The Night the City Went Dark

The heat wave had lasted nine days when the power finally went out. It was a little after eight in the evening, and Karim was cooking pasta. The kitchen light died, the fan stopped, and the whole building went quiet.

Gelombang panas sudah berlangsung sembilan hari ketika listrik akhirnya padam. Waktu itu pukul delapan lewat sedikit di malam hari, dan Karim sedang memasak pasta. Lampu dapur mati, kipas berhenti, dan seluruh gedung menjadi sunyi.

He waited for it to come back. It didn't. Through the window, the city was completely dark. Only a few car headlights moved in the streets below.

Ia menunggu listrik menyala lagi. Tidak juga. Dari jendela, kota itu gelap gulita. Hanya beberapa lampu depan mobil yang bergerak di jalan-jalan di bawah.

Karim had lived in the building for six years. He had never spoken to most of his neighbors. He nodded to them on the stairs, and that was all. Now he could hear doors opening and worried voices in the corridor.

Karim sudah enam tahun tinggal di gedung itu. Ia belum pernah berbicara dengan sebagian besar tetangganya. Ia hanya mengangguk kepada mereka di tangga, itu saja. Kini ia bisa mendengar pintu-pintu terbuka dan suara-suara cemas di koridor.

"Is it just us?" someone asked.

"Apa cuma di tempat kita?" tanya seseorang.

"It's everywhere," Karim heard himself say. He stepped out with his phone light. "The whole city is out. Does anyone know how long it will last?"

"Di mana-mana," Karim mendengar dirinya berkata. Ia melangkah keluar dengan senter ponselnya. "Seluruh kota padam. Ada yang tahu berapa lama ini akan berlangsung?"

Nobody did. The apartments were already as hot as ovens, and some of the older residents looked frightened. Karim thought of the basement, which stayed cool even in July. "We could sit downstairs," he said. "It's the only place that isn't hot."

Tidak ada yang tahu. Apartemen-apartemen sudah sepanas oven, dan beberapa penghuni yang lebih tua tampak ketakutan. Karim teringat ruang bawah tanah, yang tetap sejuk bahkan di bulan Juli. "Kita bisa duduk di bawah," katanya. "Itu satu-satunya tempat yang tidak panas."

Within an hour, he was doing things he had never done in his life. A neighbor brought candles. A teenager carried chairs down the stairs. A woman from the second floor shared bottles of water from her freezer, which was already half melted.

Dalam waktu satu jam, ia melakukan hal-hal yang belum pernah ia lakukan seumur hidupnya. Seorang tetangga membawa lilin. Seorang remaja mengangkut kursi menuruni tangga. Seorang perempuan dari lantai dua membagikan botol-botol air dari lemari esnya, yang sudah setengah mencair.

Then Yosef, an old man from the fourth floor, quietly told Karim that his wife needed insulin. It had to stay cold. Karim found a sheet of paper and made a list. It showed who needed medicine, which fridge it was in, and who had a cooler box.

Lalu Yosef, seorang lelaki tua dari lantai empat, diam-diam memberi tahu Karim bahwa istrinya membutuhkan insulin. Obat itu harus tetap dingin. Karim menemukan selembar kertas dan membuat daftar. Daftar itu menunjukkan siapa yang membutuhkan obat, di kulkas mana obatnya disimpan, dan siapa yang punya kotak pendingin.

Soon there was a cooler in the basement, full of ice from everyone's freezers. The medicine sat safely inside, and the list hung on the wall above it.

Tak lama kemudian ada sebuah kotak pendingin di ruang bawah tanah, penuh es dari lemari es semua orang. Obat-obatan tersimpan aman di dalamnya, dan daftar itu tergantung di dinding di atasnya.

They sat in the dark for hours. People shared bread, fruit, and cold tea. Somebody told a story about a blackout from their childhood. A small boy fell asleep on his mother's coat. Karim learned more names that night than in six years.

Mereka duduk dalam gelap selama berjam-jam. Orang-orang berbagi roti, buah, dan teh dingin. Seseorang menceritakan kisah tentang pemadaman listrik di masa kecilnya. Seorang anak laki-laki kecil tertidur di atas mantel ibunya. Karim mempelajari lebih banyak nama malam itu daripada dalam enam tahun terakhir.

At three in the morning, the lights flickered, and the basement filled with a yellow glow. Upstairs, the fans began to hum. For a moment, nobody moved. Then everyone laughed and clapped.

Pukul tiga pagi, lampu berkedip, dan ruang bawah tanah dipenuhi cahaya kuning. Di lantai atas, kipas-kipas mulai berdengung. Sesaat tidak ada yang bergerak. Lalu semua orang tertawa dan bertepuk tangan.

Karim climbed the stairs with the others. At the top, he stopped, went back down, and took the list from the wall. He folded it carefully and put it in his pocket, just in case.

Karim menaiki tangga bersama yang lain. Di puncak, ia berhenti, kembali turun, dan mengambil daftar itu dari dinding. Ia melipatnya dengan hati-hati dan memasukkannya ke saku, untuk berjaga-jaga.