The Thermos That Would Not Cool

At noon on his third day at the shipyard, Darius opens his thermos. A cloud of steam hits him in the face. His mum filled it with lentil soup at six o'clock this morning. Six hours later, the soup is still bubbling.

Pada tengah hari di hari ketiganya di galangan kapal, Darius membuka termosnya. Segumpal uap menerpa wajahnya. Ibunya mengisinya dengan sup lentil pukul enam pagi tadi. Enam jam kemudian, sup itu masih mendidih.

"Is it supposed to do that?" Hiba asks. She sits on an upturned bucket beside him and eats a cold sandwich.

"Memang harusnya begitu?" tanya Hiba. Ia duduk di atas ember terbalik di sebelahnya sambil makan roti lapis dingin.

"No," Darius says. "It's supposed to stay warm. This one stays angry."

"Bukan," kata Darius. "Harusnya tetap hangat. Yang ini tetap marah."

The shipyard is small, with one slipway, two sheds and a crane that creaks in every direction. Darius and Hiba are fifteen, and their school has sent them here for a week of work experience. So far they have swept floors, carried planks and learned nine different knots. Nobody has let them touch a real boat.

Galangan kapal itu kecil, dengan satu landasan peluncuran, dua gudang, dan sebuah derek yang berderit ke segala arah. Darius dan Hiba berumur lima belas tahun, dan sekolah mereka mengirim mereka ke sini untuk seminggu pengalaman kerja. Sejauh ini mereka sudah menyapu lantai, mengangkut papan, dan belajar sembilan simpul yang berbeda. Belum ada yang mengizinkan mereka menyentuh perahu sungguhan.

The thermos is new. Darius's dad bought it online because the sticker promised hot drinks for twenty-four hours. Nobody told him that the sticker was serious.

Termos itu baru. Ayah Darius membelinya lewat internet karena stikernya menjanjikan minuman panas selama dua puluh empat jam. Tak ada yang memberi tahu ayahnya bahwa stiker itu serius.

"Just wait ten minutes," Hiba says. "It'll cool down."

"Tunggu saja sepuluh menit," kata Hiba. "Nanti juga dingin."

They wait ten minutes. Darius blows on a spoonful until he feels dizzy. Then he tastes it, and he jumps up as if the bucket has bitten him.

Mereka menunggu sepuluh menit. Darius meniup sesendok sup sampai pusing. Lalu ia mencicipinya, dan ia melompat berdiri seolah ember itu menggigitnya.

"Still lava," he says, holding out his tongue.

"Masih lahar," katanya sambil menjulurkan lidah.

"Fan it," Hiba says. "Use a clipboard."

"Kipasi saja," kata Hiba. "Pakai papan jepit."

Darius fans the thermos with a clipboard for five more minutes. The steam only dances faster. Hiba laughs so hard that she nearly drops her sandwich.

Darius mengipasi termos itu dengan papan jepit selama lima menit lagi. Uapnya malah menari makin cepat. Hiba tertawa begitu keras sampai hampir menjatuhkan roti lapisnya.

Their lunch break is thirty minutes long, and Darius is hungry. He looks around the yard for help. His eyes land on the foreman. He is walking past with a heavy coil of rope.

Istirahat makan siang mereka hanya tiga puluh menit, dan Darius lapar. Ia menoleh ke sekeliling galangan mencari bantuan. Matanya tertumbuk pada mandor. Mandor itu sedang lewat membawa segulung tali yang berat.

"Excuse me," Darius says. "Would you like some soup? My mum made too much."

"Permisi," kata Darius. "Mau sup? Ibu saya membuat terlalu banyak."

The foreman stops. He is a broad man with a deep voice, and he has ten minutes before his next job. "Soup is always welcome," he says. He takes the lid from Darius and sips.

Mandor itu berhenti. Ia pria bertubuh besar dengan suara dalam, dan ia punya sepuluh menit sebelum pekerjaan berikutnya. "Sup selalu diterima," katanya. Ia mengambil tutup dari tangan Darius dan menyeruput.

His eyes widen. He makes a noise like a whistling pipe.

Matanya melebar. Ia mengeluarkan bunyi seperti pipa bersiul.

"Is it hot?" Darius asks, although the answer is obvious.

"Panas, Pak?" tanya Darius, meskipun jawabannya sudah jelas.

"It is not hot," the foreman says, fanning his mouth. "It is a lesson. I have ten minutes, and this soup needs an hour. Give it to somebody with more time."

