The Pen That Drew a Pond

Ugo reached the start of the Pine Ridge bike trail at seven. He wanted to be first. He always wanted to be first.

Ugo tiba di awal jalur sepeda Pine Ridge pukul tujuh. Ia ingin menjadi yang pertama. Ia selalu ingin menjadi yang pertama.

Cleo was already there. She sat on the long wooden table by the gate. Her bike lay in the dust beside her helmet.

Cleo sudah ada di sana. Ia duduk di atas meja kayu panjang di dekat gerbang. Sepedanya tergeletak di debu di samping helmnya.

"You're late," she said.

"Kamu terlambat," katanya.

"I'm early," said Ugo. "You're just earlier."

"Aku datang lebih awal," kata Ugo. "Kamu saja yang lebih awal lagi."

They were the two best riders in the junior club. Everyone said so. Nobody could say which one was better. That was the problem.

Mereka berdua adalah pembalap terbaik di klub junior. Semua orang bilang begitu. Tak ada yang bisa mengatakan siapa yang lebih baik. Itulah masalahnya.

All summer they raced each other. Cleo won in June. Ugo won in July. In August they tied, and they did not speak for a week.

Sepanjang musim panas mereka saling berlomba. Cleo menang di bulan Juni. Ugo menang di bulan Juli. Di bulan Agustus mereka seri, dan mereka tidak bicara selama seminggu.

Now the club leader came out of the hut. He carried a big sheet of white card on a wooden board. In his other hand he held one black pen with thick ink.

Sekarang pemimpin klub keluar dari pondok. Ia membawa selembar besar kartu putih di atas papan kayu. Di tangannya yang lain ia memegang sebuah pulpen hitam dengan tinta yang tebal.

"Good, you're both here," he said. "Forty new riders come at ten. They need a map of the trail. Someone must draw it on this card."

"Bagus, kalian berdua sudah di sini," katanya. "Empat puluh anggota baru datang pukul sepuluh. Mereka butuh peta jalur. Seseorang harus menggambarnya di kartu ini."

"I'll do it," said Ugo.

"Aku saja," kata Ugo.

"I'll do it," said Cleo.

"Aku saja," kata Cleo.

The leader sighed. "I thought so. So you will do it together. One board, one pen. I have to fix the gate. Please don't fight."

Pemimpin klub itu menghela napas. "Sudah kuduga. Jadi kalian akan mengerjakannya bersama. Satu papan, satu pulpen. Aku harus memperbaiki gerbang. Tolong jangan bertengkar."

He gave the pen to Ugo and walked away. Cleo took the other end of it at once.

Ia memberikan pulpen itu kepada Ugo lalu berjalan pergi. Cleo langsung memegang ujung pulpen yang satunya.

"I draw the trail," she said. "I know every turn."

"Aku yang menggambar jalurnya," katanya. "Aku tahu setiap tikungan."

"I know every turn too," said Ugo. "And my lines are straighter."

"Aku juga tahu setiap tikungan," kata Ugo. "Dan garisku lebih lurus."

"Your lines are never straight."

"Garismu tidak pernah lurus."

They pulled the pen back and forth. Nobody won. Then the pen made a small, wet sound.

Mereka menarik pulpen itu bolak-balik. Tak ada yang menang. Lalu pulpen itu mengeluarkan bunyi kecil yang basah.

Black ink ran down Ugo's fingers. A fat drop fell onto the board. It spread into a dark spot as big as a plate.

Tinta hitam mengalir di jari-jari Ugo. Setetes besar jatuh ke papan. Tetesan itu menyebar menjadi bercak gelap sebesar piring.

"Look what you did!" said Cleo.

"Lihat apa yang kamu lakukan!" kata Cleo.

"I did nothing! The pen is broken."

"Aku tidak melakukan apa-apa! Pulpennya rusak."

Cleo found a cloth in her bag. She pressed it on the spot. The ink only moved to the edges, and the spot grew bigger.

