The Corner the Robot Chose

Every morning before the sun, Ansel pushes his flat boat to market. He uses a long pole. He ties up in his old place. A rope seller's boat sits on one side. A spice boat sits on the other. The spice boat belongs to Hendrik.

Setiap pagi sebelum matahari terbit, Ansel mendorong perahu datarnya ke pasar. Ia memakai galah yang panjang. Ia menambatkannya di tempat lamanya. Perahu penjual tali ada di satu sisi. Perahu rempah ada di sisi lain. Perahu rempah itu milik Hendrik.

Ansel sells mangoes, limes and small sweet bananas. Hendrik sells pepper, dried chili and bags of star anise. They sell different things. Still, they fight over every customer.

Ansel menjual mangga, jeruk nipis, dan pisang kecil yang manis. Hendrik menjual lada, cabai kering, dan kantong-kantong bunga lawang. Mereka menjual barang yang berbeda. Meski begitu, mereka memperebutkan setiap pembeli.

For six years, they fight. Hendrik hangs a bright lamp over his boat. Ansel hangs a brighter one. Hendrik paints his prices on a board. Ansel paints his on a bigger board.

Sudah enam tahun mereka bertengkar. Hendrik menggantung lampu terang di atas perahunya. Ansel menggantung yang lebih terang. Hendrik melukis harga-harganya di papan. Ansel melukis harganya di papan yang lebih besar.

"Your mangoes are small," Hendrik says each day.

"Mangga-manggamu kecil," kata Hendrik setiap hari.

"Your pepper is old," Ansel says back. "Even the flies leave it alone."

"Ladamu sudah tua," balas Ansel. "Lalat pun tak mau mendekat."

The market wakes slowly. Boats bump softly together. Cooks call out. Smoke rises from the little stoves. The water smells of ginger and wet wood.

Pasar terbangun perlahan. Perahu-perahu saling bersenggolan pelan. Para juru masak berseru. Asap naik dari tungku-tungku kecil. Air berbau jahe dan kayu basah.

This morning, Ansel has a new toy. It is a round gray robot vacuum, no bigger than a pizza. A cousin sent it from the city. Ansel hates peels on his deck. He hopes the robot can clean them.

Pagi ini, Ansel punya mainan baru. Sebuah robot penyedot debu abu-abu yang bulat, tidak lebih besar dari sebuah piza. Seorang sepupu mengirimnya dari kota. Ansel benci kulit buah di geladaknya. Ia berharap robot itu bisa membersihkannya.

He puts it down and presses the button. The robot makes a happy sound. It rolls over the deck and eats a banana skin. Ansel claps.

Ia menaruhnya dan menekan tombol. Robot itu mengeluarkan bunyi riang. Ia bergulir di geladak dan memakan kulit pisang. Ansel bertepuk tangan.

Then the robot turns. It rolls straight to the back left corner of the boat. It stops there. It beeps three times and does not move.

Lalu robot itu berbelok. Ia bergulir lurus ke sudut kiri belakang perahu. Ia berhenti di sana. Ia berbunyi bip tiga kali dan tidak bergerak.

"Not that way," Ansel says. He picks it up and sets it in the middle again.

"Bukan ke sana," kata Ansel. Ia mengangkatnya dan menaruhnya lagi di tengah.

The robot rolls back to the same corner. Beep, beep, beep.

Robot itu bergulir kembali ke sudut yang sama. Bip, bip, bip.

Hendrik watches from his boat and laughs. "Your robot has good taste," he says. "It wants to leave your boat."

Hendrik menonton dari perahunya dan tertawa. "Robotmu selera bagus," katanya. "Dia mau pergi dari perahumu."

"Be quiet."

"Diam."

"Maybe it does not like your fruit."

"Mungkin dia tidak suka buahmu."

Ansel says something rude. He puts the robot in a box under a table. The box beeps all morning.

Ansel mengucapkan sesuatu yang kasar. Ia memasukkan robot itu ke dalam kotak di bawah meja. Kotak itu berbunyi bip sepanjang pagi.