"Ini bukan panas," kata si mandor sambil mengipasi mulutnya. "Ini pelajaran. Saya punya sepuluh menit, dan sup ini butuh satu jam. Berikan saja ke orang yang punya lebih banyak waktu."

He hands the thermos back and picks up his rope. His eyes are still watering. Darius feels terrible.

Ia mengembalikan termos itu dan mengangkat talinya. Matanya masih berair. Darius merasa sangat bersalah.

"Don't take it personally," Hiba says. "Look, there's the welder. She works fast and never stops to eat. Maybe she likes her food hot."

"Jangan diambil hati," kata Hiba. "Lihat, ada tukang las. Dia bekerja cepat dan tidak pernah berhenti untuk makan. Mungkin dia suka makanan panas."

The welder is crouching beside the hull of a fishing boat. Her mask is pushed up on her head. Orange sparks jump around her feet. Darius walks over carefully and holds out the thermos.

Tukang las itu sedang berjongkok di samping lambung sebuah kapal nelayan. Topengnya terdorong naik ke kepala. Percikan oranye melompat-lompat di sekitar kakinya. Darius berjalan menghampiri dengan hati-hati dan mengulurkan termosnya.

"My mum's soup," he says. "It's a little warm."

"Sup buatan ibu saya," katanya. "Agak hangat."

The welder looks at the steam, and then she looks at him. "A little warm," she says. "I see." She does not taste it. She tips a tiny drop onto a rusty bolt next to her boot. The drop hisses and curls into a cloud.

Tukang las itu menatap uapnya, lalu menatapnya. "Agak hangat," katanya. "Begitu ya." Ia tidak mencicipinya. Ia menuangkan setetes kecil ke sebuah baut berkarat di samping sepatu botnya. Tetesan itu mendesis dan menggulung menjadi awan.

"Interesting," she says. "It has done more than my cleaning spray did all morning. But I can't drink it. If I stop for an hour, the boat doesn't get finished."

"Menarik," katanya. "Ini lebih ampuh daripada semprotan pembersihku sepanjang pagi. Tapi aku tidak bisa meminumnya. Kalau aku berhenti selama satu jam, kapalnya tidak akan selesai."

"Everybody has the same problem," Darius says.

"Semua orang punya masalah yang sama," kata Darius.

"Not everybody," the welder says. She points one thick glove at the sky. "Ask the crane operator. He sits alone in that cabin for eight hours, and he can't leave. By the time he opens his lunch, it is always cold."

"Tidak semua," kata si tukang las. Ia menunjuk langit dengan satu sarung tangan tebalnya. "Tanya saja operator derek. Dia duduk sendirian di kabin itu selama delapan jam, dan tidak bisa pergi. Saat dia membuka bekalnya, selalu sudah dingin."

Darius looks up. The crane is very tall, and the cabin at the top looks as small as a matchbox. A man's shape moves behind the glass.

Darius mendongak. Derek itu sangat tinggi, dan kabin di puncaknya tampak sekecil kotak korek api. Sosok seorang pria bergerak di balik kaca.

"How do we get it up there?" Darius asks.

"Bagaimana cara kami mengirimnya ke atas sana?" tanya Darius.

"Wave at him," the welder says. "He sees everything."

"Lambaikan tangan padanya," kata si tukang las. "Dia melihat segalanya."

Hiba is already waving both arms over her head. After a few seconds, the crane groans and turns. The long arm swings over the yard. The hook comes down on a steel cable, like a fishing line. A big plastic bucket hangs from it.

Hiba sudah melambaikan kedua lengannya di atas kepala. Setelah beberapa detik, derek itu berderak dan berputar. Lengannya yang panjang berayun di atas galangan. Kaitnya turun pada kabel baja, seperti tali pancing. Sebuah ember plastik besar tergantung padanya.

The crane operator's voice crackles from a speaker on the pole. "Something for me?" he asks.

Suara operator derek berderak keluar dari pengeras suara di tiang. "Ada sesuatu untukku?" tanyanya.

"Soup!" Hiba shouts. "It's very, very hot!"

"Sup!" teriak Hiba. "Panas sekali!"

"Then it's the right soup," the voice says. "Send it up."

"Kalau begitu itu sup yang tepat," kata suara itu. "Kirim ke atas."

