The Tick in the Book Box

Dalia sold old books at the Sunday street market. Her stall was small. It had three tables and a green umbrella. Her neighbor Imran sold apples at the next stall.

Dalia menjual buku-buku tua di pasar jalanan hari Minggu. Lapaknya kecil. Ada tiga meja dan sebuah payung hijau. Tetangganya, Imran, menjual apel di lapak sebelah.

One morning, a man left a box at her stall. He did not give his name. He said, "Please take these. I do not need them." Then he went away.

Suatu pagi, seorang pria meninggalkan sebuah kotak di lapaknya. Dia tidak menyebutkan namanya. Dia berkata, "Tolong ambil ini. Saya tidak membutuhkannya." Lalu dia pergi.

Dalia put the box under her table. She opened the first one and read the covers. Most books were about gardens and cooking. They were nice, but nothing special. At ten o'clock, the market was busy. Dalia sold two books. Then she heard a sound. Tick, tick, tick.

Dalia menaruh kotak itu di bawah mejanya. Dia membuka yang pertama dan membaca sampul-sampulnya. Kebanyakan buku tentang taman dan memasak. Bagus, tapi tidak istimewa. Pukul sepuluh, pasar ramai. Dalia menjual dua buku. Lalu dia mendengar suara. Tik, tik, tik.

She stopped. "Imran," she said.

Dia berhenti. "Imran," katanya.

"Do you hear that?" Imran put down an apple.

"Kamu dengar itu?" Imran meletakkan sebuah apel.

"Hear what?"

"Dengar apa?"

"A clock. Under my table." Imran listened.

"Jam. Di bawah mejaku." Imran mendengarkan.

"I hear people and cars and a baby. I do not hear a clock."

"Aku mendengar orang-orang, mobil, dan bayi. Aku tidak mendengar jam."

Dalia felt silly. She went back to work. But after a few minutes, the sound came again. Tick, tick, tick. This time it was louder. "It is the box," she said.

Dalia merasa konyol. Dia kembali bekerja. Tapi beberapa menit kemudian, suara itu terdengar lagi. Tik, tik, tik. Kali ini lebih keras. "Itu dari kotak," katanya.

Imran came over. He knelt down and put his ear on the books. His eyes grew big. "You are right," he said.

Imran menghampiri. Dia berlutut dan menempelkan telinganya di buku-buku itu. Matanya membesar. "Kamu benar," katanya.

"Something ticks in there."

"Ada sesuatu yang berdetik di dalam sana."

"A bomb?" Dalia whispered. She laughed at once.

"Bom?" bisik Dalia. Dia langsung tertawa.

"No. That is silly."

"Bukan. Itu konyol."

"It is silly," Imran agreed.

"Memang konyol," Imran setuju.

"But let us not open it near the apples."

"Tapi jangan kita buka di dekat apel-apel."

They carried the box behind the stall. Dalia took out the books one by one. Cooking, gardens, a book about birds, a book about boats. The sound got louder with each book. At the bottom, there was a thick red book. Tick, tick, tick. "This one," Dalia said.

Mereka membawa kotak itu ke belakang lapak. Dalia mengeluarkan buku-buku itu satu per satu. Buku masak, taman, sebuah buku tentang burung, sebuah buku tentang perahu. Suaranya makin keras dengan setiap buku. Di dasar kotak ada sebuah buku merah yang tebal. Tik, tik, tik. "Yang ini," kata Dalia.

She opened it. The pages were thick and soft. In the middle, someone cut a small hole. Inside the hole lay a tiny gold watch. It was no bigger than a coin. The long hand moved slowly around its little face.

Dia membukanya. Halaman-halamannya tebal dan lembut. Di tengahnya, seseorang telah memotong sebuah lubang kecil. Di dalam lubang itu terletak sebuah arloji emas mungil. Ukurannya tidak lebih besar dari sekeping koin. Jarum panjangnya bergerak pelan mengitari wajah kecilnya.

"A watch!" Imran said.

"Arloji!" kata Imran.

"Why does it tick?" Dalia asked.

"Kenapa bisa berdetik?" tanya Dalia.

"It is very old."

"Arloji ini sangat tua."

"Maybe somebody winds it every day."

"Mungkin ada yang memutar kuncinya setiap hari."

Dalia looked at the watch for a long time. On the back, there was a line of tiny words. She read them slowly. "For Mina. Every minute is yours."

Dalia memandangi arloji itu lama sekali. Di bagian belakangnya ada satu baris tulisan kecil. Dia membacanya pelan-pelan. "Untuk Mina. Setiap menit adalah milikmu."

"Who is Mina?" Imran asked.

"Siapa Mina?" tanya Imran.

"I do not know. But someone loved her very much."

"Aku tidak tahu. Tapi seseorang sangat mencintainya."

At noon, the market was almost empty. Dalia sat at her table with the watch. She did not want to sell it. She did not want to keep it either.

Siang hari, pasar nyaris kosong. Dalia duduk di mejanya bersama arloji itu. Dia tidak ingin menjualnya. Dia juga tidak ingin menyimpannya.

"The man left the box this morning," she said.

"Pria itu meninggalkan kotak ini tadi pagi," katanya.

"He did not know the watch was inside. Maybe he forgot it."

"Dia tidak tahu arloji ini ada di dalamnya. Mungkin dia lupa."

"Then he will come back," Imran said.

"Kalau begitu dia akan kembali," kata Imran.

"Maybe."

"Mungkin."

They waited. At one o'clock, an old woman walked along the street. She looked at every stall and then she saw Dalia. She stopped. Her mouth opened. "Oh," she said.

Mereka menunggu. Pukul satu, seorang perempuan tua berjalan menyusuri jalan. Dia memandangi setiap lapak, lalu dia melihat Dalia. Dia berhenti. Mulutnya terbuka. "Oh," katanya.

"Is the red book here?"

"Apakah buku merah itu ada di sini?"

"Yes," Dalia said.

"Ada," kata Dalia.

"Are you Mina?"

"Apakah Ibu Mina?"

The woman nodded. Her eyes were wet. "My son gave away my books by mistake. I looked at six stalls today. The watch was my husband's present, many years ago. I hide it in a book so it is safe. Every night, I wind it, and I listen to it."

Perempuan itu mengangguk. Matanya basah. "Anak saya memberikan buku-buku saya karena salah paham. Hari ini saya sudah melihat enam lapak. Arloji itu hadiah dari suami saya, bertahun-tahun yang lalu. Saya menyembunyikannya di dalam buku supaya aman. Setiap malam, saya memutar kuncinya, dan saya mendengarkannya."

Dalia stood up. She held out the watch. Mina took it with both hands. She held it near her ear. She closed her eyes. Then Dalia took the red book from the table. She put it in Mina's bag. Imran gave the old woman his reddest apple.

Dalia berdiri. Dia mengulurkan arloji itu. Mina menerimanya dengan kedua tangan. Dia mendekatkannya ke telinganya. Dia memejamkan mata. Lalu Dalia mengambil buku merah itu dari meja. Dia memasukkannya ke tas Mina. Imran memberikan apelnya yang paling merah kepada perempuan tua itu.