The Clock That Runs Fast

Odalys had been living in the small town for exactly nine days when she first noticed the clock above the town hall was wrong. It read four minutes fast, consistently, every single time she checked it against her phone.

Odalys baru sembilan hari tinggal di kota kecil itu ketika ia pertama kali menyadari jam di atas balai kota salah. Jam itu menunjukkan empat menit lebih cepat, secara konsisten, setiap kali ia mencocokkannya dengan ponselnya.

She mentioned it to a coworker, expecting a shrug or a quick joke about small-town maintenance budgets. Instead, the woman looked at her strangely, as if Odalys had asked something she wasn't supposed to ask.

Ia menyinggungnya kepada seorang rekan kerja, mengira akan mendapat angkat bahu atau lelucon cepat soal anggaran perawatan kota kecil. Sebaliknya, perempuan itu menatapnya dengan aneh, seolah Odalys menanyakan sesuatu yang tak boleh ditanyakan.

"It's always been four minutes fast," the coworker said. "Nobody fixes that clock. Ask Emeric at the hardware store, if you're really curious."

"Jam itu memang selalu lebih cepat empat menit," kata rekannya. "Tidak ada yang memperbaikinya. Tanya saja Emeric di toko perkakas, kalau kamu benar-benar penasaran."

Odalys, still new enough to feel awkward walking into unfamiliar shops, went anyway during her lunch break. Emeric turned out to be an elderly man who had been repairing the town's clocks, on and off, for nearly fifty years.

Odalys, yang masih cukup baru untuk merasa canggung memasuki toko-toko asing, tetap pergi saat jam istirahat makan siangnya. Emeric ternyata seorang pria tua yang sudah hampir lima puluh tahun memperbaiki jam-jam kota itu, sesekali.

"That clock has run four minutes fast since 1974," Emeric told her, barely looking up from the drawer he was sorting. "It was set that way on purpose, and it's stayed that way ever since."

"Jam itu sudah lebih cepat empat menit sejak 1974," kata Emeric tanpa nyaris menoleh dari laci yang sedang ia rapikan. "Dibuat begitu dengan sengaja, dan tetap begitu sampai sekarang."

He explained that in 1974, a fire had broken out at the shoe factory that used to stand where the parking lot was now. The factory's warning siren had been slightly delayed that morning, and four minutes had made the difference between a frightening evacuation and a fatal one.

Ia menjelaskan bahwa pada 1974, kebakaran pecah di pabrik sepatu yang dulu berdiri di tempat lahan parkir sekarang. Sirene peringatan pabrik itu terlambat sedikit pagi itu, dan empat menit menjadi pembeda antara evakuasi yang menakutkan dan yang berakibat maut.

Afterward, the council had voted to set the courthouse clock four minutes fast, a permanent reminder never to assume there was time to spare. "If the clock ran on time," Emeric said, "it would just be a clock like any other one in any other town."

Setelahnya, dewan kota memutuskan menyetel jam gedung pengadilan empat menit lebih cepat, pengingat permanen agar tak pernah mengira masih ada waktu tersisa. "Kalau jamnya tepat waktu," kata Emeric, "ia hanya akan jadi jam biasa seperti jam lain di kota mana pun."

Whoever had set it that way, he added, must have wanted the whole town to remember, not just the people who had lived through it.

Siapa pun yang menyetelnya begitu, tambahnya, pasti ingin seluruh kota mengingat, bukan hanya mereka yang mengalaminya.

"Most people who ask about it have lived here for years," he said, finally looking up at her. "You've been here nine days."

"Kebanyakan orang yang bertanya soal itu sudah tinggal di sini bertahun-tahun," katanya, akhirnya menatapnya. "Kamu baru sembilan hari di sini."

Odalys hadn't expected an answer with this much weight behind it, and she said so. Emeric shrugged and handed her a spare part he had been meaning to drop off at the hall anyway.

Odalys tak menyangka jawabannya memuat bobot sebesar ini, dan ia mengatakannya. Emeric mengangkat bahu dan menyerahkan sebuah suku cadang yang memang sedang hendak ia antarkan ke balai kota.

"Come by Saturday," he said. "We wind the church clock together every week. Might as well learn how it's done."

"Datanglah hari Sabtu," katanya. "Kami memutar jam gereja bersama-sama setiap minggu. Sekalian belajar caranya."