The Curtain That Would Not Close

The stage curtain in the boathouse hall closed only halfway. It had done this for nine years, and everyone at the Riverside Rowing Club knew it.

Tirai panggung di aula rumah perahu itu hanya menutup separuh. Tirai itu sudah begitu selama sembilan tahun, dan semua orang di Klub Dayung Riverside tahu hal itu.

Every autumn the club held a show to end the season. Members sang songs, told jokes and read funny reports about lost oars. Every year the curtain stuck, and every year somebody found a different way around the problem.

Setiap musim gugur klub mengadakan pertunjukan untuk menutup musim. Para anggota menyanyikan lagu, menceritakan lelucon, dan membacakan laporan lucu tentang dayung yang hilang. Setiap tahun tirai itu macet, dan setiap tahun seseorang menemukan cara berbeda untuk mengatasinya.

This year the show belonged to Yusra. She was thirty-four and had joined the club in June. She did not yet know the rules that nobody had written down.

Tahun ini pertunjukan itu menjadi tanggung jawab Yusra. Usianya tiga puluh empat tahun dan ia bergabung dengan klub pada bulan Juni. Ia belum mengenal aturan-aturan yang tidak pernah ditulis siapa pun.

"Use the chair," said the man who looked after the boats. "Put it on the left side. It stops the curtain from swinging back."

"Pakai kursi itu," kata pria yang mengurus perahu-perahu. "Taruh di sisi kiri. Kursi itu menahan tirai supaya tidak berayun kembali."

Yusra looked at the chair. It was a kitchen chair with one short leg, and someone had wrapped that leg in blue tape.

Yusra memandang kursi itu. Itu kursi dapur dengan satu kaki pendek, dan seseorang telah membungkus kaki itu dengan selotip biru.

"Does it work?" she asked.

"Apakah berhasil?" tanyanya.

"Mostly," he said. "Last year it fell over during the quiz. Nobody minded."

"Biasanya," kata pria itu. "Tahun lalu kursinya jatuh saat kuis. Tidak ada yang keberatan."

On Saturday morning she climbed the ladder and pulled the curtain by hand. It was heavy dark velvet, and it smelled of dust and old rope. It moved smoothly for three metres. Then it stopped, as if it had hit a wall.

Pada Sabtu pagi ia memanjat tangga dan menarik tirai dengan tangan. Tirai itu beludru gelap yang berat, dan berbau debu dan tali tua. Tirai itu bergerak mulus sejauh tiga meter. Lalu berhenti, seakan menabrak dinding.

She tried again, and the same thing happened. She tried a third time with both hands, and a small cloud of dust fell onto her hair.

Ia mencoba lagi, dan hal yang sama terjadi. Ia mencoba untuk ketiga kalinya dengan kedua tangan, dan segumpal kecil debu jatuh ke rambutnya.

"Don't pull so hard," said a voice from below. "You will only make it worse."

"Jangan menarik terlalu keras," kata sebuah suara dari bawah. "Kamu cuma akan memperburuknya."

It was Nadine, the club captain. She had rowed for the club for twenty years. She had won more medals than the trophy cabinet could hold. She carried a clipboard everywhere, even down to the river.

Itu Nadine, kapten klub. Ia sudah mendayung untuk klub itu selama dua puluh tahun. Ia memenangkan lebih banyak medali daripada yang muat di lemari piala. Ia membawa papan jepit ke mana-mana, bahkan sampai ke sungai.

"I am not pulling hard," Yusra said. "I am pulling normally. Something is blocking it."

"Aku tidak menarik keras," kata Yusra. "Aku menariknya biasa saja. Ada sesuatu yang menghalanginya."

"Everybody says that," Nadine said. "Then they stop pulling and tie a rope to it."

"Semua orang bilang begitu," kata Nadine. "Lalu mereka berhenti menarik dan mengikatkan tali padanya."

