The Bell on Plank Nine

Gus fixed the old footbridge at the end of his street. It crossed a deep ravine. The wood was grey and soft. The ropes were older than Gus.

Gus memperbaiki jembatan gantung tua di ujung jalannya. Jembatan itu melintasi sebuah jurang yang dalam. Kayunya kelabu dan lunak. Tali-talinya lebih tua daripada Gus.

Every morning he walked along it with a hammer. He pushed each plank with his boot. He listened for a bad sound. Some planks were safe. Some planks were not.

Setiap pagi ia berjalan di atasnya dengan membawa palu. Ia menekan setiap papan dengan sepatu botnya. Ia mendengarkan bunyi yang buruk. Beberapa papan aman. Beberapa papan tidak.

"One day a plank will break," he told his cat. "And I will not be there."

"Suatu hari sebuah papan akan patah," katanya kepada kucingnya. "Dan aku tidak akan ada di sana."

The cat looked at him and said nothing.

Kucing itu menatapnya dan tidak berkata apa-apa.

The bridge had forty-two planks. Gus could not check them all every hour. He had a bad knee. He also worked at the mill on the far side. The mill took most of his day.

Jembatan itu punya empat puluh dua papan. Gus tidak bisa memeriksa semuanya setiap jam. Lututnya sakit. Ia juga bekerja di penggilingan di seberang. Penggilingan itu menyita sebagian besar harinya.

On Tuesday, Rumi came across with her cart. She sold soap, nails and pots to the farms on the hill. She came every week. Her donkey walked slowly, and the wheels made the whole bridge shake.

Pada hari Selasa, Rumi datang menyeberang dengan gerobaknya. Ia menjual sabun, paku, dan panci ke peternakan-peternakan di bukit. Ia datang setiap minggu. Keledainya berjalan lambat, dan roda-rodanya mengguncang seluruh jembatan.

"Your bridge sings when I cross it," said Rumi.

"Jembatanmu bernyanyi saat aku menyeberang," kata Rumi.

"It is not a song," said Gus. "It is a warning."

"Itu bukan nyanyian," kata Gus. "Itu peringatan."

"Then it needs a better voice," said Rumi. She laughed and pulled the donkey on.

"Kalau begitu ia perlu suara yang lebih bagus," kata Rumi. Ia tertawa dan menarik keledainya maju.

That evening Gus sat on the bridge. His feet hung over the edge. The ravine was dark and very deep. A small stone fell from his hand. He did not hear it land.

Malam itu Gus duduk di jembatan. Kakinya menjuntai di tepi. Jurang itu gelap dan sangat dalam. Sebuah batu kecil jatuh dari tangannya. Ia tidak mendengarnya mendarat.

"I wish you could talk," he said to the bridge. "I wish you could tell me when you are hurt."

"Andai kamu bisa bicara," katanya kepada jembatan itu. "Andai kamu bisa memberitahuku saat kamu terluka."

Nothing answered. Of course not. It was only wood. Gus went home to bed.

Tidak ada yang menjawab. Tentu saja tidak. Itu hanya kayu. Gus pulang dan tidur.

That week he also bought a new doorbell. It was in a box on his kitchen table. His last doorbell was a toy bird. It shouted "Visitor!" at midnight, and Gus hated it.

Minggu itu ia juga membeli bel pintu baru. Bel itu ada di dalam kotak di meja dapurnya. Bel pintunya yang lama berupa burung mainan. Burung itu berteriak "Tamu!" tengah malam, dan Gus membencinya.

"This one has no parrot inside," the shop owner told him. "It does not talk. It only rings. It is the loudest bell I sell."

"Yang ini tidak ada burung beo di dalamnya," kata pemilik toko kepadanya. "Ia tidak bicara. Ia hanya berdering. Ini bel paling keras yang saya jual."

"Good," said Gus.

"Bagus," kata Gus.

In the morning, the box on his table was empty. Gus looked under the table. He looked in the garden. Then a sound came from the bridge.

