The Barrel That Rolled Downhill

The cabin stood alone at the edge of a pine forest. A gravel track that nobody had mended in years led up to it. Sade and Eira arrived on a Friday afternoon. They brought two bags of food and a plan to do nothing at all.

Pondok itu berdiri sendirian di tepi hutan pinus. Sebuah jalan kerikil yang bertahun-tahun tidak diperbaiki siapa pun mengarah ke sana. Sade dan Eira tiba pada sore hari Jumat. Mereka membawa dua kantong makanan dan rencana untuk tidak melakukan apa pun.

It was the first holiday they had taken together in almost a year. Eira had picked the cabin from a website because of one photograph. It showed a wooden porch, a stone chimney and a hammock hanging between two trees.

Ini liburan pertama mereka berdua dalam hampir setahun. Eira memilih pondok itu dari sebuah situs web karena satu foto. Foto itu menampilkan teras kayu, cerobong asap dari batu, dan sebuah hammock yang tergantung di antara dua pohon.

"It is smaller than the picture," Sade said, standing in the doorway with her bag.

"Ternyata lebih kecil daripada di foto," kata Sade sambil berdiri di ambang pintu dengan tasnya.

"Everything is smaller than the picture," Eira said. "That is why they call it a picture."

"Semuanya lebih kecil daripada di foto," kata Eira. "Makanya disebut foto."

Inside, the cabin smelled of wood smoke and old books. A narrow bed stood under the roof window, and a woodstove sat in one corner. On the table lay a note from the owner, held down by a small brass bell.

Di dalam, pondok itu berbau asap kayu dan buku-buku tua. Sebuah tempat tidur sempit berada di bawah jendela atap, dan sebuah kompor kayu bakar berdiri di salah satu sudut. Di atas meja ada catatan dari pemilik pondok, ditindih sebuah lonceng kuningan kecil.

Welcome! Please take the apples from the barrel on the porch. They are from our own trees, and they are better eaten than wasted. Mind the slope.

Selamat datang! Silakan ambil apel dari tong di teras. Apel-apel itu berasal dari pohon kami sendiri, dan lebih baik dimakan daripada terbuang. Hati-hati dengan lerengnya.

They found the barrel by the porch steps. It was a fat oak barrel, as tall as Eira's waist, filled to the top with green apples. The smell was sweet and sharp, like a cold morning in a garden.

Mereka menemukan tong itu di dekat tangga teras. Tong itu terbuat dari kayu ek, gemuk, setinggi pinggang Eira, dan penuh sampai ke atas dengan apel hijau. Baunya manis dan tajam, seperti pagi yang dingin di sebuah kebun.

For two days they were happy, and nothing went wrong. They walked in the forest and swam in a cold, clear pool. They read in the hammock until their arms went numb. In the evenings they cooked on the woodstove. They ate on the porch with a blanket over their knees.

Selama dua hari mereka bahagia, dan tidak ada yang salah. Mereka berjalan-jalan di hutan dan berenang di kolam yang dingin dan jernih. Mereka membaca di hammock sampai lengan mereka kesemutan. Pada malam hari mereka memasak di kompor kayu bakar. Mereka makan di teras dengan selimut menutupi lutut.

Still, something sat between them, quiet and heavy, like a stone at the bottom of a bag.

Meski begitu, ada sesuatu di antara mereka, diam dan berat, seperti batu di dasar sebuah tas.

Sade knew exactly what it was. Three weeks earlier, a company in another country had offered her a job. It was a good one, with a big salary and a project she had wanted for years. She had read the email four times and told nobody. Then, one evening, she had left her laptop open on the kitchen table.

Sade tahu persis apa itu. Tiga minggu sebelumnya, sebuah perusahaan di negara lain menawarinya pekerjaan. Pekerjaan yang bagus, dengan gaji besar dan proyek yang sudah bertahun-tahun ia inginkan. Ia membaca surel itu empat kali dan tidak memberi tahu siapa pun. Lalu, suatu malam, ia meninggalkan laptopnya terbuka di meja dapur.

Eira knew exactly what it was too. She had seen the email, and she had said nothing. She had closed the laptop gently, as if it might wake up and bite her.

Eira juga tahu persis apa itu. Ia telah melihat surel tersebut, dan ia tidak berkata apa-apa. Ia menutup laptop itu dengan lembut, seolah-olah benda itu bisa terbangun dan menggigitnya.

