The Jukebox at Mile Ninety

The Mile Ninety Diner stood alone on a long desert road. At night, it was the only light for miles.

Kedai Mile Ninety berdiri sendirian di sebuah jalan gurun yang panjang. Pada malam hari, itulah satu-satunya cahaya sejauh bermil-mil.

Nasir owned the diner. Behind the counter, in the corner, stood his jukebox. It was very old and very strange.

Nasir pemilik kedai itu. Di balik meja, di sudut, berdiri jukebox miliknya. Benda itu sangat tua dan sangat aneh.

The jukebox never took coins. It played the song you needed, not the song you wanted. A sad driver heard a happy tune and smiled. A proud man heard a soft one. He went home to call his sister.

Jukebox itu tidak pernah menerima koin. Ia memutar lagu yang kamu butuhkan, bukan lagu yang kamu inginkan. Seorang sopir yang sedih mendengar nada riang dan tersenyum. Seorang pria yang sombong mendengar lagu yang lembut. Ia pulang untuk menelepon kakak perempuannya.

But tonight, the jukebox was silent.

Tetapi malam ini, jukebox itu diam.

Wes was the only customer. He was a truck driver with dusty boots and tired eyes. He sat at the counter with a cup of cold coffee.

Wes satu-satunya pelanggan. Ia sopir truk dengan sepatu bot berdebu dan mata lelah. Ia duduk di meja kasir dengan secangkir kopi dingin.

"Your music box is dead," he said.

"Kotak musikmu mati," katanya.

"It is not dead," said Nasir. "It is locked."

"Dia tidak mati," kata Nasir. "Dia terkunci."

"Locked?"

"Terkunci?"

"Once every two years, at midnight, it asks for the password. I must say it, or it stays quiet until sunrise." Nasir rubbed his face. "And I forgot it."

"Dua tahun sekali, pada tengah malam, dia meminta kata sandi. Aku harus mengucapkannya, atau dia diam sampai matahari terbit." Nasir mengusap wajahnya. "Dan aku lupa."

The jukebox gave a small blink. Its lights were orange, and they moved in slow circles.

Jukebox itu berkedip sedikit. Lampu-lampunya berwarna oranye, dan bergerak dalam lingkaran-lingkaran lambat.

"Why not write it down?" asked Wes.

"Kenapa tidak ditulis saja?" tanya Wes.

"I did. I wrote it on a sticky note and put it somewhere safe." Nasir looked sad. "That was two years ago."

"Sudah. Aku menulisnya di kertas tempel dan menaruhnya di tempat yang aman." Nasir tampak sedih. "Itu dua tahun yang lalu."

Wes put down his cup. He liked puzzles. On long roads, he did them in his head to stay awake.

Wes meletakkan cangkirnya. Ia suka teka-teki. Di jalan yang panjang, ia memecahkannya dalam kepala agar tetap terjaga.

"Okay," he said. "Let us find it together. What do we know?"

"Baiklah," katanya. "Ayo kita cari bersama. Apa yang kita tahu?"

"Nothing," said Nasir.

"Tidak ada," kata Nasir.

"We know a lot. We know the jukebox is magic. We know you chose the word. And we know you hid a note." Wes stood up and smiled. "That is three things. Let us start with the first one."

"Kita tahu banyak. Kita tahu jukebox ini ajaib. Kita tahu kamu yang memilih katanya. Dan kita tahu kamu menyembunyikan sebuah catatan." Wes berdiri dan tersenyum. "Itu tiga hal. Ayo mulai dari yang pertama."

They looked at the jukebox. Its lights blinked again. This time, Wes counted. The light blinked nine times, then it went dark.

Mereka memandang jukebox itu. Lampunya berkedip lagi. Kali ini, Wes menghitung. Lampu itu berkedip sembilan kali, lalu padam.

"Nine," he said. "I think the word has nine letters."

"Sembilan," katanya. "Kurasa katanya terdiri dari sembilan huruf."

