The Case on Shelf Nine

The bag room of the bus station is quiet at night. Olwen likes it that way. She sits behind the long counter and counts bags. The station has twelve gates, and all of them are dark.

Ruang penitipan tas di terminal bus itu sunyi pada malam hari. Olwen menyukainya begitu. Ia duduk di balik meja panjang dan menghitung tas. Terminal itu punya dua belas gerbang, dan semuanya gelap.

There are four hundred shelves. Each one holds a suitcase, a box or a sleeping bag. Every item has a paper ticket with a number.

Ada empat ratus rak. Setiap rak berisi sebuah koper, kardus, atau kantong tidur. Setiap barang punya karcis kertas bernomor.

Shelf nine is different. It has no ticket. A long brass case lies on it. A card hangs from the handle. The card says, "Aim at the star that waits."

Rak sembilan berbeda. Rak itu tidak punya karcis. Sebuah peti kuningan panjang tergeletak di atasnya. Selembar kartu menggantung di gagangnya. Kartu itu berbunyi, "Arahkan pada bintang yang menunggu."

Olwen found the case on her first night, six years ago. She opened it. Inside lay a telescope. It was small and heavy and cold. It pointed up at the glass roof.

Olwen menemukan peti itu pada malam pertamanya, enam tahun lalu. Ia membukanya. Di dalamnya terbaring sebuah teleskop. Teleskop itu kecil, berat, dan dingin. Ujungnya menunjuk ke atas, ke atap kaca.

Olwen put her eye to the small glass. She saw a very small star. It was not bright. It was not near the moon. It looked like a grain of salt on a black plate.

Olwen menempelkan matanya ke kaca kecil itu. Ia melihat sebuah bintang yang sangat kecil. Bintang itu tidak terang. Letaknya tidak dekat bulan. Bintang itu tampak seperti sebutir garam di atas piring hitam.

She checked her star chart, and the star was not on it. The chart showed a bright star close by. The telescope pointed away from it, at the wrong one.

Ia memeriksa peta bintangnya, dan bintang itu tidak ada di sana. Peta itu menunjukkan sebuah bintang terang di dekatnya. Teleskop itu menunjuk menjauh dari bintang tersebut, ke bintang yang salah.

Olwen turned the tube. The bright star slid into view for a second. Then the tube swung back slowly, like a hand. She let go, and it stayed on the grain of salt.

Olwen memutar tabungnya. Bintang terang itu meluncur ke dalam pandangan sesaat. Lalu tabung itu berayun kembali perlahan, seperti sebuah tangan. Ia melepaskannya, dan tabung itu tetap mengarah pada sebutir garam tadi.

"Strange," she said to the empty room. Then she closed the case and went back to the counter. She told nobody. Nobody asked about shelf nine.

"Aneh," katanya kepada ruangan kosong. Lalu ia menutup peti itu dan kembali ke meja. Ia tidak memberi tahu siapa pun. Tidak ada yang pernah bertanya tentang rak sembilan.

Tonight is different. At two o'clock, a bus driver comes in. He is tall and tired, and his coat smells of oil. He puts his lunch box on the counter. He wants to leave it for an hour.

Malam ini berbeda. Pukul dua, seorang sopir bus masuk. Ia tinggi dan tampak lelah, dan mantelnya berbau oli. Ia meletakkan kotak bekalnya di meja. Ia ingin menitipkannya selama satu jam.

"What is in that case?" he asks. He points at shelf nine.

"Apa isi peti itu?" tanyanya. Ia menunjuk rak sembilan.

"A telescope."

"Sebuah teleskop."

"Can I look?"

"Boleh saya lihat?"

Olwen waits. Then she shrugs. "Be careful. It is old."

Olwen menunggu. Lalu ia mengangkat bahu. "Hati-hati. Itu sudah tua."

The driver lifts the tube and puts it to his eye. He turns it left. He turns it right. He frowns.

Sopir itu mengangkat tabungnya dan menempelkannya ke mata. Ia memutarnya ke kiri. Ia memutarnya ke kanan. Ia mengerutkan dahi.

"I want to see the bright one," he says. "My wife says it is a lucky star."

"Saya ingin melihat yang terang itu," katanya. "Istri saya bilang itu bintang keberuntungan."

"Then turn it to the bright one."

"Kalau begitu arahkan saja ke yang terang."

"I try. It does not stay." He tries again. The tube swings back by itself. "It is broken."

"Sudah saya coba. Tidak mau bertahan." Ia mencoba lagi. Tabung itu berayun kembali dengan sendirinya. "Ini rusak."

