The Brush with Three Hairs

On the day of the Lantern Festival, the workshop smelled of glue and warm paper. Lars sat at the long table with a pot of ink and a stack of plain lanterns. Across from him, Yusra painted silver stars on a blue one without looking up.

Pada hari Festival Lentera, bengkel itu berbau lem dan kertas hangat. Lars duduk di meja panjang dengan sebuah pot tinta dan setumpuk lentera polos. Di seberangnya, Yusra melukis bintang-bintang perak di atas lentera biru tanpa mengangkat kepala.

They had painted since sunrise. The master had left early for the harbour, where the great festival lantern needed hanging. Before he went, he put a list on the wall. It said that one hundred and twenty small lanterns must be ready by dusk.

Mereka sudah melukis sejak matahari terbit. Sang guru pergi pagi-pagi ke pelabuhan, tempat lentera festival yang besar harus digantung. Sebelum pergi, ia menempelkan sebuah daftar di dinding. Isinya, seratus dua puluh lentera kecil harus siap menjelang senja.

"How many have we finished?" Lars asked.

"Sudah berapa yang selesai?" tanya Lars.

"Eighty-one," Yusra said. "I counted twice. Do not ask me again."

"Delapan puluh satu," kata Yusra. "Aku sudah menghitung dua kali. Jangan tanya lagi."

Lars sighed and painted another moon. It was his fortieth moon of the day, and it looked exactly like the other thirty-nine. His wrist hurt, and his brush was falling apart. The tip had split into three loose bits, and the ink ran in lines instead of curves.

Lars menghela napas dan melukis satu bulan lagi. Itu bulan keempat puluhnya hari ini, dan tampak persis seperti tiga puluh sembilan lainnya. Pergelangan tangannya sakit, dan kuasnya mulai rusak. Ujungnya terbelah menjadi tiga bagian yang lepas, dan tinta mengalir dalam garis-garis, bukan lengkungan.

"I need a new brush," he said.

"Aku butuh kuas baru," katanya.

"The spare ones are in the old jar by the window," Yusra said. "Take the best one."

"Kuas cadangan ada di toples tua dekat jendela," kata Yusra. "Ambil yang terbaik."

Lars walked across the room and tipped the jar over his hand. Dusty brushes fell out. Most had bent handles or hard, dry tips. At the very bottom lay a thin brush of dark wood. It was so light that he almost missed it.

Lars berjalan melintasi ruangan dan menuangkan isi toples itu ke tangannya. Kuas-kuas berdebu berjatuhan. Kebanyakan bergagang bengkok atau berujung keras dan kering. Di dasar sekali tergeletak sebuah kuas tipis dari kayu gelap. Kuas itu begitu ringan sampai ia nyaris tidak melihatnya.

He held it up to the window. It had only three hairs. One was silver, one was gold, and one was black as a crow's feather.

Ia mengangkatnya ke arah jendela. Kuas itu hanya punya tiga helai bulu. Satu perak, satu emas, dan satu hitam seperti bulu burung gagak.

"That is not a brush," Yusra said. "That is a joke."

"Itu bukan kuas," kata Yusra. "Itu lelucon."

"Maybe. But it is thin enough for small work." Lars dipped it in the ink and tried it on a spoiled lantern. The paper had a crack. He painted a little fish with a curved tail, and he gave it one round eye.

"Mungkin. Tapi cukup tipis untuk pekerjaan kecil." Lars mencelupkannya ke dalam tinta dan mencobanya di atas sebuah lentera yang rusak. Kertasnya retak. Ia melukis seekor ikan kecil dengan ekor melengkung, dan memberinya satu mata bundar.

The ink was still wet when the fish moved.

Tinta itu masih basah ketika ikan itu bergerak.

It happened slowly. First the tail twitched. Then the whole fish pulled away from the paper, shining, and hung in the air above the table. It was as small as his thumb. It turned once in a circle and looked at him with its round eye. Then it swam towards Yusra's nose.

Itu terjadi perlahan. Mula-mula ekornya berkedut. Lalu seluruh ikan itu terlepas dari kertas, berkilau, dan melayang di udara di atas meja. Ukurannya sebesar jempolnya. Ikan itu berputar sekali dan memandangnya dengan mata bundarnya. Lalu ia berenang ke arah hidung Yusra.

Yusra dropped her brush.

Yusra menjatuhkan kuasnya.

"Lars," she whispered. "Did you do that?"

"Lars," bisiknya. "Kamu yang melakukan itu?"

"I only painted it," he said. His voice shook. "I did not know it would do that."

"Aku cuma melukisnya," katanya. Suaranya bergetar. "Aku tidak tahu dia akan begitu."

The fish flew a lazy circle around the lamp above them. Then it landed on the edge of the ink pot. It looked quite happy. Neither of them dared to breathe.

