The Tyre That Wanted a Wheel

On Saturdays, Jamal worked at the city courier hub. He worked in the sorting room. He was sixteen. He scanned parcels and put them on the right belt. It was a simple job, and a little boring.

Pada hari Sabtu, Jamal bekerja di pusat kurir kota. Ia bekerja di ruang pemilahan. Usianya enam belas tahun. Ia memindai paket dan menaruhnya di sabuk yang tepat. Pekerjaannya sederhana, dan agak membosankan.

That morning, a strange parcel came down the belt. It was a whole wheel, black and heavy. It had no box and no tape. It was just a tyre.

Pagi itu, sebuah paket aneh meluncur di sabuk berjalan. Sebuah roda utuh, hitam dan berat. Tanpa kardus dan tanpa lakban. Hanya sebuah ban.

A paper tag hung from the rubber. Jamal read it twice. FOR THE ONE WHO NEEDS ME, it said. There was no name and no address.

Sebuah label kertas menggantung di karetnya. Jamal membacanya dua kali. UNTUK DIA YANG MEMBUTUHKANKU, bunyinya. Tidak ada nama dan tidak ada alamat.

"Which belt does this go on?" he asked the room.

"Ini masuk sabuk yang mana?" tanyanya kepada seisi ruangan.

Nobody answered. His scanner beeped and showed a cross. It did not know the tyre.

Tidak ada yang menjawab. Pemindainya berbunyi bip dan menampilkan tanda silang. Alat itu tidak mengenali ban tersebut.

Jamal put it on the floor. The tyre made a soft sound. It sounded like a happy cat. Then it began to roll.

Jamal menaruhnya di lantai. Ban itu mengeluarkan bunyi lembut. Bunyinya seperti kucing yang senang. Lalu ban itu mulai menggelinding.

It rolled past the shelves and across the yellow lines. Jamal ran after it. It stopped at the forklift, where a driver loaded boxes.

Ban itu menggelinding melewati rak-rak dan menyeberangi garis-garis kuning. Jamal berlari mengejarnya. Ban itu berhenti di dekat forklift, tempat seorang sopir memuat kardus.

"Is that yours?" Jamal called.

"Itu punya Anda?" seru Jamal.

The driver looked down. The tyre hummed at his boots. "Maybe," he said. "My forklift has a bad wheel."

Sopir itu menunduk. Ban itu berdengung di dekat sepatu botnya. "Mungkin," katanya. "Roda forkliftku rusak."

He lifted the tyre with both arms. He tried it on the forklift. It did not fit. It was much too small for the big forklift wheel. The tyre gave a sad squeak. It rolled out of his hands.

Ia mengangkat ban itu dengan kedua lengannya. Ia mencobanya di forklift. Tidak muat. Ban itu jauh terlalu kecil untuk roda forklift yang besar. Ban itu mengeluarkan cicitan sedih. Ia menggelinding lepas dari tangannya.

"Sorry," said the driver. "I am not the one."

"Maaf," kata sopir itu. "Aku bukan orangnya."

The tyre rolled on. It passed the scanners and the dusty windows. It stopped at the bike corner. A woman fixed a chain there.

Ban itu terus menggelinding. Ia melewati para pemindai dan jendela-jendela berdebu. Ia berhenti di pojok sepeda. Seorang perempuan sedang memperbaiki rantai di sana.

"A tyre!" she said. "How lovely. Do you have a bike to go with it?"

"Sebuah ban!" katanya. "Manis sekali. Kamu punya sepeda untuk dipasangi?"

"Just the tyre," said Jamal.

"Hanya bannya saja," kata Jamal.

She tried it on a small bike. The wheel looked silly. The bike leaned to one side like a sleepy horse. The tyre made a noise like a long sigh.

Ia mencobanya di sebuah sepeda kecil. Rodanya tampak konyol. Sepeda itu miring ke satu sisi seperti kuda yang mengantuk. Ban itu mengeluarkan bunyi seperti embusan napas panjang.

"It is too big for this bike," the woman said. "I am sorry. I cannot help."

"Ini terlalu besar untuk sepeda ini," kata perempuan itu. "Maaf. Aku tidak bisa membantu."

"It is very fussy," said Jamal.

"Pilih-pilih sekali," kata Jamal.

"It is a tyre," she said. "But yes."

"Namanya juga ban," katanya. "Tapi ya, memang."

The tyre rolled away again. Now it moved faster. It went out of the sorting room and into the loading yard. Jamal followed it into the bright sun. Vans stood in a long line by the fence.

Ban itu menggelinding pergi lagi. Kali ini lebih cepat. Ia keluar dari ruang pemilahan menuju halaman bongkar muat. Jamal mengikutinya ke bawah matahari yang terang. Mobil-mobil van berdiri berjajar panjang di dekat pagar.

At the end of the line, one white van sat low. Its back wheel was flat. A courier knelt beside it. She said a sad word in a quiet voice. Her name tag said NADIRA.

