The Cord Down the Stairwell

The lift in the block stopped between the third and fourth floors at five o'clock. It gave one long groan, and then it was silent.

Lift di gedung apartemen itu berhenti di antara lantai tiga dan empat pada pukul lima sore. Lift itu mengeluarkan satu erangan panjang, lalu senyap.

Ansel, the caretaker, heard the groan from his office in the basement. He sighed, picked up his keys and called the repair company. A weary voice told him that an engineer would come in the morning.

Ansel, si penjaga gedung, mendengar erangan itu dari kantornya di ruang bawah tanah. Ia menghela napas, mengambil kunci-kuncinya, dan menelepon perusahaan perbaikan. Sebuah suara yang terdengar lelah memberitahunya bahwa seorang teknisi baru akan datang besok pagi.

"In the morning?" Ansel said. "We have fourteen floors of people here."

"Besok pagi?" kata Ansel. "Di sini ada empat belas lantai penghuni."

"I am sorry," the voice said. "Nobody is free tonight."

"Maaf, Pak," kata suara itu. "Malam ini tidak ada yang bebas."

Ansel put down the phone and went up to the lobby. Within ten minutes, it was full of people with heavy shopping bags. A man with a bicycle sighed loudly. A woman with a pushchair sat on the bottom step and refused to move. Three children asked if the lift would ever work again.

Ansel menaruh telepon dan naik ke lobi. Dalam sepuluh menit, lobi itu sudah penuh orang dengan kantong belanjaan yang berat. Seorang pria dengan sepeda menghela napas keras-keras. Seorang perempuan dengan kereta bayi duduk di anak tangga paling bawah dan menolak bergeser. Tiga anak bertanya apakah lift itu akan berfungsi lagi.

"Not tonight," Ansel told them all. "Please use the stairs, and please be careful. I will check every floor."

"Tidak malam ini," kata Ansel kepada mereka semua. "Silakan pakai tangga, dan tolong hati-hati. Saya akan memeriksa setiap lantai."

He climbed slowly, with a torch in his hand. On the sixth floor, the corridor lights were still on. On the seventh, everything was dark. The fault had cut the power to every floor above the sixth. The switch that could bring it back was locked inside the motor room. Only the engineer had the key.

Ia naik perlahan dengan senter di tangan. Di lantai enam, lampu koridor masih menyala. Di lantai tujuh, semuanya gelap. Gangguan itu memutus aliran listrik ke setiap lantai di atas lantai enam. Sakelar yang bisa menghidupkannya kembali terkunci di dalam ruang mesin. Hanya sang teknisi yang memegang kuncinya.

He kept climbing. On the ninth floor, he found Edin sitting on the top step. A strange object lay on her knees.

Ia terus naik. Di lantai sembilan, ia menemukan Edin duduk di anak tangga paling atas. Sebuah benda aneh tergeletak di pangkuannya.

"You are the only person today who isn't shouting at me," Ansel said.

"Anda satu-satunya orang hari ini yang tidak membentak saya," kata Ansel.

"I would shout if it helped," Edin said. "But look at this. It was outside my door when I came home."

"Saya pasti membentak kalau itu ada gunanya," kata Edin. "Tapi lihat ini. Benda ini ada di depan pintu saya waktu saya pulang."

It was a toy robot, about the size of a shoebox. Its body was made of dented silver metal, and one arm was raised in a wave. A square of paper was taped to its chest.

Benda itu robot mainan, seukuran kotak sepatu. Tubuhnya terbuat dari logam perak yang penyok, dan satu lengannya terangkat seperti melambai. Selembar kertas persegi menempel di dadanya dengan selotip.

Ansel pointed the torch at the note. The handwriting was round and careful, like a child's. It said, "Ninth floor landing. Press my left hand before eight o'clock tonight. Please do not leave me in the dark."