"Maybe."

"Mungkin."

The driver holds out the telescope. He looks at the clock. "I have to go. Someone else can try."

Sopir itu mengulurkan teleskop tersebut. Ia melihat jam. "Saya harus pergi. Biar orang lain yang mencoba."

A young man sits on the bench near the counter. He has a folder on his knees. He reads the same page again and again. He looks up.

Seorang pemuda duduk di bangku dekat meja. Ia memangku sebuah map. Ia membaca halaman yang sama berulang kali. Ia mendongak.

"Can I try?" he says.

"Boleh saya coba?" katanya.

The driver hands him the telescope. "It does not work."

Sopir itu menyerahkan teleskop kepadanya. "Ini tidak berfungsi."

The young man holds the tube in both hands. He looks. His shoulders go down.

Pemuda itu memegang tabung dengan kedua tangan. Ia melihat. Bahunya merosot.

"I only see a small gray dot," he says. "I want a star with a name. A strong one. I have a job interview at nine tomorrow. I need luck."

"Saya hanya melihat titik kecil keabu-abuan," katanya. "Saya ingin bintang yang punya nama. Yang kuat. Besok pukul sembilan saya ada wawancara kerja. Saya butuh keberuntungan."

He pushes the tube toward the bright star. It slides back. He pushes harder, and it slides back again.

Ia mendorong tabung itu ke arah bintang terang. Tabung itu meluncur kembali. Ia mendorong lebih keras, dan tabung itu meluncur kembali lagi.

"Useless," he says. He is not angry. He only sounds tired. "Here."

"Percuma," katanya. Ia tidak marah. Suaranya hanya terdengar lelah. "Ini."

He gives the telescope to a woman who walks past the bench. She has a mop. She cleans the floor of the station every night. Her cart is old and loud.

Ia memberikan teleskop itu kepada seorang perempuan yang lewat di dekat bangku. Perempuan itu membawa pel. Setiap malam ia membersihkan lantai terminal. Keretanya sudah tua dan berisik.

"Oh, I do not need that," she says. But she takes it anyway. She holds it up to the glass roof.

"Oh, saya tidak butuh itu," katanya. Tetapi ia menerimanya juga. Ia mengangkatnya ke arah atap kaca.

She looks for a long time. Her lips move, and Olwen cannot hear the words.

Ia memandang lama sekali. Bibirnya bergerak, dan Olwen tidak bisa mendengar kata-katanya.

"The star is too small," the woman says at last. "I wish it was bigger. I wish it was gold."

"Bintangnya terlalu kecil," kata perempuan itu akhirnya. "Andai bintang itu lebih besar. Andai warnanya keemasan."

She hands the telescope back to Olwen. Then she goes on with her mop. The driver takes his lunch box and leaves. The young man follows him out.

Ia menyerahkan teleskop itu kembali kepada Olwen. Lalu ia melanjutkan mengepel. Sopir itu mengambil kotak bekalnya dan pergi. Pemuda itu menyusulnya keluar.

Olwen sits for a while with the tube across her knees. Three people look through it tonight. Each one wants something bright. Each one gets only a grain of salt.

Olwen duduk sejenak dengan tabung terbaring di pangkuannya. Tiga orang telah melihat melaluinya malam ini. Masing-masing menginginkan sesuatu yang terang. Masing-masing hanya mendapat sebutir garam.

"Maybe nobody wants you," she says to the telescope. "Maybe you wait for the wrong person."

"Mungkin tidak ada yang menginginkanmu," katanya kepada teleskop itu. "Mungkin kamu menunggu orang yang salah."

The telescope does not answer. It only points at the roof.

Teleskop itu tidak menjawab. Ia hanya menunjuk ke atap.

At half past five, the sky begins to turn pale. The first buses leave. The doors of the station open and close. Olwen puts the telescope back in its case. She sets the case on shelf nine.

Pukul setengah enam, langit mulai memucat. Bus-bus pertama berangkat. Pintu-pintu terminal terbuka dan menutup. Olwen memasukkan teleskop kembali ke dalam petinya. Ia meletakkan peti itu di rak sembilan.

Then the street door opens, and a woman steps into the room.

Lalu pintu jalan terbuka, dan seorang perempuan melangkah masuk ke ruangan.

She is about Olwen's age. She wears a green coat. She has no bag and no ticket. She stands by the door for a moment. She seems unsure about the room.

