The Stranger with No Battery

At midnight, the departure board at the airport shows one word, over and over: "Delayed". Marlo has been here since nine, and he has already read every sign in the building. His own flight leaves at five, so he has nowhere to go until then.

Tengah malam, papan keberangkatan di bandara hanya menampilkan satu kata, berulang-ulang: "Tertunda". Marlo sudah berada di sini sejak pukul sembilan, dan ia sudah membaca semua tanda di gedung ini. Penerbangannya baru berangkat pukul lima, jadi ia tidak punya tempat lain untuk dituju sampai saat itu.

Across from him, a young woman is sitting with a small blue backpack. She keeps pressing the button on her phone, but the screen stays black. She stands up, walks to a closed information desk, and comes back looking worried.

Di seberangnya, seorang perempuan muda duduk membawa ransel biru kecil. Ia terus menekan tombol di ponselnya, tetapi layarnya tetap hitam. Ia berdiri, berjalan ke meja informasi yang sudah tutup, lalu kembali dengan wajah cemas.

Marlo watches her for a while. He knows how it feels to be alone in an airport at night. He tells himself that it isn't his business. Then she puts her head in her hands, and he stops arguing with himself.

Marlo mengamatinya beberapa saat. Ia tahu rasanya sendirian di bandara pada malam hari. Ia berkata pada dirinya sendiri bahwa ini bukan urusannya. Lalu perempuan itu menyembunyikan wajah di antara kedua tangannya, dan Marlo berhenti berdebat dengan dirinya sendiri.

"Excuse me," he says. "I have a power bank, if that helps."

"Permisi," katanya. "Saya punya power bank, kalau itu bisa membantu."

She looks up, surprised. "Thank you. My phone died on the plane. My aunt is meeting me here, but I don't know her number by heart. Everything is on the phone."

Perempuan itu mendongak, kaget. "Terima kasih. Ponsel saya mati di pesawat. Bibi saya menjemput saya di sini, tapi saya tidak hafal nomornya. Semuanya ada di ponsel."

"That's the trouble with phones," Marlo says. He plugs her phone into the power bank. "It needs a few minutes before it turns on. Do you know her email address? You could write to her from mine."

"Begitulah masalah ponsel," kata Marlo. Ia menyambungkan ponsel perempuan itu ke power bank. "Butuh beberapa menit sebelum bisa menyala. Apakah Anda tahu alamat email bibi Anda? Anda bisa menulis kepadanya dari ponsel saya."

She does, and she types a short message on his phone. Flight late, phone dead, waiting near gate twelve. Nothing comes back. It is nearly one o'clock, and her aunt might be asleep.

Perempuan itu tahu, dan ia mengetik pesan singkat di ponsel Marlo. Penerbangan terlambat, ponsel mati, menunggu di dekat gerbang dua belas. Tidak ada balasan. Hari sudah hampir pukul satu, dan bibinya mungkin sedang tidur.

"She'll see it when she wakes up," the young woman says. She doesn't sound sure.

"Bibi akan membacanya saat bangun," kata perempuan muda itu. Ia tidak terdengar yakin.

"Then we'll wait," Marlo says.

"Kalau begitu, kita tunggu saja," kata Marlo.

So they wait. She tells him this is her first trip alone. She is going to study in a new city. He tells her about his daughter, who is the same age and who also hates airports. They share a bag of nuts. Twice, the board changes, and twice it says the same word again.

Maka mereka menunggu. Perempuan itu bercerita bahwa ini perjalanan pertamanya seorang diri. Ia akan kuliah di kota yang baru. Marlo bercerita tentang putrinya, yang seusia dengannya dan juga benci bandara. Mereka berbagi sebungkus kacang. Dua kali papan itu berganti tampilan, dan dua kali pula papan itu menampilkan kata yang sama lagi.

At ten to two, her phone finally comes back to life, and it shows eleven missed calls. At two o'clock, a woman in a long coat comes running through the hall, calling out a name. The young woman jumps up, and the two of them hold each other for a long time.

Pukul dua kurang sepuluh, ponselnya akhirnya menyala kembali, dan menampilkan sebelas panggilan tak terjawab. Pukul dua tepat, seorang perempuan berjas panjang berlari melewati aula sambil memanggil sebuah nama. Perempuan muda itu melompat berdiri, dan keduanya berpelukan lama sekali.

"Thank you," the aunt says to Marlo. "I was so afraid."

"Terima kasih," kata sang bibi kepada Marlo. "Saya takut sekali."

The young woman gives him back the power bank. "It's empty," she says, laughing.

Perempuan muda itu mengembalikan power bank kepadanya. "Sudah kosong," katanya sambil tertawa.

Marlo sits down again and looks at the board. Then he checks his own phone, which has five percent left, and goes to find a plug.

Marlo duduk lagi dan menatap papan itu. Lalu ia memeriksa ponselnya sendiri, yang tinggal lima persen, dan pergi mencari colokan.