The Trumpet with the Stuck Valve

The baggage hall at Gate Zero never closed. Nuri had worked the night shift there for three months, and she thought she had seen everything. Suitcases arrived from cities that were not on any map. Once, a crate of singing eggs had rolled down the belt. They had sung a lullaby to the whole hall.

Ruang bagasi di Gerbang Nol tidak pernah tutup. Nuri sudah tiga bulan bekerja shift malam di sana, dan ia merasa sudah pernah melihat segalanya. Koper-koper datang dari kota-kota yang tidak ada di peta mana pun. Pernah sekali sebuah peti berisi telur-telur yang bernyanyi menggelinding di sabuk berjalan. Telur-telur itu menyanyikan lagu pengantar tidur untuk seluruh ruangan.

On that Friday, at twenty past three, a black trumpet case came round the carousel. It was the ninth time. Nobody had claimed it. Nuri lifted it off the belt and set it on her cart.

Pada hari Jumat itu, pukul tiga lewat dua puluh, sebuah kotak trompet hitam berputar di korsel. Itu sudah kesembilan kalinya. Tidak ada yang mengambilnya. Nuri mengangkatnya dari sabuk dan meletakkannya di atas kereta dorongnya.

"Another lost thing," said Uriel. He was the other night worker, and he was eating crackers from a paper bag. "Put it in the cage with the umbrellas."

"Barang hilang lagi," kata Uriel. Ia pekerja malam yang satunya, dan ia sedang makan biskuit dari kantong kertas. "Taruh saja di kandang bersama payung-payung."

"Wait. There is a label on the handle," said Nuri.

"Tunggu. Ada label di gagangnya," kata Nuri.

The label was written in silver ink. It said: Deliver before the last lamp goes out. Under the words, someone had drawn two small arrows that pointed in opposite directions. Nuri opened the case. On a bed of green velvet lay a trumpet with a dented bell. The third valve was stuck halfway down, and no amount of pushing would move it.

Label itu ditulis dengan tinta perak. Bunyinya: Antarkan sebelum lampu terakhir padam. Di bawah tulisan itu, seseorang menggambar dua anak panah kecil yang menunjuk ke arah berlawanan. Nuri membuka kotaknya. Di atas alas beludru hijau tergeletak sebuah trompet dengan corong penyok. Katup ketiganya macet di tengah, dan sekeras apa pun ditekan, katup itu tidak mau bergerak.

"It's broken," Uriel said, leaning over her shoulder. "Nobody can play that."

"Rusak," kata Uriel sambil membungkuk di balik bahunya. "Tidak ada yang bisa memainkan itu."

"Let's see," said Nuri. She had played the trumpet at school for six years, and she could not walk away from one. She lifted it to her lips and blew one soft note.

"Coba kita lihat," kata Nuri. Ia pernah memainkan trompet di sekolah selama enam tahun, dan ia tidak bisa begitu saja meninggalkannya. Ia mengangkatnya ke bibir dan meniup satu nada lembut.

The note did not stay in the air. It spread across the far wall like a drop of ink in water, and a doorway opened there. It shone pale gold, and through it Nuri saw a street full of paper lanterns. A few seconds later the doorway folded shut.

Nada itu tidak tinggal di udara. Nada itu menyebar di dinding seberang seperti setetes tinta di dalam air, dan sebuah pintu terbuka di sana. Pintu itu bersinar keemasan pucat, dan melaluinya Nuri melihat jalan yang penuh lampion kertas. Beberapa detik kemudian pintu itu terlipat menutup.

Uriel dropped his crackers. "Do that again."

Uriel menjatuhkan biskuitnya. "Lakukan lagi."

She blew a lower note, which was the only other sound the stuck valve allowed. A second doorway opened beside the first one. This door was cool and blue. Behind it was a long workshop where hundreds of tools hung from hooks. It stayed open a little longer than the gold one, then it closed too.

Ia meniup nada yang lebih rendah, satu-satunya suara lain yang diizinkan oleh katup yang macet itu. Pintu kedua terbuka di samping yang pertama. Pintu ini sejuk dan berwarna biru. Di baliknya terbentang bengkel panjang tempat ratusan perkakas tergantung di kait. Pintu itu terbuka sedikit lebih lama daripada yang keemasan, lalu menutup juga.

"Two doors," Nuri said slowly. "The valve only lets me open two."

"Dua pintu," kata Nuri pelan. "Katupnya hanya membiarkanku membuka dua."

