The Duck on Desk Nine

Emre started the night shift at ten o'clock. The call centre was cold and quiet. Forty desks stood in long rows. Only six of them had people.

Emre memulai shift malam pukul sepuluh. Pusat panggilan itu dingin dan sepi. Empat puluh meja berdiri berderet panjang. Hanya enam yang ditempati.

Emre was nineteen. This was his second week. He worked for a water company. People called when a pipe broke or a tap did not stop.

Emre berumur sembilan belas tahun. Ini minggu keduanya. Ia bekerja untuk perusahaan air. Orang-orang menelepon kalau pipa pecah atau keran tidak mau berhenti.

He sat down at desk nine, by the window. Then he saw the duck.

Ia duduk di meja sembilan, dekat jendela. Lalu ia melihat bebek itu.

It was a small yellow rubber duck. It sat next to his screen. Its beak was a little open.

Itu bebek karet kuning kecil. Ia duduk di samping layarnya. Paruhnya sedikit terbuka.

"Is this yours?" Emre asked.

"Ini punyamu?" tanya Emre.

Wilf looked up from desk four. Wilf was the night leader. He had a big cup of coffee and a sleepy face.

Wilf mendongak dari meja empat. Wilf adalah pemimpin shift malam. Ia memegang cangkir kopi besar dan wajahnya mengantuk.

"Not mine," Wilf said. "It was not there yesterday."

"Bukan punyaku," kata Wilf. "Kemarin belum ada."

"Then who put it here?"

"Lalu siapa yang menaruhnya di sini?"

"No idea. People leave strange things in this room. Last month, it was a shoe."

"Tidak tahu. Orang-orang suka meninggalkan barang aneh di ruangan ini. Bulan lalu, sebuah sepatu."

Emre laughed. He picked up the duck. It was warm, like a cup of soup. On its bottom, in small black letters, was one word. It said, "Listen."

Emre tertawa. Ia mengambil bebek itu. Rasanya hangat, seperti secangkir sup. Di bagian bawahnya, dengan huruf hitam kecil, tertulis satu kata. Bunyinya, "Dengarkan."

He put the duck back. Then he put on his headset and took his first call.

Ia mengembalikan bebek itu. Lalu ia memasang headset dan menerima panggilan pertamanya.

A woman said her kitchen floor was wet. Emre kept his voice calm.

Seorang perempuan mengatakan lantai dapurnya basah. Emre menjaga suaranya tetap tenang.

"Look under the sink," he said. "Find the small tap on the pipe."

"Lihat di bawah wastafel," katanya. "Cari keran kecil di pipanya."

"I see it."

"Saya sudah melihatnya."

"Turn it to the right. Turn it all the way."

"Putar ke kanan. Putar sampai habis."

There was a short quiet. Then the woman said, "It stopped! Thank you!"

Ada keheningan singkat. Lalu perempuan itu berkata, "Berhenti! Terima kasih!"

"You're welcome," Emre said. "A worker comes in the morning."

"Sama-sama," kata Emre. "Petugas akan datang besok pagi."

He wrote his notes. He took another call, and then another. The night went by slowly. At midnight, he ate a sandwich at his desk. The other people typed and talked in low voices.

Ia menulis catatannya. Ia menerima panggilan lain, lalu satu lagi. Malam berlalu lambat. Tengah malam, ia makan sandwich di mejanya. Yang lain mengetik dan berbicara dengan suara rendah.

At one o'clock, the duck squeaked.

Pukul satu, bebek itu berdecit.

Nobody touched it. Emre was sure of that. He turned his head, and the duck was still. Its black eyes shone in the light of the screen. Then a very small voice came out of it. It sounded like paper in the wind.

Tidak ada yang menyentuhnya. Emre yakin akan hal itu. Ia menoleh, dan bebek itu diam. Mata hitamnya berkilau di cahaya layar. Lalu sebuah suara yang sangat kecil keluar darinya. Terdengar seperti kertas tertiup angin.

"The blue door," the voice said.

"Pintu biru," kata suara itu.

Emre looked around the room. Wilf read a magazine. The others had their headsets on. Nobody heard anything.

Emre memandang sekeliling ruangan. Wilf membaca majalah. Yang lain mengenakan headset. Tidak ada yang mendengar apa pun.

"Hello?" Emre said softly.

"Halo?" kata Emre pelan.

The duck said nothing more. He squeezed it. It made a normal squeak. He looked for a hole, a switch or a wire. There was nothing. He felt a little silly. He put the duck down and went back to work.

