The Knots on the Roof Line

Pavel is twenty-two, and tonight is his first show alone. He sits in a small studio on the top floor. The building is old and quiet. The microphone hangs in front of his face like a question.

Pavel berumur dua puluh dua tahun, dan malam ini adalah siaran solo pertamanya. Ia duduk di sebuah studio kecil di lantai paling atas. Gedung itu tua dan sunyi. Mikrofon menggantung di depan wajahnya seperti sebuah pertanyaan.

Olive sits on the other side of the glass. She volunteers at the radio station, and she answers the request phone. She gives him a thumbs-up. He gives her a weak smile.

Olive duduk di seberang kaca. Ia sukarelawan di stasiun radio itu, dan ia menjawab telepon permintaan lagu. Ia mengacungkan jempol. Pavel membalasnya dengan senyum lemah.

"Good evening," he says. His voice is too high. He clears his throat and tries again. "Good evening, night people. This is Night Harbor Radio, and I'm Pavel."

"Selamat malam," katanya. Suaranya terlalu tinggi. Ia berdeham dan mencoba lagi. "Selamat malam, para penghuni malam. Ini Night Harbor Radio, dan aku Pavel."

The first hour goes well. He plays music. He reads the news from his notes. He says one wrong word, and nobody notices.

Jam pertama berjalan lancar. Ia memutar musik. Ia membacakan berita dari catatannya. Ia salah mengucapkan satu kata, dan tidak ada yang memperhatikan.

At midnight, the sound changes. A soft crackle runs under the music. It grows louder. Soon the songs sound like eggs in a hot pan.

Pada tengah malam, suaranya berubah. Derak lembut mengalir di bawah musik. Derak itu makin keras. Tak lama kemudian lagu-lagu terdengar seperti telur dalam wajan panas.

The phone rings. Olive listens and writes on a card. She holds the card against the glass. It says: "THE SOUND IS BAD. FIX IT?"

Telepon berdering. Olive mendengarkan dan menulis di sebuah kartu. Ia menempelkan kartu itu ke kaca. Tulisannya: "SUARANYA JELEK. BISA DIPERBAIKI?"

Pavel's stomach drops. He knows what to do. The manager left a note on the wall. It says: "If it crackles, check the antenna rope."

Perut Pavel serasa jatuh. Ia tahu apa yang harus dilakukan. Manajer meninggalkan catatan di dinding. Bunyinya: "Kalau berderak, periksa tali antena."

He starts a long song, so he has time. Then he takes a flashlight and runs up the back stairs.

Ia memutar sebuah lagu yang panjang, supaya punya waktu. Lalu ia mengambil senter dan berlari menaiki tangga belakang.

The roof is dark and quiet. The city lights spread out below. In the middle stands a tall metal pole. The antenna wire hangs from a small wheel at the top. A rope runs through the wheel and holds the wire. When the rope is loose, the wire hangs low. Then the sound gets bad. Pavel must pull the rope to lift the wire tight.

Atapnya gelap dan sunyi. Lampu-lampu kota terhampar di bawah. Di tengah berdiri sebuah tiang logam yang tinggi. Kawat antena menggantung dari sebuah roda kecil di puncaknya. Sebuah tali melewati roda itu dan menahan kawatnya. Ketika tali longgar, kawat menggantung rendah. Lalu suaranya jadi buruk. Pavel harus menarik tali untuk mengangkat kawat sampai kencang.

Then he sees the rope. It has knots in it. Not three or four. He counts fourteen, from the wheel down to his feet. Some are small and some are as big as apples.

Lalu ia melihat talinya. Tali itu penuh simpul. Bukan tiga atau empat. Ia menghitung empat belas, dari roda sampai ke kakinya. Ada yang kecil dan ada yang sebesar apel.

"Who did this?" he says to the night.

"Siapa yang melakukan ini?" katanya kepada malam.

He takes the rope in both hands and pulls. It moves a little. Then the first knot hits the wheel and stops. He pulls harder. The rope bites his hands. The knot does not move. The wire stays low.

Ia memegang tali dengan kedua tangan dan menariknya. Tali itu bergerak sedikit. Lalu simpul pertama menghantam roda dan berhenti. Ia menarik lebih keras. Tali itu menggigit tangannya. Simpulnya tidak bergerak. Kawatnya tetap rendah.

He tries to untie the knot now. His fingers slip. The rope is old and hard as stone. After five minutes, one knot is loose and thirteen are left.

Sekarang ia mencoba membuka simpul itu. Jari-jarinya tergelincir. Talinya tua dan keras seperti batu. Setelah lima menit, satu simpul longgar dan tiga belas masih tersisa.

He holds his phone to his ear and listens to the station. The crackle is worse now. Then the long song ends, and there is only silence.

Ia menempelkan ponselnya ke telinga dan mendengarkan stasiun. Deraknya sekarang lebih parah. Lalu lagu yang panjang itu berakhir, dan yang ada hanya keheningan.

Pavel sits down on the cold roof. His hands hurt. He thinks of the manager, the listeners and the empty microphone. He thinks about going home.

Pavel duduk di atap yang dingin. Tangannya sakit. Ia memikirkan manajer, para pendengar, dan mikrofon yang kosong. Ia berpikir untuk pulang.

"I can't do this," he says. "I'm not ready."

"Aku tidak sanggup," katanya. "Aku belum siap."

Behind him, the door of the stairs bangs. Olive comes out in a thick sweater. A big blue book is under her arm.

Di belakangnya, pintu tangga terbanting. Olive keluar dengan sweter tebal. Sebuah buku biru besar terselip di bawah lengannya.

"Who is on the air?" Pavel asks.

"Siapa yang siaran?" tanya Pavel.