Now each of them was waiting for the other to speak first, and neither could do it. They talked about the forest, the stove and the price of coffee. They talked about the light in the pine needles. They talked about everything except the one thing that mattered.

Sekarang masing-masing menunggu yang lain bicara lebih dulu, dan tak satu pun sanggup melakukannya. Mereka membicarakan hutan, kompor, dan harga kopi. Mereka membicarakan cahaya di sela daun-daun pinus. Mereka membicarakan segalanya kecuali satu hal yang penting.

On Sunday morning, Eira woke early and went out to the porch with her coffee. The sun had just come over the hill. The barrel stood where they had left it, with a single apple lying on the step beside it.

Pada Minggu pagi, Eira bangun lebih awal dan keluar ke teras membawa kopinya. Matahari baru saja muncul di atas bukit. Tong itu berdiri di tempat mereka meninggalkannya, dengan sebutir apel tergeletak di anak tangga di sampingnya.

She decided to move the barrel, because it was blocking the top stair. She pushed it with her knee, then with her shoulder, and it moved a little. Then it moved a little more.

Ia memutuskan memindahkan tong itu, karena benda itu menghalangi anak tangga paling atas. Ia mendorongnya dengan lutut, lalu dengan bahu, dan tong itu bergeser sedikit. Lalu bergeser sedikit lagi.

"Sade!" she shouted. "Come quickly!"

"Sade!" teriaknya. "Cepat ke sini!"

The barrel tipped over the edge of the porch. For one long second it balanced, almost thoughtful. Then it fell down the steps, hit the grass, and began to roll.

Tong itu terguling melewati tepi teras. Selama satu detik yang panjang, tong itu menyeimbangkan diri, nyaris seperti sedang berpikir. Lalu ia jatuh menuruni tangga, menghantam rumput, dan mulai menggelinding.

Sade ran out in her socks, with her hair standing up in every direction. The barrel gathered speed down the slope. It bounced over a tree root and lost its lid. The apples poured out behind it in a bright, bouncing river.

Sade berlari keluar hanya dengan kaus kaki, rambutnya berdiri ke segala arah. Tong itu bertambah cepat menuruni lereng. Ia memantul di atas akar pohon dan kehilangan tutupnya. Apel-apel tumpah di belakangnya seperti sungai kecil yang cerah dan melompat-lompat.

"Do something!" Eira cried.

"Lakukan sesuatu!" seru Eira.

"What am I supposed to do?" Sade shouted back. "Argue with it?"

"Aku harus berbuat apa?" balas Sade berteriak. "Mendebatnya?"

They ran after it together, slipping on the dewy grass, snatching apples as they went. Sade caught three in her arms and dropped two. Eira fell on her knees and rolled up again, laughing so hard that she could hardly breathe. The barrel rolled all the way to the bottom of the hill and crashed gently into a stream.

Mereka mengejarnya bersama-sama, terpeleset di rumput yang berembun, menyambar apel sambil berlari. Sade menangkap tiga di pelukannya dan menjatuhkan dua. Eira jatuh berlutut lalu bangkit lagi, tertawa begitu keras sampai hampir tidak bisa bernapas. Tong itu menggelinding sampai ke dasar bukit dan menabrak sebuah sungai kecil dengan pelan.

It lay there on its side, with the water running through it, almost proud of itself.

Tong itu tergeletak miring di sana, dengan air mengalir menembusnya, nyaris tampak bangga pada dirinya sendiri.

For a while they only stood and laughed, bent over, holding their sides. Apples bobbed in the stream like small green boats. Others had come to rest in the ferns and in the tall grass.

Beberapa saat lamanya mereka hanya berdiri dan tertawa, membungkuk, memegangi perut. Apel-apel terombang-ambing di sungai seperti perahu hijau kecil. Yang lain telah berhenti di sela-sela pakis dan di rumput yang tinggi.

Then, slowly, they began to pick them up.

Lalu, perlahan, mereka mulai memungutinya.

They worked in silence at first. The sun climbed higher, and the clean smell of apples rose all around them. Sade stood knee-deep in the stream, filling the barrel again. Eira crouched at the bank and passed her the fruit, one apple at a time.

Awalnya mereka bekerja dalam diam. Matahari naik makin tinggi, dan aroma apel yang bersih menyebar di sekeliling mereka. Sade berdiri di sungai dengan air setinggi lutut, mengisi tong itu kembali. Eira berjongkok di tepi sungai dan menyerahkan buah-buah itu kepadanya, satu apel demi satu apel.

