The Knight Drawn on a Bean

The seed library lives in the back room of the village hall, inside an old wooden cabinet with forty small drawers. Each drawer holds paper envelopes of seeds that people have saved from their gardens, and anyone can borrow a packet for free. The only rule is to bring back seeds from the plants that grow.

Perpustakaan benih berada di ruang belakang balai desa, di dalam sebuah lemari kayu tua dengan empat puluh laci kecil. Setiap laci berisi amplop-amplop kertas berisi benih yang disimpan orang-orang dari kebun mereka, dan siapa pun boleh meminjam satu bungkus secara gratis. Satu-satunya aturan adalah membawa kembali benih dari tanaman yang tumbuh.

Hari has volunteered here for three weeks. His job is simple. He writes names on envelopes, keeps the ledger up to date and tells visitors that yes, this really is free. Most afternoons he does his homework at the front desk and listens to the radio.

Hari sudah tiga minggu menjadi sukarelawan di sini. Tugasnya sederhana. Ia menulis nama di amplop-amplop, menjaga buku catatan tetap mutakhir, dan memberi tahu pengunjung bahwa ya, ini benar-benar gratis. Pada kebanyakan sore ia mengerjakan PR di meja depan sambil mendengarkan radio.

Today, the radio is off, because a stranger is standing at the desk with a small wooden box under one arm.

Hari ini, radio mati, karena seorang asing berdiri di meja dengan sebuah kotak kayu kecil terselip di bawah lengannya.

"Hi," says the stranger. "Do you have a pen?"

"Hai," kata orang asing itu. "Kamu punya pulpen?"

"Of course." Hari holds out his own. The stranger is about his age, with short dark hair, a green scarf and the tired look of someone who has travelled a long way. "Are you looking for seeds?"

"Tentu." Hari mengulurkan pulpennya sendiri. Orang asing itu seumuran dengannya, berambut hitam pendek, memakai syal hijau, dan tampak lelah seperti orang yang menempuh perjalanan jauh. "Kamu mencari benih?"

"Not exactly." The stranger opens the box on the desk. Inside is a travelling chess set, the folding kind, with tiny magnetic pieces tucked into little holes. "I'm Zia. I have a match in two hours, in the next village. I just checked the box, and the white knight is gone. I must have dropped it on the bus."

"Tidak persis." Orang asing itu membuka kotak di atas meja. Di dalamnya ada satu set catur lipat untuk bepergian, dengan bidak-bidak magnet mungil yang terselip di lubang-lubang kecil. "Aku Zia. Aku ada pertandingan dua jam lagi, di desa sebelah. Baru saja kuperiksa kotaknya, dan kuda putihnya hilang. Pasti terjatuh di bus."

Hari looks at the board. The white pieces stand in a neat line, and between the bishop and the rook there is an empty hole.

Hari memandang papan itu. Bidak-bidak putih berdiri dalam barisan rapi, dan di antara gajah dan benteng ada sebuah lubang kosong.

"That's bad," he says.

"Wah, gawat," katanya.

"It's terrible. I'm the captain, and the other club is very strict." Zia sighs and runs a hand through their hair. "I thought a shop might sell a single piece. But every shop in the village is closed for lunch, and I've walked past all of them."

"Mengerikan. Aku kaptennya, dan klub lawan sangat ketat." Zia menghela napas dan menyisir rambutnya dengan tangan. "Kupikir mungkin toko menjual satu bidak saja. Tapi semua toko di desa ini tutup untuk makan siang, dan aku sudah melewati semuanya."

Hari is about to say that he is sorry. Then he thinks of the book he has been reading in the evenings, a thick paperback called Chess for Complete Beginners. He is not good. He loses to his little cousin. But he has memorised the section on the rules, because it was the one part that felt like solving a puzzle.

Hari hampir berkata bahwa ia ikut menyesal. Lalu ia teringat buku yang ia baca setiap malam, sebuah buku tebal bersampul kertas berjudul Catur untuk Pemula Sejati. Ia tidak jago. Ia kalah dari sepupunya yang masih kecil. Tetapi ia sudah menghafal bagian tentang aturan, karena itulah satu-satunya bagian yang terasa seperti memecahkan teka-teki.

