Two Hands on One Map

Lazlo works in the basement of the city library. The basement is cool and dim and full of old maps. They lie flat in long wooden drawers. They smell like dust and glue.

Lazlo bekerja di ruang bawah tanah perpustakaan kota. Ruang bawah tanah itu sejuk, remang, dan penuh peta tua. Peta-peta itu terbaring datar di laci-laci kayu yang panjang. Baunya seperti debu dan lem.

Most days, nobody comes down the stairs. Lazlo likes that. He drinks coffee, cleans the glass cases, and talks to the maps.

Hampir setiap hari, tak ada yang turun melalui tangga. Lazlo menyukainya. Ia minum kopi, membersihkan etalase kaca, dan berbicara kepada peta-peta itu.

This afternoon, the stairs creak. Lazlo looks up. Two men come down together. They have the same nose, coat, and brown eyes.

Sore ini, tangga berderit. Lazlo mendongak. Dua lelaki turun bersama. Hidung, mantel, dan mata cokelat mereka sama.

"We are here for the prize," says the first man.

"Kami datang untuk hadiahnya," kata lelaki pertama.

"We are here for the prize," says the second man at once.

"Kami datang untuk hadiahnya," kata lelaki kedua seketika.

"Which prize?" Lazlo asks.

"Hadiah yang mana?" tanya Lazlo.

"The Silver Compass," says the first man. "For the best map of our city. The city office says the winner gets the prize in this room."

"Kompas Perak," kata lelaki pertama. "Untuk peta terbaik kota kami. Kantor kota bilang pemenangnya menerima hadiah di ruangan ini."

Lazlo remembers the contest. The library asked people to draw their part of the city. One map was clearly the best. It showed every house, every tree, and every cat. A tiny ship sailed on the river in the corner. Lazlo is proud to keep it in the glass case.

Lazlo ingat kontes itu. Perpustakaan meminta orang-orang menggambar bagian kota mereka. Ada satu peta yang jelas terbaik. Peta itu menampilkan setiap rumah, setiap pohon, dan setiap kucing. Sebuah kapal mungil berlayar di sungai di sudutnya. Lazlo bangga menyimpannya di etalase kaca.

He looks at the entry form. There is only one name on it: Barsony.

Ia melihat formulir pendaftaran. Hanya ada satu nama di situ: Barsony.

"There is one map," Lazlo says. "And there are two of you."

"Ada satu peta," kata Lazlo. "Dan Anda berdua."

"I drew it," says the first man.

"Aku yang menggambarnya," kata lelaki pertama.

"I drew it," says the second man.

"Aku yang menggambarnya," kata lelaki kedua.

"You cannot both draw it," says Lazlo.

"Anda tidak mungkin berdua menggambarnya," kata Lazlo.

"We can," says the first man. "But the prize is for one person."

"Bisa," kata lelaki pertama. "Tapi hadiahnya untuk satu orang."

"So it is mine," says the second man.

"Jadi itu milikku," kata lelaki kedua.

"No, it is mine."

"Bukan, milikku."

They begin to argue. They talk fast, and they wave their hands. Their voices bounce off the stone walls. Lazlo sits down and puts his head in his hands.

Mereka mulai berdebat. Mereka berbicara cepat dan melambaikan tangan. Suara mereka memantul di dinding batu. Lazlo duduk dan menaruh kepalanya di tangan.

He has a problem. The rules are clear. One map, one winner, one prize. But the twins look the same. They sound the same. He cannot tell them apart. He cannot even tell which one lies.

Ia punya masalah. Aturannya jelas. Satu peta, satu pemenang, satu hadiah. Tetapi si kembar tampak sama. Suara mereka sama. Ia tidak bisa membedakan mereka. Ia bahkan tidak bisa tahu siapa yang berbohong.

A voice speaks from the back of the room. "Excuse me. I am sorry. Can I help?"

Sebuah suara terdengar dari belakang ruangan. "Permisi. Maaf. Bolehkah saya membantu?"

Lazlo turns round. A woman stands by the last drawer. She has a notebook and a pencil in her hand. He sees her here often, but he does not know her name.

Lazlo menoleh. Seorang perempuan berdiri di dekat laci terakhir. Ia memegang buku catatan dan pensil. Lazlo sering melihatnya di sini, tetapi tidak tahu namanya.

"I am Yelena," she says. Her English is slow and careful. "I come here three days a week. I study maps of my home country. And I study English. The two things together."

"Saya Yelena," katanya. Bahasa Inggrisnya lambat dan hati-hati. "Saya datang ke sini tiga hari seminggu. Saya mempelajari peta negara asal saya. Dan saya belajar bahasa Inggris. Dua hal itu bersamaan."

"I know you," says Lazlo. "You sit at the little table by the window."

"Saya kenal Anda," kata Lazlo. "Anda duduk di meja kecil dekat jendela."

"Yes," Yelena says. "I hear your problem. Two men, one map. May I look at it?"

"Ya," kata Yelena. "Saya mendengar masalah Anda. Dua lelaki, satu peta. Boleh saya melihatnya?"

Lazlo waits. He is the keeper of the maps, and she is a stranger. But he is also tired of the noise. He unlocks the glass case and lifts the map onto the table.

Lazlo menunggu. Ia penjaga peta-peta itu, dan perempuan ini orang asing. Tetapi ia juga lelah dengan kebisingan. Ia membuka kunci etalase kaca dan mengangkat peta itu ke meja.

