The Flower in the Library Book

Kaia works at the library on Saturdays. She sorts returned books onto a cart. One book comes back again and again. It is an old book about gardens.

Kaia bekerja di perpustakaan pada hari Sabtu. Ia menyortir buku-buku yang dikembalikan ke atas sebuah kereta dorong. Satu buku kembali berulang kali. Itu buku tua tentang taman.

Every time, the same page has a flower. The flower is small, dry, and flat. It always sits on page forty-two.

Setiap kali, halaman yang sama berisi sekuntum bunga. Bunga itu kecil, kering, dan pipih. Bunga itu selalu berada di halaman empat puluh dua.

Kaia finds this very strange. She checks the name on the card. The name is Otilia, a kind reader.

Kaia merasa ini sangat aneh. Ia memeriksa nama di kartu. Namanya Otilia, seorang pembaca yang ramah.

Kaia wants to solve this small puzzle. She waits by the counter on Saturday. A woman with gray hair returns the book.

Kaia ingin memecahkan teka-teki kecil ini. Pada hari Sabtu, ia menunggu di dekat meja. Seorang perempuan berambut abu-abu mengembalikan buku itu.

"Are you Otilia?" Kaia asks kindly.

"Apakah Anda Otilia?" tanya Kaia dengan ramah.

"Yes, that is me," the woman says.

"Ya, itu saya," kata perempuan itu.

"I found a flower in your book," Kaia says. "It is always on the same page."

"Saya menemukan bunga di buku Anda," kata Kaia. "Selalu di halaman yang sama."

Otilia smiles a warm, quiet smile. "That page has my favorite lines," she says. "I press a flower from my garden. Then I mark that page every time."

Otilia tersenyum, senyum yang hangat dan tenang. "Halaman itu berisi baris-baris favorit saya," katanya. "Saya menekan sekuntum bunga dari kebun saya. Lalu saya menandai halaman itu setiap kali."

"That is a lovely habit," Kaia says.

"Itu kebiasaan yang indah," kata Kaia.

"My garden has many small flowers," Otilia says. "Would you like to see it sometime?"

"Kebun saya punya banyak bunga kecil," kata Otilia. "Maukah Anda melihatnya kapan-kapan?"

Kaia nods with a big smile. "I would love that very much."

Kaia mengangguk sambil tersenyum lebar. "Saya senang sekali."

The next Saturday, Kaia visits the garden. Otilia gives her a small yellow flower. Kaia presses it inside her own book. She marks her favorite page, just like Otilia.

Pada Sabtu berikutnya, Kaia mengunjungi kebun itu. Otilia memberinya sekuntum bunga kuning kecil. Kaia menekannya di dalam bukunya sendiri. Ia menandai halaman favoritnya, sama seperti Otilia.

Now two books in town have flowers.

Kini dua buku di kota itu berisi bunga.