The Loudest Clock at the Car Wash

The car wash sits at the end of a slip road. Here the motorway curves away toward the sea. At six in the morning, the lorries already roar past on the bridge above. Their noise falls on the roof like a long, low note that never changes.

Tempat cuci mobil itu berada di ujung jalan keluar tol. Di sini jalan tol melengkung menjauh menuju laut. Pukul enam pagi, truk-truk sudah menderu melintasi jembatan di atasnya. Bisingnya jatuh di atap seperti nada panjang yang rendah dan tak pernah berubah.

Amit has worked there on Saturdays and Sundays since March. He is sixteen, he is saving for a second-hand camera, and he is late again.

Amit bekerja di sana setiap Sabtu dan Minggu sejak Maret. Ia berusia enam belas tahun, sedang menabung untuk membeli kamera bekas, dan ia terlambat lagi.

He runs down the slip road with his jacket half on. The big doors are open, and the brushes are already turning. Foam drips from the ceiling in slow white strings.

Ia berlari menyusuri jalan keluar itu dengan jaket yang baru separuh terpakai. Pintu-pintu besar sudah terbuka, dan sikat-sikatnya sudah berputar. Busa menetes dari langit-langit dalam untaian putih yang lambat.

Quentin stands at the first bay with a hose in his hand. He is the same age as Amit, but he looks as if he has been awake for hours. He probably has.

Quentin berdiri di bilik pertama dengan selang di tangannya. Umurnya sama dengan Amit, tetapi ia tampak seperti sudah terjaga berjam-jam. Mungkin memang begitu.

"Forty minutes," Quentin says without turning round. "You missed the whole first lorry."

"Empat puluh menit," kata Quentin tanpa menoleh. "Kamu ketinggalan seluruh truk pertama."

"I know. I am sorry," Amit says. He reaches for a bucket, because doing something feels better than standing still.

"Aku tahu. Maaf," kata Amit. Ia meraih sebuah ember, karena melakukan sesuatu terasa lebih baik daripada berdiri diam.

"Don't say sorry to me. Say it to her."

"Jangan minta maaf padaku. Minta maaf padanya."

She is the owner, and she is standing in the office window with her arms folded. She does not shout. That is the worst part. She only looks at Amit for a long moment. Then she lifts three fingers, one for each Saturday he has been late.

Yang dimaksud adalah pemiliknya, yang berdiri di jendela kantor dengan tangan terlipat. Ia tidak berteriak. Itulah bagian terburuknya. Ia hanya menatap Amit lama sekali. Lalu ia mengangkat tiga jari, satu untuk setiap Sabtu Amit terlambat.

At the end of the shift she calls him in. The office smells of warm coffee and wet rubber. A small radio plays quietly on the shelf.

Di akhir giliran kerja, ia memanggil Amit masuk. Kantornya berbau kopi hangat dan karet basah. Sebuah radio kecil memainkan musik pelan di rak.

"I like you, Amit," she says. "You work hard when you are here. But a car wash opens at six, whether the cleaner is ready or not."

"Aku suka kamu, Amit," katanya. "Kamu bekerja keras kalau kamu ada di sini. Tapi tempat cuci mobil buka pukul enam, entah petugasnya sudah siap atau belum."

"It won't happen again," Amit says.

"Tidak akan terulang lagi," kata Amit.

"Then it won't." She turns back to her papers. "One more time, and I will have to find someone else."

"Kalau begitu, tidak akan." Ia berbalik ke kertas-kertasnya. "Sekali lagi, dan aku harus mencari orang lain."

Amit walks home along the verge with his hands in his pockets. The cars pour past in both directions. Every one of them seems to be going somewhere on time.

Amit berjalan pulang menyusuri bahu jalan dengan tangan di saku. Mobil-mobil mengalir lewat ke dua arah. Setiap mobil tampak sedang menuju suatu tempat dengan tepat waktu.

The truth is not complicated. He has an alarm on his phone, and he turns it off in his sleep. He does not even remember doing it. Each morning he wakes at seven. The phone is silent beside him, and his stomach is full of cold dread.

Kebenarannya tidak rumit. Ia punya alarm di ponselnya, dan ia mematikannya saat tidur. Ia bahkan tidak ingat melakukannya. Setiap pagi ia bangun pukul tujuh. Ponselnya diam di sampingnya, dan perutnya penuh rasa takut yang dingin.

On Monday he visits the market behind the station. At the back of a junk stall, he finds the loudest alarm clock he has ever seen. It sits between a broken lamp and a box of buttons. It is round and heavy, with two silver bells on top and a metal hammer between them.