By nine o'clock, the market is full. Tourists crowd the little boats with cameras and big hats. Ansel sells mangoes as fast as he can cut them. He is happy, and he forgets the robot.

Pada pukul sembilan, pasar sudah penuh. Para turis memadati perahu-perahu kecil dengan kamera dan topi lebar. Ansel menjual mangga secepat ia bisa mengirisnya. Ia senang, dan ia melupakan robot itu.

Then his foot feels cold.

Lalu kakinya terasa dingin.

He looks down. Water covers his sandal. It is a thin, clear skin on the deck. It spreads from the back left corner. The same corner.

Ia menunduk. Air menutupi sandalnya. Selapis tipis air jernih menutupi geladak. Air itu menyebar dari sudut kiri belakang. Sudut yang sama.

"No," he says.

"Tidak," katanya.

He runs to the corner and kneels. A board there is dark and soft. At its edge, a bubble of water pushes up between two boards. The boat has a leak, and it is not small.

Ia berlari ke sudut itu dan berlutut. Sebuah papan di sana gelap dan lunak. Di tepinya, gelembung air mendesak naik di antara dua papan. Perahunya bocor, dan bocornya tidak kecil.

Ansel grabs a bucket and starts to throw water out. For every bucket he throws out, the river sends back two. His fruit crates stand close to the corner. Soon the bottom crate is wet.

Ansel menyambar ember dan mulai membuang air. Untuk setiap ember yang ia buang, sungai mengirim dua kembali. Peti-peti buahnya berdiri dekat sudut itu. Segera peti paling bawah basah.

"Hendrik!" he shouts. "Help me!"

"Hendrik!" teriaknya. "Tolong aku!"

Hendrik looks over. For a moment, his face is hard. He opens his mouth to say something clever.

Hendrik menoleh. Sesaat wajahnya keras. Ia membuka mulut untuk mengatakan sesuatu yang cerdik.

Then he sees the water.

Lalu ia melihat airnya.

"Wait," he says. He jumps across the gap. He lands next to Ansel. "Where is the hole?"

"Tunggu," katanya. Ia melompati celah di antara perahu. Ia mendarat di sebelah Ansel. "Di mana lubangnya?"

"Under this board. I cannot see it."

"Di bawah papan ini. Aku tidak bisa melihatnya."

"We must tip the boat. Move your crates to the other side."

"Kita harus memiringkan perahu. Pindahkan peti-petimu ke sisi lain."

"My fruit is heavy," says Ansel.

"Buahku berat," kata Ansel.

"Then move it fast."

"Kalau begitu pindahkan dengan cepat."

They work together without a word. Ansel lifts crates, and Hendrik takes them from his hands. They stack mangoes on the right side of the boat. Slowly, the back left corner rises out of the water.

Mereka bekerja bersama tanpa sepatah kata. Ansel mengangkat peti, dan Hendrik menerimanya dari tangannya. Mereka menumpuk mangga di sisi kanan perahu. Perlahan, sudut kiri belakang terangkat dari air.

The leak sits above the river now. It only drips.

Kebocoran itu kini berada di atas sungai. Air hanya menetes.

"I have tar," Hendrik says. He runs to his boat. He comes back with a small tin and a flat knife. "And cloth."

"Aku punya aspal," kata Hendrik. Ia berlari ke perahunya. Ia kembali dengan kaleng kecil dan pisau pipih. "Dan kain."

"I have wax," Ansel says. "For the knife handles. It keeps water out."

"Aku punya lilin," kata Ansel. "Untuk gagang pisau. Lilin menahan air."

He gets the wax. Hendrik cuts a strip of cloth. They press the cloth on the hole. They spread tar over it. Then they rub wax on top. Their hands turn black and sticky. Their shirts are wet to the elbow.

Ia mengambil lilin. Hendrik memotong selembar kain. Mereka menekan kain itu pada lubang. Mereka mengoleskan aspal di atasnya. Lalu mereka menggosokkan lilin di atasnya. Tangan mereka menjadi hitam dan lengket. Kemeja mereka basah sampai ke siku.

