The Rubber Knight

The repair stand is under a big oak tree in the park. It has a pump, a rack, and six tools on thin chains. Every Saturday, Rohan works there for free.

Kios reparasi itu berada di bawah pohon ek besar di taman. Di sana ada pompa, rak, dan enam perkakas yang digantung dengan rantai tipis. Setiap hari Sabtu, Rohan bekerja di sana tanpa dibayar.

He is sixteen. He likes the job because people talk to him while he works. They tell him about their bikes, their jobs, and sometimes their lives.

Usianya enam belas tahun. Ia menyukai pekerjaan itu karena orang-orang mengobrol dengannya selagi ia bekerja. Mereka bercerita tentang sepeda mereka, pekerjaan mereka, dan kadang-kadang tentang hidup mereka.

Next to the stand is a small wooden table. A chess board is painted on the top. A cloth bag holds the pieces. Anyone can sit down and play.

Di samping kios itu ada sebuah meja kayu kecil. Papan catur dilukis di atasnya. Sebuah kantong kain menyimpan bidak-bidaknya. Siapa saja boleh duduk dan bermain.

Today, a tall boy sits at the table alone. His name is Garrick. He comes every week. He plays against whoever walks by, and he almost always wins.

Hari ini, seorang anak laki-laki jangkung duduk sendirian di meja itu. Namanya Garrick. Ia datang setiap minggu. Ia bermain melawan siapa saja yang lewat, dan hampir selalu menang.

Garrick opens the cloth bag. He puts the pieces on the board one by one. Then he stops.

Garrick membuka kantong kain itu. Ia menaruh bidak-bidak di papan satu per satu. Lalu ia berhenti.

"One white knight is not here," he says.

"Satu kuda putih tidak ada," katanya.

Rohan stops pumping a tire. "Are you sure?"

Rohan berhenti memompa ban. "Kamu yakin?"

"I counted twice." Garrick holds up one white knight. "There should be two."

"Sudah kuhitung dua kali." Garrick mengangkat satu kuda putih. "Seharusnya ada dua."

"Maybe it fell in the grass."

"Mungkin jatuh ke rumput."

"Maybe." Garrick looks at the board for a long moment. "It matters today. I move to another city tomorrow. This is my last game here."

"Mungkin." Garrick menatap papan itu cukup lama. "Hari ini itu penting. Besok aku pindah ke kota lain. Ini permainan terakhirku di sini."

Rohan puts down the pump. He does not know that. Garrick is a quiet boy, and he never says much about himself.

Rohan menaruh pompanya. Ia tidak tahu soal itu. Garrick anak yang pendiam, dan ia tidak pernah banyak bercerita tentang dirinya.

"Who will you play?" Rohan asks.

"Kamu mau main melawan siapa?" tanya Rohan.

"You." Garrick smiles a little. "You always say you cannot play. So I want to teach you one last time."

"Kamu." Garrick tersenyum sedikit. "Kamu selalu bilang tidak bisa main. Jadi aku ingin mengajarimu untuk terakhir kalinya."

Rohan laughs. "I can play. I just lose."

Rohan tertawa. "Aku bisa main. Cuma selalu kalah."

"That is the same as not playing." Garrick sits up straight. "Can we start at six? After you close the stand?"

"Itu sama saja dengan tidak bisa main." Garrick duduk tegak. "Bisa kita mulai jam enam? Setelah kamu menutup kios?"

"Yes," Rohan says. Then he hears himself say more. "And I promise you a full board. I will find the knight."

"Bisa," kata Rohan. Lalu ia mendengar dirinya berkata lebih banyak. "Dan aku janji papannya akan lengkap. Aku akan menemukan kuda itu."

The words come out easily. Only later does Rohan feel how big the promise is.

Kata-kata itu meluncur dengan mudah. Baru belakangan Rohan merasakan betapa besar janji itu.

At ten o'clock, a woman brings a bike with a broken chain. At eleven, a man needs a new brake cable. Rohan works fast. But he keeps looking at the grass around the table.

Pukul sepuluh, seorang perempuan membawa sepeda dengan rantai putus. Pukul sebelas, seorang pria butuh kabel rem baru. Rohan bekerja cepat. Tetapi ia terus memandangi rumput di sekitar meja itu.

At noon, he starts to search. He walks around the oak tree. He looks under the bench. He looks in the bin by the path. A wasp chases him away.

Tengah hari, ia mulai mencari. Ia berjalan mengelilingi pohon ek. Ia melihat ke bawah bangku. Ia melihat ke tempat sampah di dekat jalan setapak. Seekor tawon mengusirnya pergi.

At two o'clock, he asks a girl with a dog. She does not know of any chess piece. At three, he asks the man who sells ice cream. The man laughs and says he sells only ice cream.

Pukul dua, ia bertanya kepada seorang gadis yang membawa anjing. Gadis itu tidak tahu soal bidak catur apa pun. Pukul tiga, ia bertanya kepada pria penjual es krim. Pria itu tertawa dan berkata ia hanya menjual es krim.

At four, Rohan sits on the grass. He feels tired and a little silly. A chess piece is very small, and the park is very big.

Pukul empat, Rohan duduk di atas rumput. Ia merasa lelah dan sedikit konyol. Bidak catur itu sangat kecil, dan taman ini sangat luas.

At five, he checks the clock on his phone. One hour left. He has no knight and no idea.

Pukul lima, ia melihat jam di ponselnya. Tinggal satu jam lagi. Ia tidak punya kuda dan tidak punya ide.

He looks at the repair stand. Tools hang on their chains. A box of old parts sits on the rack. Brake pads, bolts, a bent pedal, a rusty bell.