Ansel menyorotkan senter ke catatan itu. Tulisan tangannya bulat dan rapi, seperti tulisan anak kecil. Bunyinya, "Pelataran lantai sembilan. Tekan tangan kiriku sebelum pukul delapan malam ini. Tolong jangan tinggalkan aku dalam gelap."

"Who would leave a thing like this?" Edin asked.

"Siapa yang meninggalkan benda seperti ini?" tanya Edin.

"I don't know," Ansel said. "But somebody wanted it switched on here, tonight. I am curious now."

"Entahlah," kata Ansel. "Tapi seseorang ingin benda ini dinyalakan di sini, malam ini. Sekarang saya jadi penasaran."

He pressed the left hand once, and then again, harder. The painted eyes stayed dull. Nothing whirred, and nothing clicked.

Ia menekan tangan kiri robot itu sekali, lalu sekali lagi, lebih keras. Mata yang dicat itu tetap redup. Tidak ada yang berdengung, tidak ada yang berklik.

"The battery is flat," Edin said. "Or the toy is broken."

"Baterainya habis," kata Edin. "Atau mainannya rusak."

Ansel turned the robot over and opened a small panel in its back. Inside there was a round socket and a label with tiny letters. He read it twice. "It says it can run straight from a charger, even with a flat battery."

Ansel membalik robot itu dan membuka sebuah panel kecil di punggungnya. Di dalamnya ada lubang soket bundar dan sebuah label dengan huruf-huruf kecil. Ia membacanya dua kali. "Di sini tertulis robot ini bisa langsung jalan dari pengisi daya, bahkan kalau baterainya habis."

"Then we need a charger," Edin said. "And we need to hurry. Look at the time."

"Kalau begitu kita butuh pengisi daya," kata Edin. "Dan kita harus cepat. Lihat jamnya."

Ansel's watch said ten past seven.

Jam tangan Ansel menunjukkan pukul tujuh lewat sepuluh.

"I have a box of old chargers in the basement," he said. "One of them might fit. I will run."

"Saya punya sekotak pengisi daya lama di ruang bawah tanah," katanya. "Mungkin salah satunya cocok. Saya akan lari."

He ran down nine flights in the half dark, with one hand on the cold rail. In the basement, he tried eleven chargers. The twelfth slid into the robot's socket with a small click. Then he ran all the way back up. When he reached the ninth floor, his legs were shaking, and it was a quarter to eight.

Ia berlari menuruni sembilan lantai dalam keremangan, satu tangan memegang pegangan tangga yang dingin. Di ruang bawah tanah, ia mencoba sebelas pengisi daya. Yang kedua belas masuk ke soket robot itu dengan bunyi klik kecil. Lalu ia berlari sepanjang jalan kembali ke atas. Ketika ia sampai di lantai sembilan, kakinya gemetar, dan waktu sudah pukul delapan kurang seperempat.

"I have the charger," he said, breathing hard. "But there is nowhere to plug it in. Nothing works above the sixth floor."

"Saya sudah bawa pengisi dayanya," katanya sambil terengah-engah. "Tapi tidak ada tempat untuk menancapkannya. Tidak ada yang berfungsi di atas lantai enam."

"Then we carry the robot down to the sixth," Edin said.

"Kalau begitu kita bawa robotnya turun ke lantai enam," kata Edin.

"The note says the ninth floor landing," Ansel said. "Whoever wrote it chose this place for a reason. I don't want to move it."

"Catatannya bilang pelataran lantai sembilan," kata Ansel. "Siapa pun yang menulisnya memilih tempat ini dengan alasan tertentu. Saya tidak mau memindahkannya."

Edin leaned over the railing. The stairwell had a wide gap in the middle. The floors below looked like a stack of dark squares. She counted them with her finger.

Edin mencondongkan badan ke atas pagar tangga. Lorong tangga itu punya celah lebar di tengahnya. Lantai-lantai di bawah tampak seperti tumpukan persegi gelap. Ia menghitungnya dengan jarinya.

