The Fort Before Two

The clock in the break room said 12:40. Sigrid looked at it and groaned.

Jam di ruang istirahat menunjukkan pukul 12.40. Sigrid memandangnya dan mengerang.

"The children come at two," she said. "We have eighty minutes."

"Anak-anak datang pukul dua," katanya. "Kita punya delapan puluh menit."

Hamza stood in the middle of the room. He held one pillow. "Where are the others?" he asked.

Hamza berdiri di tengah ruangan. Ia memegang satu bantal. "Mana yang lainnya?" tanyanya.

"The town hall forgot to send them," said Sigrid. "I brought nine from home."

"Balai kota lupa mengirimnya," kata Sigrid. "Aku bawa sembilan dari rumah."

"Nine pillows make a very small fort."

"Sembilan bantal membuat benteng yang sangat kecil."

"Nine pillows make a very small hat." She put one on his head. "We need sixty."

"Sembilan bantal membuat topi yang sangat kecil." Ia menaruh satu di kepala Hamza. "Kita butuh enam puluh."

Hamza took the pillow off. "Why did we say yes to this?"

Hamza mengambil bantal itu. "Kenapa kita setuju melakukan ini?"

"The manager asked us nicely."

"Manajer memintanya dengan baik-baik."

"I said yes because she promised us a free lunch."

"Aku setuju karena dia menjanjikan makan siang gratis."

Sigrid laughed. "Then we must finish. No fort, no lunch."

Sigrid tertawa. "Kalau begitu kita harus menyelesaikannya. Tidak ada benteng, tidak ada makan siang."

It was Family Day at the bus depot. Every year, the drivers showed children the big buses. This year, the manager wanted something new. She wanted a quiet fort in the break room. It had books and soft light. The children could rest there after the noisy engines. She gave the job to Sigrid and Hamza. They had the same long break.

Hari itu Hari Keluarga di depo bus. Setiap tahun, para sopir memperlihatkan bus-bus besar kepada anak-anak. Tahun ini, manajer menginginkan sesuatu yang baru. Ia menginginkan benteng yang tenang di ruang istirahat. Ada buku dan cahaya lembut di sana. Anak-anak bisa beristirahat di situ setelah mesin-mesin yang bising. Ia menyerahkan tugas itu kepada Sigrid dan Hamza. Mereka punya jam istirahat panjang yang sama.

"Right," said Hamza. "A fort needs walls. Let us make walls."

"Baiklah," kata Hamza. "Benteng butuh dinding. Mari kita buat dinding."

They put the nine pillows in a circle. Then they added the sofa cushions. There were six of them. Fifteen cushions made a low ring. It was as high as a sleeping dog.

Mereka menaruh kesembilan bantal itu melingkar. Lalu mereka menambahkan bantal-bantal sofa. Ada enam. Lima belas bantal membentuk lingkaran rendah. Tingginya hanya sebatas anjing yang sedang tidur.

"This is not a fort," said Sigrid. "It is a pillow puddle."

"Ini bukan benteng," kata Sigrid. "Ini kubangan bantal."

"Then we need a bigger puddle." Hamza stacked the cushions higher. The wall wobbled. He leaned on it to hold it. The whole wall fell on top of him.

"Kalau begitu kita butuh kubangan yang lebih besar." Hamza menumpuk bantal-bantal itu lebih tinggi. Dindingnya goyah. Ia bersandar padanya untuk menahannya. Seluruh dinding itu roboh menimpanya.

Sigrid laughed so hard that she had to sit down. Then she looked at the clock again. It said 12:55.

Sigrid tertawa begitu keras sampai harus duduk. Lalu ia melihat jam lagi. Jam menunjukkan pukul 12.55.

"I will ask the other drivers for pillows," said Hamza. He ran out to the yard.

"Aku akan minta bantal ke sopir-sopir lain," kata Hamza. Ia berlari keluar ke halaman.

He came back ten minutes later. He had no pillows. A man in the yard gave him a strange look.

Ia kembali sepuluh menit kemudian. Ia tidak membawa bantal. Seorang pria di halaman memandangnya dengan aneh.

"Nobody has spare pillows," he said. "All the drivers are out on their routes."

"Tidak ada yang punya bantal cadangan," katanya. "Semua sopir sedang di rute masing-masing."

"Of course they are. That is their job."

"Tentu saja. Itu pekerjaan mereka."

