The Box Under the Bridge

Every Sunday, Fabian walks along the river. He takes the same path and sees the same ducks. He likes it because nothing changes.

Setiap hari Minggu, Fabian berjalan menyusuri sungai. Dia melewati jalur yang sama dan melihat bebek-bebek yang sama. Dia menyukainya karena tidak ada yang berubah.

Today, something is different. A girl in a yellow coat stands under the bridge. She looks at the wall. Then she looks at her phone. Then she looks at the wall again.

Hari ini ada yang berbeda. Seorang gadis berjaket kuning berdiri di bawah jembatan. Dia menatap dinding. Lalu dia menatap ponselnya. Lalu dia menatap dinding lagi.

Fabian stops. "Are you lost?" he asks.

Fabian berhenti. "Kamu tersesat?" tanyanya.

"No," says the girl. "I look for something."

"Tidak," kata gadis itu. "Aku sedang mencari sesuatu."

"What is it?"

"Apa itu?"

"I do not know," she says. "That is the fun part. My phone says it is here, under this bridge. Within ten steps."

"Aku tidak tahu," katanya. "Justru itu serunya. Kata ponselku, benda itu ada di sini, di bawah jembatan ini. Dalam jarak sepuluh langkah."

Fabian looks at the wall and the ground. He sees stones, leaves, and a bottle. Nothing is special. "It is only a bridge," he says.

Fabian memandang dinding dan tanah. Dia melihat batu, daun, dan sebuah botol. Tidak ada yang istimewa. "Ini cuma jembatan," katanya.

"Then help me look," says the girl. Her name is Gita. She says it is a game. People hide small boxes in many places. Other people find them with their phones.

"Kalau begitu bantu aku mencari," kata gadis itu. Namanya Gita. Dia bilang ini sebuah permainan. Orang-orang menyembunyikan kotak kecil di berbagai tempat. Orang lain menemukannya dengan ponsel mereka.

Fabian is not sure. He thinks about his Sunday plan. It is a short one: walk, sit, go home. But he has nothing to do. And the girl is kind. "Okay," he says. "Where do I look?"

Fabian ragu. Dia memikirkan rencana hari Minggunya. Rencananya singkat saja: berjalan, duduk, pulang. Tapi dia tidak punya kegiatan lain. Dan gadis itu ramah. "Baiklah," katanya. "Aku mencari di mana?"

"Look for something that is not right," says Gita. "Something that does not belong."

"Cari sesuatu yang tidak pada tempatnya," kata Gita. "Sesuatu yang tidak seharusnya ada di sini."

Fabian walks slowly under the bridge. The air is cool and smells of wet stone. He looks at the wall, low and high. Every stone looks the same. Then he sees one stone. It is a little too clean.

Fabian berjalan pelan di bawah jembatan. Udaranya sejuk dan berbau batu basah. Dia mengamati dinding, dari bawah sampai atas. Semua batu tampak sama. Lalu dia melihat satu batu. Batu itu terlalu bersih.

He puts his hand on it. It moves.

Dia meletakkan tangannya di batu itu. Batu itu bergeser.

"Gita!" he says. "Come here."

"Gita!" katanya. "Kemari."

The stone is not a stone. It is a gray plastic cover. Behind it there is a small hole in the wall. Fabian puts his hand inside. He pulls out a metal box. It is about the size of a loaf of bread.

Batu itu bukan batu. Itu penutup plastik abu-abu. Di baliknya ada lubang kecil di dinding. Fabian memasukkan tangannya ke dalam. Dia menarik keluar sebuah kotak logam. Ukurannya kira-kira sebesar sebuah roti tawar.

Gita shouts with joy. They sit on the ground and open the box together. Inside, there is a notebook and a pencil. There is also a tiny plastic duck.

Gita berteriak gembira. Mereka duduk di tanah dan membuka kotak itu bersama-sama. Di dalamnya ada sebuah buku catatan dan sebatang pensil. Ada juga bebek plastik mungil.

Fabian opens the notebook. Many names are written on the pages. Some names have dates, and some have pictures. A child draws a house. A man writes, "Found it in the rain!" Somebody writes in another language, and he cannot read it.

Fabian membuka buku catatan itu. Banyak nama tertulis di halaman-halamannya. Beberapa nama disertai tanggal, dan beberapa disertai gambar. Seorang anak menggambar sebuah rumah. Seorang pria menulis, "Ketemu waktu hujan!" Seseorang menulis dalam bahasa lain, dan Fabian tidak bisa membacanya.

"Who are all these people?" he asks.

"Siapa saja orang-orang ini?" tanyanya.

"Walkers," says Gita. "Like us. Everyone who finds the box writes their name. The first note is from five years ago."

"Para pejalan," kata Gita. "Seperti kita. Setiap orang yang menemukan kotak ini menulis namanya. Catatan pertama dibuat lima tahun lalu."

Fabian reads the first page. A person wrote: "Hello, finder. I hope your day is good. Please put the box back."

Fabian membaca halaman pertama. Seseorang menulis: "Halo, Penemu. Semoga harimu menyenangkan. Tolong kembalikan kotaknya."

He smiles. All these people came to this same bridge. They looked at the same wall. And he walked here every Sunday and never knew.

Dia tersenyum. Semua orang ini datang ke jembatan yang sama. Mereka memandang dinding yang sama. Dan dia berjalan di sini setiap hari Minggu tanpa pernah tahu.

Gita writes her name and today's date. She gives the pencil to Fabian. He writes slowly: Fabian, Sunday, the ducks are still here.

Gita menulis namanya dan tanggal hari ini. Dia memberikan pensil itu kepada Fabian. Fabian menulis pelan-pelan: Fabian, hari Minggu, bebek-bebeknya masih di sini.

"Do we take something?" he asks.

"Boleh kita ambil sesuatu?" tanyanya.

"If you take something, you leave something," says Gita.

"Kalau kamu mengambil sesuatu, kamu harus meninggalkan sesuatu," kata Gita.

Fabian thinks. In his pocket there is a small blue button. He puts it in the box. He takes the tiny duck. Then he puts the box back in the hole. He closes the gray cover.

Fabian berpikir. Di sakunya ada sebuah kancing biru kecil. Dia menaruhnya di dalam kotak. Dia mengambil bebek mungil itu. Lalu dia mengembalikan kotak ke dalam lubang. Dia menutup penutup abu-abu itu.

"Next Sunday," says Gita, "I show you another one."

"Minggu depan," kata Gita, "aku tunjukkan satu lagi."

Fabian looks at the path along the river. It looks different now. "Which way?" he asks.

Fabian memandang jalur di sepanjang sungai. Sekarang jalur itu tampak berbeda. "Lewat mana?" tanyanya.