The Boat on the Drying Shelf

Tala loved the Thursday pottery class. The studio smelled of wet clay and warm stone. Long wooden shelves ran along one wall. On the shelves, the new bowls dried slowly.

Tala menyukai kelas tembikar hari Kamis. Studio itu berbau tanah liat basah dan batu hangat. Rak-rak kayu panjang membentang di sepanjang satu dinding. Di atas rak-rak itu, mangkuk-mangkuk baru dikeringkan perlahan.

Every student had a place on the shelf, with a name card. Tala's place was number nine. Una's place, next to hers, was number ten.

Setiap murid punya tempat di rak, dengan kartu nama. Tempat Tala nomor sembilan. Tempat Una, di sebelahnya, nomor sepuluh.

One Thursday, Tala came in and stopped at the door. Number nine was empty. Her blue bowl was gone. In its place sat a small paper boat.

Pada suatu hari Kamis, Tala masuk dan berhenti di ambang pintu. Nomor sembilan kosong. Mangkuk birunya hilang. Sebagai gantinya, ada sebuah perahu kertas kecil.

"Una," she said. "Where is my bowl?"

"Una," katanya. "Di mana mangkukku?"

Una came over and looked at the shelf. "Maybe you put it somewhere else."

Una menghampiri dan melihat rak itu. "Mungkin kamu menaruhnya di tempat lain."

"I put it here. It took me two weeks to make it."

"Aku menaruhnya di sini. Aku butuh dua minggu untuk membuatnya."

"Then somebody took it." Una picked up the boat. It was plain white paper, folded small, and it was dry. "And left this."

"Kalau begitu ada yang mengambilnya." Una mengambil perahu itu. Perahu itu dari kertas putih polos, dilipat kecil, dan kering. "Dan meninggalkan ini."

"Why does a thief leave a boat?"

"Kenapa pencuri meninggalkan perahu?"

"A very polite thief," said Una.

"Pencuri yang sangat sopan," kata Una.

Tala did not laugh. She looked along the shelf. Nine other bowls sat in their places. Nothing else was missing. The door was locked every night. The instructor and the owner of the studio each had a key.

Tala tidak tertawa. Ia memandang sepanjang rak. Sembilan mangkuk lain berada di tempatnya. Tidak ada hal lain yang hilang. Pintu dikunci setiap malam. Instruktur dan pemilik studio masing-masing memegang satu kunci.

"I want to know who did it," Tala said.

"Aku ingin tahu siapa pelakunya," kata Tala.

"It is only a bowl."

"Itu cuma mangkuk."

"It is my bowl."

"Itu mangkukku."

The next Thursday, another bowl vanished. This time it was a green cup. It belonged to the girl at number four. Again, a paper boat sat in its place. The studio buzzed with talk all evening.

Kamis berikutnya, mangkuk lain lenyap. Kali ini sebuah cangkir hijau. Cangkir itu milik gadis di nomor empat. Lagi-lagi, sebuah perahu kertas berada di tempatnya. Studio ramai dengan perbincangan sepanjang malam itu.

Tala made a plan. She wanted to find footprints. All week, she thought about it. On Wednesday, she asked the instructor if she could stay late. She said she wanted to clean the shelves. The instructor agreed. Tala spread a thin layer of dry clay dust on the floor. She put it right under the shelf.

Tala menyusun rencana. Ia ingin menemukan jejak kaki. Sepanjang minggu ia memikirkannya. Pada hari Rabu, ia bertanya kepada instruktur apakah ia boleh tinggal lebih lama. Ia bilang ia ingin membersihkan rak. Instruktur setuju. Tala menebarkan selapis tipis debu tanah liat kering di lantai. Ia menaruhnya tepat di bawah rak.

"If someone walks here, we will see the shoes," she told Una.

"Kalau ada yang berjalan di sini, kita akan melihat sepatunya," katanya kepada Una.

On Thursday morning, they came in together. The studio was quiet. Tala's new bowl, a small yellow one, was gone from number nine. A paper boat stood in its place.