"Hold it," Hendrik says. "Hold it for one minute."

"Tahan," kata Hendrik. "Tahan selama satu menit."

Ansel holds. Hendrik holds beside him. They do not look at each other. They look only at the corner.

Ansel menahan. Hendrik menahan di sampingnya. Mereka tidak saling memandang. Mereka hanya menatap sudut itu.

The water stops. The cloth stays dry.

Airnya berhenti. Kainnya tetap kering.

Ansel sits back. His heart beats hard. "It worked," he says.

Ansel bersandar ke belakang. Jantungnya berdebar keras. "Berhasil," katanya.

"For today," says Hendrik. "You need a new board. This one is old and soft."

"Untuk hari ini," kata Hendrik. "Kau perlu papan baru. Yang ini sudah tua dan lunak."

"I know. I did not see it."

"Aku tahu. Aku tidak melihatnya."

"The robot did."

"Robot itu melihatnya."

Ansel looks at the box under the table. It is quiet now. He pulls it out and opens it. The little gray machine sits inside, patient and round.

Ansel memandang kotak di bawah meja. Kotak itu sunyi sekarang. Ia menariknya keluar dan membukanya. Mesin kecil abu-abu itu duduk di dalam, sabar dan bulat.

"It tried to tell me," Ansel says softly. "All morning. The floor goes a little lower there. The robot just rolls to the low place."

"Dia mencoba memberitahuku," kata Ansel pelan. "Sepanjang pagi. Lantainya sedikit lebih rendah di sana. Robot itu hanya bergulir ke tempat yang rendah."

Hendrik starts to laugh. It is not a mean laugh this time. It is tired and warm. Ansel laughs too. They sit on the wet deck with black hands. They laugh until the tourists stare.

Hendrik mulai tertawa. Kali ini bukan tawa yang jahat. Tawanya lelah dan hangat. Ansel ikut tertawa. Mereka duduk di geladak yang basah dengan tangan hitam. Mereka tertawa sampai para turis menatap.

A woman in a big hat leans over the rail. "Excuse me," she says. "Are these your mangoes? And are those your spices? They look wonderful together."

Seorang perempuan bertopi lebar menyondongkan badan di atas pagar perahu. "Permisi," katanya. "Apakah ini mangga Anda? Dan itu rempah-rempah Anda? Kelihatannya serasi sekali."

The two men look at each other.

Kedua pria itu saling memandang.

"Yes," Hendrik says. "A mango and a pinch of pepper. It is our local favorite."

"Ya," kata Hendrik. "Mangga dengan sejumput lada. Itu favorit warga di sini."

Ansel opens his mouth to correct him. Then he closes it.

Ansel membuka mulut untuk meluruskan. Lalu ia menutupnya lagi.

"One box of each," he says. "Half price today. For our first customers."

"Satu kotak masing-masing," katanya. "Setengah harga hari ini. Untuk pembeli pertama kami."

They sell more that day than ever before. Hendrik tears a board in two. He writes one new sign in thick black tar. It says, MANGO AND PEPPER. TWO BOATS, ONE PRICE.

Hari itu mereka menjual lebih banyak daripada sebelumnya. Hendrik merobek sebuah papan menjadi dua. Ia menulis satu tanda baru dengan aspal hitam yang tebal. Bunyinya, MANGGA DAN LADA. DUA PERAHU, SATU HARGA.

When the market closes, Ansel puts the robot in the middle. He presses the button. The little machine rolls forward and eats a banana skin. It turns left, then right. It crosses the whole dry boat. It passes the corner without a stop.

Ketika pasar tutup, Ansel menaruh robot itu di tengah. Ia menekan tombol. Mesin kecil itu bergulir maju dan memakan kulit pisang. Ia berbelok ke kiri, lalu ke kanan. Ia melintasi seluruh perahu yang kering. Ia melewati sudut itu tanpa berhenti.

At last, it comes back to the middle and stops.

Akhirnya, ia kembali ke tengah dan berhenti.

Beep.

Bip.