"Nine?" Nasir wrote the number on his hand. "Good. That is clue one."

"Sembilan?" Nasir menulis angka itu di tangannya. "Bagus. Itu petunjuk pertama."

"Now clue two. The note." Wes walked slowly around the diner. "Where do you keep things you want to remember?"

"Sekarang petunjuk kedua. Catatannya." Wes berjalan pelan mengelilingi kedai. "Di mana kamu menyimpan barang yang ingin kamu ingat?"

"Here, on the wall. And there, on the fridge. And in the drawer."

"Di sini, di dinding. Dan di sana, di kulkas. Dan di laci."

They searched everywhere. Nasir opened the drawer and found forty pens and no paper. Wes looked behind the fridge. He found dust and one old fork. They searched under the counter and inside the salt boxes.

Mereka mencari ke mana-mana. Nasir membuka laci dan menemukan empat puluh pulpen dan tidak ada kertas. Wes melihat di belakang kulkas. Ia menemukan debu dan satu garpu tua. Mereka mencari di bawah meja dan di dalam kotak-kotak garam.

Nothing. The clock on the wall said half past midnight.

Tidak ada. Jam di dinding menunjukkan setengah satu malam.

"This is hopeless," said Nasir.

"Ini sia-sia," kata Nasir.

"Wait." Wes knelt in front of the jukebox. "Look here."

"Tunggu." Wes berlutut di depan jukebox. "Lihat ini."

Near the floor was a small yellow square. It was not a note. It was a small print of glue. A few bits of paper still stuck to it.

Dekat lantai ada sebuah kotak kecil berwarna kuning. Itu bukan catatan. Itu bekas cetakan lem yang kecil. Beberapa serpihan kertas masih menempel di situ.

"A sticky note was here once," said Wes. "It fell off a long time ago."

"Dulu ada kertas tempel di sini," kata Wes. "Sudah lama jatuh."

"The cleaner threw it away," said Nasir.

"Petugas kebersihan membuangnya," kata Nasir.

"Maybe. But the glue is still here." Wes bent closer. "And the paper left a tiny shape. See? It looks like a letter F."

"Mungkin. Tapi lemnya masih ada di sini." Wes membungkuk lebih dekat. "Dan kertasnya meninggalkan bentuk kecil. Lihat? Kelihatannya seperti huruf F."

Nasir looked. He saw a thin dark line, and a short line across it. "Is it an F?"

Nasir melihat. Ia melihat garis tipis yang gelap, dan garis pendek yang memotongnya. "Apa ini F?"

"It is a good guess. The word starts with F. That is clue two." Wes smiled. "Now we need clue three."

"Tebakan yang bagus. Katanya dimulai dengan F. Itu petunjuk kedua." Wes tersenyum. "Sekarang kita butuh petunjuk ketiga."

"What is clue three?" asked Nasir.

"Apa petunjuk ketiga?" tanya Nasir.

"I do not know yet. Tell me why you chose the word. What happened that day?"

"Aku belum tahu. Ceritakan padaku kenapa kamu memilih kata itu. Apa yang terjadi hari itu?"

Nasir sat down on a stool and thought. He remembered a hot afternoon, two years ago. The kitchen was a mess. A pipe broke, and a box of eggs fell on the floor. His keys were gone, and so was his phone.

Nasir duduk di atas bangku dan berpikir. Ia teringat sore yang panas, dua tahun lalu. Dapur berantakan. Sebuah pipa pecah, dan sekotak telur jatuh ke lantai. Kuncinya hilang, begitu juga ponselnya.

"I was very angry," he said. "I shouted at the walls. And I think I chose the password to joke about myself."

"Aku sangat marah," katanya. "Aku berteriak pada dinding. Dan kurasa aku memilih kata sandi itu untuk menertawakan diriku sendiri."

"A joke about yourself," Wes repeated. "That is helpful."

