The Machine That Paid Too Much

The sports hall is already loud at nine in the morning. Shoes squeak on the floor. Someone drops a ball, and everyone jumps.

Aula olahraga sudah ramai pada pukul sembilan pagi. Sepatu berdecit di lantai. Seseorang menjatuhkan bola, dan semua orang terlonjak.

Beatriz stands next to the ticket machine at the front door. It is old, gray and tall. It has a coin slot, a green light and a wide mouth. Everyone calls it Old Hum, because it hums when it works.

Beatriz berdiri di samping mesin tiket di pintu depan. Mesin itu tua, kelabu, dan tinggi. Ia punya lubang koin, lampu hijau, dan mulut yang lebar. Semua orang menyebutnya Si Dengung Tua, karena ia berdengung ketika bekerja.

A small label is stuck on its side. The letters are almost gone. Beatriz can only read four words. "Change is a gift."

Sebuah label kecil tertempel di sisinya. Hurufnya hampir hilang. Beatriz hanya bisa membaca empat kata. "Kembalian adalah hadiah."

Ulises runs in from the car park with a box of pens. "The first match starts at ten," he says. "The head referee wants twenty team tickets before that. No ticket, no court."

Ulises berlari masuk dari tempat parkir dengan sekotak pulpen. "Pertandingan pertama mulai pukul sepuluh," katanya. "Wasit kepala mau dua puluh tiket tim sebelum itu. Tidak ada tiket, tidak ada lapangan."

"I know," says Beatriz. "Twenty teams. And each ticket costs one silver coin."

"Aku tahu," kata Beatriz. "Dua puluh tim. Dan setiap tiket harganya satu koin perak."

"Then let us start."

"Kalau begitu ayo mulai."

Beatriz has a bag of silver coins and two heavy gold ones. A gold coin is worth five silver. The gold ones are only for big problems. She does not plan to use them.

Beatriz punya sekantong koin perak dan dua koin emas yang berat. Satu koin emas bernilai lima koin perak. Koin emas hanya untuk masalah besar. Ia tidak berencana memakainya.

She drops a silver coin into the slot. The green light blinks. Old Hum gives a low, happy sound. Then a ticket slides out. It takes a whole minute.

Ia menjatuhkan satu koin perak ke lubang. Lampu hijau berkedip. Si Dengung Tua mengeluarkan bunyi rendah yang riang. Lalu sebuah tiket meluncur keluar. Butuh satu menit penuh.

"One minute for one ticket," says Ulises. He looks at the clock on the wall. "Twenty tickets take twenty minutes. It is nine forty."

"Satu menit untuk satu tiket," kata Ulises. Ia melihat jam di dinding. "Dua puluh tiket butuh dua puluh menit. Sekarang pukul sembilan empat puluh."

"So we have just enough time," says Beatriz. "If nothing goes wrong."

"Jadi kita punya waktu yang pas-pasan," kata Beatriz. "Kalau tidak ada yang salah."

Of course, something goes wrong.

Tentu saja, ada yang salah.

On the next try, Beatriz feeds in a gold coin by mistake. Her hand is quick. The coins look the same in the dim light. She sees it too late.

Pada percobaan berikutnya, Beatriz memasukkan koin emas karena keliru. Tangannya cepat. Koin-koin itu tampak sama dalam cahaya redup. Ia baru melihatnya terlambat.

"Oh no," she says.

"Aduh," katanya.

Old Hum hums longer than before. The green light turns warm gold. Then the tray at the bottom fills with paper. Not one ticket. Nine tickets. They glow a little, like small lanterns.

Si Dengung Tua berdengung lebih lama daripada sebelumnya. Lampu hijau berubah menjadi emas hangat. Lalu baki di bagian bawah terisi kertas. Bukan satu tiket. Sembilan tiket. Tiket-tiket itu berpendar sedikit, seperti lentera kecil.

Ulises stares at them. "Wrong change," he says. "A gold coin buys five tickets. It gave you nine."

Ulises menatapnya. "Kembalian salah," katanya. "Satu koin emas membeli lima tiket. Ia memberimu sembilan."

"That is not wrong change," says Beatriz. "That is the right ticket, with the change in tickets."

"Itu bukan kembalian salah," kata Beatriz. "Itu tiket yang benar, dengan kembalian berupa tiket."

"That is wrong," says Ulises. "The machine must give coins, not tickets. Someone will be angry."

"Itu salah," kata Ulises. "Mesin harus memberi koin, bukan tiket. Pasti ada yang marah."

He tries to fix it. He opens a small door at the back. He taps the metal with a pen. He asks the machine nicely, then he asks it sharply. Old Hum only hums.

Ia mencoba memperbaikinya. Ia membuka pintu kecil di belakang. Ia mengetuk logamnya dengan pulpen. Ia meminta mesin itu dengan sopan, lalu ia memintanya dengan tajam. Si Dengung Tua hanya berdengung.

A father with a sports bag comes to the door. "Is the line open?" he asks. "My daughter's team needs a ticket."

Seorang ayah dengan tas olahraga datang ke pintu. "Apa antreannya sudah buka?" tanyanya. "Tim putri saya butuh tiket."

"Ten minutes," says Ulises. His voice is high. "Please wait."

"Sepuluh menit," kata Ulises. Suaranya tinggi. "Tolong tunggu."

Beatriz picks up the nine glowing tickets. They are warm in her hand. She counts them again. They are real tickets, with a team number on each one.

