Three Chords for the Lifeguard

Uri worked the night shift at the town pool. The pool closed to the public at nine. After that, only a few swimmers booked a private hour. Uri sat in the tall white chair and watched the water.

Uri bekerja shift malam di kolam renang kota. Kolam itu ditutup untuk umum pukul sembilan. Setelah itu, hanya beberapa perenang yang memesan satu jam pribadi. Uri duduk di kursi putih yang tinggi dan mengawasi air.

It was a quiet job. He liked it that way.

Pekerjaan yang tenang. Ia menyukainya begitu.

On his first night, he found a guitar in the lifeguard chair. It was old. The wood had deep scratches, and the strings were dull. On the back, someone carved a name with a knife. The letters were rough and small.

Pada malam pertamanya, ia menemukan sebuah gitar di kursi penjaga. Gitar itu tua. Kayunya penuh goresan dalam, dan senarnya kusam. Di bagian belakang, seseorang mengukir sebuah nama dengan pisau. Huruf-hurufnya kasar dan kecil.

The guitar was wet. Water ran from the bottom and dripped on the floor.

Gitar itu basah. Air mengalir dari bagian bawahnya dan menetes ke lantai.

Uri dried it with a towel. He put it in the office. The next night, it was back in the chair, wet again.

Uri mengeringkannya dengan handuk. Ia menaruhnya di kantor. Malam berikutnya, gitar itu sudah kembali di kursi, basah lagi.

He tried it five more times. The guitar always came back. After a week, he stopped moving it. He just sat next to it, and it dripped on the floor.

Ia mencobanya lima kali lagi. Gitar itu selalu kembali. Setelah seminggu, ia berhenti memindahkannya. Ia hanya duduk di sebelahnya, dan gitar itu menetes ke lantai.

"I cannot play," he told it one night. "I am sorry. I only know how to swim."

"Aku tidak bisa main," katanya kepada gitar itu suatu malam. "Maaf. Aku hanya bisa berenang."

The guitar said nothing. But a string made a low sound. It was as if a hand touched it.

Gitar itu tidak berkata apa-apa. Tetapi sebuah senar mengeluarkan bunyi rendah. Seolah ada tangan yang menyentuhnya.

At the start of the second week, a new swimmer came. His name was Oded. He was tall and thin, about forty years old. He held a small bag in front of him with both hands.

Di awal minggu kedua, seorang perenang baru datang. Namanya Oded. Ia tinggi dan kurus, berusia sekitar empat puluh tahun. Ia memegang tas kecil di depannya dengan kedua tangan.

"I booked the late hour," he said. "Alone, please. I am a little shy about this."

"Saya memesan jam malam," katanya. "Sendirian, tolong. Saya agak malu soal ini."

"No problem," said Uri. "Can you swim at all?"

"Tidak masalah," kata Uri. "Apa Anda bisa berenang sedikit pun?"

"Never." Oded looked at the water. "My friends think I can swim. I told them a lie ten years ago. Now they want to go on holiday by the sea."

"Tidak pernah." Oded memandang air. "Teman-teman saya mengira saya bisa berenang. Saya berbohong kepada mereka sepuluh tahun lalu. Sekarang mereka ingin berlibur ke laut."

Uri smiled. "Then we have a lot of work."

Uri tersenyum. "Kalau begitu kita punya banyak pekerjaan."

They started in the shallow end. Uri showed Oded how to hold the wall. He showed him how to breathe out under water. Then he showed him how to lie flat. Oded was nervous. His arms shook. But he listened to everything.

Mereka mulai di sisi dangkal. Uri menunjukkan kepada Oded cara berpegangan pada dinding. Ia menunjukkan cara mengembuskan napas di bawah air. Lalu ia menunjukkan cara berbaring telentang. Oded gugup. Lengannya gemetar. Tetapi ia mendengarkan semuanya.

After twenty minutes, he could float for three seconds.

Setelah dua puluh menit, ia bisa mengapung selama tiga detik.

"Three seconds!" he said. He stood up and wiped his face. "That is good, yes?"

