The Cord That Came Too Short

Yoon ran the river ferry at Long Bend. The ferry was a flat wooden boat on a thick rope. The rope ran from one bank to the other. To cross, Yoon pulled the rope with both hands. Hand over hand, forty times a day.

Yoon menjalankan kapal feri sungai di Long Bend. Feri itu perahu kayu datar yang terpasang pada tali tebal. Tali itu terentang dari satu tepi ke tepi lain. Untuk menyeberang, Yoon menarik tali dengan kedua tangan. Tarik demi tarik, empat puluh kali sehari.

Her arms were strong. Her back was not.

Lengannya kuat. Punggungnya tidak.

One morning she sat on the dock and rubbed her shoulders. Nobody else was there. The river was calm and brown.

Suatu pagi ia duduk di dermaga dan memijat bahunya. Tidak ada orang lain di sana. Sungai tenang dan berwarna cokelat.

"I want this rope to pull itself," she said.

"Aku ingin tali ini menarik dirinya sendiri," katanya.

"I can help," said a voice.

"Saya bisa membantu," kata sebuah suara.

A woman stood on the path behind her. She had a toolbox in one hand. Over her shoulder hung a huge yellow roll of cord. Her name was Livia, and she fixed lights for cafés.

Seorang perempuan berdiri di jalan setapak di belakangnya. Satu tangannya menjinjing kotak perkakas. Di bahunya tersampir gulungan kabel kuning raksasa. Namanya Livia, dan ia memperbaiki lampu untuk kafe-kafe.

"I'm going to the café on the far bank," she said. "I fix their lights. But I heard you. I have an idea."

"Saya mau ke kafe di tepi seberang," katanya. "Saya memperbaiki lampu mereka. Tapi saya mendengar Anda. Saya punya ide."

"I have a bad back," said Yoon. "I don't need ideas."

"Punggungku sakit," kata Yoon. "Aku tidak butuh ide."

"You need this." Livia opened her toolbox. Inside lay a small, heavy machine with a wheel. "It's a winch. It pulls rope. You put it on the boat, and it does the work."

"Anda butuh ini." Livia membuka kotak perkakasnya. Di dalamnya ada mesin kecil yang berat dengan sebuah roda. "Ini winch. Alat penarik tali. Pasang di perahu, dan alat ini yang bekerja."

"What power does it use?"

"Pakai tenaga apa?"

"Electric." Livia patted the yellow coil. "This is my longest cord. It goes to the socket in your ticket hut. It's made for outdoor work. And it has a safety switch that cuts the power."

"Listrik." Livia menepuk gulungan kuning itu. "Ini kabel terpanjang saya. Kabel ini sampai ke stopkontak di pondok tiket Anda. Dibuat untuk kerja di luar ruangan. Dan ada sakelar pengaman yang memutus arus."

Yoon looked at the machine. She looked at the cord. For a long time she said nothing. Then she smiled for the first time that week.

Yoon memandangi mesin itu. Ia memandangi kabelnya. Lama ia tidak berkata apa-apa. Lalu ia tersenyum untuk pertama kalinya minggu itu.

"Show me," she said.

"Tunjukkan padaku," katanya.

It took an hour. Livia fixed the winch to the front of the boat. She wound the rope around its wheel. She tied empty plastic bottles along the cord, so it floated. At last she pushed one end into the hut socket. The other end went to the winch.

Itu memakan waktu satu jam. Livia memasang winch di bagian depan perahu. Ia melilitkan tali pada rodanya. Ia mengikatkan botol-botol plastik kosong di sepanjang kabel, supaya kabel itu mengapung. Akhirnya ia mencolokkan salah satu ujungnya ke stopkontak di pondok. Ujung yang lain ke winch.

By then, three cyclists and a man with two goats waited. They paid for their tickets and climbed on board. Livia came too, with her toolbox.

Pada saat itu, tiga pesepeda dan seorang pria dengan dua kambing sudah menunggu. Mereka membayar tiket dan naik ke perahu. Livia ikut, membawa kotak perkakasnya.

"Ready?" said Livia.

"Siap?" tanya Livia.

"Ready," said Yoon.

"Siap," kata Yoon.

Livia pressed a green button. The winch hummed. The wheel turned, and the rope began to slide through it. Slowly and smoothly, the ferry left the dock.

Livia menekan tombol hijau. Winch berdengung. Roda berputar, dan tali mulai meluncur melewatinya. Perlahan dan mulus, feri itu meninggalkan dermaga.

Yoon did not touch the rope. She folded her arms. She felt like a queen.

Yoon tidak menyentuh tali. Ia melipat lengannya. Ia merasa seperti seorang ratu.

"Look at that," said one cyclist. "Nobody pulls the rope."

"Lihat itu," kata salah satu pesepeda. "Tidak ada yang menarik tali."

"The boat drives itself," said the man with the goats. One goat made a rude noise.

"Perahunya jalan sendiri," kata pria berkambing itu. Seekor kambing mengeluarkan suara tidak sopan.

The ferry slid over the water. The cord floated behind it like a long yellow snake. Yoon sat on the bench and ate an apple. It was the best crossing of her life.

Feri itu meluncur di atas air. Kabel itu mengapung di belakangnya seperti ular kuning yang panjang. Yoon duduk di bangku dan makan apel. Itu penyeberangan terbaik dalam hidupnya.

