The Lantern Price and the Little Door

The gift shop sat at the bottom of the lighthouse, with its back against the tower wall. Mika had worked there for exactly four days. She knew where the postcards lived, and she knew how to wrap a glass boat in paper. She did not yet know why the shop had such a small door.

Toko suvenir itu berdiri di dasar mercusuar, dengan punggungnya bersandar pada dinding menara. Mika sudah bekerja di sana tepat empat hari. Ia tahu di mana kartu pos disimpan, dan ia tahu cara membungkus perahu kaca dengan kertas. Ia belum tahu kenapa toko itu punya pintu sekecil itu.

It stood behind the postcard stand. The door was no higher than her shoulder, and it was painted the same blue as the sea. A brass key hung from a hook beside it. When she asked about it on her first day, the owner just laughed.

Pintu itu terletak di belakang rak kartu pos. Tingginya tidak melebihi bahunya, dan dicat dengan warna biru yang sama seperti laut. Sebuah kunci kuningan tergantung pada pengait di sebelahnya. Ketika ia menanyakannya di hari pertama, pemilik toko hanya tertawa.

"That door goes to the old oil cellar," the owner said. "Behind it, there is a short stair up to the tower. It was made for the lamp boys, a hundred years ago. We keep it shut because only a child can use it."

"Pintu itu menuju gudang minyak tua," kata pemilik toko. "Di baliknya ada tangga pendek ke menara. Dibuat untuk anak-anak penjaga lampu, seratus tahun lalu. Kami menutupnya karena hanya anak kecil yang bisa memakainya."

Mirza, who had worked in the shop for two summers, told her the rest. "She also keeps notes in there," he whispered. "Nobody knows what kind. Don't ask."

Mirza, yang sudah dua musim panas bekerja di toko itu, menceritakan sisanya. "Dia juga menyimpan catatan di dalam sana," bisiknya. "Tidak ada yang tahu catatan apa. Jangan tanya."

On Friday morning, the owner left for the mainland to collect a delivery. She gave them a long list and a short speech. "The new lanterns arrive today. They go on the front shelf, and each one costs fourteen pounds. Mika, you make the price tags. Mirza, you are in charge of the till. Please do not burn the place down."

Pada Jumat pagi, pemilik toko berangkat ke daratan utama untuk mengambil kiriman barang. Ia memberi mereka daftar panjang dan pidato singkat. "Lentera baru datang hari ini. Letakkan di rak depan, dan harga masing-masing empat belas pound. Mika, kamu yang membuat label harga. Mirza, kamu yang memegang kasir. Tolong jangan sampai membakar tempat ini."

The lanterns were beautiful. They were made of wood and coloured glass. Each one had a tiny white tower painted by hand. Mika unpacked them carefully, one by one. She lined them up on the front shelf, where the morning light made the glass glow like sweets.

Lentera-lentera itu indah. Terbuat dari kayu dan kaca berwarna. Masing-masing punya menara putih mungil yang dilukis dengan tangan. Mika membongkarnya dengan hati-hati, satu per satu. Ia menjajarkannya di rak depan, tempat cahaya pagi membuat kacanya berkilau seperti permen.

Then she sat at the counter with a pen and a pile of little paper tags. She wrote the price on the first one and then the second. She felt proud of her neat numbers. The shop was quiet, the sea was blue, and nothing could go wrong on a day like this.

Lalu ia duduk di meja kasir dengan pulpen dan setumpuk label kertas kecil. Ia menulis harga di label pertama, lalu yang kedua. Ia bangga dengan angka-angkanya yang rapi. Toko itu sunyi, lautnya biru, dan tak ada yang bisa salah di hari seperti ini.

At noon, a tour group came in from the tower path. They were laughing and tired from the wind, and they wanted something to take home. Mirza stood at the till, and Mika wrapped. Within an hour, six of the new lanterns left the shelf. The people thanked her warmly.

Saat tengah hari, sekelompok wisatawan masuk dari jalan setapak menara. Mereka tertawa dan lelah karena angin, dan mereka ingin membawa sesuatu pulang. Mirza berdiri di kasir, dan Mika membungkus. Dalam satu jam, enam lentera baru meninggalkan rak. Orang-orang itu berterima kasih padanya dengan hangat.

At two o'clock, the shop was empty again. Mirza opened the till and started to count. He counted once and frowned. He counted again, slowly, and his frown became a long silence. Then he walked over to the shelf and picked up one of the remaining tags.

Pada pukul dua, toko kembali kosong. Mirza membuka laci kasir dan mulai menghitung. Ia menghitung sekali dan mengerutkan kening. Ia menghitung lagi, perlahan, dan keningnya yang berkerut berubah menjadi keheningan panjang. Lalu ia berjalan ke rak dan mengambil salah satu label yang tersisa.

"Mika," he said. "Come here, please."

"Mika," katanya. "Tolong ke sini sebentar."

She came over, wiping her hands on her apron. Mirza held the tag out to her. On the little piece of paper, in her own neat handwriting, it said four pounds.

