. Pemanas pun terbatuk mengeluarkan sedikit udara hangat."

Imani looked at the clock in her hands. Then she began to laugh too. "So my clock wakes up the heater."

Imani memandang jam di tangannya. Lalu ia ikut tertawa. "Jadi jam saya membangunkan pemanasnya."

"Yes!" said Xander. "The heater needs a loud noise to start. It is just like me in the morning."

"Ya!" kata Xander. "Pemanas itu butuh suara keras untuk menyala. Persis seperti saya di pagi hari."

They laughed until their eyes were wet. The sound ran down the empty carriage. For a moment, it felt like a warm room.

Mereka tertawa sampai mata mereka basah. Suara itu menyusuri gerbong yang kosong. Sesaat, rasanya seperti ruangan yang hangat.

Then Xander stood up and took a metal tool from his bag. "Now we do it the quick way," he said. He gave the stuck valve three hard hits. It rang like a bell of its own.

Lalu Xander berdiri dan mengambil sebuah alat logam dari tasnya. "Sekarang kita lakukan dengan cara cepat," katanya. Ia memukul katup yang macet itu tiga kali dengan keras. Katup itu berdentang seperti loncengnya sendiri.

The heater made a long, deep noise. Then warm air poured out under every seat. It smelled a little like burning dust, but it was warm. It was lovely.

Pemanas itu mengeluarkan bunyi panjang dan dalam. Lalu udara hangat menyembur keluar di bawah setiap kursi. Baunya sedikit seperti debu terbakar, tetapi hangat. Nyaman sekali.

Imani took off her scarf. Xander took off his hat and one of his scarves. They sat back and let the heat reach their feet.

Imani melepas syalnya. Xander melepas topinya dan sebuah syalnya. Mereka bersandar dan membiarkan panas itu mencapai kaki mereka.

"Thank you," said Imani. "I think I'll keep the clock. It did a good job tonight."

"Terima kasih," kata Imani. "Saya rasa saya akan menyimpan jam ini. Dia bekerja dengan baik malam ini."

"It did," said Xander. He took the clock from her hands again. He looked at it in the lamp light. His smile slowly changed. "Imani, look at the back."

"Memang," kata Xander. Ia mengambil jam itu lagi dari tangannya. Ia memandangnya dalam cahaya lampu. Senyumnya perlahan berubah. "Imani, lihat bagian belakangnya."

"I looked at it already. It's just brass."

"Saya sudah melihatnya. Cuma kuningan."

"Exactly." He tapped the metal. "There is no door for a battery. There is no hole for a key." He held the clock up to his ear. The hands moved round, smooth and quiet.

"Tepat sekali." Ia mengetuk logam itu. "Tidak ada pintu untuk baterai. Tidak ada lubang untuk kunci." Ia mendekatkan jam itu ke telinganya. Jarum-jarumnya berputar, halus dan senyap.

Imani stopped smiling too. The heater roared. The train rushed on into the dark.

Imani berhenti tersenyum juga. Pemanas menderu. Kereta melaju terus ke dalam kegelapan.

"So," said Xander quietly, "what makes it go?"

"Jadi," kata Xander pelan, "apa yang menggerakkannya?"