Ikan itu terbang berputar malas mengelilingi lampu di atas mereka. Lalu ia hinggap di tepi pot tinta. Ia tampak cukup senang. Keduanya tidak berani bernapas.

"Try again," Yusra said at last. "But try something small."

"Coba lagi," kata Yusra akhirnya. "Tapi coba sesuatu yang kecil."

Lars chose a spare lantern and used only the silver hair. He drew a simple line, a short curve that might be a lamp. The line began to glow, as soft and white as the moon. When he touched the paper, it was cool.

Lars memilih sebuah lentera cadangan dan hanya memakai bulu perak. Ia menggambar sebuah garis sederhana, lengkung pendek yang mungkin sebuah lampu. Garis itu mulai bersinar, selembut dan seputih bulan. Ketika ia menyentuh kertasnya, terasa sejuk.

"That one gives light," Yusra said. She took the brush from him and tried the gold hair on a leaf. The leaf turned green and warm, and it curled its stem around her finger like a tiny hand.

"Yang itu memberi cahaya," kata Yusra. Ia mengambil kuas itu darinya dan mencoba bulu emas pada sehelai daun. Daun itu berubah hijau dan hangat, dan melingkarkan tangkainya di jarinya seperti tangan mungil.

"The gold one gives life," she said, laughing. "And the black one?"

"Yang emas memberi kehidupan," katanya sambil tertawa. "Lalu yang hitam?"

"I am not sure I want to know."

"Aku tidak yakin aku ingin tahu."

But she dipped the black hair anyway, and she drew a short, dark line on the wall. At once a shadow came away from the paint. It was a mouse's shadow, small and fast. It ran along the floor and vanished under the door.

Tetapi ia tetap mencelupkan bulu hitam itu, dan menggambar garis pendek berwarna gelap di dinding. Seketika sebuah bayangan terlepas dari cat itu. Itu bayangan seekor tikus, kecil dan cepat. Bayangan itu berlari di sepanjang lantai dan lenyap di bawah pintu.

"Well," said Yusra. "The black one is for shadows."

"Nah," kata Yusra. "Yang hitam untuk bayangan."

For a few minutes they forgot the festival. They painted tiny stars that floated, and a moth that carried its own light. The room filled with soft, moving colours. Lars had never been so happy.

Selama beberapa menit mereka melupakan festival. Mereka melukis bintang-bintang mungil yang melayang, dan seekor ngengat yang membawa cahayanya sendiri. Ruangan itu dipenuhi warna-warna lembut yang bergerak. Lars belum pernah sebahagia itu.

Then he looked at the wall. The list was still there, and the sun was lower than before.

Lalu ia memandang dinding. Daftar itu masih ada di sana, dan matahari lebih rendah daripada sebelumnya.

"We have thirty-nine lanterns left," he said. "And no time."

"Kita masih punya tiga puluh sembilan lentera," katanya. "Dan tidak ada waktu."

"And the fish is gone."

"Dan ikannya hilang."

He turned. The little fish was no longer on the ink pot. The window stood open, and a cool breeze moved the curtain. Far away, over the roofs, a spark of silver was flying towards the harbour.

Ia berbalik. Ikan kecil itu tidak lagi ada di pot tinta. Jendela terbuka, dan angin sejuk menggerakkan tirai. Jauh di sana, di atas atap-atap, sebuah percikan perak terbang menuju pelabuhan.

"Oh, no," Lars said. "The master will see it. He will want to know what we did."

"Aduh," kata Lars. "Guru akan melihatnya. Dia akan ingin tahu apa yang kita lakukan."

"If it follows the lanterns, it will go to the festival." Yusra was already pulling a wooden cart from the corner. "We cannot leave it. Somebody might catch it and break it."

"Kalau dia mengikuti lentera-lentera itu, dia akan pergi ke festival." Yusra sudah menarik sebuah gerobak kayu dari sudut. "Kita tidak boleh membiarkannya. Seseorang mungkin menangkapnya dan merusaknya."

"And the thirty-nine lanterns?"

"Lalu tiga puluh sembilan lentera itu?"

"We take them with us. We can paint on the cart."

"Kita bawa. Kita bisa melukis di atas gerobak."

They loaded the lanterns into boxes and ran down the hill, with the cart bumping over the cobbles. The streets were full of people hanging ribbons, and nobody noticed two apprentices running past. Lars held the three-haired brush tightly in his fist. It felt warm.

Mereka memasukkan lentera-lentera itu ke dalam kotak-kotak dan berlari menuruni bukit, dengan gerobak terguncang di atas jalan berbatu. Jalanan penuh orang yang memasang pita, dan tidak ada yang memperhatikan dua murid magang berlari melintas. Lars menggenggam erat kuas bertiga helai itu. Rasanya hangat.