After a long while, Eira said, "I read the email."

Setelah beberapa lama, Eira berkata, "Aku sudah membaca surel itu."

Sade stopped with an apple in her hand.

Sade berhenti dengan sebutir apel di tangannya.

"I know," she said. "I left the laptop open. I think I wanted you to."

"Aku tahu," katanya. "Aku meninggalkan laptopnya terbuka. Kurasa aku memang ingin kamu membacanya."

"Then why did you not say something?"

"Lalu kenapa kamu tidak bilang apa-apa?"

"Why did you not?" Sade asked.

"Kenapa kamu sendiri tidak?" tanya Sade.

Eira looked at the water for a moment. A leaf floated past her boot. She felt her heart beating in her ears. It beat like that on the day she met Sade.

Eira menatap air sejenak. Sehelai daun hanyut melewati sepatu botnya. Ia merasakan jantungnya berdetak di telinga. Detaknya seperti itu juga pada hari ia bertemu Sade.

"Because I was afraid of the answer," she said. "I did not want to be the person who asked you to stay. And I did not want to hear you say you were going."

"Karena aku takut pada jawabannya," katanya. "Aku tidak mau jadi orang yang memintamu tinggal. Dan aku tidak mau mendengarmu bilang kamu akan pergi."

"I have not said yes," Sade said gently. "I have not said anything. I have carried that offer for three weeks. Every day I thought, she will ask me tonight."

"Aku belum bilang ya," kata Sade lembut. "Aku belum bilang apa-apa. Tiga minggu aku membawa tawaran itu. Setiap hari aku berpikir, dia akan bertanya malam ini."

"I am asking now." Eira stood up, and her knees were green with grass. "Are you going to take the job?"

"Sekarang aku bertanya." Eira berdiri, dan lututnya hijau karena rumput. "Apakah kamu akan menerima pekerjaan itu?"

Sade put the apple in the barrel. She took her time. She wiped her wet hands on her shirt, and her face was serious, but her eyes were bright.

Sade meletakkan apel itu di dalam tong. Ia mengambil waktu. Ia mengelap tangannya yang basah ke bajunya, wajahnya serius, tetapi matanya berbinar.

"I would only go if you came with me," she said. "That is the part I could not write in any email. I have spent three weeks working up the courage to ask you."

"Aku hanya akan pergi kalau kamu ikut denganku," katanya. "Itu bagian yang tidak bisa kutulis dalam surel mana pun. Aku menghabiskan tiga minggu mengumpulkan keberanian untuk menanyakannya padamu."

"Then ask," Eira said.

"Kalau begitu tanyakan," kata Eira.

"Will you come?"

"Maukah kamu ikut?"

Eira did not answer at once. She looked up the hill, at the small cabin with its chimney and its crooked porch. She looked back at the stream and the barrel lying in the water. The apples glowed in the grass.

Eira tidak langsung menjawab. Ia menengok ke atas bukit, ke pondok kecil dengan cerobongnya dan terasnya yang miring. Ia menoleh lagi ke sungai dan tong yang tergeletak di dalam air. Apel-apel bersinar di rumput.

"I will need a lot of time to think about it," she said. Then her mouth twitched, and the smile broke through. "About two minutes. Maybe less."

"Aku akan butuh waktu lama untuk memikirkannya," katanya. Lalu bibirnya bergerak-gerak, dan senyumnya pecah. "Sekitar dua menit. Mungkin kurang."

Sade laughed and threw an apple at her. Eira caught it with one hand.

Sade tertawa dan melemparkan sebutir apel kepadanya. Eira menangkapnya dengan satu tangan.

They carried the barrel back up the slope together, one on each side, stopping twice to rest. When they reached the porch, Sade put her end down and wiped her forehead.

Mereka mengangkat tong itu kembali ke atas lereng bersama-sama, masing-masing di satu sisi, berhenti dua kali untuk beristirahat. Ketika sampai di teras, Sade menurunkan ujung bagiannya dan menyeka dahinya.

"Do you think they grow apples where we are going?" Sade asked.

"Menurutmu, apakah di tempat yang akan kita tuju ada kebun apel?" tanya Sade.

"Does it matter?" Eira said. "We know where to find a barrel."

"Apa itu penting?" kata Eira. "Kita tahu di mana bisa menemukan tong."