The Books She Dropped on the Stairs

Selin carries a tall stack of books down the office stairs. On the fourth step, the stack slips. Books fall in every direction.

Selin membawa setumpuk buku tinggi menuruni tangga kantor. Di anak tangga keempat, tumpukan itu tergelincir. Buku-buku berjatuhan ke segala arah.

"Oh no," she says, and kneels down to gather them.

"Aduh," katanya, lalu berlutut untuk memungutinya.

A man on the stairs below stops and turns around. "Let me help," he says. He picks up three books and hands them back to her.

Seorang pria di tangga bawah berhenti dan berbalik. "Biar saya bantu," katanya. Ia mengambil tiga buku dan menyerahkannya kembali kepada Selin.

"Thank you," Selin says. "I always carry too many at once."

"Terima kasih," kata Selin. "Saya selalu membawa terlalu banyak sekaligus."

"I do the same with coffee cups," he says. "My name is Gabriel."

"Saya juga begitu dengan gelas kopi," katanya. "Nama saya Gabriel."

"Selin," she says. "I work on the third floor."

"Selin," katanya. "Saya bekerja di lantai tiga."

"I'm on the fifth," Gabriel says. "I never come down this way. But today I took the stairs instead."

"Saya di lantai lima," kata Gabriel. "Saya tidak pernah lewat sini. Tapi hari ini saya memilih tangga."

They carry the books together to Selin's office door.

Mereka membawa buku-buku itu bersama-sama sampai ke pintu kantor Selin.

"Thanks again," she says. "You saved me a lot of time."

"Sekali lagi terima kasih," katanya. "Anda menghemat banyak waktu saya."

"Anytime," Gabriel says. He starts to walk back toward the stairs, then stops. "Maybe I'll start taking the stairs every day," he says.

"Kapan saja," kata Gabriel. Ia mulai berjalan kembali ke arah tangga, lalu berhenti. "Mungkin saya akan mulai naik tangga setiap hari," katanya.

The next week, Selin sees Gabriel on the stairs again. This time, he carries his own stack of papers. She smiles and holds the door open for him.

Minggu berikutnya, Selin melihat Gabriel di tangga lagi. Kali ini ia membawa setumpuk kertasnya sendiri. Selin tersenyum dan menahan pintu untuknya.

"Let's start a stair club," she jokes.

"Ayo kita bentuk klub tangga," canda Selin.

Gabriel laughs. "I'm in," he says, and they walk down together.

Gabriel tertawa. "Saya ikut," katanya, dan mereka turun bersama.