Beatriz mengambil sembilan tiket yang berpendar itu. Tiket-tiket itu hangat di tangannya. Ia menghitungnya lagi. Itu tiket sungguhan, dengan nomor tim di masing-masing.

"Ulises," she says. "Do we need the tickets?"

"Ulises," katanya. "Apa kita butuh tiket-tiket itu?"

"Yes, but we need them from a normal machine."

"Ya, tapi kita butuh dari mesin yang normal."

"No. We need tickets. Any tickets." She turns the first one over. "These work at the court. I read the number. It looks like the first ticket."

"Tidak. Kita butuh tiket. Tiket apa saja." Ia membalik yang pertama. "Ini berlaku di lapangan. Aku membaca nomornya. Kelihatannya seperti tiket pertama."

"I do not like this," says Ulises.

"Aku tidak suka ini," kata Ulises.

"I do not like it either. But we have only fifteen minutes."

"Aku juga tidak. Tapi kita hanya punya lima belas menit."

Ulises looks at the clock. It says nine forty-five. He looks at the machine. He looks at the nine tickets in her hand.

Ulises melihat jam. Jam menunjukkan sembilan empat puluh lima. Ia melihat mesin itu. Ia melihat sembilan tiket di tangannya.

He breathes out. "Fine. What do we do?"

Ia mengembuskan napas. "Baiklah. Apa yang kita lakukan?"

"We try something," says Beatriz.

"Kita coba sesuatu," kata Beatriz.

She counts on her fingers. "We need twenty tickets. We have one from the first try. Add nine, and we have ten."

Ia menghitung dengan jarinya. "Kita butuh dua puluh tiket. Kita punya satu dari percobaan pertama. Tambah sembilan, jadi sepuluh."

"Another gold coin gives nine more," says Ulises slowly. "That is nineteen. Then one silver coin gives the last one."

"Satu koin emas lagi memberi sembilan lagi," kata Ulises pelan. "Itu sembilan belas. Lalu satu koin perak memberi yang terakhir."

"Two tries and a small one. Three minutes, not twenty." She holds out her hand. "Where is the second gold coin?"

"Dua percobaan dan satu kecil. Tiga menit, bukan dua puluh." Ia mengulurkan tangan. "Di mana koin emas yang kedua?"

Ulises finds it in the bag. Her heart beats fast. She drops it in the slot.

Ulises menemukannya di kantong. Jantungnya berdebar cepat. Ia menjatuhkannya ke lubang.

The green light turns gold again. Old Hum hums so deep that the floor shakes a little. A boy near the door looks up from his phone. A line begins to form behind them.

Lampu hijau berubah emas lagi. Si Dengung Tua berdengung begitu dalam sampai lantai bergetar sedikit. Seorang anak laki-laki dekat pintu mendongak dari ponselnya. Sebuah antrean mulai terbentuk di belakang mereka.

One minute. Two.

Satu menit. Dua.

Then nine more glowing tickets slide into the tray. Beatriz holds them to her chest. The machine seems to sigh, like a friend who finally smiles.

Lalu sembilan tiket berpendar lagi meluncur ke baki. Beatriz memeluknya ke dada. Mesin itu tampak menghela napas, seperti teman yang akhirnya tersenyum.

"Silver coin," she says.

"Koin perak," katanya.

Ulises gives her one. She puts it in the slot. A single ticket appears at last.

Ulises memberikannya satu. Ia memasukkannya ke lubang. Satu tiket muncul akhirnya.

At nine forty-nine she has twenty tickets. She puts them in one neat pile.

Pukul sembilan empat puluh sembilan ia punya dua puluh tiket. Ia menaruhnya dalam satu tumpukan rapi.

"The captains are in the main hall," says Ulises. He is already running. "I take the first ten. You take the rest."

"Para kapten ada di aula utama," kata Ulises. Ia sudah berlari. "Aku bawa sepuluh yang pertama. Kamu sisanya."

"Go!" says Beatriz.

"Pergi!" kata Beatriz.

She runs the other way, down the long floor. Her shoes squeak loudly. In the hall the teams stand in two lines. The head referee stands between them. He holds his whistle in his hand.

Ia berlari ke arah lain, menyusuri lantai panjang. Sepatunya berdecit keras. Di aula, para tim berdiri dalam dua barisan. Wasit kepala berdiri di antara mereka. Ia memegang peluitnya di tangan.

Ten captains hold up their hands as Ulises gives out tickets. Beatriz moves from team to team and gives out hers. Each captain looks at the glowing paper and smiles in surprise.

Sepuluh kapten mengangkat tangan ketika Ulises membagikan tiket. Beatriz bergerak dari tim ke tim dan membagikan tiketnya. Setiap kapten memandang kertas yang berpendar itu dan tersenyum kaget.

Last in line stands a girl with a ball under her arm. Beatriz gives her the twentieth ticket. It is still warm.

Paling akhir dalam barisan berdiri seorang anak perempuan dengan bola di bawah lengannya. Beatriz memberinya tiket kedua puluh. Tiket itu masih hangat.

She looks up at the clock. It says ten.

Ia melihat jam. Jam menunjukkan pukul sepuluh.

The head referee lifts his whistle. Beatriz runs back to the front door. "Thank you," she whispers. She drops one last silver coin into Old Hum's slot. It pays for the extra tickets.

Wasit kepala mengangkat peluitnya. Beatriz berlari kembali ke pintu depan. "Terima kasih," bisiknya. Ia menjatuhkan satu koin perak terakhir ke lubang Si Dengung Tua. Itu untuk membayar tiket tambahan.