Hamza dropped onto the sofa. Sigrid did not look at him. She looked at the room. It was a plain room. It had a long table and six chairs. It also had a row of tall lockers. Two big cardboard boxes stood in the corner. They came with the new coffee machine. A grey blanket lay on top of the first-aid cupboard.

Hamza menjatuhkan diri ke sofa. Sigrid tidak memandangnya. Ia memandang ruangan itu. Itu ruangan biasa. Ada meja panjang dan enam kursi. Ada juga sederet loker tinggi. Dua kardus besar berdiri di pojok. Kardus itu datang bersama mesin kopi baru. Sehelai selimut abu-abu tergeletak di atas lemari P3K.

"Hamza," she said slowly. "We have this all wrong."

"Hamza," katanya pelan. "Kita salah paham dari awal."

"I know. Next year, we say no."

"Aku tahu. Tahun depan, kita bilang tidak."

"Not that. We used pillows for the walls, and pillows make bad walls." She pointed around the room. "Pillows make a good floor. We need walls from something else."

"Bukan itu. Kita pakai bantal untuk dinding, dan bantal itu dinding yang buruk." Ia menunjuk ke sekeliling ruangan. "Bantal cocok untuk lantai. Dinding kita buat dari benda lain."

Hamza sat up. "What else is a wall?"

Hamza duduk tegak. "Apa lagi yang bisa jadi dinding?"

"A table. A locker. A box."

"Meja. Loker. Kardus."

He looked at the long table. Then he smiled. "What time is it?"

Ia memandang meja panjang itu. Lalu ia tersenyum. "Jam berapa sekarang?"

"Five past one. We have fifty-five minutes."

"Satu lewat lima. Kita punya lima puluh lima menit."

"Then let us move!"

"Kalau begitu ayo bergerak!"

They turned the long table on its side. It made a wall as high as Sigrid's shoulder. The lockers already stood against the back of the room. They made a second wall for free. Hamza opened the two big boxes and taped them together. That made a third wall. Sigrid cut a small door in it.

Mereka membalik meja panjang itu ke sisinya. Meja itu membentuk dinding setinggi bahu Sigrid. Loker-loker sudah berdiri menempel di belakang ruangan. Itu menjadi dinding kedua tanpa usaha. Hamza membuka kedua kardus besar dan melakbannya menjadi satu. Itu menjadi dinding ketiga. Sigrid memotong pintu kecil di sana.

"Where is the roof?" asked Hamza.

"Mana atapnya?" tanya Hamza.

Sigrid held up the grey blanket. "Here. And my coat. And yours."

Sigrid mengangkat selimut abu-abu itu. "Ini. Dan mantelku. Dan mantelmu."

"Not my coat. It is my best coat."

"Jangan mantelku. Itu mantel terbaikku."

"It is your only coat." She took it anyway.

"Itu satu-satunya mantelmu." Ia mengambilnya juga.

They tied the blanket to the table and to a locker door. Two broom handles held up the middle. The roof sagged a little, but it stayed up.

Mereka mengikat selimut itu pada meja dan pada pintu sebuah loker. Dua gagang sapu menopang bagian tengahnya. Atapnya melorot sedikit, tetapi tetap bertahan.

At 1:30, they started on the floor. They laid all nine pillows down in a thick layer. They put the sofa cushions on top. The floor looked like a soft white cloud. Then Hamza found a string of small lights in the cupboard. He hung it inside the roof and plugged it in. The whole fort glowed.

Pukul 1.30, mereka mulai mengerjakan lantai. Mereka menata kesembilan bantal itu dalam lapisan tebal. Mereka menaruh bantal-bantal sofa di atasnya. Lantainya tampak seperti awan putih yang lembut. Lalu Hamza menemukan untaian lampu kecil di lemari. Ia menggantungnya di bagian dalam atap dan mencolokkannya. Seluruh benteng itu bersinar.

Sigrid crawled in through the small door. She lay on her back and looked at the lights. "It is perfect," she said. "I could sleep here until Friday."

Sigrid merangkak masuk lewat pintu kecil. Ia berbaring telentang dan memandangi lampu-lampu itu. "Sempurna," katanya. "Aku bisa tidur di sini sampai hari Jumat."

"Do not sleep," said Hamza. "It is 1:50."

"Jangan tidur," kata Hamza. "Sekarang pukul 1.50."

"Ten minutes!" She came out fast. "The books! Where are the books?"

"Sepuluh menit!" Ia keluar dengan cepat. "Buku-bukunya! Mana buku-bukunya?"

