The Drip on the Letter O

Lise worked for a sign painter named Bertil. Their small shop stood on a busy street. Every morning, Bertil mixed the paint. Every morning, Lise washed the brushes.

Lise bekerja untuk seorang pelukis papan nama bernama Bertil. Toko kecil mereka berdiri di jalan yang ramai. Setiap pagi, Bertil mencampur cat. Setiap pagi, Lise mencuci kuas.

She was new, and she wanted to paint. But for three months, she only cleaned.

Dia masih baru, dan dia ingin melukis. Tetapi selama tiga bulan, dia hanya membersihkan.

One Monday, Bertil looked at his sore wrist. He put down his brush.

Pada suatu hari Senin, Bertil melihat pergelangan tangannya yang sakit. Dia meletakkan kuasnya.

"I have a job at the shoe shop," he said. "Henrik wants a new sign. I cannot hold the brush today."

"Ada pekerjaan di toko sepatu," katanya. "Henrik ingin papan nama baru. Hari ini aku tidak bisa memegang kuas."

"Who paints it?" Lise asked.

"Siapa yang melukisnya?" tanya Lise.

"You do," Bertil said.

"Kamu," kata Bertil.

Lise looked at him. "Me? Alone?"

Lise menatapnya. "Aku? Sendirian?"

"You know the letters. You watched me for months."

"Kamu tahu huruf-hurufnya. Kamu sudah memperhatikanku berbulan-bulan."

"I only watched," she said.

"Aku hanya memperhatikan," katanya.

"Then now you paint," Bertil said. He gave her a ruler and a pencil. He gave her black paint.

"Kalau begitu sekarang kamu melukis," kata Bertil. Dia memberinya penggaris dan pensil. Dia memberinya cat hitam.

Lise walked to the shoe shop. Henrik stood at the door. He was a tall man with kind, tired eyes. Above him hung the old sign. The paint was gone.

Lise berjalan ke toko sepatu. Henrik berdiri di pintu. Dia pria tinggi dengan mata yang ramah dan lelah. Di atasnya tergantung papan nama lama. Catnya sudah hilang.

"Where is Bertil?" Henrik asked.

"Di mana Bertil?" tanya Henrik.

"His wrist hurts. I am Lise. I paint your sign."

"Pergelangan tangannya sakit. Saya Lise. Saya yang akan melukis papan nama Anda."

Henrik looked at her hands. Then he nodded. "Please begin. I have shoes to fix."

Henrik menatap tangan Lise. Lalu dia mengangguk. "Silakan mulai. Saya harus memperbaiki sepatu."

Lise drew the letters in pencil first. She measured each one with the ruler. Her hand was slow, but the lines were straight. People stopped and watched her. A boy said, "She is good."

Lise menggambar huruf-hurufnya dengan pensil lebih dulu. Dia mengukur setiap huruf dengan penggaris. Tangannya lambat, tetapi garis-garisnya lurus. Orang-orang berhenti dan menontonnya. Seorang anak laki-laki berkata, "Dia hebat."

Then she took the brush. She painted H. She painted E. She painted N. The black paint was smooth and bright.

Lalu dia mengambil kuas. Dia melukis H. Dia melukis E. Dia melukis N. Cat hitamnya halus dan cerah.

In SHOES, she painted a big round O. She was almost done. Then a drop of paint fell from the brush. It ran down the white board. It made a long black line under the O.

Pada kata SHOES, dia melukis huruf O yang besar dan bulat. Dia hampir selesai. Lalu setetes cat jatuh dari kuas. Tetesan itu mengalir di papan putih. Tetesan itu membuat garis hitam panjang di bawah huruf O.

Lise stopped. Her face went hot.

Lise berhenti. Wajahnya terasa panas.

"No," she whispered. She wanted to wash it off. But the paint was already dry at the edges.

"Tidak," bisiknya. Dia ingin menghapusnya. Tetapi cat itu sudah kering di bagian tepinya.

Henrik came out of his shop. He looked at the sign. He did not speak.

Henrik keluar dari tokonya. Dia memandangi papan nama itu. Dia tidak berkata apa-apa.

"I am sorry," Lise said. "I paint the whole board again."

"Maafkan saya," kata Lise. "Saya akan melukis ulang seluruh papannya."

"That takes all day," Henrik said.

"Itu memakan waktu seharian," kata Henrik.

"Yes."

"Ya."

"Wait," said a voice behind her. It was Bertil. He held his wrist in his other hand. "I walked here. I wanted to see."

"Tunggu," kata sebuah suara di belakangnya. Itu Bertil. Dia memegang pergelangan tangannya dengan tangan yang lain. "Aku berjalan ke sini. Aku ingin melihat."

He looked at the long black line for a moment. Lise waited for him to be angry.

Dia menatap garis hitam panjang itu sejenak. Lise menunggu dia marah.

"Every painter makes a drip," he said. "I made one last week."

"Setiap pelukis pernah membuat tetesan," katanya. "Minggu lalu aku juga membuatnya."

"What did you do?" she asked.

"Apa yang kamu lakukan?" tanyanya.

"I looked at it. A drip is only a line. What can a line become?"

"Aku memandanginya. Tetesan hanyalah sebuah garis. Garis itu bisa menjadi apa?"

Lise looked again. The line was thin and long. It had a small round end at the bottom.

Lise melihatnya lagi. Garis itu tipis dan panjang. Di bagian bawahnya ada ujung kecil yang membulat.

"A shoelace," she said slowly.

"Tali sepatu," katanya pelan.

"Maybe," Bertil said. "Paint it."

"Mungkin," kata Bertil. "Lukislah."

Lise took the thinnest brush. She made the line curl to the left. Then she made a small loop. She added two short tips at the end. They looked like a real lace. The O became a shoe with a lace hanging down.

Lise mengambil kuas yang paling tipis. Dia membuat garis itu melengkung ke kiri. Lalu dia membuat sebuah lingkaran kecil. Dia menambahkan dua ujung pendek di bagian akhir. Bentuknya seperti tali sepatu sungguhan. Huruf O itu menjadi sebuah sepatu dengan tali yang menjuntai.

Nobody spoke. Henrik walked closer to the sign. He touched the air near the lace.

Tidak ada yang berbicara. Henrik berjalan mendekati papan itu. Dia menyentuh udara di dekat tali itu.

"It looks like a loose shoe," he said. "That is my work. People bring me shoes with loose laces and holes."

"Kelihatannya seperti sepatu yang talinya lepas," katanya. "Itulah pekerjaan saya. Orang-orang membawa sepatu dengan tali lepas dan lubang."

"I can make it neater," Lise said.

"Saya bisa merapikannya," kata Lise.

"No," Henrik said. "Leave it."

"Tidak," kata Henrik. "Biarkan saja."

Bertil smiled and gave her a small paper. It was his old list of paint colors. "Tomorrow you paint the bike shop," he said. "I hold the ladder."

Bertil tersenyum dan memberinya secarik kertas kecil. Itu daftar warna cat miliknya yang lama. "Besok kamu melukis toko sepeda," katanya. "Aku yang memegang tangga."

Lise put the brush in the tin. Henrik hung the new sign above his door. Then he turned the card in his window. CLOSED became OPEN.

Lise menaruh kuas di kaleng. Henrik menggantung papan nama baru itu di atas pintunya. Lalu dia membalik kartu di jendelanya. CLOSED berubah menjadi OPEN.