"Tiga detik!" katanya. Ia berdiri dan mengusap wajahnya. "Itu bagus, ya?"

"It is very good. Tomorrow, five seconds."

"Sangat bagus. Besok, lima detik."

Then Oded saw the guitar. It stood in the chair, wet and dark. His face changed.

Lalu Oded melihat gitar itu. Gitar itu berdiri di kursi, basah dan gelap. Wajahnya berubah.

"Who owns that?" he asked.

"Itu milik siapa?" tanyanya.

"I do not know. It comes back every night. I cannot stop it."

"Saya tidak tahu. Gitar itu kembali setiap malam. Saya tidak bisa menghentikannya."

Oded walked slowly to the chair. He did not touch the guitar. He bent down and looked at the name on the back.

Oded berjalan pelan ke kursi. Ia tidak menyentuh gitar itu. Ia membungkuk dan melihat nama di bagian belakangnya.

"Can I turn it around?" he asked.

"Boleh saya putar?" tanyanya.

"Of course."

"Tentu."

Oded lifted the guitar. He turned it over with both hands. He read the name for a long time. Then he made a small noise.

Oded mengangkat gitar itu. Ia membaliknya dengan kedua tangan. Ia membaca nama itu lama sekali. Lalu ia mengeluarkan suara kecil.

"What does it say?" Uri asked.

"Apa tulisannya?" tanya Uri.

"Nothing important." Oded gave a quick laugh. "I knew a boy with that name. A long time ago. He loved the water. Do you play?"

"Tidak penting." Oded tertawa singkat. "Saya dulu kenal seorang anak laki-laki dengan nama itu. Sudah lama sekali. Dia suka air. Apakah Anda main gitar?"

"Not at all."

"Sama sekali tidak."

"But it is here on your chair every night," Oded said. "That is strange. A guitar wants to be played."

"Tapi gitar ini ada di kursi Anda setiap malam," kata Oded. "Aneh. Gitar ingin dimainkan."

"It is only a thing," said Uri.

"Itu cuma benda," kata Uri.

"No." Oded shook his head. He held the guitar against his chest. His fingers moved to the neck without any thought. "No, I think it wants something."

"Bukan." Oded menggeleng. Ia mendekap gitar itu di dadanya. Jari-jarinya bergerak ke leher gitar tanpa dipikirkan. "Bukan, saya kira gitar ini menginginkan sesuatu."

He sat on the edge of the pool. His feet were in the water. The guitar looked small in his hands. He pressed his fingers on the neck and played one soft chord.

Ia duduk di tepi kolam. Kakinya di dalam air. Gitar itu tampak kecil di tangannya. Ia menekan jarinya di leher gitar dan memainkan satu kord yang lembut.

The sound was soft, but clear. It filled the whole hall, from the diving board to the roof.

Suaranya lembut, tetapi jernih. Suara itu memenuhi seluruh aula, dari papan loncat sampai ke atap.

"You play!" Uri said.

"Anda bisa main!" kata Uri.

"A little. I stopped when I was young." Oded looked down at his hands. "He was my best friend. After that day, I did not touch a guitar. I did not touch water, either." He stopped. "This is the first time in twenty years. I do not know why my hands remember."

"Sedikit. Saya berhenti waktu muda." Oded menunduk memandang tangannya. "Dia sahabat terbaik saya. Setelah hari itu, saya tidak pernah menyentuh gitar. Saya juga tidak menyentuh air." Ia berhenti. "Ini pertama kalinya dalam dua puluh tahun. Saya tidak tahu kenapa tangan saya ingat."

Uri sat next to him. "Can you teach me?"

Uri duduk di sampingnya. "Bisakah Anda mengajari saya?"

Oded stared at him. "You want to learn?"

Oded menatapnya. "Anda ingin belajar?"

"Yes. I do." Uri felt strange saying it. "The guitar comes to me every night. Maybe it wants me to play, not you. I teach swimming. I do not teach songs. But I can learn."

"Ya. Saya mau." Uri merasa aneh mengatakannya. "Gitar itu datang kepada saya setiap malam. Mungkin dia ingin saya yang memainkannya, bukan Anda. Saya mengajar berenang. Saya tidak mengajar lagu. Tapi saya bisa belajar."