They ran to the shelf by the window. They took twenty picture books. They put them in a box inside the fort. At 1:58, the roof dropped on one side. Hamza held it up with his head. Sigrid pushed a chair under it, but the chair was too short. At 1:59, Hamza's head was still the roof.

Mereka berlari ke rak di dekat jendela. Mereka mengambil dua puluh buku bergambar. Mereka menaruhnya dalam sebuah kotak di dalam benteng. Pukul 1.58, atap melorot di salah satu sisi. Hamza menahannya dengan kepalanya. Sigrid mendorong sebuah kursi ke bawahnya, tetapi kursi itu terlalu pendek. Pukul 1.59, kepala Hamza masih menjadi atap.

"Do not move," whispered Sigrid.

"Jangan bergerak," bisik Sigrid.

"I cannot move," whispered Hamza. "My head is the roof."

"Aku tidak bisa bergerak," bisik Hamza. "Kepalaku adalah atapnya."

The door opened at exactly two o'clock. Twelve children ran into the room, and the manager came behind them. They all stopped in front of the fort. For a long moment, nobody spoke.

Pintu terbuka tepat pukul dua. Dua belas anak berlari masuk ke ruangan, dan manajer mengikuti di belakang mereka. Mereka semua berhenti di depan benteng itu. Untuk waktu yang lama, tak ada yang berbicara.

Then a small boy pointed. "Is it a house?"

Lalu seorang anak laki-laki kecil menunjuk. "Itu rumah?"

"It is a fort," said Hamza, from under the roof. "You can read inside."

"Itu benteng," kata Hamza, dari bawah atap. "Kalian boleh membaca di dalamnya."

The children crawled in one by one. Soon the fort was full of bright eyes and loud whispers.

Anak-anak merangkak masuk satu per satu. Tak lama benteng itu penuh mata yang berbinar dan bisik-bisik yang riuh.

"It is bigger inside than outside," said a girl.

"Di dalamnya lebih besar daripada di luarnya," kata seorang anak perempuan.

"That is how a good fort works," said Sigrid.

"Begitulah benteng yang bagus bekerja," kata Sigrid.

The manager stood by the walls and looked at them. She looked at the boxes and the lockers. She looked at the long table on its side. Then she looked at Hamza's head under the roof.

Manajer berdiri di dekat dinding-dinding itu dan memandangi mereka. Ia memandang kardus-kardus dan loker-loker. Ia memandang meja panjang yang terbalik di sisinya. Lalu ia memandang kepala Hamza di bawah atap.

"Where are the sixty pillows from the town hall?" she asked.

"Mana enam puluh bantal dari balai kota?" tanyanya.

"They never came," said Sigrid. "Our nine pillows hold up the whole floor."

"Tidak pernah datang," kata Sigrid. "Sembilan bantal kami menopang seluruh lantainya."

"And the walls?"

"Dan dinding-dindingnya?"

"Lockers, boxes and one table," said Hamza. "The table is not happy about it."

"Loker, kardus, dan satu meja," kata Hamza. "Mejanya tidak senang dengan hal itu."

The manager laughed. She got down on her knees. She looked in through the small door. "May I come in?"

Manajer tertawa. Ia berlutut. Ia mengintip lewat pintu kecil. "Boleh saya masuk?"

"No," said a small voice. "Shoes off first. That is the rule."

"Tidak," kata sebuah suara kecil. "Lepas sepatu dulu. Itu aturannya."

"Whose rule?"

"Aturan siapa?"

"Ours," said the girl in the back. "We made it."

"Aturan kami," kata anak perempuan di belakang. "Kami yang membuatnya."

The manager looked at Sigrid. Sigrid looked at the ceiling. Then the manager took off her shoes and crawled in.

Manajer memandang Sigrid. Sigrid memandang langit-langit. Lalu manajer melepas sepatunya dan merangkak masuk.

Hamza leaned close to Sigrid. "I came here eleven years ago," he whispered. "Nobody ever made her take off her shoes."

Hamza mencondongkan badan ke dekat Sigrid. "Aku datang ke sini sebelas tahun lalu," bisiknya. "Tak pernah ada yang menyuruhnya melepas sepatu."

"Twelve children did it in twelve seconds," said Sigrid.

"Dua belas anak melakukannya dalam dua belas detik," kata Sigrid.

Hamza smiled. "Next year, let us ask them to run the depot."

Hamza tersenyum. "Tahun depan, kita minta mereka yang mengelola depo ini."