The Needle That Pointed at the Wall

Every day at noon, Emmeline climbs the bell tower. There are ninety steps. She counts them out loud.

Setiap hari pada tengah hari, Emmeline mendaki menara lonceng. Ada sembilan puluh anak tangga. Ia menghitungnya dengan suara keras.

At the top, she hangs her coat on a hook. The window is open. Her grandfather's compass stays in the pocket. She likes to know that it is there. She rings the bell twelve times. Then she goes home. She does this every day. The village hears her bell and knows it is noon.

Di puncak, ia menggantung mantelnya pada sebuah kait. Jendelanya terbuka. Kompas milik kakeknya tetap berada di dalam saku. Ia suka tahu bahwa kompas itu ada di sana. Ia membunyikan lonceng dua belas kali. Lalu ia pulang. Ia melakukan ini setiap hari. Desa mendengar loncengnya dan tahu bahwa sekarang tengah hari.

On Monday, the compass is not in her pocket.

Pada hari Senin, kompas itu tidak ada di sakunya.

Emmeline checks the left pocket and the right pocket. She checks the stairs. She checks her bag. Nothing. It is five to twelve. The bell waits.

Emmeline memeriksa saku kiri dan saku kanan. Ia memeriksa tangga. Ia memeriksa tasnya. Tidak ada. Lima menit menjelang tengah hari. Lonceng menunggu.

"Not today," she says. "I ring first. I look later."

"Bukan hari ini," katanya. "Aku membunyikan lonceng dulu. Mencari nanti."

She rings the bell. The sound rolls over the roofs and fields. Then she searches the whole top room. She looks under the bench and behind the ropes.

Ia membunyikan lonceng. Bunyinya bergulung di atas atap-atap dan ladang. Lalu ia menggeledah seluruh ruangan di puncak itu. Ia mencari di bawah bangku dan di belakang tali-tali.

The compass is on the far window ledge. Its lid is open. Emmeline stares at it.

Kompas itu ada di ambang jendela paling jauh. Tutupnya terbuka. Emmeline menatapnya.

It never leaves her pocket. She is sure of that.

Kompas itu tidak pernah meninggalkan sakunya. Ia yakin akan hal itu.

Then she sees the needle. It does not point north. It points at the wall. It points at a wide gap between two stones.

Lalu ia melihat jarumnya. Jarum itu tidak menunjuk ke utara. Jarum itu menunjuk ke dinding. Menunjuk ke celah lebar di antara dua batu.

Emmeline turns the compass in her hand. The needle swings back to north. She puts it on the ledge again. The needle swings back to the wall.

Emmeline memutar kompas itu di tangannya. Jarum itu berayun kembali ke utara. Ia meletakkannya lagi di ambang jendela. Jarum itu berayun kembali ke dinding.

"That is wrong," she says.

"Ini salah," katanya.

She walks around the room with the compass in her hand. By the bench, the needle is normal. By the east window, it shakes. Near the gap, it turns and will not move.

Ia berjalan mengelilingi ruangan dengan kompas di tangan. Di dekat bangku, jarumnya normal. Di dekat jendela timur, jarumnya bergetar. Di dekat celah itu, jarumnya berputar dan tidak mau bergerak.

Emmeline does not like it. For twenty years, the tower never surprises her. It is a quiet place. The stones are old, and the ropes are plain. Now something in the wall pulls at her little friend.

Emmeline tidak menyukainya. Selama dua puluh tahun, menara itu tidak pernah mengejutkannya. Tempat itu tenang. Batu-batunya tua, dan tali-talinya polos. Kini ada sesuatu di dalam dinding yang menarik sahabat kecilnya.

At the bottom of the stairs, she meets Rania. Rania is the new clock mender. She carries a bag of tools.

Di dasar tangga, ia bertemu Rania. Rania adalah tukang reparasi jam yang baru. Ia membawa sebuah tas berisi perkakas.

"You look worried," says Rania.

"Kamu tampak cemas," kata Rania.

"My compass was on the wrong ledge," says Emmeline. "And its needle likes the wall."

"Kompasku ada di ambang jendela yang salah," kata Emmeline. "Dan jarumnya menyukai dinding."

Rania laughs. Then she sees that Emmeline is not joking.

Rania tertawa. Lalu ia melihat bahwa Emmeline tidak bercanda.

"Show me," she says.

"Tunjukkan padaku," katanya.

They climb together. Rania looks at the compass for a long time. She holds it near the gap. The needle shakes and points straight at it.

Mereka mendaki bersama. Rania memandangi kompas itu lama sekali. Ia memegangnya dekat celah itu. Jarumnya bergetar dan menunjuk lurus ke sana.

"Something in there pulls the needle," Rania says. "Something with a lot of iron."

"Ada sesuatu di dalam sana yang menarik jarumnya," kata Rania. "Sesuatu yang banyak mengandung besi."

"Or a magnet."

"Atau magnet."

"A magnet," Rania agrees. "But why is a magnet in a tower wall?"

"Magnet," Rania setuju. "Tapi kenapa ada magnet di dinding menara?"

Emmeline does not know. She thinks about the village. For two weeks, small things disappear. The café loses its best spoon. The mayor cannot find two keys. Someone takes a ring of silver buttons from the school.