Pagi harinya, kotak di mejanya kosong. Gus mencari di bawah meja. Ia mencari di kebun. Lalu sebuah suara terdengar dari jembatan.

DING-DONG!

DING-DONG!

It was so loud that the birds left the trees. Gus ran out of the house. His knee hurt, but he did not stop.

Suaranya begitu keras sampai burung-burung meninggalkan pepohonan. Gus berlari keluar rumah. Lututnya sakit, tetapi ia tidak berhenti.

The new bell sat on the first post of the bridge. A thin silver wire went from the bell along the rope. It looked like a vine, but it was not a plant. Gus did not know that wire.

Bel baru itu berada di tiang pertama jembatan. Seutas kawat perak tipis membentang dari bel itu menyusuri tali. Kawat itu tampak seperti sulur, tetapi bukan tanaman. Gus tidak mengenal kawat itu.

Rumi stood on the bridge with her hand on her chest. Her donkey stood far behind her with stiff legs.

Rumi berdiri di jembatan dengan tangan di dadanya. Keledainya berdiri jauh di belakangnya dengan kaki kaku.

"I did nothing," said Rumi. "I took one step, and the whole world screamed."

"Aku tidak melakukan apa-apa," kata Rumi. "Aku melangkah satu kali, dan seluruh dunia menjerit."

"Which step?" asked Gus.

"Langkah yang mana?" tanya Gus.

"The ninth plank."

"Papan kesembilan."

Gus knelt down and pushed plank nine with his thumb. The wood was soft like old cheese. He stood on plank ten. Nothing happened. He stepped back onto plank nine.

Gus berlutut dan menekan papan sembilan dengan ibu jarinya. Kayunya lunak seperti keju tua. Ia berdiri di papan sepuluh. Tidak terjadi apa-apa. Ia melangkah mundur ke papan sembilan.

DING-DONG!

DING-DONG!

It was louder this time. Gus began to laugh.

Kali ini lebih keras. Gus mulai tertawa.

"I asked the bridge to talk," he said. "It gave me a bell."

"Aku meminta jembatan itu bicara," katanya. "Ia memberiku bel."

"A bell is better," said Rumi. "A bridge with words never stops talking."

"Bel lebih baik," kata Rumi. "Jembatan yang punya kata-kata tidak akan pernah berhenti bicara."

They walked over the bridge together, one plank at a time. Gus counted out loud. Most planks stayed quiet. Plank seventeen made a small ding, like a spoon on a cup. Plank twenty-three made a bigger one. Plank nine was still the loudest.

Mereka berjalan melintasi jembatan bersama-sama, satu papan demi satu papan. Gus berhitung dengan suara keras. Sebagian besar papan tetap diam. Papan tujuh belas berbunyi ding kecil, seperti sendok pada cangkir. Papan dua puluh tiga berbunyi lebih besar. Papan sembilan tetap yang paling keras.

"The worse the plank, the louder the bell," said Rumi.

"Makin buruk papannya, makin keras belnya," kata Rumi.

"Yes," said Gus. "And I did not know about twenty-three."

"Ya," kata Gus. "Dan aku tidak tahu soal papan dua puluh tiga."

He wrote the numbers on his hand with a pencil. His hand shook a little. He walked here for years, and he missed one.

Ia menulis angka-angka itu di tangannya dengan pensil. Tangannya agak gemetar. Ia sudah bertahun-tahun berjalan di sini, dan ia melewatkan satu.

That night the bell woke him up. DING-DONG, DING-DONG, DING-DONG! The noise was terrible. Gus jumped out of bed. He took his lamp and ran to the bridge.

Malam itu bel itu membangunkannya. DING-DONG, DING-DONG, DING-DONG! Suaranya mengerikan. Gus melompat dari tempat tidur. Ia mengambil lampunya dan berlari ke jembatan.

A white goat stood in the middle of the bridge. It stood on plank thirty-one. It chewed a rope and looked very happy.

Seekor kambing putih berdiri di tengah jembatan. Ia berdiri di papan tiga puluh satu. Ia mengunyah tali dan tampak sangat senang.

