The Wheelbarrow on the Night Shift

At two in the morning, the supermarket belongs to the people who stack its shelves. The music is turned down to a whisper and the freezers hum. The long white aisles stretch away like corridors in a ship that has lost its passengers.

Pukul dua dini hari, supermarket menjadi milik orang-orang yang menata raknya. Musik dipelankan sampai nyaris berbisik dan pendingin berdengung. Lorong-lorong putih yang panjang membentang seperti koridor kapal yang telah kehilangan penumpangnya.

Kaya loves it. It is her third week on the night shift. She is seventeen, which makes her the youngest person in the building by about twelve years. She works in the aisles with Yvo, who is eighteen and has already decided that he knows everything about stacking tins. He is right about most of it.

Kaya menyukainya. Ini minggu ketiganya di shift malam. Usianya tujuh belas tahun, yang membuatnya orang termuda di gedung itu, sekitar dua belas tahun lebih muda dari yang lain. Ia bekerja di lorong-lorong bersama Yvo, yang berusia delapan belas dan sudah memutuskan bahwa ia tahu segalanya tentang menata kaleng. Ia benar tentang sebagian besarnya.

Tonight, however, he is not stacking anything. He is standing in the garden aisle with his arms folded, staring at a wheelbarrow.

Malam ini, namun, ia tidak sedang menata apa pun. Ia berdiri di lorong taman dengan tangan bersedekap, menatap sebuah gerobak dorong.

It is a good wheelbarrow. It is deep and green, with a solid steel frame and a fat black tyre. It sits on a wooden pallet with a sign that says DISPLAY MODEL, ONLY ONE LEFT, 39 EURO. Someone has filled it with flowerpots to make it look cheerful.

Itu gerobak dorong yang bagus. Dalam dan hijau, dengan rangka baja yang kokoh dan ban hitam yang gemuk. Gerobak itu berada di atas palet kayu dengan papan bertuliskan BARANG PAJANGAN, TINGGAL SATU, 39 EURO. Seseorang sudah mengisinya dengan pot-pot bunga agar tampak ceria.

"You have been staring at it for ten minutes," Kaya says.

"Sudah sepuluh menit kamu menatapnya," kata Kaya.

"My dad has wanted one for years. He has a tiny garden and an enormous number of plans." Yvo unfolds his arms and folds them again. "It is his birthday today. I get paid at six, when the system updates. I can use my staff discount at the till, and it will cost me half."

"Ayahku sudah bertahun-tahun menginginkannya. Kebunnya sangat kecil dan rencananya sangat banyak." Yvo membuka lipatan tangannya dan melipatnya lagi. "Hari ini ulang tahunnya. Aku digaji pukul enam, saat sistem diperbarui. Aku bisa memakai diskon karyawan di kasir, dan harganya jadi separuh."

"So buy it at six."

"Kalau begitu beli saja pukul enam."

"The garden department opens its sale at six thirty. But the manager moves the display to the front doors at half past five, and the early shoppers come in at six." He sighs. "A man in a cap will take it before I can reach the till."

"Departemen taman membuka obralannya pukul enam tiga puluh. Tapi manajer memindahkan barang pajangan itu ke pintu depan pukul lima tiga puluh, dan pembeli pagi masuk pukul enam." Ia menghela napas. "Seorang laki-laki bertopi akan mengambilnya sebelum aku sempat sampai ke kasir."

Kaya thinks about this seriously. She is a person who makes promises easily and keeps them with a mixture of stubbornness and luck. She looks at the wheelbarrow, and she looks at Yvo, who has the face of someone who has run out of ideas.

Kaya memikirkannya dengan serius. Ia orang yang mudah membuat janji dan menepatinya dengan campuran keras kepala dan keberuntungan. Ia memandang gerobak dorong itu, dan memandang Yvo, yang berwajah seperti orang yang kehabisan akal.

"I will make sure nobody buys it before you do," she says. "I promise."

"Aku akan memastikan tidak ada yang membelinya sebelum kamu," katanya. "Aku janji."

"You do not have to do that."

"Kamu tidak perlu melakukan itu."

"I know," she says. "That is why it is a promise."

"Aku tahu," katanya. "Makanya itu janji."

It sounds easy for about forty minutes.

Kedengarannya mudah selama sekitar empat puluh menit.

At a quarter to three, the night supervisor arrives with a clipboard and a heavy sense of duty. He is a thin man with enormous eyebrows, and he walks up to the wheelbarrow and prods it with a pen.

Pukul tiga kurang seperempat, supervisor malam datang dengan papan jepit dan rasa tanggung jawab yang berat. Ia laki-laki kurus dengan alis yang luar biasa tebal, dan ia berjalan ke gerobak dorong itu dan menyodoknya dengan pulpen.

"This should be at the entrance," he says. "I am moving it now."

"Ini seharusnya ada di pintu masuk," katanya. "Saya pindahkan sekarang."

"Now?" says Kaya.