Yelena puts on her glasses. She looks at the map for a long time. She does not look at the twins. She does not look at Lazlo. She looks only at the lines.

Yelena memakai kacamatanya. Ia memandangi peta itu lama sekali. Ia tidak memandang si kembar. Ia tidak memandang Lazlo. Ia hanya memandang garis-garisnya.

"Every night I practice letters," she says at last. "A, B, C, and so on. I copy them again and again, like a child. So now I see small shapes in writing. Look here."

"Setiap malam saya berlatih huruf," katanya akhirnya. "A, B, C, dan seterusnya. Saya menyalinnya berulang-ulang, seperti anak kecil. Jadi sekarang saya melihat bentuk-bentuk kecil dalam tulisan. Lihat di sini."

She points to the street names. "These letters are tall and straight. Every 'g' has a little flat tail. This is one writer."

Ia menunjuk nama-nama jalan. "Huruf-huruf ini tinggi dan lurus. Setiap huruf 'g' punya ekor kecil yang datar. Ini satu penulis."

Then she points to the river and the little ship. "And here, the lines are soft and round. The 'g' in the word 'Bridge' has a big loop. This is a second writer."

Lalu ia menunjuk sungai dan kapal kecil itu. "Dan di sini, garis-garisnya lembut dan bulat. Huruf 'g' dalam kata 'Bridge' punya lengkung besar. Ini penulis kedua."

Lazlo leans closer. She is right. He looks at this map every week, but he never sees it.

Lazlo mencondongkan badan. Perempuan itu benar. Ia memandang peta ini setiap minggu, tetapi tak pernah benar-benar melihatnya.

"Two writers," he says slowly. "Two people drew this."

"Dua penulis," katanya pelan. "Dua orang menggambar ini."

The twins stop talking. The room is suddenly very quiet.

Si kembar berhenti bicara. Ruangan mendadak sangat sunyi.

"Is this true?" Lazlo asks. He looks from one man to the other.

"Benarkah ini?" tanya Lazlo. Ia memandang lelaki yang satu lalu yang lain.

The first man looks at the floor. The second man looks at the ceiling. Then the first man sighs.

Lelaki pertama menatap lantai. Lelaki kedua menatap langit-langit. Lalu lelaki pertama mendesah.

"I drew the streets," he says. "My brother is not good at straight lines."

"Aku menggambar jalan-jalannya," katanya. "Kakakku tidak pandai membuat garis lurus."

"And I drew the river and the ship," says the second man. "My brother cannot draw a boat. His boats look like shoes."

"Dan aku menggambar sungai dan kapalnya," kata lelaki kedua. "Adikku tidak bisa menggambar perahu. Perahunya mirip sepatu."

"They do not look like shoes," says the first man.

"Tidak mirip sepatu," kata lelaki pertama.

"They look like very sad shoes."

"Mirip sepatu yang sangat sedih."

Lazlo covers his mouth. He tries not to laugh. Yelena puts her pencil down and smiles.

Lazlo menutup mulutnya. Ia berusaha tidak tertawa. Yelena meletakkan pensilnya dan tersenyum.

"Why did you both say you drew it?" Lazlo asks.

"Kenapa Anda berdua sama-sama mengaku menggambarnya?" tanya Lazlo.

"We wanted the prize," says the first man. "But we did not want to say that we need each other."

"Kami menginginkan hadiahnya," kata lelaki pertama. "Tapi kami tidak mau mengatakan bahwa kami saling membutuhkan."

"We are not good at saying that," says the second man.

"Kami tidak pandai mengatakannya," kata lelaki kedua.

Lazlo nods. He looks at the rules again, and he thinks. The rules say one map, one winner. They do not say the winner must be one person.

Lazlo mengangguk. Ia membaca aturannya sekali lagi, dan berpikir. Aturan itu menyebutkan satu peta, satu pemenang. Aturan itu tidak menyebutkan bahwa pemenangnya harus satu orang.

"Two hands drew one map," he says. "So the Silver Compass goes to the Barsony brothers. I will write both names on the form."

"Dua tangan menggambar satu peta," katanya. "Jadi Kompas Perak jatuh kepada saudara-saudara Barsony. Saya akan menulis kedua nama di formulir."

The twins shake hands, then hug. They thank Yelena three times, in the same words.

Si kembar berjabat tangan, lalu berpelukan. Mereka berterima kasih kepada Yelena tiga kali, dengan kata-kata yang sama.

Lazlo opens a drawer and takes out the prize. It is a beautiful silver compass on a short chain. The twins look at it. Then they look at each other.

Lazlo membuka sebuah laci dan mengeluarkan hadiahnya. Itu kompas perak yang indah dengan rantai pendek. Si kembar memandanginya. Lalu mereka saling memandang.

"I will wear it on Mondays," says the first man.

"Aku akan memakainya hari Senin," kata lelaki pertama.

"I will wear it on Mondays," says the second man.

"Aku akan memakainya hari Senin," kata lelaki kedua.

"We have a new problem," says the first man.

"Kita punya masalah baru," kata lelaki pertama.

Lazlo and Yelena look at each other and start to laugh.

Lazlo dan Yelena saling memandang dan mulai tertawa.

"That is not a map problem," Yelena says. "That is a family problem."

"Itu bukan masalah peta," kata Yelena. "Itu masalah keluarga."