"The nearest socket is three floors down," she said. "If a cord follows the stairs, it needs forty metres."

"Stopkontak terdekat ada tiga lantai di bawah," katanya. "Kalau kabelnya mengikuti tangga, kita butuh empat puluh meter."

"We don't have forty metres," Ansel said. "I have one cord, and it is five metres long."

"Kita tidak punya empat puluh meter," kata Ansel. "Saya hanya punya satu kabel, panjangnya lima meter."

Edin smiled slowly. "We don't have to follow the stairs," she said. "We can drop the cord straight down the gap. Straight down, it is only twelve metres."

Edin tersenyum perlahan. "Kita tidak harus mengikuti tangga," katanya. "Kita bisa menjatuhkan kabelnya lurus ke bawah lewat celah itu. Kalau lurus ke bawah, jaraknya cuma dua belas meter."

Ansel stared at her. Then he laughed out loud. "Twelve metres," he said. "Everyone in this building owns an extension cord. Go and knock on doors. I will do the joining."

Ansel menatapnya. Lalu ia tertawa terbahak-bahak. "Dua belas meter," katanya. "Semua orang di gedung ini punya kabel sambungan. Pergilah ketuk pintu-pintu. Saya yang akan menyambungnya."

Edin ran along the corridor in the dark. She knocked on every door she passed. A man in a bath towel gave her a long orange cord and asked no questions. A girl with a guitar found two short cords under her bed. A student with wet hair handed over one that was so tangled it looked like a nest.

Edin berlari menyusuri koridor dalam gelap. Ia mengetuk setiap pintu yang dilewatinya. Seorang pria berhanduk mandi memberinya kabel oranye yang panjang tanpa bertanya apa-apa. Seorang gadis dengan gitar menemukan dua kabel pendek di bawah tempat tidurnya. Seorang mahasiswa dengan rambut basah menyerahkan satu kabel yang begitu kusut sampai mirip sarang burung.

"What is it for?" the student asked.

"Ini untuk apa?" tanya mahasiswa itu.

"A very strange rescue," Edin said, and ran on.

"Penyelamatan yang sangat aneh," kata Edin, lalu berlari lagi.

In six minutes, she came back with four cords in her arms. Ansel joined them end to end and wrapped every join with tape from his belt. His hands moved fast, but the second hand on his watch moved faster. It was ten to eight.

Dalam enam menit, ia kembali dengan empat kabel di pelukannya. Ansel menyambungnya ujung ke ujung dan membalut setiap sambungan dengan selotip dari sabuknya. Tangannya bergerak cepat, tetapi jarum detik di jam tangannya bergerak lebih cepat. Waktu sudah pukul delapan kurang sepuluh.

He tied his heavy bunch of keys to the plug at one end of the cord. Then he held the keys over the gap and let them fall. The cord ran through his fingers, hissing, past the eighth floor and the seventh. The keys swung at the bottom with a faint ring, just outside the sixth-floor door.

Ia mengikat gantungan kunci-kuncinya yang berat pada steker di salah satu ujung kabel. Lalu ia menahan kunci-kunci itu di atas celah dan melepaskannya. Kabel itu meluncur melewati jari-jarinya sambil mendesis, melewati lantai delapan dan tujuh. Kunci-kunci itu berayun di dasar dengan denting samar, tepat di luar pintu lantai enam.

"Got them!" Edin shouted from far below. She had run down the stairs two at a time, and her voice echoed up the stairwell. "Now I'm looking for the socket."

"Dapat!" teriak Edin dari jauh di bawah. Ia sudah berlari menuruni tangga dua anak tangga sekaligus, dan suaranya menggema ke atas lorong tangga. "Sekarang saya cari stopkontaknya."

Ansel waited. The robot sat on the landing, silent and dull, with its arm raised. He pushed the charger's plug into the end of the cord and waited.

