The Doorbell in Aisle Nine

At two in the morning, a doorbell rang in aisle nine.

Pukul dua dini hari, sebuah bel pintu berbunyi di lorong sembilan.

Osei stopped pushing his trolley of tinned soup. The sound was not a soft chime. It was a loud, bright ring, like the bell on a front door. It bounced between the tall shelves of pasta and rice.

Osei berhenti mendorong troli kaleng sup. Bunyinya bukan denting lembut. Itu dering keras dan nyaring, seperti bel di pintu depan rumah. Bunyinya memantul di antara rak-rak tinggi berisi pasta dan beras.

"Did you hear that?" he called.

"Kamu dengar itu?" serunya.

Jabu came around the corner with a craft knife in her hand. She was seventeen, the same age as Osei, and she had worked the night shift for three weeks. "I heard it," she said. "That's the fourth time tonight."

Jabu muncul dari tikungan dengan cutter di tangan. Ia berumur tujuh belas tahun, sama seperti Osei, dan sudah tiga minggu bekerja di shift malam. "Aku dengar," katanya. "Itu yang keempat kalinya malam ini."

"Maybe it's a parrot," Osei said. "The day manager left a note. A customer saw a bird near the front doors yesterday."

"Mungkin burung beo," kata Osei. "Manajer shift siang meninggalkan catatan. Kemarin ada pelanggan yang melihat seekor burung di dekat pintu depan."

"Parrots don't sound like doorbells."

"Beo tidak berbunyi seperti bel pintu."

"Some of them do. They copy everything they hear."

"Sebagian ada yang bisa. Mereka menirukan semua yang mereka dengar."

Jabu listened. The ring came again, exactly the same, with the same sharp second note. A real bird would have changed it at least once. "That's a machine," she said. "A bird would get bored."

Jabu menyimak. Deringnya terdengar lagi, persis sama, dengan nada kedua yang tajam yang sama. Burung sungguhan pasti sudah mengubahnya setidaknya sekali. "Itu mesin," katanya. "Burung pasti bosan."

"Then why is it so loud?"

"Lalu kenapa suaranya keras sekali?"

"I don't know. But we've been told to find it before the delivery lorry arrives at five."

"Aku tidak tahu. Tapi kita disuruh menemukannya sebelum truk pengiriman datang pukul lima."

Osei sighed. The store was almost empty at night. Only the freezers hummed, and the lights over the empty aisles buzzed like sleepy insects. Nobody had ever told him that a supermarket could feel so large. "All right," he said. "Let's find it."

Osei mendesah. Toko itu hampir kosong di malam hari. Hanya freezer yang berdengung, dan lampu-lampu di atas lorong kosong berdenging seperti serangga mengantuk. Tidak ada yang pernah memberi tahu bahwa supermarket bisa terasa sebesar ini. "Baiklah," katanya. "Ayo kita cari."

They started with the simplest plan. They stood in the middle of aisle nine and waited for the next ring. When it came, they walked toward it as fast as they could.

Mereka mulai dengan rencana paling sederhana. Mereka berdiri di tengah lorong sembilan dan menunggu dering berikutnya. Begitu terdengar, mereka berjalan menuju sumbernya secepat mungkin.

The sound seemed to come from the left. They hurried to the end of the aisle and found only a stack of empty boxes. Then the bell rang again, and now it sounded like it came from behind them. They turned around. Nothing was there.

Bunyinya seolah datang dari kiri. Mereka bergegas ke ujung lorong dan hanya menemukan setumpuk kardus kosong. Lalu bel itu berbunyi lagi, dan sekarang seperti datang dari belakang mereka. Mereka berbalik. Tidak ada apa-apa.

"This is stupid," Jabu said. "The sound is bouncing off the shelves. It's coming from everywhere."

"Ini bodoh," kata Jabu. "Suaranya memantul dari rak-rak. Datangnya dari mana-mana."

They tried again in aisle ten. Then in aisle eight. Each time, they ended up in the wrong place, with a wrong guess and sore feet. After twenty minutes, Osei sat on a crate of washing powder and put his head in his hands.

Mereka mencoba lagi di lorong sepuluh. Lalu di lorong delapan. Setiap kali mereka berakhir di tempat yang salah, dengan tebakan yang salah dan kaki yang pegal. Setelah dua puluh menit, Osei duduk di peti deterjen bubuk dan menyembunyikan wajah di kedua tangannya.

"My first plan has completely failed," he said.

"Rencana pertamaku gagal total," katanya.

"It was your plan?" Jabu asked.

"Itu rencanamu?" tanya Jabu.

"I just said we should walk toward it. That counts."

"Aku cuma bilang kita jalan menuju suaranya. Itu tetap dihitung."

Jabu laughed, then stopped. She was looking at the ceiling, where the speakers were. "What if the sound isn't from the speakers at all?" she said. "We've been guessing by ear. Ears are bad at this."

Jabu tertawa, lalu berhenti. Ia sedang memandang langit-langit, tempat pengeras suara berada. "Bagaimana kalau suaranya sama sekali bukan dari pengeras suara?" katanya. "Kita selama ini menebak dengan telinga. Telinga payah dalam hal ini."

