The Ladder That Fell Short

The arcade at the end of the promenade is closing for the winter, and tonight is the last night. Remy has worked here all summer, and he knows every sound the place makes. There is the chime of the coin machines, the thump of the dance floor and the wet clatter of tokens in trays. At ten o'clock exactly, the owner's timer will shut the iron shutters over every window and skylight. After that, nobody comes in until spring.

Arkade di ujung jalan promenade itu akan tutup selama musim dingin, dan malam ini adalah malam terakhirnya. Remy bekerja di sini sepanjang musim panas, dan ia hafal setiap bunyi yang dihasilkan tempat ini. Ada denting mesin koin, dentum lantai dansa, dan gemerincing basah token di dalam nampan. Tepat pukul sepuluh, pengatur waktu milik pemilik akan menurunkan rolling door besi di setiap jendela dan jendela atap. Setelah itu, tak seorang pun masuk sampai musim semi.

At a quarter to nine, Remy is mopping around the air-hockey tables. His cousin Wes runs in from the back office with his phone in his hand.

Pukul sembilan kurang seperempat, Remy sedang mengepel di sekitar meja hoki udara. Sepupunya, Wes, berlari masuk dari kantor belakang sambil menggenggam ponselnya.

"Come and see the skylight," Wes says. "Now. Do not ask me why."

"Ayo lihat jendela atap," kata Wes. "Sekarang. Jangan tanya kenapa."

Remy leans the mop against the wall and follows him to the centre of the hall. High above them, four metres up, there is a round window of old glass. Something is moving behind it. It is small and blue, about the size of a pear, and it glows like a lamp turned very low.

Remy menyandarkan gagang pel ke dinding lalu mengikutinya ke tengah ruangan. Jauh di atas mereka, empat meter tingginya, ada jendela bundar dari kaca tua. Sesuatu bergerak di baliknya. Benda itu kecil dan biru, seukuran buah pir, dan bersinar seperti lampu yang diredupkan sekali.

"It is a bird," Remy says. "A bird with a light on it."

"Itu burung," kata Remy. "Burung yang membawa lampu."

"Birds do not hum," Wes says. "Listen."

"Burung tidak berdengung," kata Wes. "Dengarkan."

The blue shape bumps against the glass, again and again. Each time it makes a thin, sad note, like a finger running around the rim of a cup. Remy realises that he has heard that sound before. For two weeks he has been catching a faint singing in the evenings and blaming the speakers.

Bayangan biru itu menabrak kaca berulang-ulang. Setiap kali, terdengar satu nada tipis yang sedih, seperti jari yang menggosok bibir gelas. Remy sadar bahwa ia pernah mendengar bunyi itu sebelumnya. Selama dua minggu ia menangkap nyanyian samar setiap malam dan menyalahkan pengeras suara.

"It came in off the sea," Wes says. "The fishermen at the harbour talk about sea-lamps, little lights that follow the boats home. I always thought they were only stories."

"Dia masuk dari laut," kata Wes. "Para nelayan di pelabuhan membicarakan lampu laut, cahaya-cahaya kecil yang mengikuti perahu pulang. Dulu kupikir itu cuma dongeng."

"If it is real, it is trapped," Remy says. He looks at the clock above the prize counter. "And we have an hour and a quarter before the shutters close."

"Kalau dia nyata, berarti dia terjebak," kata Remy. Ia melihat jam di atas konter hadiah. "Dan kita hanya punya satu jam seperempat sebelum rolling door itu menutup."

"Then we need the ladder," Wes says.

"Kalau begitu kita butuh tangga," kata Wes.

They fetch the old aluminium ladder from the cleaning cupboard and carry it under the skylight. Remy climbs first. The latch of the window is a small brass hook on the far side of the frame. He stretches as far as he can, with his fingertips trembling. He misses it by an arm's length.

Mereka mengambil tangga aluminium tua dari lemari alat kebersihan dan membawanya ke bawah jendela atap. Remy naik lebih dulu. Kait jendelanya berupa pengait kuningan kecil di sisi jauh bingkai. Ia meregangkan badan sejauh mungkin, ujung jarinya gemetar. Ia meleset sejauh satu lengan.

"It is too short," he calls down. "At least a metre too short."

"Terlalu pendek," serunya ke bawah. "Kurang satu meter, paling sedikit."

"The long ladder is in the harbour shed," Wes says. "That is ten minutes there and ten minutes back, if the shed key is where I think it is."

"Tangga yang panjang ada di gudang pelabuhan," kata Wes. "Sepuluh menit pergi dan sepuluh menit kembali, kalau kunci gudangnya ada di tempat yang kukira."

"And if it is not?"

"Dan kalau tidak ada?"

Wes does not answer. They both look at the clock. It is ten past nine.

Wes tidak menjawab. Mereka berdua menatap jam. Sekarang pukul sembilan lewat sepuluh.

Remy climbs down and sits on the bottom step with his chin in his hands. Above him, the blue light has stopped bumping the glass. It hangs in the middle of the dome, dimmer than before. Its note is so quiet now that he has to hold his breath to hear it.

