The Mug That Changed Desks

Ilan had a blue mug. He loved it. It was big, and it was his.

Ilan punya sebuah cangkir biru. Ia sangat menyukainya. Cangkir itu besar, dan itu miliknya.

Every evening, he left the mug on his desk. Every morning, it was gone. He looked under the desk. He looked in his bag. It was not there.

Setiap sore, ia meninggalkan cangkir itu di mejanya. Setiap pagi, cangkir itu hilang. Ia mencari di bawah meja. Ia mencari di dalam tasnya. Cangkir itu tidak ada.

On Monday, the mug sat on Jolene's desk. She did not touch it. On Tuesday, it sat by the printer. On Wednesday, it stood on a shelf in the hall.

Hari Senin, cangkir itu berada di meja Jolene. Jolene tidak menyentuhnya. Hari Selasa, cangkir itu ada di dekat mesin cetak. Hari Rabu, cangkir itu berdiri di rak di lorong.

"This is strange," Ilan said. "Who takes my mug?"

"Aneh sekali," kata Ilan. "Siapa yang mengambil cangkirku?"

Jolene sat at the next desk. She looked at him and laughed.

Jolene duduk di meja sebelah. Ia menatap Ilan dan tertawa.

"Maybe the mug walks," she said.

"Mungkin cangkirnya berjalan sendiri," katanya.

"A mug does not walk," Ilan said. "Someone moves it."

"Cangkir tidak berjalan," kata Ilan. "Ada yang memindahkannya."

"Then let us find the person," Jolene said. "I can help you. We need clues."

"Kalau begitu, ayo kita cari orangnya," kata Jolene. "Aku bisa membantumu. Kita butuh petunjuk."

On Thursday, Ilan came to work early. The mug stood on the desk of a tall man. Ilan said nothing. He picked it up and looked at it.

Hari Kamis, Ilan datang ke kantor lebih awal. Cangkir itu berdiri di meja seorang lelaki tinggi. Ilan tidak berkata apa-apa. Ia mengambilnya dan mengamatinya.

"Look at this," he said. "The mug is clean."

"Lihat ini," katanya. "Cangkirnya bersih."

Jolene came closer. She touched the mug. It was dry, too.

Jolene mendekat. Ia menyentuh cangkir itu. Cangkir itu juga kering.

"Nobody here washes mugs at night," she said. "The kitchen is closed."

"Tidak ada yang mencuci cangkir di sini pada malam hari," katanya. "Dapurnya tutup."

"That is clue number one," Ilan said.

"Itu petunjuk nomor satu," kata Ilan.

He turned the mug over. A small white sticker was under it. It said "14."

Ia membalik cangkir itu. Ada stiker putih kecil di bawahnya. Tertulis "14".

"What is fourteen?" Jolene asked.

"Apa itu empat belas?" tanya Jolene.

"I do not know," Ilan said. "That is clue number two."

"Aku tidak tahu," kata Ilan. "Itu petunjuk nomor dua."

He put the mug on his desk again. Then he took a photo of the sticker.

Ia meletakkan cangkir itu di mejanya lagi. Lalu ia memotret stiker itu.

At lunch, they walked to the supply room. A cart stood by the door. It had soap, cloths, and a big bag. A paper hung on the cart.

Saat makan siang, mereka berjalan ke ruang perlengkapan. Sebuah kereta dorong berdiri di dekat pintu. Isinya sabun, kain lap, dan sebuah kantong besar. Selembar kertas tergantung di kereta dorong itu.

Jolene read the paper. "It is a map of the office," she said. "Look. It has numbers on every desk."

Jolene membaca kertas itu. "Ini denah kantor," katanya. "Lihat. Setiap meja ada nomornya."

Ilan looked at the map. Desk fourteen was by the printer. He looked again.

Ilan melihat denah itu. Meja empat belas ada di dekat mesin cetak. Ia melihat sekali lagi.

"This map is old," he said. "The desks are not there now."

"Denah ini sudah lama," katanya. "Meja-mejanya sekarang tidak ada di sana."

"That is clue number three," Jolene said.

"Itu petunjuk nomor tiga," kata Jolene.

A woman came out of the room. She was Leona, the night cleaner. She had a kind face and a small bucket.

Seorang perempuan keluar dari ruangan itu. Namanya Leona, petugas kebersihan malam. Wajahnya ramah dan ia membawa ember kecil.

"Hello," she said. "Can I help you?"

"Halo," katanya. "Ada yang bisa saya bantu?"

"Do you wash a blue mug at night?" Ilan asked.

"Apakah Ibu mencuci cangkir biru pada malam hari?" tanya Ilan.

Leona smiled. "Yes, I do. It was on the floor one night. I washed it."

Leona tersenyum. "Ya, benar. Suatu malam cangkir itu ada di lantai. Saya mencucinya."

"But why does it change desks?" Jolene asked.

"Tapi kenapa cangkir itu pindah-pindah meja?" tanya Jolene.

"The sticker says fourteen," Leona said. "My map says desk fourteen is by the printer. I put it there. Next day, it is in a new place. So I try a new number."

"Stikernya bertuliskan empat belas," kata Leona. "Di denah saya, meja empat belas ada di dekat mesin cetak. Saya taruh di sana. Besoknya cangkir itu ada di tempat lain. Jadi saya coba nomor yang baru."

Ilan looked at the sticker. Then he began to laugh.

Ilan memandang stiker itu. Lalu ia mulai tertawa.

"The first owner of this mug sat at desk fourteen. He left years ago."

"Pemilik pertama cangkir ini duduk di meja empat belas. Ia sudah pergi bertahun-tahun lalu."

"And the map is years old," Jolene said.

"Dan denahnya juga sudah bertahun-tahun," kata Jolene.

Leona took the map from the cart. She looked at it for a long time.

Leona mengambil denah dari kereta dorong. Ia memandanginya lama sekali.

"Oh no," she said. "I read this map every night. I am sorry."

"Ya ampun," katanya. "Setiap malam saya membaca denah ini. Maafkan saya."

"Please do not be sorry," Ilan said. "You wash my mug. That is very kind."

"Tolong jangan minta maaf, Bu," kata Ilan. "Ibu mencuci cangkirku. Itu baik sekali."

That evening, Ilan took a pen. He wrote his name on a new sticker. He put it over the old number.

Sore itu, Ilan mengambil pulpen. Ia menulis namanya di stiker baru. Ia menempelkannya di atas nomor yang lama.

Jolene printed a new map of the office. She gave it to Leona.

Jolene mencetak denah kantor yang baru. Ia memberikannya kepada Leona.

Next morning, Ilan came to work. The blue mug sat on his desk. It was clean and dry.

Keesokan paginya, Ilan datang ke kantor. Cangkir biru itu ada di mejanya. Bersih dan kering.

"Well," Jolene said. "The mug stays home."

"Nah," kata Jolene. "Cangkirnya tinggal di rumahnya."

Ilan picked it up and smiled. "Now I need coffee," he said. He went to the kitchen.

Ilan mengambilnya dan tersenyum. "Sekarang aku butuh kopi," katanya. Ia pergi ke dapur.