Hari Senin ia mengunjungi pasar di belakang stasiun. Di bagian belakang sebuah lapak barang bekas, ia menemukan jam weker paling keras yang pernah ia lihat. Jam itu duduk di antara lampu rusak dan sekotak kancing. Bentuknya bulat dan berat, dengan dua lonceng perak di atasnya dan palu logam di antaranya.

"Does it work?" he asks the stallholder.

"Masih berfungsi?" tanyanya kepada si pemilik lapak.

"Work?" the man says. "People have complained about it from the next street. That one rings like a fire in a bell factory."

"Berfungsi?" kata pria itu. "Orang-orang mengeluh soal jam ini dari jalan sebelah. Bunyinya seperti kebakaran di pabrik lonceng."

Amit pays four pounds and carries it home like a trophy.

Amit membayar empat pound dan membawanya pulang seperti piala.

On Friday night he winds it up, sets it for five, and puts it on his bedside table. He goes to sleep feeling like a new person. In the dark, the little hammer ticks softly, almost kindly.

Jumat malam ia memutar pegasnya, mengaturnya untuk pukul lima, dan meletakkannya di meja samping tempat tidurnya. Ia tidur dengan perasaan seperti orang baru. Dalam gelap, palu kecil itu berdetik pelan, nyaris ramah.

At five o'clock the clock explodes. The noise is enormous. It fills the room, rattles the glass in the window, and drives a pain straight through his skull. Amit sits up, finds the clock with one hand, and presses the button on the back.

Pukul lima, jam itu meledak. Bunyinya sangat besar. Ia memenuhi kamar, menggetarkan kaca jendela, dan menusukkan rasa sakit langsung ke tengkoraknya. Amit duduk tegak, meraba jam itu dengan satu tangan, dan menekan tombol di belakangnya.

The silence is wonderful. He lies down for a moment, only to rest his eyes.

Keheningan itu menyenangkan. Ia berbaring sejenak, hanya untuk mengistirahatkan matanya.

When he opens them again, the sun is on the wall and his phone says ten past seven. He lies there for a long minute, looking at the ceiling. The clock has not failed. He has simply beaten it, the same way he has beaten every other alarm he owns.

Ketika ia membukanya lagi, matahari sudah di dinding dan ponselnya menunjukkan pukul tujuh lewat sepuluh. Ia berbaring lama sekali, memandangi langit-langit. Jam itu tidak gagal. Ia hanya mengalahkannya, sama seperti ia mengalahkan semua alarm lain yang ia punya.

This time the owner does not even come out of the office. Quentin finds him at the gate and walks him in without a word. At eleven, Quentin puts a hand on his shoulder.

Kali ini pemiliknya bahkan tidak keluar dari kantor. Quentin menemukannya di gerbang dan membawanya masuk tanpa sepatah kata. Pukul sebelas, Quentin menaruh tangan di bahunya.

"You have got to stop fighting it from the bed," Quentin says. "You will always win from the bed."

"Kamu harus berhenti melawannya dari tempat tidur," kata Quentin. "Kamu akan selalu menang kalau dari tempat tidur."

"What am I supposed to do, sleep on the floor?" Amit says.

"Lalu aku harus bagaimana, tidur di lantai?" kata Amit.

"No, but you could put the clock somewhere you cannot reach." Quentin shrugs, as if the idea costs him nothing. "My mum puts hers across the room. She says her feet get angry before her brain does."

"Bukan, tapi kamu bisa menaruh jamnya di tempat yang tidak terjangkau." Quentin mengangkat bahu, seolah gagasan itu tidak membebaninya sama sekali. "Ibuku menaruh jamnya di seberang kamar. Katanya kakinya marah lebih dulu daripada otaknya."

Amit thinks about it all afternoon. He thinks about it while he scrubs the wheels of a delivery van. He thinks about it again while he rinses a tall estate car. By the end of the day, he has a plan with three parts.

Amit memikirkannya sepanjang sore. Ia memikirkannya sambil menggosok roda sebuah van pengantar. Ia memikirkannya lagi sambil membilas mobil station wagon yang tinggi. Menjelang akhir hari, ia sudah punya rencana dengan tiga bagian.

First, he will go to bed at ten, even though he likes to edit photos late at night. Second, he will carry the clock to the hallway. He will put it on top of the tall bookcase. Third, he will leave a metal cake tin under the bookcase, so that the sound bounces and grows.

Pertama, ia akan tidur pukul sepuluh, meskipun ia suka menyunting foto larut malam. Kedua, ia akan membawa jam itu ke lorong. Ia akan menaruhnya di atas rak buku yang tinggi. Ketiga, ia akan meninggalkan kaleng kue logam di bawah rak buku, supaya bunyinya memantul dan membesar.

On Friday night he follows the plan exactly. It is harder than he expects. His thumb keeps drifting toward the photographs. The flat is quiet in a way that makes him restless. At ten, he switches off the light anyway. He lies in the dark and listens to the lorries far away on the bridge.