Oded smiled for the first time that evening. "Then we help each other. You teach me the water. I teach you three chords."

Oded tersenyum untuk pertama kalinya malam itu. "Kalau begitu kita saling membantu. Anda mengajari saya soal air. Saya mengajari Anda tiga kord."

"Three?"

"Tiga?"

"Three is enough for many songs." He passed the guitar to Uri. "Put your fingers here. Not so hard. The strings are not your enemy."

"Tiga cukup untuk banyak lagu." Ia menyerahkan gitar itu kepada Uri. "Taruh jari Anda di sini. Jangan terlalu keras. Senar-senarnya bukan musuh Anda."

Uri held the guitar. It was heavier than he thought. The wood was wet and cold. He put his fingers on the strings, as Oded showed him.

Uri memegang gitar itu. Lebih berat daripada yang ia kira. Kayunya basah dan dingin. Ia menaruh jarinya di senar, seperti yang ditunjukkan Oded.

The first sound was terrible. Oded laughed so loudly that the echo came back from the walls.

Bunyi pertamanya buruk sekali. Oded tertawa begitu keras sampai gemanya kembali dari dinding-dinding.

"Again," he said. "Slower."

"Lagi," katanya. "Lebih pelan."

They sat there for an hour. Uri played the first chord, then the second. His fingers hurt. Oded corrected him, and showed him again, and corrected him again. At the end, Uri played three chords in a row. He made no mistake.

Mereka duduk di sana selama satu jam. Uri memainkan kord pertama, lalu yang kedua. Jari-jarinya sakit. Oded mengoreksinya, menunjukkan lagi, dan mengoreksinya lagi. Di akhir, Uri memainkan tiga kord berturut-turut. Ia tidak membuat kesalahan.

It was not music. But it was close to music.

Itu bukan musik. Tetapi sudah dekat dengan musik.

"That was good," Oded said. "You learn fast."

"Itu bagus," kata Oded. "Anda cepat belajar."

"I had a good teacher."

"Saya punya guru yang baik."

They sat in the quiet for a while. The water in the pool was perfectly still. The lights shone on the surface.

Mereka duduk dalam keheningan beberapa saat. Air di kolam benar-benar diam. Lampu-lampu bersinar di permukaannya.

Then something happened in the deep end. Uri saw it first. A single circle moved across the water. It went from the middle to the wall. Then another, and another. Slow, even circles, like someone tapping the floor of the pool.

Lalu sesuatu terjadi di sisi dalam. Uri melihatnya lebih dulu. Satu lingkaran bergerak melintasi air. Dari tengah ke dinding. Lalu satu lagi, dan satu lagi. Lingkaran-lingkaran yang pelan dan teratur, seperti seseorang mengetuk dasar kolam.

Tap. Tap. Tap. In time with the three chords.

Tok. Tok. Tok. Seirama dengan tiga kord itu.

"Do you see that?" he whispered.

"Anda lihat itu?" bisiknya.

"I see it," said Oded.

"Saya lihat," kata Oded.

Neither of them moved. The circles grew wider and then faded.

Tak seorang pun dari mereka bergerak. Lingkaran-lingkaran itu melebar lalu memudar.

Oded looked at the guitar in Uri's hands. He looked at the name carved on the back. His hand moved toward it, and stopped.

Oded memandang gitar di tangan Uri. Ia memandang nama yang terukir di belakangnya. Tangannya bergerak ke arahnya, lalu berhenti.

"The last letter is still wet," he said quietly. "Did you notice? The others are dry."

"Huruf terakhirnya masih basah," katanya pelan. "Apakah Anda memperhatikan? Yang lain kering."

Uri turned the guitar over. It was true. All the letters were dry and pale. But the last one shone in the light. It looked new, as if someone cut it a minute ago.

Uri membalik gitar itu. Itu benar. Semua hurufnya kering dan pucat. Tetapi yang terakhir berkilau dalam cahaya. Tampak baru, seakan seseorang mengukirnya semenit lalu.