"Nobody talks. I put on a long song, and then another one. We have forty minutes of music." She sits down next to him. "Why didn't you ask me for help?"

"Tidak ada yang bicara. Aku memutar lagu panjang, lalu satu lagi. Kita punya empat puluh menit musik." Ia duduk di sampingnya. "Kenapa kamu tidak minta tolong padaku?"

"I thought I had to fix it alone."

"Kupikir aku harus memperbaikinya sendiri."

"It's a roof with fourteen knots," says Olive. "Nobody fixes that alone."

"Ini atap dengan empat belas simpul," kata Olive. "Tidak ada yang memperbaikinya sendirian."

She opens the blue book on her knees. It is the old book of the station. The pages are soft and full of small, messy writing. She finds a page near the end. She holds the light over it.

Ia membuka buku biru itu di atas lututnya. Itu buku lama stasiun. Halamannya lembut dan penuh tulisan kecil yang berantakan. Ia menemukan sebuah halaman di dekat bagian akhir. Ia menyorotkan cahaya ke atasnya.

"Read this," she says.

"Baca ini," katanya.

Pavel reads: "The knots are steps. Pull, lift, pass. Do not fight them. Stop where the sound is clean. Nine is good for cold nights."

Pavel membaca: "Simpul adalah anak tangga. Tarik, angkat, lewatkan. Jangan melawannya. Berhenti di tempat suaranya jernih. Sembilan bagus untuk malam yang dingin."

He looks at the rope again. He looks at the wheel. Then he laughs, a short, surprised laugh.

Ia memandang tali itu lagi. Ia memandang roda itu. Lalu ia tertawa, tawa pendek yang terkejut.

"The old engineer made them on purpose," he says.

"Insinyur tua itu membuatnya dengan sengaja," katanya.

"Each knot is a height for the wire," says Olive. "He tied one for every kind of night. He just never told the new people."

"Setiap simpul adalah ketinggian untuk kawat," kata Olive. "Dia mengikat satu untuk setiap jenis malam. Dia hanya tidak pernah memberi tahu orang-orang baru."

"I tried to untie them!"

"Aku sudah mencoba membukanya!"

"I know. Now we try it his way."

"Aku tahu. Sekarang kita coba dengan caranya."

Olive holds the flashlight. Pavel stands close to the wheel and takes the rope. He pulls it up until the first knot touches the edge. He lifts the rope a little, over the edge of the wheel. The knot slips through and the rope slides on.

Olive memegang senter. Pavel berdiri dekat roda dan mengambil tali. Ia menariknya sampai simpul pertama menyentuh tepi. Ia mengangkat tali sedikit, melewati tepi roda. Simpul itu terselip lewat dan talinya meluncur terus.

"One," says Olive.

"Satu," kata Olive.

He pulls again. The next knot comes. He lifts and passes it.

Ia menarik lagi. Simpul berikutnya datang. Ia mengangkat dan melewatkannya.

"Two."

"Dua."

It is slow work, but it does not hurt this time. The knots do not stop him anymore. They are a ladder. He climbs it one step at a time.

Pekerjaan itu lambat, tetapi kali ini tidak menyakitkan. Simpul-simpul itu tidak lagi menghentikannya. Simpul-simpul itu adalah tangga. Ia menaikinya satu anak tangga demi satu.

At the fifth knot his arms shake. Olive gives him the light and takes the rope. She is small, but she pulls well. She passes three knots, and then Pavel takes the rope back again. They work in turns, and the wire slowly rises into the dark.

Pada simpul kelima lengannya gemetar. Olive memberinya senter dan mengambil tali. Ia bertubuh kecil, tetapi ia menarik dengan baik. Ia melewatkan tiga simpul, lalu Pavel mengambil tali itu kembali. Mereka bekerja bergantian, dan kawat itu perlahan naik ke dalam kegelapan.

Pavel holds his phone to his ear again. The crackle gets softer at the seventh knot. It gets softer at the eighth. At the ninth knot, it is almost gone.

Pavel menempelkan ponselnya ke telinga lagi. Derak itu menjadi lebih lembut pada simpul ketujuh. Makin lembut pada simpul kedelapan. Pada simpul kesembilan, derak itu nyaris hilang.

"Stop," says Olive. "The book says nine."

"Berhenti," kata Olive. "Kata bukunya sembilan."

They tie the rope around a metal hook on the pole. Pavel steps back and listens. Through the phone he hears a clean guitar. There are no eggs in the pan.

Mereka mengikat tali itu pada sebuah kait logam di tiang. Pavel mundur dan mendengarkan. Lewat ponsel ia mendengar gitar yang jernih. Tidak ada telur di wajan.

He lets out a long breath. "It works," he says. "It really works."

Ia menghela napas panjang. "Berhasil," katanya. "Benar-benar berhasil."

"Of course it works," says Olive. "He was an engineer."

"Tentu saja berhasil," kata Olive. "Dia kan insinyur."

Back in the studio, Pavel sits down at the microphone. His hands are rough and black with dust. Olive stands behind the glass and points at the clock. Thirty seconds are left in the song.

Kembali di studio, Pavel duduk di depan mikrofon. Tangannya kasar dan hitam oleh debu. Olive berdiri di balik kaca dan menunjuk jam. Lagu itu tinggal tiga puluh detik lagi.

He thinks of the people in kitchens, in cars and in rooms. They are still listening. He takes a deep breath.

Ia memikirkan orang-orang di dapur, di mobil, dan di kamar-kamar. Mereka masih mendengarkan. Ia menarik napas dalam-dalam.

"Good evening again, night people," he says. "Sorry about the noise. We had some knots to deal with."

"Selamat malam lagi, para penghuni malam," katanya. "Maaf soal kebisingannya. Tadi ada beberapa simpul yang harus kami urus."