Mika datang sambil mengelap tangan di celemeknya. Mirza mengulurkan label itu padanya. Pada secarik kertas kecil itu, dengan tulisan tangannya sendiri yang rapi, tertulis empat pound.

"It should be fourteen," Mirza said. "You forgot the one."

"Seharusnya empat belas," kata Mirza. "Kamu lupa angka satunya."

Mika stared at the number. Her stomach felt like a stone. Then she looked at the shelf and counted the gaps. "Six lanterns," she whispered. "I sold six lanterns for four pounds each. That is sixty pounds the shop has lost."

Mika menatap angka itu. Perutnya terasa seperti batu. Lalu ia melihat rak dan menghitung celah-celahnya. "Enam lentera," bisiknya. "Aku menjual enam lentera seharga empat pound per buah. Berarti toko rugi enam puluh pound."

"Don't panic yet," said Mirza. He looked at the clock. "The tour group climbed the tower at half past one. The tour is forty-five minutes. Then they walk straight down the cliff path to their boat."

"Jangan panik dulu," kata Mirza. Ia melihat jam. "Rombongan itu naik menara pukul setengah dua. Tur-nya empat puluh lima menit. Setelah itu mereka langsung turun lewat jalan tebing menuju perahu mereka."

"So they are still up there."

"Jadi mereka masih di atas."

"Almost certainly." Mirza picked up a pen. "Write down what you remember. Who bought a lantern? What did they look like?"

"Hampir pasti." Mirza mengambil pulpen. "Tuliskan apa yang kamu ingat. Siapa yang membeli lentera? Seperti apa rupa mereka?"

Mika closed her eyes. She saw a woman with a yellow scarf and a young man with a camera. She saw a boy holding a toy dog. She saw two women in matching blue coats, and a tall older man with a walking stick. She wrote them all down. The list was clear.

Mika memejamkan mata. Ia melihat seorang perempuan berselendang kuning dan seorang pemuda dengan kamera. Ia melihat seorang anak laki-laki memegang boneka anjing. Ia melihat dua perempuan berjas biru kembar, dan seorang pria tua yang tinggi dengan tongkat jalan. Ia menuliskan semuanya. Daftarnya jelas.

There was only one problem. The tower stairs were narrow, with a rope across the bottom. Mirza was the only person who could stand by the till. Mika would need to climb two hundred steps to meet the group. The guide would stop her at the rope.

Hanya ada satu masalah. Tangga menara itu sempit, dengan tali terentang di bagian bawah. Mirza satu-satunya orang yang bisa berdiri di kasir. Mika harus memanjat dua ratus anak tangga untuk menemui rombongan itu. Pemandunya akan menghentikannya di tali.

Mika turned slowly and looked at the little blue door.

Mika berbalik perlahan dan menatap pintu kecil berwarna biru itu.

"No," said Mirza at once. "The owner said never. She said it twice."

"Jangan," kata Mirza seketika. "Kata bos, tidak boleh. Dia bilang dua kali."

"She said it is only for children," Mika said. "I am small. I am nearly a child." She took the brass key off the hook. "The stair goes to the first balcony. The group stops there for photographs. Mirza, I will be back in ten minutes."

"Katanya itu hanya untuk anak-anak," kata Mika. "Aku kecil. Aku hampir seperti anak-anak." Ia mengambil kunci kuningan dari pengaitnya. "Tangganya menuju balkon pertama. Rombongan itu berhenti di sana untuk berfoto. Mirza, aku akan kembali sepuluh menit lagi."

She had to kneel to go in. The door opened onto a dark, cold space that smelled of old oil and dust. A narrow stone stair curled upward in front of her. She climbed with her hands on the walls. Somewhere above, she heard voices.

Ia harus berlutut untuk masuk. Pintu itu terbuka ke ruang yang gelap dan dingin dengan bau minyak tua dan debu. Sebuah tangga batu yang sempit melingkar naik di depannya. Ia memanjat dengan tangan bertumpu pada dinding. Di suatu tempat di atas, ia mendengar suara-suara.

At the top, a second little door opened into the light. Mika crawled out onto the balcony and stood up. Twelve people turned to stare at her. The guide opened his mouth, but she was faster.

Di puncak, sebuah pintu kecil kedua terbuka ke arah cahaya. Mika merangkak keluar ke balkon dan berdiri. Dua belas orang menoleh menatapnya. Sang pemandu membuka mulut, tetapi ia lebih cepat.

"Excuse me," she said. "I am so sorry. I work in the shop at the bottom. I made a big mistake with the price of the lanterns, and I need to tell you."

"Permisi," katanya. "Saya mohon maaf. Saya bekerja di toko di bawah. Saya membuat kesalahan besar dengan harga lentera, dan saya perlu memberi tahu Anda sekalian."

Nobody said anything. Then the woman with the yellow scarf started to laugh. "You came up through the wall to tell us the price of a lantern?"