Ansel menunggu. Robot itu duduk di pelataran, diam dan redup, dengan lengan terangkat. Ia mendorong steker pengisi daya ke ujung kabel dan menunggu.

"Anything?" he called down.

"Ada apa-apa?" serunya ke bawah.

"One moment!" Edin shouted. "This socket is behind a plant pot. There. It is in."

"Sebentar!" teriak Edin. "Stopkontak ini ada di balik pot tanaman. Nah. Sudah tercolok."

Nothing happened for ten long seconds. Ansel looked at his watch. It was two minutes to eight. He pressed the left hand once, and then he pressed it again.

Tidak ada yang terjadi selama sepuluh detik yang panjang. Ansel melihat jam tangannya. Waktu tinggal dua menit lagi sebelum pukul delapan. Ia menekan tangan kiri itu sekali, lalu menekannya lagi.

A small green light came on inside the robot's chest. The painted eyes began to glow, softly at first, and then as bright as two lamps. The landing, the railing and Ansel's tired face all turned green. Edin arrived, panting, at the top of the stairs just in time to see it.

Sebuah lampu hijau kecil menyala di dalam dada robot itu. Mata yang dicat itu mulai berpendar, lembut pada mulanya, lalu seterang dua lampu. Pelataran, pagar tangga, dan wajah Ansel yang lelah semuanya berubah hijau. Edin tiba di puncak tangga dengan terengah-engah tepat pada waktunya untuk melihatnya.

"It works," she whispered. "We did it."

"Berhasil," bisiknya. "Kita berhasil."

The robot's arm came down slowly. A clear voice came from its chest, high and light, like the voice of a child.

Lengan robot itu turun perlahan. Sebuah suara jernih keluar dari dadanya, tinggi dan ringan, seperti suara anak kecil.

"Hello," it said. "Thank you for the light. I have waited a very long time. Please come to number thirteen."

"Halo," katanya. "Terima kasih atas cahayanya. Aku sudah menunggu lama sekali. Tolong datang ke nomor tiga belas."

The green light faded. The eyes went dark, and the robot was quiet again, as if it had never spoken. Ansel and Edin looked at each other for a long moment.

Cahaya hijau itu memudar. Matanya meredup, dan robot itu diam lagi, seolah tak pernah berbicara. Ansel dan Edin saling memandang cukup lama.

"Thirteen," Edin said at last. "But there isn't a thirteenth floor. The lift goes from twelve to fourteen."

"Tiga belas," kata Edin akhirnya. "Tapi tidak ada lantai tiga belas. Lift berjalan dari dua belas langsung ke empat belas."

"I know," Ansel said. "I have worked here for nine years. The builders skipped the number."

"Saya tahu," kata Ansel. "Saya sudah bekerja di sini sembilan tahun. Para pembangun melewatkan nomor itu."

"So where is number thirteen?"

"Jadi di mana nomor tiga belas?"

Ansel didn't answer. He picked up his torch and began to climb. Edin followed him past the tenth floor, the eleventh and the twelfth. Between the twelfth and the fourteenth, the stairs turned a corner. There was a small landing there that Ansel had passed a thousand times.

Ansel tidak menjawab. Ia mengambil senternya dan mulai naik. Edin mengikutinya melewati lantai sepuluh, sebelas, dan dua belas. Di antara lantai dua belas dan empat belas, tangga berbelok di sebuah sudut. Di sana ada pelataran kecil yang sudah seribu kali dilewati Ansel.

Behind a pile of old paint tins, there was a narrow door. It had no number. A thin line of warm yellow light shone under it. From somewhere behind it came a soft, steady ticking.

Di balik tumpukan kaleng cat bekas, ada sebuah pintu sempit. Pintu itu tidak bernomor. Seberkas tipis cahaya kuning hangat menyorot dari bawahnya. Dari suatu tempat di baliknya terdengar bunyi detak yang lembut dan teratur.