"What else do we have?"

"Memang kita punya apa lagi?"

She took her phone from her pocket. "Two phones. Yours and mine. If one hears the ring a moment before the other, that tells us which way it comes from."

Ia mengeluarkan ponselnya dari saku. "Dua ponsel. Punyamu dan punyaku. Kalau salah satunya mendengar dering itu sesaat lebih dulu daripada yang lain, itu memberi tahu kita arah datangnya."

Osei raised his head. "That's actually clever."

Osei mengangkat kepalanya. "Itu sebenarnya cerdas."

"I watched a film about submarines last month. Don't tell anyone."

"Bulan lalu aku menonton film tentang kapal selam. Jangan bilang siapa-siapa."

They switched off the music and the little radio in the staff room. They even unplugged the drinks fridge by the door, which made a loud rattle. Then they put their phones on the floor at two ends of the aisle. The phones were thirty metres apart. They pressed record on both.

Mereka mematikan musik dan radio kecil di ruang staf. Mereka bahkan mencabut kulkas minuman di dekat pintu, yang berderak keras. Lalu mereka meletakkan ponsel di lantai di dua ujung lorong. Jarak kedua ponsel itu tiga puluh meter. Mereka menekan rekam di keduanya.

The store became very quiet. Osei could hear his own heart. He felt silly, standing still in a shop with his arms folded, waiting for a ring.

Toko menjadi sangat sunyi. Osei bisa mendengar detak jantungnya sendiri. Ia merasa konyol, berdiri diam di toko dengan tangan terlipat, menunggu sebuah dering.

Then it came. The bright note rolled down the aisle, and both phones caught it.

Lalu dering itu datang. Nada nyaringnya bergulir menyusuri lorong, dan kedua ponsel menangkapnya.

Jabu played the two recordings side by side on her screen. The lines of sound looked like two small mountains. "Look," she said. "Your phone heard it first. Not by much. A tiny bit."

Jabu memutar kedua rekaman berdampingan di layarnya. Garis-garis suaranya tampak seperti dua gunung kecil. "Lihat," katanya. "Ponselmu mendengarnya lebih dulu. Tidak jauh bedanya. Sedikit saja."

"So it's closer to my end."

"Jadi lebih dekat ke ujungku."

"Closer to your end, and low down. Your phone is on the floor, and the sound is stronger on it than on mine."

"Lebih dekat ke ujungmu, dan di bawah. Ponselmu ada di lantai, dan suaranya lebih kuat di sana daripada di ponselku."

They walked to Osei's end and knelt on the cold tiles. There was a big pallet of dog food there, wrapped in plastic. The delivery team had left it for the morning shift. Behind it, in the narrow gap against the wall, something blinked a small yellow light.

Mereka berjalan ke ujung Osei dan berlutut di ubin yang dingin. Di sana ada palet besar makanan anjing, terbungkus plastik. Tim pengiriman meninggalkannya untuk shift pagi. Di belakangnya, di celah sempit menempel dinding, sesuatu berkedip dengan cahaya kuning kecil.

"There," Osei whispered.

"Di situ," bisik Osei.

They moved the pallet together, pushing it with their shoulders. The plastic squeaked. In the gap sat a small grey machine about the size of a cat. It had four soft wheels, a flat top and a tiny screen. One of its wheels was stuck in a loose strip of tape from a box.

Mereka memindahkan palet itu bersama-sama, mendorongnya dengan bahu. Plastiknya berdecit. Di dalam celah itu duduk sebuah mesin kecil berwarna abu-abu seukuran kucing. Mesin itu punya empat roda lembut, bagian atas datar, dan layar mungil. Salah satu rodanya tersangkut sobekan selotip dari sebuah kardus.

"It's a stock robot," Jabu said. "The kind the big stores use. I've seen them on videos."

"Itu robot stok," kata Jabu. "Jenis yang dipakai toko-toko besar. Aku pernah melihatnya di video."

"Our store doesn't have one."

"Toko kita tidak punya."

"It does now."

"Sekarang punya."

The screen on the robot showed a sad little line of text. It said, "BATTERY LOW. NO HUMAN FOUND. RINGING FOR HELP." Then the doorbell rang again, so loud that both teenagers jumped.

Layar di robot itu menampilkan baris teks kecil yang menyedihkan. Bunyinya, "BATERAI LEMAH. TIDAK ADA MANUSIA. MEMBUNYIKAN BEL MINTA TOLONG." Lalu bel pintu itu berbunyi lagi, begitu keras sampai kedua remaja itu melonjak.

Osei put his hands over his ears. "It's ringing because it can't find anyone!"

Osei menutup telinganya dengan tangan. "Dia berbunyi karena tidak bisa menemukan siapa pun!"

"We were in the next aisle the whole time," Jabu said. She pulled the strip of tape from the wheel. The robot wiggled and rolled forward a little way, then stopped and rang again.

"Kita ada di lorong sebelah sepanjang waktu," kata Jabu. Ia menarik sobekan selotip dari roda itu. Robot itu bergoyang dan menggelinding maju sedikit, lalu berhenti dan berdering lagi.