Tak seorang pun berbicara. Lalu perempuan berselendang kuning itu mulai tertawa. "Kamu naik lewat dinding hanya untuk memberi tahu kami harga sebuah lentera?"

"Yes," Mika said. "It should be fourteen pounds, not four. If you can pay the difference at the shop, I will be very grateful. If you cannot, you can give the lantern back and I will return your money."

"Ya," kata Mika. "Seharusnya empat belas pound, bukan empat. Kalau Anda bisa membayar selisihnya di toko, saya akan sangat berterima kasih. Kalau tidak bisa, Anda boleh mengembalikan lenteranya dan saya akan mengembalikan uang Anda."

She waited for the shouting. Instead, the boy with the toy dog said, "She was brave." The others laughed and nodded.

Ia menunggu teriakan marah. Sebaliknya, anak laki-laki dengan boneka anjing berkata, "Dia berani." Yang lain tertawa dan mengangguk.

Back in the shop, the line was long, and everyone was friendly. Five of the people paid the ten extra pounds with a smile. They said the lanterns were worth it. Nobody had ever climbed a wall to be honest with them before. The woman with the yellow scarf gave Mika an extra coin for her courage.

Kembali di toko, antreannya panjang, dan semua orang bersikap ramah. Lima orang membayar kekurangan sepuluh pound dengan senyum. Mereka berkata lentera itu memang pantas. Belum pernah ada orang yang memanjat dinding demi bersikap jujur kepada mereka. Perempuan berselendang kuning itu memberi Mika sekeping koin tambahan atas keberaniannya.

The last buyer was the tall man with the walking stick. He turned the lantern in his hands and sighed. "It is lovely," he said. "But I am a retired man, and fourteen pounds is more than I planned. May I return it?"

Pembeli terakhir adalah pria tinggi bertongkat itu. Ia memutar-mutar lentera di tangannya dan menghela napas. "Lentera ini indah," katanya. "Tapi saya sudah pensiun, dan empat belas pound lebih dari yang saya rencanakan. Bolehkah saya mengembalikannya?"

"Of course," said Mika. She gave him his four pounds. Mirza put the lantern back on the shelf. She wrote a brand new tag with a clear, careful fourteen. She checked it three times.

"Tentu saja," kata Mika. Ia memberinya uang empat pound. Mirza meletakkan lentera itu kembali di rak. Mika menulis label baru dengan angka empat belas yang jelas dan teliti. Ia memeriksanya tiga kali.

The owner returned at five o'clock with a van full of boxes. She listened to the whole story with her arms crossed. At the end, she looked at the little blue door. Then she looked at the key in Mika's hand.

Pemilik toko kembali pukul lima dengan mobil van penuh kardus. Ia mendengarkan seluruh cerita dengan tangan bersedekap. Di akhir, ia menatap pintu kecil berwarna biru itu. Lalu ia menatap kunci di tangan Mika.

"The money is all here," she said slowly. "And the door was not locked for half an hour."

"Uangnya lengkap," katanya perlahan. "Dan pintu itu tidak terkunci selama setengah jam."

"I am sorry," Mika said. "I will put a note inside."

"Saya minta maaf," kata Mika. "Saya akan menaruh catatan di dalam."

"A note?" said the owner.

"Catatan?" kata pemilik toko.

Mirza coughed. "She means in the door. The notes."

Mirza terbatuk. "Maksudnya di dalam pintu itu. Catatan-catatan itu."

The owner smiled for the first time that day. She took the key and opened the little door wide. Inside, on the first step, lay a huge heap of folded paper. Hundreds of pieces, yellow and soft with age. "Thirty years of my own mistakes," she said. "Every one of them goes in here. Now you have your first."

Pemilik toko tersenyum untuk pertama kalinya hari itu. Ia mengambil kunci dan membuka pintu kecil itu lebar-lebar. Di dalam, di anak tangga pertama, tergeletak setumpuk besar kertas terlipat. Ratusan lembar, kuning dan lunak karena usia. "Tiga puluh tahun kesalahanku sendiri," katanya. "Semuanya masuk ke sini. Sekarang kamu punya yang pertama."

Mika wrote four short lines, folded the paper twice and pushed it carefully onto the pile. Then she looked up. "Is there still room?"

Mika menulis empat baris pendek, melipat kertasnya dua kali, dan dengan hati-hati mendorongnya ke atas tumpukan itu. Lalu ia mendongak. "Apa masih ada tempat?"

"Barely," said the owner. "But yours will keep the others company."

"Hampir tidak," kata pemilik toko. "Tapi punyamu akan menemani yang lain."

Mirza leaned against the postcard stand. "So that is why the door is so small," he said. "It was never too small for people. It was too small for all her mistakes."

Mirza bersandar pada rak kartu pos. "Jadi itu sebabnya pintunya begitu kecil," katanya. "Pintu itu tidak pernah terlalu kecil untuk orang. Pintu itu terlalu kecil untuk semua kesalahannya."