Usianya sebaya dengan Olwen. Ia mengenakan mantel hijau. Ia tidak membawa tas dan tidak punya karcis. Ia berdiri di dekat pintu sejenak. Ia tampak ragu terhadap ruangan itu.

"Good morning," says Olwen. "Can I help you?"

"Selamat pagi," kata Olwen. "Ada yang bisa saya bantu?"

"My name is Dasha." The woman looks around. "I think I left something here. I do not know when."

"Nama saya Dasha." Perempuan itu memandang berkeliling. "Rasanya saya meninggalkan sesuatu di sini. Saya tidak tahu kapan."

"What is it?"

"Apa itu?"

"I do not know either." Dasha smiles. It is a shy smile. "But I think I will know it when I see it."

"Saya juga tidak tahu." Dasha tersenyum. Senyum yang malu-malu. "Tapi saya rasa saya akan tahu begitu melihatnya."

She walks past the counter. She walks past the first shelf and the second. She does not look at the numbers. At shelf nine, she stops.

Ia berjalan melewati meja. Ia melewati rak pertama dan rak kedua. Ia tidak melihat nomor-nomornya. Di rak sembilan, ia berhenti.

"There," says Dasha.

"Di situ," kata Dasha.

Olwen's heart beats fast. She lifts the brass case from the shelf. Dasha opens it with careful fingers.

Jantung Olwen berdetak kencang. Ia mengangkat peti kuningan itu dari rak. Dasha membukanya dengan jari-jari yang hati-hati.

"A telescope," she says. "It is a good one."

"Sebuah teleskop," katanya. "Bagus sekali."

"It points at the wrong star," says Olwen. "Three people try it tonight. They all want the bright one."

"Teleskop ini menunjuk bintang yang salah," kata Olwen. "Tiga orang mencobanya malam ini. Mereka semua menginginkan yang terang."

"The bright one?" Dasha laughs softly. "Everyone wants that one."

"Yang terang?" Dasha tertawa pelan. "Semua orang menginginkan yang itu."

She does not turn the tube. She does not even try to move it. She lifts the small glass to her eye. She looks up at the glass roof.

Ia tidak memutar tabungnya. Ia bahkan tidak mencoba menggesernya. Ia mengangkat kaca kecil itu ke matanya. Ia memandang ke atap kaca di atasnya.

For a long moment, the room is silent. Olwen hears the clock on the wall. She hears a bus engine far outside.

Untuk waktu yang lama, ruangan itu hening. Olwen mendengar jam di dinding. Ia mendengar mesin bus jauh di luar sana.

"Oh," Dasha says. "There you are."

"Oh," kata Dasha. "Di situ kamu rupanya."

"Which star is it?"

"Bintang yang mana?"

"The one nobody picks." Dasha does not take her eye from the glass. "It is small and it is plain. I always look at that one. It never asks for anything."

"Yang tidak dipilih siapa pun." Dasha tidak mengalihkan matanya dari kaca itu. "Kecil dan sederhana. Aku selalu memandang yang itu. Ia tidak pernah meminta apa-apa."

Then something happens. Olwen sees it from the counter. A small point of light blinks in the glass roof above them. It blinks once, and then once again.

Lalu sesuatu terjadi. Olwen melihatnya dari balik meja. Sebuah titik cahaya kecil berkedip di atap kaca di atas mereka. Ia berkedip sekali, lalu sekali lagi.

Dasha lowers the telescope. Her eyes are wet, but she smiles.

Dasha menurunkan teleskop itu. Matanya basah, tetapi ia tersenyum.

"Thank you for keeping it," she says. She closes the case and holds it against her coat.

"Terima kasih sudah menjaganya," katanya. Ia menutup peti itu dan mendekapnya ke mantelnya.

"Wait," Olwen says. "How do you know it is yours?"

"Tunggu," kata Olwen. "Bagaimana Anda tahu itu milik Anda?"

Dasha looks at her for a long time. She does not answer. She nods at the street door.

Dasha menatapnya lama. Ia tidak menjawab. Ia mengangguk ke arah pintu jalan.

Outside, at gate nine, a bus waits with its lights off. Olwen does not know the bus. It has no number on the front. Its doors are open, and the inside is dark and warm.

Di luar, di gerbang sembilan, sebuah bus menunggu dengan lampu mati. Olwen tidak mengenal bus itu. Tidak ada nomor di bagian depannya. Pintunya terbuka, dan bagian dalamnya gelap dan hangat.

Dasha walks out with the case. Olwen watches the doors close.

Dasha berjalan keluar membawa peti itu. Olwen menyaksikan pintu-pintu itu menutup.