Remy turun dan duduk di anak tangga paling bawah dengan dagu bertumpu pada tangannya. Di atasnya, cahaya biru itu berhenti menabrak kaca. Ia melayang di tengah kubah, lebih redup daripada tadi. Nadanya kini begitu pelan sampai ia harus menahan napas untuk mendengarnya.

"It is getting weaker," he says.

"Dia makin lemah," katanya.

"Then we run to the shed," Wes says.

"Kalau begitu kita lari ke gudang," kata Wes.

"No." Remy frowns at the ceiling. "Think about what it does when it moves. This afternoon, when I switched on the big pinball machine, it went straight to the edge of the dome nearest to it. And when you waved your phone just now, it turned its head. If it is a bird at all, it is the kind that follows the brightest thing in the room."

"Jangan." Remy mengerutkan kening menatap langit-langit. "Pikirkan apa yang dia lakukan saat bergerak. Sore tadi, waktu aku menyalakan mesin pinball yang besar, dia langsung menuju tepi kubah yang paling dekat dengan mesin itu. Dan waktu kamu melambaikan ponselmu tadi, dia menoleh. Kalaupun dia burung, dia jenis yang mengikuti benda paling terang di ruangan."

"The brightest thing in the room is the moon," Wes says. "It is shining straight through that glass."

"Benda paling terang di ruangan ini adalah bulan," kata Wes. "Sinarnya menembus kaca itu."

"Exactly. So we make something brighter than the moon." Remy stands up. "We do not climb to the sea-lamp. We bring it down to us."

"Tepat. Jadi kita buat sesuatu yang lebih terang daripada bulan." Remy berdiri. "Kita tidak naik menjemput lampu laut itu. Kita bawa dia turun ke sini."

Wes stares at him. Then, slowly, he begins to grin.

Wes menatapnya. Lalu, perlahan, ia mulai nyengir.

"You are going to switch on everything," he says.

"Kamu mau menyalakan semuanya," katanya.

"Everything," Remy says. "And we are going to build a staircase out of light."

"Semuanya," kata Remy. "Dan kita akan membuat tangga dari cahaya."

It is eighteen minutes past nine. They split the hall between them and run.

Sekarang pukul sembilan lewat delapan belas menit. Mereka membagi ruangan itu di antara mereka dan berlari.

Wes takes the left side, slamming his hand against the master panel one switch at a time. The pinball machines blaze into life, then the racing cars, then the shooting games with their flashing targets. Remy takes the right side. He kicks open the box under the dance platform. The floor strips come alive with pink and green chase lights that race towards the front doors. He sets the claw machine to its brightest setting. Then he drags the cable of the neon sign outside, so that it throws a wide white pool across the entrance.

Wes mengambil sisi kiri, menepuk panel utama, menekan satu saklar demi satu. Mesin-mesin pinball menyala terang, lalu mobil balap, lalu permainan tembak dengan target-target yang berkedip. Remy mengambil sisi kanan. Ia menendang terbuka kotak di bawah panggung dansa. Strip lampu di lantai menyala dengan lampu kejar merah muda dan hijau yang berlomba menuju pintu depan. Ia mengatur mesin capit pada kecerahan tertinggi. Lalu ia menyeret kabel papan neon ke luar, sehingga cahayanya membentuk genangan putih yang lebar di depan pintu masuk.

Last of all, he runs to the great mirror ball hanging in the middle of the ceiling. Its motor is old and stiff, but when he presses the button it starts to turn. Hundreds of tiny reflections begin to crawl over the walls.

Terakhir, ia berlari ke bola cermin besar yang tergantung di tengah langit-langit. Motornya tua dan kaku, tetapi ketika ia menekan tombolnya, bola itu mulai berputar. Ratusan pantulan kecil mulai merayap di dinding.

"It is not enough," Wes says, looking up. "The moon is still winning."

"Belum cukup," kata Wes sambil menengadah. "Bulan masih menang."

He is right. The blue light has stirred, but it is hovering where it was. It trembles between the glass and the glittering room, as if it cannot make up its mind. The clock says twenty-eight minutes past nine.

Ia benar. Cahaya biru itu sudah bergerak sedikit, tetapi masih melayang di tempat yang sama. Ia bergetar di antara kaca dan ruangan yang berkilauan, seolah tak bisa memutuskan. Jam menunjukkan pukul sembilan lewat dua puluh delapan.

"We need a bridge," Remy says. "Something close to the ceiling that reflects the light back up. Wes, give me your phone."

"Kita butuh jembatan," kata Remy. "Sesuatu di dekat langit-langit yang memantulkan cahaya kembali ke atas. Wes, berikan ponselmu."

He climbs the short ladder once more, and this time he does not try to reach the window. He aims the phone's torch at the mirror ball from the highest rung. The beam hits the spinning glass and breaks into a hundred beams. A line of tiny white stars climbs the wall, one after another, all the way to the skylight.