"Sekarang?" kata Kaya.

"Better early than late."

"Lebih baik awal daripada terlambat."

"But it is full of flowerpots, and the pots will fall off the pallet." She says the first thing that comes into her head. "I need to clear it first, and that takes a long time."

"Tapi isinya penuh pot bunga, dan pot-potnya akan jatuh dari palet." Ia mengucapkan hal pertama yang terlintas di kepalanya. "Saya harus mengosongkannya dulu, dan itu butuh waktu lama."

The supervisor looks at the flowerpots and at his watch. "Then do it before the morning staff arrive," he says, and he walks away, writing something down.

Supervisor itu melihat pot-pot bunga dan jam tangannya. "Kalau begitu lakukan sebelum staf pagi datang," katanya, lalu ia pergi sambil menulis sesuatu.

She has bought herself two hours. It is not a good plan, but it is a plan.

Ia sudah membeli dua jam. Itu bukan rencana yang bagus, tetapi itu rencana.

At three thirty, the delivery driver comes through the back door, pushing a trolley of frozen peas, and sees the wheelbarrow. His whole face lights up.

Pukul tiga tiga puluh, sopir pengantar masuk lewat pintu belakang sambil mendorong troli berisi kacang polong beku, dan melihat gerobak dorong itu. Seluruh wajahnya berbinar.

"Do you mind?" he says. "My trolley has a wobbly wheel. I could take it for the peas."

"Boleh, ya?" katanya. "Troli saya rodanya goyang. Saya bisa memakainya untuk kacang polong."

"It is on display," Kaya says, "and the pallet is very fragile."

"Itu barang pajangan," kata Kaya, "dan paletnya sangat rapuh."

"It is a wheelbarrow, not a vase."

"Ini gerobak dorong, bukan vas."

She cannot argue with that. The driver wheels away his frozen peas, and the display model rolls out of the garden aisle with a deep, satisfied rumble.

Ia tidak bisa membantah itu. Sopir itu membawa pergi kacang polong bekunya, dan gerobak dorong pajangan itu menggelinding keluar dari lorong taman dengan gemuruh dalam yang puas.

"Yvo," Kaya whispers, running to find him. "A man has stolen our wheelbarrow."

"Yvo," bisik Kaya sambil berlari mencarinya. "Ada orang yang mencuri gerobak dorong kita."

"He has borrowed it."

"Dia meminjamnya."

"He is going to put it in the freezer room."

"Dia akan menaruhnya di ruang pembeku."

Together they chase the wheelbarrow through the back corridor and past the cold store. In the loading bay, they take it back by pretending that the pallet has a safety problem. By four, Kaya has fought off two more enquiries. A stock clerk with a hundred boxes wants it, and so does a cleaner with a bucket.

Bersama-sama mereka mengejar gerobak dorong itu melewati koridor belakang dan ruang pendingin. Di area bongkar muat, mereka mengambilnya kembali dengan berpura-pura palet itu bermasalah soal keselamatan. Pukul empat, Kaya sudah menangkis dua permintaan lagi. Seorang petugas stok dengan seratus kardus menginginkannya, begitu juga seorang petugas kebersihan dengan seember air.

She is exhausted. She is also beginning to understand a basic truth about the world. In an empty supermarket at night, a wheelbarrow looks like the most useful object ever invented.

Ia kelelahan. Ia juga mulai memahami kebenaran mendasar tentang dunia. Di supermarket kosong pada malam hari, gerobak dorong tampak seperti benda paling berguna yang pernah diciptakan.

"I have an idea," she says, at ten past four.

"Aku punya ide," katanya, pukul empat lewat sepuluh.

"Is it a good idea?"

"Ide yang bagus?"

"It is a very strange idea. Come and help me."

"Ide yang sangat aneh. Ayo bantu aku."

They go to the stockroom. They find twenty boxes of tinned tomatoes, fifteen of soup, and a tower of cereal, and they load all of it into the wheelbarrow. It takes them twenty minutes. When they finish, the thing is a mountain on one wheel. It is so heavy that Kaya needs both hands and a lot of breath to move it.

Mereka pergi ke gudang. Mereka menemukan dua puluh kardus tomat kaleng, lima belas kardus sup, dan menara sereal, lalu memuat semuanya ke dalam gerobak dorong. Itu memakan waktu dua puluh menit. Ketika selesai, benda itu menjadi gunung di atas satu roda. Begitu berat sampai Kaya butuh kedua tangan dan banyak napas untuk menggerakkannya.

"You are going to use it as a cart," Yvo says, with growing admiration.

"Kamu akan memakainya sebagai kereta angkut," kata Yvo, dengan kekaguman yang makin besar.

"If someone wants to take it, they will see that it is in use. Nobody takes a wheelbarrow that is full of work. And if the supervisor asks, I tell him I am carrying stock, which is true."