Cleo menemukan selembar kain di dalam tasnya. Ia menekannya ke bercak itu. Tintanya hanya bergeser ke tepi, dan bercaknya makin besar.

"Great," she said. "Now the board is ruined."

"Bagus," katanya. "Sekarang papannya rusak."

Ugo looked at his hand. It was black to the wrist. He wiped it on his shirt, and the shirt turned black too.

Ugo memandang tangannya. Tangannya hitam sampai pergelangan. Ia mengelapnya ke kaus, dan kausnya ikut menjadi hitam.

"We have three hours," he said. "The shop in town opens at ten. That's too late."

"Kita punya waktu tiga jam," katanya. "Toko di kota buka pukul sepuluh. Itu terlalu terlambat."

"Then we use this pen."

"Kalau begitu kita pakai pulpen ini."

"It leaks."

"Pulpennya bocor."

"Everything leaks," said Cleo. "Even good pens."

"Semuanya bocor," kata Cleo. "Pulpen yang bagus pun begitu."

Ugo did not answer. He picked up the pen. He tried to draw the start of the trail. The line began well. Then it grew thick and wet. A new black drop fell at the end.

Ugo tidak menjawab. Ia mengambil pulpen itu. Ia mencoba menggambar awal jalur. Garisnya bagus di awal. Lalu garis itu menjadi tebal dan basah. Setetes hitam baru jatuh di ujungnya.

"Give it to me," said Cleo.

"Berikan padaku," kata Cleo.

She tried next. Her line was calmer, but the pen leaked even more. She drew the first hill. By then, her hand looked like Ugo's.

Gilirannya mencoba. Garisnya lebih tenang, tetapi pulpen itu bocor lebih parah lagi. Ia menggambar tanjakan pertama. Saat itu, tangannya sudah tampak seperti tangan Ugo.

They sat down on the table. For a while neither one spoke. The sun climbed over the trees. Somewhere in the woods, a bird made a loud, silly noise.

Mereka duduk di atas meja. Untuk beberapa saat tak seorang pun bicara. Matahari naik di atas pepohonan. Di suatu tempat di hutan, seekor burung mengeluarkan bunyi keras yang konyol.

"Okay," said Ugo at last. "Maybe we need four hands."

"Baiklah," kata Ugo akhirnya. "Mungkin kita butuh empat tangan."

"Maybe," said Cleo. She did not look happy about it.

"Mungkin," kata Cleo. Ia tidak tampak senang mengatakannya.

They made a plan. Ugo held the cloth under the tip. It caught every drop. Cleo drew very slowly. When the cloth was full, Ugo wiped the pen. Then she began again.

Mereka menyusun rencana. Ugo memegang kain di bawah ujung pulpen. Kain itu menangkap setiap tetes. Cleo menggambar dengan sangat pelan. Saat kain itu penuh, Ugo mengelap pulpennya. Lalu Cleo mulai lagi.

It was slow work, but it worked. The first line came out thin and clean. Then came the second line. Then came a sharp turn, which Cleo drew in one smooth move.

Pekerjaannya lambat, tetapi berhasil. Garis pertama keluar tipis dan bersih. Lalu garis kedua. Lalu sebuah tikungan tajam, yang digambar Cleo dalam satu gerakan mulus.

"That's the Snake Bend," said Ugo. He pointed. "Add the root. The big one."

"Itu Tikungan Ular," kata Ugo sambil menunjuk. "Tambahkan akarnya. Yang besar."

"I know the root," said Cleo. But she added it.

"Aku tahu akarnya," kata Cleo. Tetapi ia menambahkannya.

"Now the rock garden."

"Sekarang taman batunya."

"I know the rock garden!"

"Aku tahu taman batunya!"

"Then draw it faster."

"Kalau begitu gambarlah lebih cepat."

She laughed. It was her first laugh in a week.

Cleo tertawa. Itu tawa pertamanya dalam seminggu.