"Then the arrows on the label are the two choices," said Uriel. He pulled a folded card out of the lid. "Look at this. It says the trumpet belongs to the Lantern Band. They play at the Harbour of Clouds tonight, and the last lamp goes out at dawn."

"Berarti anak panah di label itu adalah dua pilihannya," kata Uriel. Ia menarik sebuah kartu terlipat dari tutup kotak. "Lihat ini. Katanya trompet ini milik Grup Lampion. Mereka tampil di Pelabuhan Awan malam ini, dan lampu terakhir padam saat fajar."

Nuri checked the big clock above the carousel. Dawn was less than two hours away. "So the gold door must lead to the harbour."

Nuri memeriksa jam besar di atas korsel. Fajar kurang dari dua jam lagi. "Jadi pintu emas pasti menuju pelabuhan."

"And the blue door goes to a workshop, which means somebody can fix the valve," said Uriel. He grinned. "I vote for the workshop. If we deliver a broken trumpet, the band will be angry with us. If we fix it first, we can say we did a proper job."

"Dan pintu biru menuju bengkel, artinya ada yang bisa memperbaiki katupnya," kata Uriel. Ia menyeringai. "Aku pilih bengkel. Kalau kita mengantar trompet yang rusak, grup itu akan marah pada kita. Kalau kita perbaiki dulu, kita bisa bilang kita sudah bekerja dengan benar."

"But a repair might take all night," said Nuri. "If we arrive after the last lamp goes out, the whole delivery is useless."

"Tapi perbaikan bisa memakan waktu semalaman," kata Nuri. "Kalau kita tiba setelah lampu terakhir padam, seluruh pengantaran ini sia-sia."

They stood in silence while the carousel hummed. Both choices were fair. A fixed trumpet was a better trumpet, and a trumpet that arrived on time was a better delivery. Nuri turned the instrument over in her hands and looked more closely at the stuck valve.

Mereka berdiri diam sementara korsel berdengung. Kedua pilihan sama-sama masuk akal. Trompet yang sudah diperbaiki adalah trompet yang lebih baik, dan trompet yang tiba tepat waktu adalah pengantaran yang lebih baik. Nuri membolak-balik alat musik itu di tangannya dan memperhatikan katup yang macet itu lebih saksama.

Under the metal, a tiny brass wedge sat tightly in the gap. It was polished and smooth, like a key that someone had used a hundred times. The wedge was not an accident. It had been pushed in on purpose, and a careful hand had put it there.

Di bawah logamnya, sebuah baji kuningan mungil terselip rapat di celah. Baji itu mengilap dan halus, seperti kunci yang sudah dipakai seratus kali. Baji itu bukan kecelakaan. Baji itu sengaja didorong masuk, dan tangan yang teliti yang memasangnya di sana.

"Uriel, look at this," she said. "Nobody would polish a piece of damage. This wedge is part of the trumpet."

"Uriel, lihat ini," katanya. "Tidak ada yang mau menggosok kerusakan sampai mengilap. Baji ini bagian dari trompetnya."

"Maybe the owner is lazy," said Uriel.

"Mungkin pemiliknya malas," kata Uriel.

"Maybe the owner wants it stuck," said Nuri. "If we take it to the workshop, they will pull the wedge out first thing. Then we will never know why it was there."

"Mungkin pemiliknya memang ingin katupnya macet," kata Nuri. "Kalau kita bawa ke bengkel, mereka pasti langsung mencabut baji itu. Lalu kita tidak akan pernah tahu kenapa baji itu ada di sana."

Uriel rubbed his neck. "That is a good point. But you are guessing."

Uriel menggosok lehernya. "Itu masuk akal. Tapi kamu hanya menebak."

"I know," said Nuri. "So let me guess in the direction where we are not too late. If the band needs the trumpet tonight, we should take it to the band."

"Aku tahu," kata Nuri. "Jadi biarkan aku menebak ke arah yang tidak membuat kita terlambat. Kalau grup itu butuh trompetnya malam ini, kita harus membawanya ke grup itu."

Uriel looked at the blue door, which was already fading, and then at the gold one. After a moment he nodded. "Fine. We deliver it. But if it goes wrong, I am telling everyone it was your idea."

Uriel menatap pintu biru, yang sudah memudar, lalu pintu emas. Setelah beberapa saat ia mengangguk. "Baiklah. Kita antar. Tapi kalau ada yang salah, aku akan bilang ke semua orang itu ideamu."

Nuri put the trumpet to her lips again. The high note opened the gold door, and this time she did not wait. She grabbed the case, and the two of them ran through together.