She pointed at a thick rope that ran from the curtain to a hook on the wall. Yusra had thought it was part of the decoration.

Ia menunjuk tali tebal yang terentang dari tirai ke sebuah pengait di dinding. Yusra mengira tali itu bagian dari hiasan.

"So the rope closes it?"

"Jadi talinya yang menutupnya?"

"Two people pull the rope," Nadine said. "A third person holds the chair. A fourth person runs backstage and shouts when it is closed."

"Dua orang menarik tali itu," kata Nadine. "Orang ketiga memegangi kursi. Orang keempat berlari ke belakang panggung dan berteriak saat tirai sudah tertutup."

"That is four people for one curtain," said Yusra.

"Itu empat orang untuk satu tirai," kata Yusra.

"It is a tradition," Nadine said, and she smiled in a tired way. "Traditions need people."

"Itu tradisi," kata Nadine, dan ia tersenyum letih. "Tradisi butuh orang."

For the rest of the day, Yusra watched how the club lived with the curtain. The singers practised their entrance so they could slip through the gap. The comedian wrote a joke about it. The treasurer counted every coin the club owned. He walked past the stuck velvet twice and never looked up.

Sepanjang sisa hari itu, Yusra memperhatikan bagaimana klub itu hidup bersama tirai itu. Para penyanyi melatih masuk panggung supaya bisa menyelinap lewat celahnya. Si pelawak menulis lelucon tentangnya. Si bendahara menghitung setiap keping koin milik klub. Ia berjalan melewati beludru yang macet itu dua kali dan tidak pernah mendongak.

Nobody seemed angry. Nobody seemed surprised. The curtain had become like the leaking roof of the changing room. It was like the bench that wobbled on the dock. Everyone knew about it, and everyone had decided it was normal.

Tak seorang pun tampak marah. Tak seorang pun tampak terkejut. Tirai itu sudah menjadi seperti atap bocor di ruang ganti. Seperti bangku yang goyah di dermaga. Semua orang tahu, dan semua orang sudah memutuskan bahwa itu wajar.

That night she sat alone in the empty hall with an apple. She looked at the rail above the stage. It was a long metal pipe, and one end was bent like a tired arm. Behind it, the ceiling had a dark stain.

Malam itu ia duduk sendirian di aula yang kosong sambil makan apel. Ia memandang rel di atas panggung. Itu pipa logam panjang, dan salah satu ujungnya bengkok seperti lengan yang lelah. Di belakangnya, langit-langit punya noda gelap.

She asked herself a simple question. Why had nobody fixed it?

Ia mengajukan pertanyaan sederhana kepada dirinya sendiri. Mengapa tak seorang pun memperbaikinya?

The next morning she asked the man who looked after the boats.

Keesokan paginya ia bertanya kepada pria yang mengurus perahu-perahu.

"The committee said no," he told her. "Years ago. There was never any money."

"Komite bilang tidak," katanya kepadanya. "Bertahun-tahun lalu. Tidak pernah ada uang."

She asked the comedian, who gave the same answer. She asked a girl from the junior team, who said her mother had told her the same thing. Everyone knew the committee had said no. Nobody could remember who had asked, or when.

Ia bertanya kepada si pelawak, yang memberi jawaban sama. Ia bertanya kepada seorang gadis dari tim junior, yang bilang ibunya pernah mengatakan hal yang sama. Semua orang tahu komite pernah bilang tidak. Tak seorang pun ingat siapa yang meminta, atau kapan.

"Did you ask them?" Yusra said to Nadine that afternoon.

"Apakah kamu pernah bertanya kepada mereka?" kata Yusra kepada Nadine sore itu.

"Me?" Nadine put down her clipboard. "No. It was before I became captain. I assumed…"

"Aku?" Nadine menaruh papan jepitnya. "Tidak. Itu sebelum aku menjadi kapten. Kukira…"

She stopped.

Ia berhenti.

"You assumed what?"

"Kamu mengira apa?"