Jumat malam ia mengikuti rencana itu persis. Ternyata lebih sulit daripada yang ia kira. Ibu jarinya terus melayang ke foto-foto. Flatnya sunyi dengan cara yang membuatnya gelisah. Pukul sepuluh, ia tetap mematikan lampu. Ia berbaring dalam gelap dan mendengarkan truk-truk di kejauhan di atas jembatan.

At five o'clock the whole flat wakes up.

Pukul lima, seluruh flat terbangun.

The noise is worse than before, because now it has a tin to jump on. It crashes through the hallway like a train. A door opens upstairs. Somewhere below, a neighbour bangs on the ceiling with a broom, again and again.

Bunyinya lebih buruk daripada sebelumnya, karena sekarang ia punya kaleng untuk dilompati. Bunyi itu menghantam lorong seperti kereta api. Sebuah pintu terbuka di lantai atas. Di suatu tempat di bawah, seorang tetangga memukul langit-langit dengan sapu, berkali-kali.

Amit throws off the blanket before he knows what he is doing. He stumbles into the hallway, drags a chair across the floor, and climbs up. The clock is shaking on the shelf, and the silver bells are a blur. He grabs it with both hands and finds the button.

Amit menyingkirkan selimut sebelum ia sadar apa yang dilakukannya. Ia tersandung ke lorong, menyeret kursi melintasi lantai, dan memanjat naik. Jam itu bergetar di rak, dan lonceng-lonceng peraknya kabur. Ia menyambarnya dengan kedua tangan dan menemukan tombolnya.

The silence this time is different. He is standing on a chair in his socks, wide awake. His heart is racing and his ears are ringing. There is no soft pillow within reach. There is no wall of sunlight waiting for him.

Keheningan kali ini berbeda. Ia berdiri di atas kursi dengan kaus kaki, benar-benar terjaga. Jantungnya berpacu dan telinganya berdenging. Tidak ada bantal empuk dalam jangkauan. Tidak ada dinding bermandi sinar matahari yang menunggunya.

He splashes cold water on his face, pulls on his work boots, and runs.

Ia memercikkan air dingin ke wajahnya, mengenakan sepatu botnya, dan berlari.

The slip road is empty and dark blue when he reaches it. The lorries on the bridge still have their lights on. At the gate, he finds the chain locked and the car wash silent. He sits down on the kerb to wait, breathing hard.

Jalan keluar itu kosong dan biru tua ketika ia sampai. Truk-truk di jembatan masih menyalakan lampunya. Di gerbang, ia mendapati rantainya terkunci dan tempat cuci mobil itu sunyi. Ia duduk di tepi trotoar untuk menunggu, terengah-engah.

At twenty to six, the owner's small car turns in off the road. She stops, rolls down the window, and looks at him for a very long time.

Pukul enam kurang dua puluh, mobil kecil si pemilik berbelok masuk dari jalan. Ia berhenti, menurunkan kaca jendela, dan menatapnya sangat lama.

"Good morning," Amit says.

"Selamat pagi," kata Amit.

"You are early," she says.

"Kamu datang awal," katanya.

"I know. I had help." He holds up the clock, which he has carried all the way under his arm. The little hammer is still trembling.

"Aku tahu. Aku dibantu." Ia mengangkat jam itu, yang sudah ia bawa sepanjang jalan di bawah lengannya. Palu kecilnya masih bergetar.

She laughs, a short, surprised sound, and opens the gate. By six o'clock the brushes are turning and the foam is falling. Amit has already rinsed the first lorry. Nobody has to tell him what to do.

Perempuan itu tertawa, suara pendek yang terkejut, dan membuka gerbang. Pukul enam, sikat-sikat sudah berputar dan busa sudah turun. Amit sudah membilas truk pertama. Tak seorang pun perlu memberitahunya apa yang harus dilakukan.

Quentin arrives just after, with his jacket zipped to his chin. He stops at the edge of the bay and stares at Amit. Then he looks at the clean lorry, and then at the clock on the shelf.

Quentin tiba tak lama kemudian, dengan jaket diritsleting sampai dagu. Ia berhenti di tepi bilik dan menatap Amit. Lalu ia melihat truk yang bersih, dan kemudian jam di rak.

"Who are you?" Quentin says. "And what have you done with my friend?"

"Kamu siapa?" kata Quentin. "Dan apa yang kamu lakukan pada temanku?"

Amit grins and wipes his hands on his apron. Far above, the motorway hums its single note.

Amit nyengir dan mengelap tangannya ke celemek. Jauh di atas, jalan tol mendengungkan satu nadanya.

"Do you think my neighbours will ever forgive me?" he asks.

"Menurutmu tetanggaku akan memaafkanku?" tanyanya.