"Wait," he says. "I think there is a rule about this."

"Tunggu," katanya. "Kurasa ada aturan soal ini."

He pulls the paperback out of his bag and flips to the right page. After a minute he reads aloud. "'A damaged or missing piece may be replaced by any object of similar size, provided both players agree and the object is easy to recognise.' It's in the section on the rules."

Ia menarik buku itu keluar dari tasnya dan membalik ke halaman yang tepat. Setelah semenit ia membacakan dengan suara keras. "'Bidak yang rusak atau hilang boleh diganti dengan benda apa pun yang ukurannya serupa, asalkan kedua pemain setuju dan benda itu mudah dikenali.' Ada di bagian tentang aturan."

Zia stares at him. "You know the rules that well?"

Zia menatapnya. "Kamu sehafal itu soal aturannya?"

"I know three pages of them," says Hari. "I'm much better at the rules than at the game."

"Aku hafal tiga halaman," kata Hari. "Aku jauh lebih pandai soal aturan daripada soal permainannya."

For the first time, Zia smiles properly, and the tired look vanishes. "That is the most useful thing anyone has said to me all day. And I've played chess for nine years."

Untuk pertama kalinya, Zia tersenyum dengan sungguh-sungguh, dan tampang lelahnya lenyap. "Itu hal paling berguna yang dikatakan siapa pun padaku seharian ini. Dan aku sudah bermain catur selama sembilan tahun."

"Then you can teach me something later," says Hari, and immediately wishes he had stayed quiet. But Zia only nods.

"Kalau begitu nanti kamu bisa mengajariku sesuatu," kata Hari, dan langsung menyesal tidak diam saja. Tetapi Zia hanya mengangguk.

The difficult part is the replacement. They search the room together. A bottle cap is too big. A piece of chalk is too thin. A button from Hari's jacket looks exactly like a pawn, which would be dangerous.

Bagian yang sulit adalah penggantinya. Mereka mencari di ruangan itu bersama-sama. Tutup botol terlalu besar. Sepotong kapur terlalu tipis. Sebuah kancing dari jaket Hari terlihat persis seperti bidak pion, dan itu berbahaya.

Then Hari turns to the cabinet. He opens the drawer marked B and lifts out an envelope labelled broad beans, early variety. He tips one onto his palm. It is pale and flat and about the size of a thumbnail, with a dark scar on one side.

Lalu Hari berbalik ke lemari. Ia membuka laci bertanda K dan mengangkat keluar sebuah amplop berlabel kacang fava, varietas awal. Ia menuangkan satu ke telapak tangannya. Kacang itu pucat dan pipih dan seukuran kuku ibu jari, dengan bekas luka gelap di satu sisi.

"It's the right colour," he says. "It's almost white. And it stands up if you set it on its edge."

"Warnanya pas," katanya. "Hampir putih. Dan kacang ini bisa berdiri kalau diletakkan miring di tepinya."

"It doesn't look like a knight," says Zia.

"Tidak kelihatan seperti kuda," kata Zia.

"That's because nobody has drawn on it yet."

"Itu karena belum ada yang menggambar di atasnya."

He finds a fine black pen in his bag and, with his tongue between his teeth, draws a small horse's head on the bean. He gives it a curved neck, two pointed ears and a single dot for an eye. It takes him four attempts to get the nose right. The three failed beans go into a small, silent pile.

Ia menemukan pulpen hitam halus di tasnya dan, dengan lidah terselip di antara gigi, menggambar kepala kuda kecil di kacang itu. Ia memberinya leher melengkung, dua telinga runcing, dan satu titik sebagai mata. Dibutuhkan empat percobaan baginya untuk mendapatkan hidung yang tepat. Tiga kacang yang gagal masuk ke dalam tumpukan kecil yang diam.

Zia leans over the desk to watch, so close that their shoulders touch. Neither of them moves away.

Zia membungkuk di atas meja untuk menonton, begitu dekat sampai bahu mereka bersentuhan. Tak satu pun dari mereka bergeser menjauh.

"That is amazing," says Zia, when Hari holds up the finished piece. "It looks like it is thinking about something."

"Ini luar biasa," kata Zia, ketika Hari mengangkat bidak yang sudah jadi itu. "Kelihatannya seperti sedang memikirkan sesuatu."