"That someone had asked," Nadine said slowly. "And that the answer was no."

"Bahwa seseorang sudah bertanya," kata Nadine pelan. "Dan jawabannya tidak."

They looked at each other. Above them, the curtain hung in its usual crooked way.

Mereka saling memandang. Di atas mereka, tirai itu menggantung dengan cara miringnya yang biasa.

"It is strange," said Yusra. "A whole club has agreed not to ask one question."

"Aneh," kata Yusra. "Satu klub penuh sepakat untuk tidak mengajukan satu pertanyaan."

"It is a small question," Nadine said. "Small questions are the hardest. If you ask and the answer is no, then you have to stop hoping."

"Itu pertanyaan kecil," kata Nadine. "Pertanyaan kecil yang paling sulit. Kalau kamu bertanya dan jawabannya tidak, kamu harus berhenti berharap."

Yusra thought about this. She could understand it. Hope was cheap, and a no could feel expensive.

Yusra memikirkan hal ini. Ia bisa memahaminya. Harapan itu murah, dan sebuah penolakan bisa terasa mahal.

"But if we never ask, the answer stays no forever," she said. "Even when the world has changed."

"Tapi kalau kita tidak pernah bertanya, jawabannya tetap tidak selamanya," katanya. "Bahkan ketika dunia sudah berubah."

Nadine rubbed her neck. "The committee meets on Tuesday evening. Seven o'clock, in the room above the boat store."

Nadine mengusap lehernya. "Komite rapat hari Selasa malam. Pukul tujuh, di ruangan di atas gudang perahu."

"I know," said Yusra. "I looked it up."

"Aku tahu," kata Yusra. "Aku sudah mencari tahu."

On Tuesday, at five to seven, she climbed the stairs above the boat store. Her hands were cold. In her bag she had a photograph of the bent rail and a page of notes.

Pada hari Selasa, lima menit sebelum pukul tujuh, ia menaiki tangga di atas gudang perahu. Tangannya dingin. Di tasnya ia membawa foto rel yang bengkok dan selembar catatan.

Seven people sat around a long table. The treasurer had a calculator. The head of the committee had a mug shaped like a boat. Nadine sat at the far end and gave Yusra a small nod.

Tujuh orang duduk mengelilingi meja panjang. Si bendahara membawa kalkulator. Ketua komite punya cangkir berbentuk perahu. Nadine duduk di ujung jauh dan memberi Yusra anggukan kecil.

Yusra was item eleven on the list. It said, in tiny letters, "Curtain (Y.)". She waited through the discussion about new oars and the broken gate of the car park. When her turn came, her voice shook.

Yusra adalah butir kesebelas dalam daftar. Tertulis dengan huruf kecil, "Tirai (Y.)". Ia menunggu melewati diskusi tentang dayung baru dan gerbang tempat parkir yang rusak. Ketika gilirannya tiba, suaranya bergetar.

"I would like to ask about the stage curtain," she said. "Has the club ever asked for money to fix the rail?"

"Saya ingin bertanya tentang tirai panggung," katanya. "Pernahkah klub meminta dana untuk memperbaiki relnya?"

Nobody spoke. The calculator beeped because the treasurer touched it by mistake.

Tak seorang pun berbicara. Kalkulator itu berbunyi bip karena si bendahara tak sengaja menyentuhnya.

"Fix it?" said the head of the committee. "I thought we could not."

"Memperbaikinya?" kata ketua komite. "Saya kira kita tidak bisa."

"Why not?" Yusra asked.

"Kenapa tidak?" tanya Yusra.

"Because…" The head looked around the table. "Because it has always been like that."

"Karena…" Sang ketua memandang sekeliling meja. "Karena dari dulu memang begitu."

The treasurer opened a folder and searched through the pages. Then he went very quiet.

Si bendahara membuka sebuah map dan mencari di antara halaman-halamannya. Lalu ia menjadi sangat diam.

