The Key With No Name

Aarav came to the pool early on Saturday. The building was quiet. The only sound was the soft hum of the pumps.

Aarav datang ke kolam renang pagi-pagi pada hari Sabtu. Gedung itu sunyi. Satu-satunya suara adalah dengung lembut pompa-pompa.

He was the new manager of the community pool. It was his third week. Every Saturday, forty children came for lessons. That day the first class started at nine.

Ia manajer baru kolam renang komunitas itu. Ini minggu ketiganya. Setiap Sabtu, empat puluh anak datang untuk les. Hari itu kelas pertama dimulai pukul sembilan.

The pool smelled of soap and wet stone. Blue light moved on the ceiling. Aarav liked it best at this hour, before the shouting began.

Kolam itu berbau sabun dan batu basah. Cahaya biru bergerak di langit-langit. Aarav paling menyukainya pada jam seperti ini, sebelum keributan dimulai.

He took the ring of keys from his pocket. There were twelve keys on it. Each key had a small paper tag in a plastic window. The tags came from the woman who ran the pool before. She moved to the coast in the spring. Her letters were round and careful. OFFICE. SIDE DOOR. PUMP ROOM. SHOWERS.

Ia mengeluarkan seikat kunci dari sakunya. Ada dua belas kunci di sana. Setiap kunci punya label kertas kecil di jendela plastik. Label-label itu berasal dari perempuan yang mengelola kolam sebelumnya. Ia pindah ke pesisir pada musim semi. Tulisannya bulat dan teliti. KANTOR. PINTU SAMPING. RUANG POMPA. KAMAR BILAS.

But the tags were old. Six of the little windows showed only a grey smudge. Nobody could read them. They looked like tired eyes.

Tetapi label-label itu sudah tua. Enam jendela kecil hanya menampakkan noda abu-abu. Tidak ada yang bisa membacanya. Tampaknya seperti mata yang lelah.

Aarav did not notice it until that morning. The lesson plan needed foam floats and kickboards. They lived in the long metal cupboard by the shallow end. The cupboard was locked.

Aarav baru menyadarinya pagi itu. Rencana pelajaran membutuhkan pelampung busa dan papan tendang. Semuanya disimpan di lemari logam panjang di dekat sisi kolam yang dangkal. Lemari itu terkunci.

He tried the first key. It did not fit. He tried the second. It turned halfway and stopped. He tried the third, the fourth and the fifth.

Ia mencoba kunci pertama. Tidak cocok. Ia mencoba yang kedua. Kunci itu berputar setengah dan berhenti. Ia mencoba yang ketiga, keempat, dan kelima.

The clock on the wall said eight twenty.

Jam di dinding menunjukkan pukul delapan lewat dua puluh.

Aarav tried the keys again, faster. His hands began to shake a little. The keys clinked together like small fish in a bucket. He could not remember which keys he tried.

Aarav mencoba kunci-kunci itu lagi, lebih cepat. Tangannya mulai sedikit gemetar. Kunci-kunci itu berdenting bersamaan seperti ikan-ikan kecil di dalam ember. Ia tidak bisa mengingat kunci mana yang sudah ia coba.

At eight forty, the front door opened. A boy came in with a bag on his back. He was about eight years old and very thin. His name was Adel. He always came early. He sat on the bench by the wall. He read a book about sea animals. He never went into the water. He only watched the others.

Pukul delapan empat puluh, pintu depan terbuka. Seorang anak laki-laki masuk dengan tas di punggungnya. Umurnya sekitar delapan tahun dan sangat kurus. Namanya Adel. Ia selalu datang lebih awal. Ia duduk di bangku dekat dinding. Ia membaca buku tentang hewan laut. Ia tidak pernah masuk ke air. Ia hanya menonton anak-anak lain.

"Good morning," Adel said.

"Selamat pagi," kata Adel.

"Good morning," Aarav said, without turning around.

"Selamat pagi," kata Aarav tanpa berbalik.

Adel put his bag down. He watched Aarav push another key into the lock. "Is the cupboard stuck?" he asked.

Adel meletakkan tasnya. Ia memperhatikan Aarav memasukkan kunci lain ke dalam gembok. "Lemarinya macet?" tanyanya.

"It is locked," Aarav said. "And half of my tags cannot be read."

"Terkunci," kata Aarav. "Dan separuh labelku tidak bisa dibaca."

"Show me," Adel said.

"Coba kulihat," kata Adel.

Aarav held up the ring. The grey smudges looked dull in the blue light.

Aarav mengangkat ikatan kunci itu. Noda-noda abu-abu itu tampak kusam dalam cahaya biru.

Adel came a little closer. He looked at the keys for a long time. "You tried this one four times," he said. "And this one three times. I counted."

Adel mendekat sedikit. Ia memandangi kunci-kunci itu lama sekali. "Yang ini Kakak coba empat kali," katanya. "Dan yang ini tiga kali. Aku menghitung."

Aarav stopped. "You counted?"

Aarav berhenti. "Kamu menghitung?"

"I always count," Adel said. "It helps when I feel nervous."

"Aku selalu menghitung," kata Adel. "Itu membantu kalau aku gugup."

Aarav looked at the boy. Then he looked at his own hands. They were still shaking. "I am a bit nervous too," he said.

Aarav memandang anak itu. Lalu ia memandang tangannya sendiri. Tangan itu masih gemetar. "Aku juga sedikit gugup," katanya.

"I know," Adel said. "You keep trying the same keys."

"Aku tahu," kata Adel. "Kakak terus mencoba kunci yang sama."