Near the far bank, the ferry slowed. It slowed some more. Then it stopped, and the winch gave a sad little hum.

Dekat tepi seberang, feri melambat. Melambat lagi. Lalu berhenti, dan winch mengeluarkan dengung kecil yang sedih.

Behind them, the cord was tight. It rose out of the water and hung straight in the air. All the bottles shook on it.

Di belakang mereka, kabel itu menegang. Kabel itu terangkat dari air dan menggantung lurus di udara. Semua botol bergetar di atasnya.

"What happened?" said Yoon.

"Ada apa?" tanya Yoon.

Livia looked back at the hut. It was very small and very far away. Then she looked at the cord.

Livia menoleh ke arah pondok. Pondok itu sangat kecil dan sangat jauh. Lalu ia memandang kabelnya.

"It's too short," she said.

"Kabelnya kurang panjang," katanya.

"How short?"

"Kurang berapa?"

"It's sixty meters long."

"Panjangnya enam puluh meter."

"And the river?"

"Dan sungainya?"

Livia looked at the water. "A little more than that."

Livia memandang air. "Sedikit lebih dari itu."

"How much more?"

"Lebih berapa?"

"About twenty meters."

"Sekitar dua puluh meter."

"Twenty meters!" said Yoon.

"Dua puluh meter!" kata Yoon.

"The map said the river was narrow here," said Livia.

"Peta bilang sungainya sempit di sini," kata Livia.

Then the safety switch clicked. The winch went quiet. Far away, the plug fell out of the socket.

Lalu sakelar pengaman berklik. Winch menjadi sunyi. Jauh di sana, steker terlepas dari stopkontak.

For a moment nothing happened. Then a wind came down the river. The rope slid freely through the wheel. The ferry began to drift. It did not go forward. It went back, slowly, like a sleepy cow going home.

Sesaat tidak ada yang terjadi. Lalu angin bertiup menyusuri sungai. Tali meluncur bebas melewati roda. Feri mulai hanyut. Ia tidak maju. Ia mundur, perlahan, seperti sapi mengantuk yang pulang ke kandang.

"The boat goes back," said a cyclist.

"Perahunya mundur," kata seorang pesepeda.

"We paid for the far bank!" said another.

"Kami bayar sampai tepi seberang!" kata yang lain.

"The wish worked," said Livia. "The ferry moved by itself. It just moved the wrong way."

"Permintaannya terkabul," kata Livia. "Feri itu bergerak sendiri. Hanya saja ke arah yang salah."

Yoon looked at her. Livia did not say any more.

Yoon menatapnya. Livia tidak berkata apa-apa lagi.

The ferry bumped softly against the dock. Livia jumped off and ran to the hut. She pushed the plug back in. She ran back and jumped on. She pressed the green button. The ferry crossed sixty meters, stopped and drifted home again.

Feri itu menyentuh dermaga dengan lembut. Livia melompat turun dan berlari ke pondok. Ia mencolokkan kembali steker itu. Ia berlari balik dan melompat naik. Ia menekan tombol hijau. Feri menyeberang sejauh enam puluh meter, berhenti, lalu hanyut pulang lagi.

They did it a second time. They did it a third time. Each time the cyclists grew quieter. Each time the goats grew louder.

Mereka mengulanginya untuk kedua kali. Lalu ketiga kali. Setiap kali, para pesepeda makin pendiam. Setiap kali, kambing-kambing makin berisik.

"I must sell these goats before noon," said the man. "It's eleven now."

"Saya harus menjual kambing-kambing ini sebelum tengah hari," kata pria itu. "Sekarang sudah pukul sebelas."

Livia wiped her face. "I have a second cord in my van," she said. "At home."

Livia menyeka wajahnya. "Saya punya kabel kedua di van saya," katanya. "Di rumah."

"How far is your home?" asked Yoon.

"Seberapa jauh rumahmu?" tanya Yoon.

"Four hours."

"Empat jam."

Nobody spoke. The river moved quietly past the boat. Somewhere a bird laughed.

Tak seorang pun berbicara. Sungai mengalir tenang melewati perahu. Di suatu tempat, seekor burung tertawa.

Yoon stood up. She pulled the plug out of the winch. She rolled the cord into a yellow circle. She unwound the rope from the wheel. Then she looked at her passengers.

Yoon berdiri. Ia mencabut steker dari winch. Ia menggulung kabel menjadi lingkaran kuning. Ia melepas tali dari roda. Lalu ia memandang para penumpangnya.

"Good news," she said. "Today the ferry is free for everyone who pulls."

"Kabar baik," katanya. "Hari ini feri gratis untuk semua orang yang menarik tali."

The cyclists looked at each other. One of them smiled. The man with the goats took off his jacket.

Para pesepeda saling memandang. Salah satunya tersenyum. Pria berkambing itu melepas jaketnya.

Yoon held the rope out to Livia. "It was your idea," she said.

Yoon mengulurkan tali itu kepada Livia. "Ini kan idemu," katanya.

Livia sighed. She put down her toolbox. She took the rope in both hands and began to pull.

Livia menghela napas. Ia menaruh kotak perkakasnya. Ia memegang tali dengan kedua tangan dan mulai menarik.