Di ujung barisan, sebuah van putih duduk rendah. Roda belakangnya kempes. Seorang kurir berlutut di sampingnya. Ia mengucapkan kata yang sedih dengan suara pelan. Tanda namanya bertuliskan NADIRA.

The tyre stopped at her shoes. It hummed. Then it hummed louder.

Ban itu berhenti di dekat sepatunya. Ia berdengung. Lalu berdengung lebih keras.

Nadira looked at it. She looked at Jamal. "Is this a joke?" she asked.

Nadira menatapnya. Ia menatap Jamal. "Ini lelucon?" tanyanya.

"I do not think so," said Jamal. "It came down the belt. It tried two other people."

"Kurasa bukan," kata Jamal. "Ban ini datang lewat sabuk. Ia sudah mencoba dua orang lain."

"And they said no?"

"Dan mereka bilang tidak?"

"They said they were not the one."

"Mereka bilang bukan orangnya."

Nadira put her hand on the rubber. It was warm, like a coat in the sun.

Nadira meletakkan tangannya di atas karet itu. Rasanya hangat, seperti mantel di bawah matahari.

"I have a problem," she said. "My spare tyre is gone. I lent it to a friend last month. He never gave it back."

"Aku punya masalah," katanya. "Ban serepku hilang. Bulan lalu kupinjamkan ke seorang teman. Dia tidak pernah mengembalikannya."

"That is bad," said Jamal.

"Itu buruk," kata Jamal.

"It is very bad. I must take forty costumes to the school theatre. The play starts at noon. The children cannot go on stage in their school clothes."

"Sangat buruk. Aku harus mengantar empat puluh kostum ke teater sekolah. Pertunjukannya mulai tengah hari. Anak-anak tidak bisa naik panggung dengan seragam sekolah mereka."

Jamal looked at his watch. It was ten past ten. The theatre was across the city.

Jamal melihat jam tangannya. Pukul sepuluh lewat sepuluh. Teaternya ada di seberang kota.

"Then let us try," he said.

"Kalau begitu, ayo kita coba," katanya.

Together, they lifted the tyre. It was heavy, and the wind blew dust in their eyes. Nadira took off the flat wheel. She held the new tyre against the van.

Bersama-sama, mereka mengangkat ban itu. Ban itu berat, dan angin meniupkan debu ke mata mereka. Nadira melepas roda yang kempes. Ia menempelkan ban baru itu ke van.

It did not need a tool. It jumped onto the metal with a loud, happy click. The wheel was round and black and perfect. The whole van seemed to stand up straighter.

Tidak perlu alat. Ban itu melompat ke logam dengan bunyi klik yang keras dan riang. Rodanya bulat dan hitam dan sempurna. Seluruh van tampak berdiri lebih tegak.

"It fits," said Nadira. She sounded amazed. "It fits like it was made for this van."

"Pas," kata Nadira. Suaranya terdengar takjub. "Pas seperti memang dibuat untuk van ini."

"Maybe it was," said Jamal.

"Mungkin memang begitu," kata Jamal.

The paper tag was still on the rubber. He lifted it. The old words were gone. A new line stood in their place, in blue ink. It said: THANK YOU FOR FINDING ME.

Label kertas itu masih menempel di karet. Ia mengangkatnya. Tulisan lama sudah hilang. Sebuah baris baru tertulis di tempatnya, dengan tinta biru. Bunyinya: TERIMA KASIH SUDAH MENEMUKANKU.

Nadira read it and smiled. She loaded the costumes in ten minutes. Jamal helped her with every box. Then she climbed into the front seat and started the engine. It started on the first try.

Nadira membacanya dan tersenyum. Ia memuat kostum-kostum itu dalam sepuluh menit. Jamal membantunya dengan setiap kardus. Lalu ia naik ke kursi depan dan menyalakan mesin. Mesinnya menyala pada percobaan pertama.

"I will tell the children a tyre saved the play," she said.

"Aku akan bilang ke anak-anak bahwa sebuah ban menyelamatkan pertunjukan mereka," katanya.

"They will not believe you."

"Mereka tidak akan percaya."

"They will believe the van." Nadira tapped the wheel. "Look at that. It is not flat anymore."

"Mereka akan percaya pada vannya." Nadira menepuk rodanya. "Lihat itu. Sudah tidak kempes lagi."

She started to drive away. Then she stopped and opened her window.

Ia mulai mengemudi pergi. Lalu ia berhenti dan membuka jendelanya.

"Jamal," she called. "Thank you. Now I can go."

"Jamal," serunya. "Terima kasih. Sekarang aku bisa berangkat."

"Good luck," said Jamal. "Say hello to the children."

"Semoga sukses," kata Jamal. "Salam untuk anak-anak."

The van rolled out of the yard on four good wheels. Back in the sorting room, his scanner beeped once. It showed a green tick.

Van itu melaju keluar halaman dengan empat roda yang bagus. Di ruang pemilahan, pemindainya berbunyi bip satu kali. Alat itu menampilkan tanda centang hijau.