"It is thinking about dinner," says Hari. "It's a bean."

"Dia sedang memikirkan makan malam," kata Hari. "Dia kan kacang."

Zia laughs so loudly that a man in the corridor looks in to check on them. Then Zia takes the bean carefully between two fingers and presses it into the empty hole. The magnet is too weak to hold it, but a small piece of tape from the desk does the job.

Zia tertawa begitu keras sampai seorang pria di lorong menengok untuk memeriksa mereka. Lalu Zia mengambil kacang itu dengan hati-hati di antara dua jari dan menekannya ke lubang kosong. Magnetnya terlalu lemah untuk menahannya, tetapi sepotong kecil selotip dari meja berhasil mengatasinya.

They look at the board. Seven white pieces stand in a row, and in the middle of them a tiny pale horse watches the empty squares ahead.

Mereka memandang papan itu. Tujuh bidak putih berdiri berjajar, dan di tengah-tengahnya seekor kuda kecil yang pucat mengawasi petak-petak kosong di depannya.

"If they refuse it, I'll show them the rule," says Zia. "And I'll tell them who found it."

"Kalau mereka menolaknya, akan kutunjukkan aturannya," kata Zia. "Dan akan kukatakan siapa yang menemukannya."

"You can leave my name out," says Hari.

"Namaku tidak usah disebut," kata Hari.

"No chance." Zia checks the clock on the wall. "I have to run to the bus stop. Can I borrow something from the cabinet? As a thank you. It seems wrong to leave without borrowing something."

"Tidak mungkin." Zia memeriksa jam di dinding. "Aku harus lari ke halte bus. Boleh aku meminjam sesuatu dari lemari? Sebagai ucapan terima kasih. Rasanya aneh pergi tanpa meminjam sesuatu."

"You have to bring seeds back," Hari says.

"Kamu harus membawa kembali benihnya," kata Hari.

"Then I'll have to grow something."

"Kalau begitu aku harus menumbuhkan sesuatu."

Hari hesitates, then opens a drawer at the very bottom. In the back, behind a row of tidy envelopes, there is one that has been there since he arrived. The paper has gone soft. On the front is a faded drawing of a flower and a single question mark, in handwriting nobody can identify.

Hari ragu-ragu, lalu membuka sebuah laci di paling bawah. Di bagian belakang, di balik sederet amplop yang rapi, ada satu amplop yang sudah ada di sana sejak ia datang. Kertasnya sudah lembut. Di bagian depannya ada gambar bunga yang pudar dan satu tanda tanya, dengan tulisan tangan yang tidak ada seorang pun bisa mengenali.

"Nobody has ever borrowed this one," he says. "Nobody knows what it is. The woman who started the library left it behind, and it just stayed."

"Belum pernah ada yang meminjam yang ini," katanya. "Tidak ada yang tahu isinya apa. Perempuan yang memulai perpustakaan ini meninggalkannya, dan benda ini tetap di situ."

Zia takes the envelope with both hands. "Perfect," Zia says. "I like a puzzle."

Zia mengambil amplop itu dengan kedua tangan. "Sempurna," kata Zia. "Aku suka teka-teki."

Hari opens the ledger and writes the date. Under Name he writes Zia. Under Plant he stops for a long moment, with the pen above the page, and then writes: Unknown.

Hari membuka buku catatan dan menulis tanggalnya. Di bawah Nama ia menulis Zia. Di bawah Tanaman ia berhenti lama sekali, dengan pulpen di atas halaman, lalu menulis: Tidak diketahui.

Zia hurries out of the door with the chess box under one arm and the envelope in a pocket. The green scarf disappears around the corner of the hall. Hari sits at the desk and looks at the open drawer, at the pile of ruined beans and at the pen still in his hand.

Zia bergegas keluar pintu dengan kotak catur terselip di bawah lengan dan amplop di saku. Syal hijau itu menghilang di tikungan balai. Hari duduk di meja dan memandang laci yang terbuka, tumpukan kacang yang rusak, dan pulpen yang masih di tangannya.

Neither of them has any idea what will grow.

Tak seorang pun dari mereka tahu apa yang akan tumbuh.