Emmeline tidak tahu. Ia memikirkan desa itu. Selama dua minggu, barang-barang kecil menghilang. Kafe kehilangan sendok terbaiknya. Wali kota tidak bisa menemukan dua kuncinya. Seseorang mengambil seuntai kancing perak dari sekolah.

"Maybe it is a thief," she says. "A thief who only wants small shiny things."

"Mungkin pencuri," katanya. "Pencuri yang hanya menginginkan barang kecil yang berkilau."

"A very small thief," says Rania. She points at the ledge. A single black feather lies in the dust.

"Pencuri yang sangat kecil," kata Rania. Ia menunjuk ambang jendela. Sehelai bulu hitam tergeletak di atas debu.

They both look at it. Then they look at the gap.

Mereka berdua memandangnya. Lalu mereka memandang celah itu.

Rania takes a small tool from her bag. She works carefully around one loose stone. It slides out with a scrape.

Rania mengambil perkakas kecil dari tasnya. Ia bekerja dengan hati-hati di sekitar sebuah batu yang longgar. Batu itu meluncur keluar dengan bunyi gesekan.

Behind it is a nest. It is full of treasure. There are four spoons and a handful of buttons. There are three keys, a coin, and a tiny silver bell. In the middle sits a small horseshoe magnet. It has a faded label. It says SCHOOL SCIENCE BOX.

Di baliknya ada sebuah sarang. Penuh harta karun. Ada empat sendok dan segenggam kancing. Ada tiga kunci, sekeping koin, dan sebuah lonceng perak mungil. Di tengahnya terletak sebuah magnet tapal kuda kecil. Ada label pudar yang bertuliskan KOTAK SAINS SEKOLAH.

"No," says Emmeline. "It cannot be."

"Tidak," kata Emmeline. "Tidak mungkin."

"A jackdaw," says Rania. "They love shiny things."

"Seekor gagak kecil," kata Rania. "Mereka suka benda berkilau."

Emmeline starts to laugh. She laughs until she needs to sit down. The magnet, the spoons, the keys, the buttons.

Emmeline mulai tertawa. Ia tertawa sampai perlu duduk. Magnet, sendok, kunci, kancing.

"It took my compass too," she says. "It dropped it on the way."

"Burung itu mengambil kompasku juga," katanya. "Dia menjatuhkannya di tengah jalan."

"Then the magnet made your needle crazy," says Rania.

"Berarti magnet itu yang membuat jarummu gila," kata Rania.

Rania lifts the keys and spoons out of the nest. Then she stops and looks at Emmeline.

Rania mengangkat kunci-kunci dan sendok-sendok dari sarang itu. Lalu ia berhenti dan memandang Emmeline.

"We cannot take everything," she says. "The bird lives here."

"Kita tidak bisa mengambil semuanya," katanya. "Burung itu tinggal di sini."

Emmeline thinks. A jackdaw has a right to a home. But not to the café owner's spoon.

Emmeline berpikir. Seekor gagak kecil berhak punya rumah. Tetapi tidak berhak atas sendok pemilik kafe.

"We take the keys and the spoons," she decides. "We leave the coin and the little bell. And we leave the magnet and a few buttons."

"Kita ambil kunci-kunci dan sendok-sendok," putusnya. "Kita biarkan koin dan lonceng kecilnya. Dan kita biarkan magnet dan beberapa kancing."

"The school will not mind?"

"Sekolah tidak akan keberatan?"

"They will want the magnet back," says Emmeline. "But I will tell them the truth. A bird borrowed it first."

"Mereka pasti ingin magnetnya kembali," kata Emmeline. "Tapi aku akan memberi tahu kebenarannya. Seekor burung meminjamnya lebih dulu."

Rania fits the stone back, but only halfway. Now there is a small door in the wall.

Rania memasang batu itu kembali, tetapi hanya setengah. Sekarang ada pintu kecil di dinding.

Emmeline puts the compass in her pocket. Her hand stays on the lid for a moment. Then she goes down the ninety steps, counting out loud.

Emmeline memasukkan kompas ke sakunya. Tangannya tetap berada di atas tutupnya sejenak. Lalu ia menuruni sembilan puluh anak tangga, sambil menghitung dengan suara keras.

The next day, she climbs the tower at the same time. She counts the ninety steps. At the top, she leaves her compass in her coat.

Keesokan harinya, ia mendaki menara pada waktu yang sama. Ia menghitung sembilan puluh anak tangga. Di puncak, ia meninggalkan kompasnya di dalam mantel.

A black bird sits on the rail. It holds a silver button in its beak. It turns the button in the light. It looks like a person reading a letter.

Seekor burung hitam bertengger di pagar. Di paruhnya ada sebuah kancing perak. Ia memutar kancing itu di bawah cahaya. Tampaknya seperti orang yang sedang membaca surat.

Emmeline rings the bell. The bird does not move. It only closes its eyes. It listens to the bell, calm and still.

Emmeline membunyikan lonceng. Burung itu tidak bergerak. Ia hanya memejamkan mata. Ia mendengarkan lonceng itu, tenang dan diam.