Darius puts the thermos carefully into the bucket. Hiba closes the lid and ties a rope around the handle, as they learned on Monday. The bucket rises, spinning gently. It climbs past the roof of the shed and all the way up to the cabin.

Darius memasukkan termos itu ke dalam ember dengan hati-hati. Hiba menutup tutupnya dan mengikat tali di gagangnya, seperti yang mereka pelajari hari Senin. Ember itu naik sambil berputar pelan. Ember itu melewati atap gudang dan terus naik sampai ke kabin.

For a long minute, nothing happens. The two teenagers stand with their heads tipped back, shading their eyes. Darius suddenly worries that the soup has exploded.

Selama semenit yang panjang, tidak terjadi apa-apa. Kedua remaja itu berdiri dengan kepala mendongak, menaungi mata mereka. Tiba-tiba Darius khawatir supnya meledak.

Then the speaker crackles again. "Oh," the crane operator says. "Oh, that is good."

Lalu pengeras suara berderak lagi. "Oh," kata si operator derek. "Oh, ini enak sekali."

"Is it too hot?" Darius shouts.

"Apa terlalu panas?" teriak Darius.

"Too hot?" the man says. "Young man, you don't understand. I have waited five years for a lunch that stays warm. Every day, I climb up here at seven. By noon my food is as cold as a stone. This is the first hot meal I have had in this cabin."

"Terlalu panas?" kata pria itu. "Anak muda, kamu tidak mengerti. Aku sudah menunggu lima tahun untuk makan siang yang tetap hangat. Setiap hari aku naik ke sini pukul tujuh. Menjelang tengah hari makananku sudah sedingin batu. Ini makanan panas pertama yang kudapat di kabin ini."

"There's more soup if you want it," Darius shouts, although there is not much left in the thermos.

"Masih ada sup kalau Bapak mau," teriak Darius, meskipun sisa di termos itu tidak banyak.

"I will drink it slowly," the voice says. "All afternoon. It will still be hot at five."

"Aku akan meminumnya pelan-pelan," kata suara itu. "Sepanjang sore. Pukul lima pun masih akan panas."

"It will still be hot tomorrow," Hiba mutters.

"Besok pun masih akan panas," gumam Hiba.

Darius sits down on his bucket. He realises that he is hungry, and that he has no lunch. Hiba sighs, tears her sandwich in half and gives him the bigger piece. He thanks her twice.

Darius duduk di embernya. Ia sadar bahwa ia lapar, dan ia tidak punya makan siang. Hiba menghela napas, merobek roti lapisnya menjadi dua, dan memberinya bagian yang lebih besar. Darius berterima kasih dua kali.

"Three people," Hiba says, counting on her fingers. "The foreman burned his tongue. The welder tested it on a bolt. The crane operator wants to marry it."

"Tiga orang," kata Hiba sambil menghitung dengan jarinya. "Mandor lidahnya terbakar. Tukang las mengujinya di sebuah baut. Operator derek ingin menikahinya."

"Don't tell my dad," Darius says with his mouth full. "He thinks he bought a great thermos."

"Jangan bilang ayahku," kata Darius dengan mulut penuh. "Dia pikir dia membeli termos yang hebat."

"He did," Hiba says. "He only bought it for the wrong person."

"Memang," kata Hiba. "Dia hanya membelinya untuk orang yang salah."

The afternoon goes quickly. The foreman gives them a small job at the slipway, painting a number on a boat. He walks past twice and winks at Darius each time. At four o'clock, the bucket comes back down with the empty thermos and a folded note inside.

Sore berlalu dengan cepat. Mandor memberi mereka pekerjaan kecil di landasan peluncuran, mengecat nomor pada sebuah perahu. Ia lewat dua kali dan mengedipkan mata pada Darius setiap kali. Pukul empat, ember itu turun kembali membawa termos kosong dan secarik catatan terlipat di dalamnya.

Darius reads it aloud. "Thank you. Soup still hot at four. Please tell your mother that I am her biggest fan."

Darius membacanya keras-keras. "Terima kasih. Sup masih panas pukul empat. Tolong sampaikan kepada ibumu bahwa aku penggemar terbesarnya."

"You know what this means," Hiba says. "You're the soup supplier of the sky."

"Kamu tahu apa artinya ini," kata Hiba. "Kamu pemasok sup untuk langit."

"Please don't say that near my mum," Darius says. "She has already bought a second thermos."

"Tolong jangan bilang begitu di dekat ibuku," kata Darius. "Dia sudah membeli termos kedua."