Bebek itu tidak berkata apa-apa lagi. Ia memencetnya. Bunyinya decit biasa. Ia mencari lubang, saklar, atau kabel. Tidak ada apa-apa. Ia merasa agak konyol. Ia meletakkan bebek itu dan kembali bekerja.

At three o'clock, every screen in the room went black.

Pukul tiga, setiap layar di ruangan itu menjadi hitam.

The phones went quiet at the same time. It was like a big door closing. For a moment, nobody spoke.

Telepon-telepon menjadi sunyi pada saat yang sama. Seperti pintu besar yang menutup. Sesaat tak seorang pun berbicara.

"No, no, no," Wilf said. He stood up so fast that his chair fell over.

"Tidak, tidak, tidak," kata Wilf. Ia berdiri begitu cepat sampai kursinya terjatuh.

"What happened?" Emre asked.

"Ada apa?" tanya Emre.

"The phone system is down. The whole thing. Nobody can call us now."

"Sistem telepon mati. Seluruhnya. Sekarang tidak ada yang bisa menelepon kita."

Wilf took out his own mobile phone. He called the repair man and listened. His face grew more and more worried.

Wilf mengeluarkan ponselnya sendiri. Ia menelepon montir dan mendengarkan. Wajahnya makin lama makin cemas.

"Forty minutes," he said when he finished. "He lives far away."

"Empat puluh menit," katanya setelah selesai. "Rumahnya jauh."

"Forty minutes is a long time," said the woman at desk two.

"Empat puluh menit itu lama," kata perempuan di meja dua.

"I know." Wilf rubbed his eyes. "A pipe may break in someone's house right now. They dial our number, and they hear nothing."

"Aku tahu." Wilf mengusap matanya. "Mungkin sekarang ada pipa pecah di rumah seseorang. Mereka memencet nomor kita, dan tidak mendengar apa-apa."

Everyone looked at the black screens. Nobody had an idea.

Semua orang memandang layar-layar yang hitam. Tak seorang pun punya ide.

Emre turned to the duck. It sat next to his dead screen, small and yellow. His heart beat faster.

Emre menoleh ke bebek itu. Ia duduk di samping layarnya yang mati, kecil dan kuning. Jantungnya berdegup lebih cepat.

"The blue door," he said, very quietly.

"Pintu biru," katanya, sangat pelan.

"What?" said Wilf.

"Apa?" kata Wilf.

"Is there a blue door in this building?"

"Apakah ada pintu biru di gedung ini?"

Wilf frowned. "At the end of the hall. It's the cleaners' cupboard. Why?"

Wilf mengernyit. "Di ujung lorong. Itu lemari petugas kebersihan. Kenapa?"

"I'm not sure," Emre said. "Can I look?"

"Aku tidak yakin," kata Emre. "Boleh aku lihat?"

"Take a torch. The hall lights are off too." Wilf gave him a small torch from his drawer.

"Bawa senter. Lampu lorong juga mati." Wilf memberinya senter kecil dari lacinya.

Emre picked up the duck without knowing why. He put it in his pocket.

Emre mengambil bebek itu tanpa tahu mengapa. Ia memasukkannya ke saku.

The hall was long and dark. His shoes made a loud sound on the floor. At the end, there was a door with blue paint. The paint was old. Emre pulled the handle, and the door opened with a creak.

Lorongnya panjang dan gelap. Sepatunya menimbulkan bunyi keras di lantai. Di ujung, ada pintu bercat biru. Catnya sudah tua. Emre menarik gagangnya, dan pintu terbuka dengan derit.

Inside, he saw brushes and boxes. On a low shelf sat a grey metal box. It was the size of a suitcase. All its small lights were dark.

Di dalam, ia melihat sikat dan kardus. Di rak rendah ada kotak logam abu-abu. Ukurannya seperti koper. Semua lampu kecilnya padam.

He moved the torch along the floor. A thick black cable lay there. One end was not in the wall. It lay on the tiles like a sleeping snake.

Ia menggerakkan senter di sepanjang lantai. Sebuah kabel hitam tebal tergeletak di sana. Salah satu ujungnya tidak tertancap di dinding. Kabel itu tergeletak di ubin seperti ular tidur.

"A cleaner hit it," he said to himself.

"Petugas kebersihan menabraknya," katanya pada diri sendiri.

He knelt down. He pushed the plug into the wall as hard as he could. Click.

Ia berlutut. Ia mendorong steker ke dinding sekuat tenaga. Klik.

Nothing happened. The grey box stayed dark.

Tidak terjadi apa-apa. Kotak abu-abu itu tetap gelap.

Emre looked at the duck. "Now what?" he asked.

