The Train That Stopped in a Field

Danae sits by the window on the afternoon train. She has a book and a small bag of nuts. Outside, the fields are green and quiet.

Danae duduk di dekat jendela di kereta sore. Ia membawa sebuah buku dan sekantong kecil kacang. Di luar, ladang-ladang hijau dan sunyi.

Suddenly the train slows down and stops. It stops in the middle of a field. There is no town and no station, only cows and grass.

Tiba-tiba kereta itu melambat dan berhenti. Kereta berhenti di tengah ladang. Tidak ada kota dan tidak ada stasiun, hanya sapi dan rumput.

A voice comes from the speaker. "A tree is on the line," it says. "We need two hours to move it. We are sorry."

Sebuah suara terdengar dari pengeras suara. "Ada pohon tumbang di rel," katanya. "Kami butuh dua jam untuk memindahkannya. Kami mohon maaf."

Some people sigh. Others look at their phones. Danae eats a few nuts and looks around. Nobody has much food. The man across from her has one apple. A woman near the door has half a sandwich.

Beberapa orang menghela napas. Yang lain melihat ponsel mereka. Danae memakan beberapa butir kacang dan melihat sekeliling. Tidak ada yang punya banyak makanan. Pria di seberangnya punya satu apel. Seorang wanita di dekat pintu punya setengah roti lapis.

"We will all be hungry soon," the man says.

"Sebentar lagi kita semua akan lapar," kata pria itu.

"Maybe we can share," Danae says. She stands up and puts her nuts on the little table. "Let's put everything here."

"Mungkin kita bisa berbagi," kata Danae. Ia berdiri dan meletakkan kacangnya di meja kecil. "Mari kita taruh semuanya di sini."

The man puts down his apple. The woman brings her sandwich. A boy has a bag of grapes. A tall woman has bread and a big piece of cheese.

Pria itu meletakkan apelnya. Wanita itu membawa roti lapisnya. Seorang anak laki-laki punya sekantong anggur. Seorang wanita jangkung punya roti dan sepotong besar keju.

Then a man called Radek opens a box. Inside is a birthday cake. "It is for my sister," he says. "But the party is tomorrow. She will understand."

Lalu seorang pria bernama Radek membuka sebuah kotak. Di dalamnya ada kue ulang tahun. "Ini untuk adik perempuan saya," katanya. "Tapi pestanya besok. Dia pasti mengerti."

Everyone laughs. Soon the table is full of food. People from other seats come to look. They bring more things: crackers, oranges, a bottle of juice.

Semua orang tertawa. Tak lama kemudian meja itu penuh dengan makanan. Orang-orang dari tempat duduk lain datang melihat. Mereka membawa lebih banyak lagi: biskuit, jeruk, sebotol jus.

Danae finds a knife in her bag. She cuts the cake into twelve pieces. She gives the first piece to the boy.

Danae menemukan sebilah pisau di tasnya. Ia memotong kue itu menjadi dua belas bagian. Ia memberikan potongan pertama kepada anak laki-laki itu.