Pada Kamis pagi, mereka masuk bersama-sama. Studio itu sunyi. Mangkuk baru Tala, sebuah mangkuk kuning kecil, hilang dari nomor sembilan. Sebuah perahu kertas berdiri di tempatnya.

Tala looked at the floor. The dust was full of footprints. There were small ones and big ones. There were round marks from a broom. The instructor walked there every morning. So did the cleaner and two students who came early.

Tala memandang lantai. Debunya penuh jejak kaki. Ada yang kecil dan ada yang besar. Ada bekas bundar dari sapu. Instruktur berjalan di sana setiap pagi. Begitu pula petugas kebersihan dan dua murid yang datang lebih awal.

"That is no good," said Una.

"Itu tidak berguna," kata Una.

"I know." Tala frowned. "Everyone walks here. This plan was foolish."

"Aku tahu." Tala mengerutkan kening. "Semua orang berjalan di sini. Rencana ini bodoh."

"It was a good idea. It just did not work."

"Itu ide yang bagus. Hanya saja tidak berhasil."

Tala sat down on a stool. She held the third paper boat in her hands. "We looked at the floor. But the boats are the real message."

Tala duduk di bangku kecil. Ia memegang perahu kertas ketiga di tangannya. "Kita memandangi lantai. Tapi perahu-perahu itulah pesan yang sebenarnya."

"What do you mean?"

"Maksudmu?"

"The thief does not hide. The thief leaves a boat each time. It is a note, like a letter." Tala turned the paper over and over. "So let us answer it."

"Pencurinya tidak bersembunyi. Pencurinya meninggalkan sebuah perahu setiap kali. Itu catatan, seperti surat." Tala membolak-balik kertas itu. "Jadi mari kita balas."

Una's eyes grew bright. "You want to write to the thief?"

Mata Una berbinar. "Kamu mau menulis surat kepada pencuri?"

"Not write. Fold." Tala took a sheet of paper from her bag. She folded it carefully into a boat. It had the same shape as the others. Inside the boat, she wrote one small line in pencil. Where do my bowls go?

"Bukan menulis. Melipat." Tala mengambil selembar kertas dari tasnya. Ia melipatnya dengan hati-hati menjadi perahu. Bentuknya sama dengan yang lain. Di dalam perahu itu, ia menulis satu baris kecil dengan pensil. Ke mana mangkuk-mangkukku pergi?

She put the boat on the shelf at number nine. Then she went home.

Ia menaruh perahu itu di rak nomor sembilan. Lalu ia pulang.

On Friday, the studio was closed. On Saturday, too. Tala thought about it all weekend. Maybe nothing happened. Maybe the thief laughed at her.

Pada hari Jumat, studio tutup. Hari Sabtu juga. Tala memikirkannya sepanjang akhir pekan. Mungkin tidak terjadi apa-apa. Mungkin si pencuri menertawakannya.

On Monday, the instructor opened the studio early for a special class. Tala was the first one in. She ran to the shelf.

Pada hari Senin, instruktur membuka studio lebih awal untuk kelas khusus. Tala yang pertama masuk. Ia berlari ke rak.

The boat was gone.

Perahu itu sudah tidak ada.

In its place lay another boat, folded from the same white paper. It was smaller than the first. Tala opened it with shaking fingers. The pencil line read, Follow the water.

Sebagai gantinya, tergeletak perahu lain, dilipat dari kertas putih yang sama. Ukurannya lebih kecil daripada yang pertama. Tala membukanya dengan jari gemetar. Tulisan pensilnya berbunyi, Ikuti air.

"Una!" Tala shouted, though Una was not there yet. "Una, come and see!"

"Una!" teriak Tala, meski Una belum datang. "Una, kemari dan lihat!"

Una arrived ten minutes later. She read the note twice. "Water," she said. "The sink?"

Una tiba sepuluh menit kemudian. Ia membaca catatan itu dua kali. "Air," katanya. "Bak cuci?"

"The sink is in here. The note says follow it. Where does the water go?"

"Bak cucinya ada di dalam sini. Catatannya bilang ikuti air itu. Ke mana air itu mengalir?"