Emre memandang bebek itu. "Sekarang bagaimana?" tanyanya.

The duck stayed silent. But on the front of the box, he saw a round button. It had a tiny picture of a moon. He pressed it and held it. One, two, three, four, five.

Bebek itu tetap diam. Tetapi di bagian depan kotak, ia melihat tombol bundar. Ada gambar bulan kecil di atasnya. Ia menekannya dan menahannya. Satu, dua, tiga, empat, lima.

A green light came on. Then another. The box began to hum like a happy cat.

Lampu hijau menyala. Lalu satu lagi. Kotak itu mulai berdengung seperti kucing yang senang.

Far away, down the hall, a phone began to ring. Then another. Then ten more together.

Jauh di ujung lorong, sebuah telepon mulai berdering. Lalu satu lagi. Lalu sepuluh lagi sekaligus.

Emre ran back with the torch jumping in his hand. The screens were bright again. Every desk had a light that flashed orange. Calls waited in a long line.

Emre berlari kembali dengan senter melompat-lompat di tangannya. Layar-layar menyala terang lagi. Setiap meja punya lampu yang berkedip oranye. Panggilan menunggu dalam antrean panjang.

"You did it!" Wilf shouted. "How?"

"Kamu berhasil!" seru Wilf. "Bagaimana?"

"Later," Emre said. "A cable was out of the wall." He sat down, pulled on his headset and pressed a key.

"Nanti," kata Emre. "Ada kabel yang lepas dari dinding." Ia duduk, memasang headset, dan menekan sebuah tombol.

"Water company. How can I help?"

"Perusahaan air. Ada yang bisa saya bantu?"

A man was very worried. Water filled his bathroom. Emre told him where to find the tap. He told him to stay calm. Behind him, the whole room was busy again. Six people talked at once.

Seorang pria sangat cemas. Air memenuhi kamar mandinya. Emre memberi tahu di mana letak kerannya. Ia menyuruhnya tetap tenang. Di belakangnya, seluruh ruangan sibuk lagi. Enam orang berbicara sekaligus.

The calls did not stop until the sky outside grew pale. At six o'clock, the day workers came in. They had bags and loud voices. The night people yawned and put on their coats.

Panggilan tidak berhenti sampai langit di luar memucat. Pukul enam, para pekerja shift siang masuk. Mereka membawa tas dan bersuara nyaring. Orang-orang shift malam menguap dan mengenakan mantel mereka.

Wilf stopped at desk nine. He put his hand on the back of Emre's chair.

Wilf berhenti di meja sembilan. Ia menaruh tangannya di sandaran kursi Emre.

"I told the repair man about the cable," he said. "He says that is very strange. And you found it in five minutes."

"Aku sudah memberi tahu montir soal kabelnya," katanya. "Katanya itu sangat aneh. Dan kamu menemukannya dalam lima menit."

"I was lucky," Emre said.

"Aku beruntung," kata Emre.

"Nobody is that lucky. How did you know?"

"Tidak ada yang seberuntung itu. Bagaimana kamu tahu?"

Emre took the duck from his pocket. He felt silly, but he said it anyway.

Emre mengeluarkan bebek itu dari sakunya. Ia merasa konyol, tetapi tetap mengatakannya.

"It told me. At one o'clock. It said, 'The blue door.'"

"Dia yang memberi tahuku. Pukul satu. Dia bilang, 'Pintu biru.'"

Wilf looked at the duck for a long time. He did not laugh. He took it from Emre's hand and squeezed it. It squeaked, a normal squeak.

Wilf menatap bebek itu lama sekali. Ia tidak tertawa. Ia mengambilnya dari tangan Emre dan memencetnya. Bunyinya decit biasa.

"It's only a duck," Wilf said slowly.

"Ini cuma bebek," kata Wilf perlahan.

"I know."

"Aku tahu."

"Then I'm going home to sleep." Wilf gave the duck back. At the door, he turned. "Bring it again tomorrow. Just in case."

"Kalau begitu aku pulang tidur." Wilf mengembalikan bebek itu. Di pintu, ia berbalik. "Bawa lagi besok. Jaga-jaga."

Emre was alone at his desk. The window was full of pink light. He turned the duck over to look at the bottom once more.

Emre sendirian di mejanya. Jendela dipenuhi cahaya merah muda. Ia membalik bebek itu untuk melihat bagian bawahnya sekali lagi.

The word "Listen" was gone. In the same small black letters, there was a new word.

Kata "Dengarkan" sudah hilang. Dengan huruf hitam kecil yang sama, ada kata baru.

It said, "Tomorrow."

Bunyinya, "Besok."