Ia menaiki tangga pendek itu sekali lagi, dan kali ini ia tidak mencoba menggapai jendela. Dari anak tangga tertinggi, ia mengarahkan senter ponsel ke bola cermin. Berkasnya mengenai kaca yang berputar dan pecah menjadi seratus berkas. Sebaris bintang putih kecil memanjat dinding, satu demi satu, sampai ke jendela atap.

Then he holds his breath again.

Lalu ia menahan napas lagi.

The blue light shivers. It lifts its glow away from the moon and slides out into the room. It follows the stars down the wall, hesitant at first, then a little faster. Remy pulls the torch away from the ceiling, and the stars follow it. They slide down his arm and over his shoulder and out across the floor. The sea-lamp comes after them in a long, slow spiral.

Cahaya biru itu bergetar. Ia mengangkat pendarnya dari bulan dan meluncur ke dalam ruangan. Ia mengikuti bintang-bintang itu menuruni dinding, ragu-ragu pada awalnya, lalu sedikit lebih cepat. Remy menjauhkan senter dari langit-langit, dan bintang-bintang itu mengikutinya. Mereka meluncur menuruni lengannya, melewati bahunya, lalu menyebar ke lantai. Lampu laut itu menyusul di belakang mereka dalam putaran spiral yang panjang dan lambat.

"It is working," Wes whispers.

"Berhasil," bisik Wes.

"Do not speak," Remy whispers back. "Do not move."

"Jangan bicara," Remy balas berbisik. "Jangan bergerak."

The sea-lamp passes within a hand's width of his face. Up close it is not a bird, or even a creature. It is a small ball of cold fire, with a pale ring spinning inside it like a coin on a table. It smells faintly of salt and of the inside of a shell. For a second it stops in front of him. Remy feels something very light brush across his thoughts, like a hand pressing a window from the other side.

Lampu laut itu lewat dalam jarak selebar telapak tangan dari wajahnya. Dari dekat, ia bukan burung, bahkan bukan makhluk hidup. Ia bola api dingin yang kecil, dengan cincin pucat berputar di dalamnya seperti koin di atas meja. Baunya samar seperti garam dan bagian dalam kerang. Sesaat ia berhenti di depan Remy. Remy merasakan sesuatu yang sangat ringan menyentuh pikirannya, seperti tangan yang menekan jendela dari sisi seberang.

Then it drifts away, down the floor strips, towards the doors.

Lalu ia melayang pergi, menyusuri strip lampu di lantai, menuju pintu.

The two boys follow it at a distance. The clock says forty minutes past nine, and the shutters will start to move at ten. The sea-lamp reaches the neon sign, and the white pool of light, and the dark open air beyond. It rises over the promenade railing and turns once, as if saying goodbye, and then it slips down to the black water and disappears.

Kedua anak laki-laki itu mengikutinya dari jauh. Jam menunjukkan pukul sembilan lewat empat puluh, dan rolling door akan mulai bergerak pukul sepuluh. Lampu laut itu sampai di papan neon, di genangan cahaya putih, dan di udara terbuka yang gelap di baliknya. Ia naik melewati pagar promenade dan berputar sekali, seolah mengucapkan selamat tinggal, lalu meluncur turun ke air yang hitam dan menghilang.

For a long moment the promenade is silent, except for the waves against the stones.

Untuk waktu yang lama promenade itu sunyi, kecuali debur ombak di bebatuan.

"We should switch everything off," Remy says at last, "before the owner sees the electricity bill."

"Kita harus mematikan semuanya," kata Remy akhirnya, "sebelum pemiliknya melihat tagihan listrik."

"We have twenty minutes," Wes says, and he is laughing now. "I would like to see him try to be angry about this."

"Kita punya dua puluh menit," kata Wes, dan sekarang ia tertawa. "Aku ingin melihat dia mencoba marah soal ini."

They go back inside and begin to turn off the machines, one by one. The last light to go is the mirror ball, which spins down slowly until it is only a dark shape in the roof. In the new quiet, the clock ticks forward, and ten o'clock arrives exactly on time.

Mereka kembali ke dalam dan mulai mematikan mesin-mesin satu per satu. Cahaya terakhir yang padam adalah bola cermin, yang berputar makin pelan sampai hanya menjadi bayangan gelap di langit-langit. Dalam keheningan yang baru, jam terus berdetak maju, dan pukul sepuluh tiba tepat waktu.

The two boys step out into the cool night and pull the front doors behind them. Somewhere above their heads, a motor wakes up, and the iron shutters begin to fall.

Kedua anak laki-laki itu melangkah ke malam yang sejuk dan menarik pintu depan hingga tertutup. Di suatu tempat di atas kepala mereka, sebuah motor menyala, dan rolling door besi mulai turun.

"Do you think it will come back in the spring?" Wes asks.

"Menurutmu dia akan kembali saat musim semi?" tanya Wes.

Remy watches the dark water for a while. "Ask me in April," he says, and they walk home along the promenade.

Remy memandangi air yang gelap beberapa saat. "Tanyakan padaku bulan April," katanya, dan mereka berjalan pulang menyusuri promenade.