"Kalau ada yang mau mengambilnya, mereka akan melihat bahwa gerobak ini sedang dipakai. Tidak ada yang mengambil gerobak dorong yang penuh pekerjaan. Dan kalau supervisor bertanya, aku bilang aku sedang mengangkut stok, dan itu benar."

"That is almost clever."

"Itu hampir cerdik."

"It is completely clever. Push."

"Itu sepenuhnya cerdik. Dorong."

For the next hour and a half, the wheelbarrow becomes the most hard-working object in the supermarket. Kaya and Yvo push it up and down the aisles and unload a box here and a box there. Then they fill it again at the next stockroom door. It carries soup to the soup shelf and pasta to the pasta shelf. It delivers a pile of washing powder to the far end of the shop. Each time the supervisor appears at the end of an aisle, he sees two teenagers and a loaded wheelbarrow. He nods slowly and changes direction.

Selama satu setengah jam berikutnya, gerobak dorong itu menjadi benda paling rajin bekerja di supermarket. Kaya dan Yvo mendorongnya naik turun lorong dan menurunkan sekardus di sini dan sekardus di sana. Lalu mereka mengisinya lagi di pintu gudang berikutnya. Gerobak itu membawa sup ke rak sup dan pasta ke rak pasta. Ia mengantarkan setumpuk deterjen ke ujung jauh toko. Setiap kali supervisor muncul di ujung lorong, ia melihat dua remaja dan sebuah gerobak dorong yang penuh muatan. Ia mengangguk pelan dan berbelok arah.

"I have never seen anyone stack so many tins in one night," he says at five o'clock.

"Saya belum pernah melihat ada yang menata begitu banyak kaleng dalam satu malam," katanya pukul lima.

"We are very committed," Kaya says.

"Kami sangat berdedikasi," kata Kaya.

At half past five, they are standing by the entrance doors with the wheelbarrow between them. It is empty now. The aisles behind them are tidy and brightly lit, the shelves full to the edge, and the tins stand in perfectly straight lines. Kaya is so tired that the edges of everything look soft.

Pukul lima tiga puluh, mereka berdiri di dekat pintu masuk dengan gerobak dorong di antara mereka. Kini gerobak itu kosong. Lorong-lorong di belakang mereka rapi dan terang benderang, rak-rak penuh sampai ke tepi, dan kaleng-kaleng berdiri dalam barisan yang benar-benar lurus. Kaya begitu lelah sampai tepi segala sesuatu tampak lembut.

At the other side of the glass, a few shoppers are already waiting in the dark.

Di seberang kaca, beberapa pembeli sudah menunggu dalam gelap.

"Half an hour to the system update," Yvo says. He looks at the wheelbarrow, and he starts to laugh. "You kept your promise."

"Setengah jam lagi sampai sistem diperbarui," kata Yvo. Ia memandang gerobak dorong itu, dan mulai tertawa. "Kamu menepati janjimu."

"Not yet. I still have to keep it for twenty-nine minutes."

"Belum. Aku masih harus menepatinya selama dua puluh sembilan menit."

"I can wait twenty-nine minutes."

"Aku bisa menunggu dua puluh sembilan menit."

Kaya finds a roll of silver ribbon from the gift aisle and ties a big, untidy bow around the left handle. Then they stand there in the hum of the freezers, the two of them and the wheelbarrow. They watch the clock above the till change one number at a time.

Kaya menemukan segulung pita perak dari lorong hadiah dan mengikatkan pita besar yang berantakan di pegangan kiri. Lalu mereka berdiri di sana dalam dengung pendingin, mereka berdua dan gerobak dorong itu. Mereka menyaksikan jam di atas kasir berganti satu angka demi satu angka.

When it reaches six, Yvo walks to the till. The screen blinks, the system wakes up, and his discount takes the price down to half. He pays with a few crumpled notes, in a quiet, almost holy way, as though he is buying something far bigger than a garden tool.

Ketika jam mencapai pukul enam, Yvo berjalan ke kasir. Layarnya berkedip, sistem terbangun, dan diskonnya menurunkan harga menjadi separuh. Ia membayar dengan beberapa lembar uang kusut, dengan cara yang tenang, nyaris khidmat, seakan ia sedang membeli sesuatu yang jauh lebih besar daripada perkakas kebun.

Outside, the first shoppers push through the sliding doors, and they stop to look at the wheelbarrow, standing by the exit with its silver bow. Then Yvo takes the handles, and Kaya holds the door open for him. The wheelbarrow rolls out into the empty car park with a single, steady squeak. The first thin line of light follows it across the ground.

Di luar, para pembeli pertama mendorong pintu geser masuk, dan mereka berhenti untuk memandang gerobak dorong yang berdiri di dekat pintu keluar dengan pita peraknya. Lalu Yvo memegang gagangnya, dan Kaya menahan pintu terbuka untuknya. Gerobak dorong itu menggelinding keluar ke tempat parkir yang kosong dengan satu derit yang mantap. Garis tipis cahaya pertama mengikutinya melintasi tanah.