Gus did not shout. He walked slowly and held out his hand. "Come here, you fool," he said. "Come to me."

Gus tidak berteriak. Ia berjalan pelan dan mengulurkan tangan. "Ke sini, dasar bodoh," katanya. "Mendekatlah padaku."

The goat came. It was heavy, and the plank under it cracked. A long, dark line ran across the wood. Gus pulled the goat to safety. The plank broke behind them and fell into the ravine.

Kambing itu datang. Ia berat, dan papan di bawahnya retak. Sebuah garis panjang yang gelap membentang di kayu. Gus menarik kambing itu ke tempat aman. Papan itu patah di belakang mereka dan jatuh ke jurang.

For a long time, Gus did not move. He sat on the ground with the goat's head on his knee. The bell was quiet now.

Untuk waktu yang lama, Gus tidak bergerak. Ia duduk di tanah dengan kepala kambing itu di lututnya. Bel itu kini diam.

"You rang," he told the post. "Now I know."

"Kamu berdering," katanya kepada tiang itu. "Sekarang aku tahu."

In the morning, the whole village came to look. They stood at the end of the bridge. Their hands covered their ears.

Pagi harinya, seluruh desa datang untuk melihat. Mereka berdiri di ujung jembatan. Tangan mereka menutupi telinga.

"The bell is too loud," said a man with a basket.

"Belnya terlalu keras," kata seorang pria yang membawa keranjang.

"It is not loud enough," said Gus. "It woke me. It saved a goat."

"Belum cukup keras," kata Gus. "Ia membangunkanku. Ia menyelamatkan seekor kambing."

"It saved my goat!" shouted a woman at the back. "I looked for him all night."

"Ia menyelamatkan kambingku!" teriak seorang perempuan di barisan belakang. "Aku mencarinya semalaman."

The man with the basket said nothing more.

Pria dengan keranjang itu tidak berkata apa-apa lagi.

Rumi came with her cart. It was full of new wood and long nails. She did not ask for money. She only said, "I cross this bridge every week. I want to keep crossing it."

Rumi datang dengan gerobaknya. Gerobak itu penuh kayu baru dan paku panjang. Ia tidak meminta uang. Ia hanya berkata, "Aku menyeberangi jembatan ini setiap minggu. Aku ingin terus menyeberanginya."

They worked all day. Gus put a new plank in the gap at thirty-one. Rumi held the wood. The village children brought water and sat on the ground to watch. Every time a new plank went in, Gus stepped on it. Every time, the bell stayed quiet. The children cheered.

Mereka bekerja seharian. Gus memasang papan baru di celah di nomor tiga puluh satu. Rumi memegangi kayunya. Anak-anak desa membawakan air dan duduk di tanah untuk menonton. Setiap kali sebuah papan baru terpasang, Gus menginjaknya. Setiap kali, bel itu tetap diam. Anak-anak bersorak.

By evening only three planks were left. Plank seventeen was easy. Plank twenty-three took a long time. The wood under it was bad too.

Menjelang malam hanya tinggal tiga papan. Papan tujuh belas mudah. Papan dua puluh tiga memakan waktu lama. Kayu di bawahnya juga buruk.

At last Rumi stood next to plank nine. It was the worst of all.

Akhirnya Rumi berdiri di samping papan sembilan. Itu yang terburuk dari semuanya.

"Do you want to step on it one more time?" she asked. "For the sound?"

"Maukah kamu menginjaknya sekali lagi?" tanyanya. "Demi bunyinya?"

Gus shook his head. "I know that sound now," he said. "I will not forget it."

Gus menggeleng. "Aku sudah tahu bunyi itu sekarang," katanya. "Aku tidak akan melupakannya."

He knelt on his sore knee. He took a long nail from his pocket. The bell hung over his head, ready and silent. Gus lifted the hammer and hit the first nail.

Ia berlutut di atas lututnya yang sakit. Ia mengambil sebatang paku panjang dari sakunya. Bel itu menggantung di atas kepalanya, siap dan membisu. Gus mengangkat palu dan memukul paku pertama.