At the harbour, a crowd had gathered under the great lantern. It was ten metres tall, and it hung from a tall wooden frame above the water. It was supposed to shine first, at dusk, and light all the others.

Di pelabuhan, kerumunan telah berkumpul di bawah lentera besar. Tingginya sepuluh meter, dan tergantung pada rangka kayu tinggi di atas air. Lentera itu seharusnya menyala lebih dulu, saat senja, dan menyalakan semua yang lain.

But a long, ugly tear ran across one side. A gull had flown into it, and the paper hung open like a torn sail.

Tetapi sebuah robekan panjang yang buruk membentang di salah satu sisinya. Seekor camar telah menabraknya, dan kertasnya menggantung terbuka seperti layar robek.

The master stood below with his hands on his head. "It will never be repaired in time," he said to the people near him. "The paper is too thin to patch. Without the great lantern, we cannot start."

Sang guru berdiri di bawahnya dengan tangan di atas kepala. "Ini tidak akan sempat diperbaiki," katanya kepada orang-orang di dekatnya. "Kertasnya terlalu tipis untuk ditambal. Tanpa lentera besar, kita tidak bisa memulai."

On top of the frame, a tiny silver fish swam around the hole. It looked as if it wanted to help.

Di puncak rangka, seekor ikan perak mungil berenang mengelilingi lubang itu. Ia tampak seperti ingin membantu.

"There," Yusra said quietly. "That is where it went."

"Nah," kata Yusra pelan. "Ke situ dia pergi."

Lars pushed through the crowd. His heart was beating hard. He did not stop to ask for permission, because he did not think he would get it. He climbed the ladder, one step at a time, with the brush between his teeth. At the top, he could feel the heat of the sun on the paper.

Lars menerobos kerumunan. Jantungnya berdebar keras. Ia tidak berhenti untuk meminta izin, karena ia tidak mengira akan diberi izin. Ia memanjat tangga, selangkah demi selangkah, dengan kuas di antara giginya. Di puncak, ia bisa merasakan panas matahari pada kertas itu.

He dipped the silver hair into a small pot of ink that hung from his belt. Then he drew a moon on the torn paper. It was a big, round, simple moon, like the forty he had painted that morning.

Ia mencelupkan bulu perak ke dalam pot kecil tinta yang tergantung di sabuknya. Lalu ia menggambar sebuah bulan di atas kertas yang robek itu. Sebuah bulan besar, bundar, dan sederhana, seperti keempat puluh bulan yang ia lukis pagi tadi.

For a second, nothing happened. The crowd below was quiet, and he thought he had made a mistake.

Sesaat, tidak terjadi apa-apa. Kerumunan di bawah diam, dan ia mengira ia telah membuat kesalahan.

Then the moon began to glow. The light spread through the paper from the edge of the tear. The hole closed like a mouth. The whole lantern lit up white and gold, so brightly that the water below shone like glass.

Lalu bulan itu mulai bersinar. Cahayanya menyebar melalui kertas dari tepi robekan. Lubang itu menutup seperti mulut. Seluruh lentera menyala putih dan keemasan, begitu terang sampai air di bawahnya berkilau seperti kaca.

The crowd cheered. The little fish dived into the light, circled twice, and became a part of the moon. Somewhere on the quay, a band began to play.

Kerumunan bersorak. Ikan kecil itu menyelam ke dalam cahaya, berputar dua kali, dan menjadi bagian dari bulan itu. Di suatu tempat di dermaga, sebuah band mulai bermain.

When Lars climbed down, the master was waiting. His face was very serious. He looked at the brush, then at Lars, then at the lantern.

Ketika Lars turun, sang guru sudah menunggu. Wajahnya sangat serius. Ia memandang kuas itu, lalu Lars, lalu lentera.

"Where did you find that?" he asked.

"Di mana kamu menemukannya?" tanyanya.

"In the old jar," Lars said. "I am sorry. I should have asked."

"Di toples tua," kata Lars. "Maafkan saya. Seharusnya saya bertanya dulu."

The master looked at him for a long moment. Then his mouth moved, and it turned into a wide smile. "That jar has been there for thirty years," he said. "I always wondered who would be brave enough to look at the bottom."

Sang guru memandangnya lama sekali. Lalu mulutnya bergerak, dan berubah menjadi senyum lebar. "Toples itu sudah ada di sana selama tiga puluh tahun," katanya. "Aku selalu bertanya-tanya siapa yang cukup berani untuk melihat sampai ke dasarnya."

Yusra grinned and pointed back at the hill. "Lars, how many lanterns do we still have to paint?" she asked.

Yusra menyeringai dan menunjuk kembali ke bukit. "Lars, berapa lentera lagi yang harus kita lukis?" tanyanya.

"Thirty-nine."

"Tiga puluh sembilan."

"Then tell the fish to help."

"Kalau begitu suruh ikan itu membantu."