"There is a line in the budget," he said at last. "Hall repairs. We have kept it every year since the roof was done. Nobody has spent a single coin from it."

"Ada satu baris dalam anggaran," katanya akhirnya. "Perbaikan aula. Kita mempertahankannya setiap tahun sejak atapnya dikerjakan. Tak seorang pun pernah memakai satu keping pun darinya."

"How much is there?" Nadine asked.

"Berapa jumlahnya?" tanya Nadine.

He told her. It was more than enough for a new rail and a good fitter.

Ia menyebutkannya. Jumlahnya lebih dari cukup untuk rel baru dan tukang pasang yang bagus.

Someone laughed, a short and surprised laugh. Then another person laughed. Soon the whole table was laughing. Even the treasurer laughed, and he held his folder against his chest.

Seseorang tertawa, tawa pendek yang terkejut. Lalu orang lain tertawa. Segera seluruh meja tertawa. Bahkan si bendahara tertawa, sambil mendekap mapnya ke dada.

"Nine years," said the head of the committee, wiping her eyes. "We have tied ropes to a problem we could have solved."

"Sembilan tahun," kata ketua komite sambil menyeka matanya. "Kita mengikatkan tali pada masalah yang bisa kita selesaikan."

They voted in two minutes. The vote was seven to nothing.

Mereka memberi suara dalam dua menit. Hasilnya tujuh banding nol.

"There is one difficulty," said the treasurer. "The fitter is busy for six weeks. The curtain will not be ready for the show."

"Ada satu kesulitan," kata si bendahara. "Tukang pasangnya sibuk selama enam minggu. Tirainya tidak akan siap untuk pertunjukan."

"Then we do the show the old way," Nadine said. "Rope, chair and four people. But it will be the last time."

"Kalau begitu kita lakukan pertunjukan dengan cara lama," kata Nadine. "Tali, kursi, dan empat orang. Tapi ini yang terakhir kalinya."

Afterwards, Nadine found Yusra on the stairs.

Setelah itu, Nadine menemukan Yusra di tangga.

"I should have asked in my first year," she said. "Maybe in my first week."

"Seharusnya aku bertanya di tahun pertamaku," katanya. "Mungkin di minggu pertamaku."

"You were busy winning medals," said Yusra.

"Kamu sibuk memenangkan medali," kata Yusra.

"That is not an excuse." Nadine looked at her clipboard and then put it under her arm. "Next time I hear that something cannot be changed, I will ask who decided it."

"Itu bukan alasan." Nadine memandang papan jepitnya lalu menyelipkannya di bawah lengan. "Lain kali aku mendengar bahwa sesuatu tidak bisa diubah, aku akan bertanya siapa yang memutuskannya."

They walked down to the empty hall together. The curtain hung there, dark and heavy and crooked, but it looked different to Yusra now. It looked like something that was waiting, not something that was broken.

Mereka berjalan turun ke aula yang kosong bersama-sama. Tirai itu menggantung di sana, gelap, berat, dan miring, tetapi kini tampak berbeda bagi Yusra. Tirai itu tampak seperti sesuatu yang sedang menunggu, bukan sesuatu yang rusak.

"The fitter will need the exact length of the rail," she said. "And the height of the ceiling."

"Tukang pasang akan butuh panjang rel yang tepat," katanya. "Dan tinggi langit-langitnya."

"I can find the tape measure," Nadine said.

"Aku bisa mencari meteran," kata Nadine.

Yusra pulled the ladder across the floor and set it under the bent pipe. Nadine held the bottom with both hands. Yusra climbed to the top, hooked the end of the tape onto the metal, and began to measure.

Yusra menarik tangga melintasi lantai dan menaruhnya di bawah pipa yang bengkok. Nadine memegangi bagian bawahnya dengan kedua tangan. Yusra memanjat sampai ke atas, mengaitkan ujung meteran pada logam itu, dan mulai mengukur.