Soon the whole trail stood on the board. It went up the hill and down through the trees. It crossed the wooden bridge. Cleo drew the jumps. Ugo marked the steep parts with little arrows.

Tak lama seluruh jalur sudah terpampang di papan. Jalur itu naik ke bukit dan turun menembus pepohonan. Jalur itu melintasi jembatan kayu. Cleo menggambar lompatan-lompatannya. Ugo menandai bagian yang curam dengan panah-panah kecil.

At last they came to the big black spot in the middle. It was still wet, and it shone in the sun.

Akhirnya mereka sampai di bercak hitam besar di tengah. Bercak itu masih basah dan berkilau di bawah matahari.

"We can't clean it," said Ugo. "What do we do?"

"Kita tidak bisa membersihkannya," kata Ugo. "Apa yang harus kita lakukan?"

Cleo looked at the spot. "Halfway along the trail, what do we pass?"

Cleo memandang bercak itu. "Di tengah jalur, kita melewati apa?"

"The pond," said Ugo. Then his mouth fell open. "The pond!"

"Kolam," kata Ugo. Lalu mulutnya ternganga. "Kolam!"

"It's round. It's dark. It's about the right size."

"Bentuknya bulat. Warnanya gelap. Ukurannya kira-kira pas."

They added curved lines around the edge for the grass. Cleo made small waves with the tip of the pen. Ugo drew a tiny frog on a stone. When they stepped back, the ink spot looked exactly like water.

Mereka menambahkan garis-garis lengkung di sekelilingnya untuk rumput. Cleo membuat gelombang-gelombang kecil dengan ujung pulpen. Ugo menggambar seekor katak mungil di atas sebuah batu. Ketika mereka mundur selangkah, bercak tinta itu tampak persis seperti air.

"It's the best part of the map," said Ugo.

"Ini bagian terbaik dari peta," kata Ugo.

"It's the only part with an accident," said Cleo. "That's why."

"Ini satu-satunya bagian yang berasal dari kecelakaan," kata Cleo. "Makanya begitu."

At ten o'clock the new riders arrived with their parents. They stood around the board. A small girl in a green helmet touched the pond.

Pukul sepuluh para anggota baru tiba bersama orang tua mereka. Mereka berdiri mengelilingi papan. Seorang gadis kecil berhelm hijau menyentuh kolam itu.

"Is the pond really this round?" she asked.

"Apa kolamnya benar-benar sebulat ini?" tanyanya.

"Almost," said Cleo.

"Hampir," kata Cleo.

"Who drew the map?" she asked the two riders.

"Siapa yang menggambar petanya?" tanyanya kepada kedua pembalap itu.

Ugo looked at Cleo. Cleo looked at Ugo. For one second, both of them wanted to say, "I did."

Ugo memandang Cleo. Cleo memandang Ugo. Selama satu detik, keduanya ingin berkata, "Aku."

"We did," they said together.

"Kami," kata mereka bersamaan.

The club leader came back from the gate. He looked at the board for a long time. Then he looked at their black hands.

Pemimpin klub kembali dari gerbang. Ia memandangi papan itu lama sekali. Lalu ia memandang tangan mereka yang hitam.

"This is the best trail map we ever had," he said. "I will buy you a new pen."

"Ini peta jalur terbaik yang pernah kita punya," katanya. "Aku akan membelikan kalian pulpen baru."

"No, thank you," said Ugo.

"Tidak usah, terima kasih," kata Ugo.

"We like this one," said Cleo. "It's very good with water."

"Kami suka yang ini," kata Cleo. "Pulpen ini hebat kalau untuk air."

Ugo held up his hand. It was still black to the wrist. "Look," he said. "Now I match the pond."

Ugo mengangkat tangannya. Tangan itu masih hitam sampai pergelangan. "Lihat," katanya. "Sekarang aku serasi dengan kolamnya."

Cleo grinned. "Don't touch the map," she said. "You'll make a second lake."

Cleo menyeringai. "Jangan sentuh petanya," katanya. "Nanti kamu membuat danau kedua."