"Make it stop," Osei begged.

"Hentikan dia," pinta Osei.

"I'm trying." Jabu turned the machine over. Underneath, there was a flat panel with a row of tiny symbols. One of them showed a plug. Another showed a bell with a line through it. "I think this one is the quiet button."

"Aku sedang berusaha." Jabu membalik mesin itu. Di bagian bawahnya ada panel datar dengan sederet simbol kecil. Salah satunya bergambar colokan. Yang lain bergambar bel dengan garis silang. "Kurasa yang ini tombol senyap."

She pressed the bell symbol. The ringing stopped at once. The silence that followed was so deep that Osei laughed out loud.

Ia menekan simbol bel itu. Dering berhenti seketika. Keheningan yang menyusul begitu dalam sampai Osei tertawa keras-keras.

"Now it needs power," she said. "There's a charging spot in the back office. The manager's keys are hanging by the door."

"Sekarang dia butuh daya," katanya. "Ada tempat pengisian daya di kantor belakang. Kunci manajer tergantung di dekat pintu."

They lifted the robot together. It was heavier than it looked. Osei carried the front and Jabu carried the back. They walked slowly through the dark store, like two people carrying a sleeping child.

Mereka mengangkat robot itu bersama-sama. Ternyata lebih berat daripada kelihatannya. Osei membawa bagian depan dan Jabu membawa bagian belakang. Mereka berjalan pelan-pelan melewati toko yang gelap, seperti dua orang yang menggendong anak yang sedang tidur.

In the office, they found the charging mat under a pile of paper. Jabu put the robot on it. A green light came on, and the small screen changed its message. It said, "CHARGING. THANK YOU, NIGHT STAFF."

Di kantor, mereka menemukan alas pengisi daya di bawah tumpukan kertas. Jabu meletakkan robot itu di atasnya. Lampu hijau menyala, dan layar kecil itu mengganti pesannya. Bunyinya, "SEDANG MENGISI DAYA. TERIMA KASIH, STAF SHIFT MALAM."

"It knows who we are," Osei said.

"Dia tahu siapa kita," kata Osei.

"It knows the job we do. That's different." Jabu looked pleased all the same. She picked up a sheet of paper from the desk. It was a letter from the head office, and she read it with a frown. "Listen to this. 'The new stock robot will arrive on a trial basis. Please keep it in the back office until training day.' It has been lost since Tuesday."

"Dia tahu pekerjaan yang kita lakukan. Itu beda." Meski begitu Jabu tampak senang. Ia mengambil selembar kertas dari meja. Itu surat dari kantor pusat, dan ia membacanya sambil mengernyit. "Dengarkan ini. 'Robot stok baru akan tiba untuk masa percobaan. Harap simpan di kantor belakang sampai hari pelatihan.' Dia hilang sejak Selasa."

"So the day manager's bird was this?"

"Jadi burung yang dibilang manajer shift siang itu dia?"

"A customer must have heard it ringing near the front doors. People think the strangest things."

"Pasti ada pelanggan yang mendengarnya berdering di dekat pintu depan. Orang-orang bisa berpikir yang aneh-aneh."

Osei checked the clock on the wall. It was ten to four. They had an hour before the lorry came. He felt tired, but he also felt proud. They had solved a real puzzle together.

Osei melihat jam di dinding. Sudah sepuluh menit menuju pukul empat. Mereka punya waktu satu jam sebelum truk datang. Ia merasa lelah, tetapi juga bangga. Mereka telah memecahkan teka-teki sungguhan bersama-sama.

They went back to aisle nine and finished the soup. They worked in a comfortable silence. Now and then Osei glanced toward the office, where the green light glowed through the glass.

Mereka kembali ke lorong sembilan dan menyelesaikan susunan sup. Mereka bekerja dalam keheningan yang nyaman. Sesekali Osei melirik ke arah kantor, tempat lampu hijau menyala di balik kaca.

At five o'clock the lorry arrived. The driver looked at the two tired teenagers, and he looked at the empty shelves they had filled. "Quiet night?" he asked.

Pukul lima truk itu tiba. Sopirnya memandang kedua remaja yang kelelahan itu, lalu rak-rak kosong yang telah mereka isi. "Malam yang tenang?" tanyanya.

"Very quiet," Jabu said. "Mostly."

"Sangat tenang," kata Jabu. "Sebagian besar."

When the driver went outside, Osei turned to her. "Do we tell the day manager about the robot?"

Ketika sopir itu keluar, Osei menoleh kepadanya. "Kita beri tahu manajer shift siang soal robotnya?"

"We'll leave her a note. A very short one." Jabu grinned. "I'll write that the parrot has been caught."

"Kita tinggalkan catatan untuknya. Yang sangat pendek." Jabu nyengir. "Aku akan menulis bahwa burung beonya sudah tertangkap."

"Fine," Osei said. "But if that machine ever learns to sing, I'm quitting."

"Baiklah," kata Osei. "Tapi kalau mesin itu sampai belajar bernyanyi, aku berhenti kerja."