They went to the big sink at the back of the studio. A pipe ran from it along the wall. It went out through a small hole. They followed the pipe outside. It led to a narrow stream behind the building. The stream ran past an old stone wall. Then it went into green bushes.

Mereka pergi ke bak cuci besar di bagian belakang studio. Sebuah pipa membentang dari bak itu di sepanjang dinding. Pipa itu keluar lewat lubang kecil. Mereka mengikuti pipa itu ke luar. Pipa itu mengarah ke sebuah sungai sempit di belakang bangunan. Sungai itu mengalir melewati tembok batu tua. Lalu masuk ke semak-semak hijau.

At the edge of the stream, Tala stopped.

Di tepi sungai, Tala berhenti.

On a flat rock, in a shallow pool, sat her blue bowl. It was full of clear water. A tiny bird stood on its edge and drank. Next to it sat the green cup and the yellow bowl. Each held a small paper boat that floated on the water.

Di atas sebuah batu datar, di dalam genangan dangkal, ada mangkuk birunya. Mangkuk itu penuh air jernih. Seekor burung mungil hinggap di tepinya dan minum. Di sebelahnya ada cangkir hijau dan mangkuk kuning. Masing-masing berisi sebuah perahu kertas kecil yang mengapung di atas air.

"They are bird baths," Una whispered.

"Itu tempat mandi burung," bisik Una.

"Someone set them here for the birds." Tala knelt beside the rock. The bowls were clean and bright. The birds did not seem afraid. "Someone who takes care of this place."

"Seseorang menaruhnya di sini untuk burung-burung." Tala berlutut di samping batu itu. Mangkuk-mangkuk itu bersih dan cerah. Burung-burung itu tampak tidak takut. "Seseorang yang menjaga tempat ini."

"But who? The instructor?"

"Tapi siapa? Instruktur?"

"The instructor does not hide things," said Tala.

"Instruktur tidak menyembunyikan barang," kata Tala.

They looked around. There were no other footprints in the mud. Only a small animal left paw prints. Past the thicket, a path led up a little hill. The grass on the path was flat. People walked there often.

Mereka melihat sekeliling. Tidak ada jejak kaki lain di lumpur. Hanya seekor binatang kecil yang meninggalkan jejak cakar. Di balik semak lebat, sebuah jalan setapak menanjak ke bukit kecil. Rumput di jalan setapak itu rata. Orang sering berjalan di sana.

Tala lifted her blue bowl from the water. She turned it over in her hands. On the bottom, below her own mark, was a tiny boat. Someone drew it in pencil. Beside it were two words in a neat, careful hand.

Tala mengangkat mangkuk birunya dari air. Ia membaliknya di tangannya. Di bagian bawah, di bawah tandanya sendiri, ada gambar perahu kecil. Seseorang menggambarnya dengan pensil. Di sampingnya ada dua kata dengan tulisan tangan yang rapi dan teliti.

Thank you.

Terima kasih.

"I do not understand," said Una.

"Aku tidak mengerti," kata Una.

"Neither do I." Tala smiled. "But I am not angry any more."

"Aku juga tidak." Tala tersenyum. "Tapi aku tidak marah lagi."

Una pointed up the path. A light shone in a small window up the hill. A thin line of smoke rose from the roof. The window had a paper boat on it.

Una menunjuk ke atas jalan setapak. Sebuah cahaya bersinar di jendela kecil di atas bukit. Seutas asap tipis membubung dari atap. Di jendela itu ada sebuah perahu kertas.

Tala put the blue bowl gently back on the rock. The birds came back at once.

Tala menaruh mangkuk biru itu pelan-pelan kembali ke atas batu. Burung-burung kembali seketika.

"Do we go up?" asked Una.

"Kita naik?" tanya Una.

Tala looked at the window for a long time. The boat in the window was larger than the others. Along its side, in neat pencil, was her name.

Tala memandang jendela itu lama sekali. Perahu di jendela itu lebih besar daripada yang lain. Di sepanjang sisinya, dengan pensil yang rapi, tertulis namanya.