Nuri mengangkat trompet ke bibirnya lagi. Nada tinggi membuka pintu emas, dan kali ini ia tidak menunggu. Ia menyambar kotaknya, dan mereka berdua berlari masuk bersama.

The Harbour of Clouds was a wooden pier built on top of a soft white sea. Lanterns floated above the water, and hundreds of people stood in the dim light. On a small stage at the end of the pier, five musicians were waiting. One of them, a girl about Nuri's age, held an empty hand where a trumpet should have been.

Pelabuhan Awan adalah dermaga kayu yang dibangun di atas laut putih yang lembut. Lampion-lampion melayang di atas air, dan ratusan orang berdiri dalam cahaya temaram. Di panggung kecil di ujung dermaga, lima pemusik sedang menunggu. Salah satunya, seorang gadis sebaya Nuri, memegang tangan kosong di tempat yang seharusnya ada trompet.

"You found it!" the girl cried. She jumped off the stage and took the case. "We have been searching all night. The carousel keeps sending my things to the wrong hall."

"Kalian menemukannya!" seru gadis itu. Ia melompat turun dari panggung dan menerima kotak itu. "Kami mencarinya semalaman. Korsel itu selalu mengirim barang-barangku ke ruangan yang salah."

"We nearly took it to be repaired," Uriel said. "The valve is stuck."

"Kami hampir membawanya untuk diperbaiki," kata Uriel. "Katupnya macet."

The girl laughed, and then she looked at Nuri with real respect. "I am glad you didn't. I stuck it on purpose. A free valve opens every door in the world, and I can't close them all again. Last year the harbour was flooded with visitors from forty different cities. The wedge keeps the trumpet to two doors only, one for coming and one for going."

Gadis itu tertawa, lalu menatap Nuri dengan rasa hormat yang tulus. "Aku senang kalian tidak melakukannya. Aku sengaja membuatnya macet. Katup yang bebas membuka setiap pintu di dunia, dan aku tidak bisa menutup semuanya lagi. Tahun lalu pelabuhan ini dibanjiri pengunjung dari empat puluh kota yang berbeda. Baji itu membatasi trompet ini hanya pada dua pintu, satu untuk datang dan satu untuk pergi."

"So the workshop would have ruined it," Nuri said quietly.

"Jadi kalau dibawa ke bengkel, trompetnya akan rusak," kata Nuri pelan.

"It would have made it dangerous," said the girl. "Please stay for the last song. You have earned it."

"Trompet itu malah jadi berbahaya," kata gadis itu. "Tolong tinggallah untuk lagu terakhir. Kalian pantas mendapatkannya."

They stood at the back of the crowd. At the end of the night, the band played a slow, sweet tune. Then the girl lifted her trumpet for the final two notes. The high note lit every lantern on the water. The low note carried the light across the sea until the whole sky glowed. It was the best thing Nuri had ever heard, and she did not say a word.

Mereka berdiri di barisan belakang kerumunan. Di akhir malam, grup itu memainkan lagu yang pelan dan manis. Lalu gadis itu mengangkat trompetnya untuk dua nada terakhir. Nada tinggi menyalakan setiap lampion di atas air. Nada rendah membawa cahaya itu menyeberangi laut hingga seluruh langit berpendar. Itu hal terindah yang pernah didengar Nuri, dan ia tidak mengucapkan sepatah kata pun.

When the last lamp went out, the girl pressed a small brass wedge into Nuri's hand. "A spare," she said. "In case the world ever needs another lock."

Ketika lampu terakhir padam, gadis itu menekankan sebuah baji kuningan kecil ke tangan Nuri. "Cadangan," katanya. "Kalau-kalau dunia suatu hari butuh gembok lain."

Then the gold door opened one more time. The two night workers stepped back into the baggage hall. The big clock showed five to five. The belt was empty and the cart stood where they had left it. The air smelled faintly of lantern smoke.

Lalu pintu emas terbuka sekali lagi. Kedua pekerja malam itu melangkah kembali ke ruang bagasi. Jam besar menunjukkan lima menit menjelang pukul lima. Sabuk berjalannya kosong dan kereta dorong berdiri di tempat mereka meninggalkannya. Udara samar-samar berbau asap lampion.

Uriel stared at the carousel. "Nuri, the belt just started moving again, and it is playing music."

Uriel menatap korsel. "Nuri, sabuknya baru saja mulai bergerak lagi, dan sabuk itu memainkan musik."