He walked back to the bench and opened his bag. He took out a ball of blue thread. He used it for a school project about fishing nets. He cut a short piece with small scissors. Then he held it out.

Ia berjalan kembali ke bangku dan membuka tasnya. Ia mengeluarkan segulung benang biru. Benang itu untuk proyek sekolah tentang jaring ikan. Ia memotong sepotong pendek dengan gunting kecil. Lalu ia mengulurkannya.

"Tie this on every key you try," Adel said. "Then you will know which ones are finished."

"Ikat ini di setiap kunci yang Kakak coba," kata Adel. "Jadi Kakak akan tahu mana yang sudah selesai."

Aarav almost laughed. It was such a small idea. It was also exactly the idea he needed.

Aarav hampir tertawa. Itu gagasan yang sangat sederhana. Itu juga persis gagasan yang ia butuhkan.

He took the thread. He tied a piece on the first key, then the second. He went down the ring slowly. He tried each key once. Each failed key wore a little blue bow.

Ia mengambil benang itu. Ia mengikatkan sepotong pada kunci pertama, lalu kunci kedua. Ia menyusuri ikatan itu pelan-pelan. Ia mencoba setiap kunci satu kali. Setiap kunci yang gagal memakai pita biru kecil.

Adel stood next to him and counted out loud. "Six," he said. "Seven. Eight."

Adel berdiri di sampingnya dan menghitung dengan suara keras. "Enam," katanya. "Tujuh. Delapan."

The clock said eight fifty. Outside, the first parents arrived. Aarav heard car doors and small voices. A child laughed near the entrance. Somebody knocked on the glass.

Jam menunjukkan pukul delapan lima puluh. Di luar, para orang tua pertama tiba. Aarav mendengar pintu mobil dan suara-suara kecil. Seorang anak tertawa di dekat pintu masuk. Seseorang mengetuk kaca.

"Nine," Adel said.

"Sembilan," kata Adel.

The ninth key slid into the lock easily. Aarav felt it in his fingers before he turned it. It was one of the keys with a grey smudge. He turned it, and the lock opened with a soft click.

Kunci kesembilan masuk ke gembok dengan mudah. Aarav merasakannya di jari-jarinya sebelum memutarnya. Itu salah satu kunci dengan noda abu-abu. Ia memutarnya, dan gembok itu terbuka dengan bunyi klik lembut.

The cupboard was full of bright foam floats. They were blue and yellow and green. It smelled of rubber and old sunshine.

Lemari itu penuh pelampung busa yang cerah. Warnanya biru, kuning, dan hijau. Baunya seperti karet dan sinar matahari lama.

For a moment, Aarav only stood there. His shoulders felt lighter. The problem was not big. But it stopped him completely. The thread solved it in ten minutes.

Sesaat, Aarav hanya berdiri di sana. Bahunya terasa lebih ringan. Masalahnya tidak besar. Tetapi masalah itu menghentikannya sepenuhnya. Benang itu menyelesaikannya dalam sepuluh menit.

"Thank you," he said.

"Terima kasih," katanya.

"It was easy," Adel said. "You only needed to stop trying the same ones."

"Gampang kok," kata Adel. "Kakak cuma perlu berhenti mencoba yang itu-itu saja."

Aarav carried the floats to the edge of the pool. Then he let the children in. They came running. Their wet feet slapped on the stone. He said "Walk, please" twelve times. By nine, the water was full of kicking legs and loud laughter.

Aarav membawa pelampung-pelampung itu ke tepi kolam. Lalu ia mempersilakan anak-anak masuk. Mereka berlarian datang. Kaki-kaki basah mereka menampar batu. Ia mengatakan "Jalan, ya" dua belas kali. Pada pukul sembilan, air sudah penuh dengan kaki-kaki yang menendang dan tawa yang riuh.

Adel sat on his bench with his sea book. But this time, he did not open it. He watched the water for a long time.

Adel duduk di bangkunya dengan buku lautnya. Tetapi kali ini, ia tidak membukanya. Ia menonton air itu lama sekali.

When the class finished, the pool was quiet again. Aarav came back to the cupboard. The key ring was in his hand. The blue bows were still tied to eight of the keys. The ninth key had no bow, because it opened the cupboard.

Ketika kelas selesai, kolam kembali sunyi. Aarav kembali ke lemari. Ikatan kunci itu ada di tangannya. Pita-pita biru masih terikat pada delapan kunci. Kunci kesembilan tidak punya pita, karena kunci itulah yang membuka lemari.

He took a small piece of paper from the office. He took a pen. He wrote one word in large letters on it. FLOATS.

Ia mengambil secarik kertas kecil dari kantor. Ia mengambil pulpen. Ia menulis satu kata dengan huruf besar di atasnya. PELAMPUNG.

Then, under it, he wrote a small A.

Lalu, di bawahnya, ia menulis huruf A kecil.

Adel looked over his arm. "Why the A?" he asked.

Adel melihat dari balik lengannya. "Kenapa ada A-nya?" tanyanya.

"Because the old tags are hers," Aarav said. "This one is mine."

"Karena label-label lama itu milik dia," kata Aarav. "Yang ini milikku."

He put the new tag into the window of the ninth key. It sat a little crooked. It did not look like the others. The letters were square and quick, not round and careful.

Ia memasukkan label baru itu ke jendela kunci kesembilan. Label itu agak miring. Tampilannya tidak seperti yang lain. Hurufnya persegi dan cepat, bukan bulat dan teliti.

"I like it," Adel said. "Now it has a name. Now it cannot get lost."

"Aku suka," kata Adel. "Sekarang dia punya nama. Sekarang dia tidak akan hilang."