"Lelucon tentang dirimu sendiri," Wes mengulangi. "Itu membantu."

"I always forget things."

"Aku selalu lupa."

"Do you say that a lot?"

"Kamu sering mengatakannya?"

"All day," said Nasir. "I say it to the cook. I say it to the cat. Last week I said it to a man at the door."

"Sepanjang hari," kata Nasir. "Aku mengatakannya pada juru masak. Aku mengatakannya pada kucing. Minggu lalu aku mengatakannya pada seorang pria di pintu."

Wes stared at him. Slowly, a smile grew on his face.

Wes menatapnya. Perlahan, senyum merekah di wajahnya.

"Nasir, what is the word you say all day?"

"Nasir, apa kata yang kamu ucapkan sepanjang hari?"

"I always forget things," said Nasir. "I said it ten times today."

"Aku selalu lupa," kata Nasir. "Hari ini sudah sepuluh kali kuucapkan."

"No, not a sentence. A word. What do you call a thing that you forgot?"

"Bukan, bukan kalimat. Satu kata. Apa sebutan untuk sesuatu yang kamu lupakan, dalam bahasa Inggris?"

Nasir opened his mouth. He closed it. He opened it again.

Nasir membuka mulutnya. Ia menutupnya. Ia membukanya lagi.

"A forgotten thing," he whispered.

"A forgotten thing," bisiknya.

"Nine letters," said Wes. "Starts with F."

"Sembilan huruf," kata Wes. "Dimulai dengan F."

Nasir counted on his fingers. F, O, R, G, O, T, T, E, N. Nine. He jumped up so fast that the stool fell over.

Nasir menghitung dengan jarinya. F, O, R, G, O, T, T, E, N. Sembilan. Ia melompat berdiri begitu cepat sampai bangkunya terjatuh.

"It is a joke!" he said. "I forgot the password, and the password is Forgotten!"

"Ini lelucon!" katanya. "Aku lupa kata sandinya, dan kata sandinya adalah Forgotten!"

"A smart choice," said Wes.

"Pilihan yang cerdas," kata Wes.

"A silly choice," said Nasir. "But it is mine."

"Pilihan yang konyol," kata Nasir. "Tapi itu pilihanku."

He walked to the jukebox. He put both hands on its warm glass and said the word.

Ia berjalan ke jukebox. Ia menaruh kedua tangannya di kaca yang hangat itu dan mengucapkan kata itu.

"Forgotten."

"Forgotten."

For one moment, nothing happened. Then every light on the jukebox turned gold. It hummed, and the sound filled the whole diner. A soft guitar began to play, then a slow drum. It was the sound of an open road in the early morning.

Sesaat, tidak terjadi apa-apa. Lalu setiap lampu di jukebox berubah keemasan. Benda itu berdengung, dan bunyinya memenuhi seluruh kedai. Sebuah gitar lembut mulai dimainkan, lalu genderang yang pelan. Itu adalah suara jalan terbuka di pagi buta.

Wes put his hand on his chest. "That is my song," he said. "My father played it in his truck."

Wes menaruh tangannya di dada. "Itu laguku," katanya. "Ayahku memutarnya di truknya."

Wes did not say more. Nasir poured him fresh coffee and asked nothing. The two men stood and listened until the song ended.

Wes tidak berkata lebih banyak. Nasir menuangkan kopi baru untuknya dan tidak bertanya apa-apa. Kedua pria itu berdiri dan mendengarkan sampai lagu itu selesai.

Then Nasir found a pen and a small yellow paper. He wrote the word in big letters. Then he stuck the note on the jukebox.

Lalu Nasir mencari pulpen dan selembar kertas kuning kecil. Ia menulis kata itu dengan huruf besar. Lalu ia menempelkan catatan itu di jukebox.

Wes looked at it and shook his head.

Wes melihatnya dan menggeleng.

"Same place as last time," he said.

"Tempat yang sama seperti terakhir kali," katanya.