Ia memandang kios reparasi. Perkakas tergantung pada rantainya. Sebuah kotak suku cadang bekas tergeletak di atas rak. Kampas rem, baut, pedal bengkok, bel berkarat.

Rohan picks up a rubber brake pad. It is black, small, and heavy. It is almost the same size as a chess piece.

Rohan mengambil sebuah kampas rem karet. Warnanya hitam, kecil, dan berat. Ukurannya hampir sama dengan sebuah bidak catur.

An idea comes to him, and it is a strange one.

Sebuah gagasan muncul di kepalanya, dan gagasan itu aneh.

He takes the small knife from his bag. He sits on the stool. He holds the brake pad in his left hand. Slowly and carefully, he cuts a long neck. Then a nose. Then two small ears.

Ia mengambil pisau kecil dari tasnya. Ia duduk di bangku. Ia memegang kampas rem itu di tangan kirinya. Perlahan dan hati-hati, ia mengukir leher yang panjang. Lalu hidung. Lalu dua telinga kecil.

The rubber is hard to cut. His hand hurts after five minutes. But the shape starts to appear. He makes a bigger body at the bottom. He makes a flat base so the piece can stand up.

Karet itu sulit dipotong. Tangannya sakit setelah lima menit. Tetapi bentuknya mulai tampak. Ia membuat badan yang lebih besar di bagian bawah. Ia membuat alas yang rata supaya bidak itu bisa berdiri.

At ten to six, a boy asks to use the pump. Rohan gives it to him without looking up. He is too busy with a small rubber nose.

Pukul enam kurang sepuluh, seorang anak laki-laki meminta izin memakai pompa. Rohan memberikannya tanpa mendongak. Ia terlalu sibuk dengan sebuah hidung karet kecil.

"What are you making?" the boy asks.

"Kamu membuat apa?" tanya anak itu.

"A horse," Rohan says. "I hope."

"Kuda," kata Rohan. "Semoga saja."

"It looks like a rabbit."

"Kelihatannya seperti kelinci."

"Thank you. That is kind."

"Terima kasih. Kamu baik sekali."

At six o'clock, Garrick walks across the grass. He carries his school bag over his shoulder. He sees Rohan sitting very still on the stool.

Pukul enam, Garrick berjalan melintasi rumput. Ia menyandang tas sekolahnya di bahu. Ia melihat Rohan duduk diam sekali di atas bangku.

"Did you find it?" Garrick asks.

"Kamu menemukannya?" tanya Garrick.

Rohan opens his hand. On his palm stands a small black knight. It is not very beautiful. One ear is longer than the other. The nose is crooked.

Rohan membuka tangannya. Di telapak tangannya berdiri seekor kuda hitam kecil. Bentuknya tidak terlalu indah. Satu telinganya lebih panjang daripada yang lain. Hidungnya bengkok.

"I could not find the white knight," Rohan says. "So I made a new one. It is black, but it is all I have."

"Aku tidak bisa menemukan kuda putihnya," kata Rohan. "Jadi aku membuat yang baru. Warnanya hitam, tapi cuma ini yang kupunya."

Garrick looks at it for a long time. He does not smile. Rohan feels sick with worry.

Garrick memandanginya lama sekali. Ia tidak tersenyum. Rohan merasa mual karena cemas.

"It is the wrong color," Garrick says.

"Warnanya salah," kata Garrick.

"I know."

"Aku tahu."

"And it looks like a rabbit."

"Dan kelihatannya seperti kelinci."

"A boy already told me that."

"Seorang anak sudah bilang begitu tadi."

Garrick takes the rubber knight. He turns it around in his fingers. Then, very slowly, he starts to laugh. It is a big, loud laugh. Rohan hears it for the first time.

Garrick mengambil kuda karet itu. Ia memutar-mutarnya di jari-jarinya. Lalu, perlahan sekali, ia mulai tertawa. Tawa yang besar dan keras. Rohan mendengarnya untuk pertama kali.

"You promised a full board," Garrick says. "And you kept your promise in a way I did not expect."

"Kamu berjanji papannya lengkap," kata Garrick. "Dan kamu menepati janjimu dengan cara yang tidak kuduga."

"Is it okay?" Rohan asks.

"Apakah ini boleh?" tanya Rohan.

"It is better than okay. Every knight in a normal set is the same. This one is yours. Today, it is white." Garrick puts it on the white side, where the missing knight goes. It looks small and strange there, but it stands well. "You play white. Black is mine."

"Lebih dari boleh. Setiap kuda dalam set biasa sama persis. Yang ini milikmu. Hari ini, ia berwarna putih." Garrick meletakkannya di sisi putih, tempat kuda yang hilang itu seharusnya berada. Bidak itu tampak kecil dan aneh di sana, tetapi berdirinya kokoh. "Kamu main putih. Hitam punyaku."

"I know how the knight moves."

"Aku tahu cara kuda bergerak."

"Then show me." Garrick pulls out a chair. Rohan puts one finger on the knight. "It goes in an L shape. It is the only piece that can jump."

"Kalau begitu tunjukkan padaku." Garrick menarik sebuah kursi. Rohan menaruh satu jari di atas kuda itu. "Geraknya berbentuk huruf L. Hanya bidak ini yang bisa melompat."

They sit. The sun is low. The shadow of the oak reaches across the table. Rohan puts his hands on the board, nervous but ready.

Mereka duduk. Matahari sudah rendah. Bayangan pohon ek memanjang melintasi meja. Rohan meletakkan tangannya di atas papan, gugup tetapi siap.

Garrick nods at the board. Rohan picks up the rubber knight. He lifts it over the pawns and makes his first move.

Garrick mengangguk ke arah papan. Rohan mengambil kuda karet itu. Ia mengangkatnya melewati bidak-bidak pion dan melakukan langkah pertamanya.