Under the Coffee Ring

At the Moon base, the canteen stays open late. Orson works there after school. He washes trays, wipes tables and stacks cups. Behind him, a wide window shows the grey, quiet land outside.

Di pangkalan Bulan, kantin buka sampai larut. Orson bekerja di sana sepulang sekolah. Ia mencuci nampan, mengelap meja, dan menumpuk cangkir. Di belakangnya, jendela lebar menampakkan daratan kelabu yang sunyi di luar.

Tonight, Orson looks at the clock every minute.

Malam ini, Orson melihat jam setiap menit.

It is twenty past eight. At twenty to nine, the cover of Dome Four slides shut. After that, nobody can see the stars until morning. And at lunch today, Teo said something strange.

Sekarang pukul delapan lewat dua puluh. Pukul sembilan kurang dua puluh, penutup Kubah Empat bergeser menutup. Setelah itu, tak seorang pun bisa melihat bintang sampai pagi. Dan saat makan siang tadi, Teo mengatakan sesuatu yang aneh.

"Come to the dome tonight," she said. "Before it closes. I want to show you something."

"Datanglah ke kubah malam ini," katanya. "Sebelum ditutup. Aku mau menunjukkan sesuatu padamu."

"What?"

"Apa?"

"If I tell you, it is not a surprise." She smiled and walked off with her tray.

"Kalau kuberi tahu, bukan kejutan lagi." Ia tersenyum dan pergi membawa nampannya.

Orson thinks about that smile all afternoon. Teo is sixteen, like him. She helps the dome guide, and she knows every star by name. Orson arrived from Earth only two months ago. He still does not know which door is which.

Orson memikirkan senyum itu sepanjang sore. Teo berumur enam belas, sama seperti dia. Ia membantu pemandu kubah, dan ia tahu nama setiap bintang. Orson baru dua bulan tiba dari Bumi. Ia masih belum tahu pintu mana yang mana.

Now he stands at the sink. A big pile of dirty trays waits. His manager is a tall woman with a loud laugh. She drops one more stack beside him.

Kini ia berdiri di bak cuci. Setumpuk besar nampan kotor menunggu. Manajernya, seorang perempuan jangkung dengan tawa nyaring, menjatuhkan satu tumpukan lagi di sampingnya.

"Finish these, then you can go," she says.

"Selesaikan ini, lalu kamu boleh pergi," katanya.

"How long?"

"Berapa lama?"

"Ten minutes. Maybe fifteen."

"Sepuluh menit. Mungkin lima belas."

Orson works fast. Water splashes his sleeves. At eight thirty, the last tray shines in the rack. He grabs his jacket and the old paper map from his pocket.

Orson bekerja cepat. Air memercik ke lengan bajunya. Pukul delapan tiga puluh, nampan terakhir berkilau di rak. Ia menyambar jaketnya dan peta kertas tua dari sakunya.

The map belonged to his father, who worked here years ago. It shows every tunnel in the base. His father drew small notes on it in green pen. Orson likes to carry it. It feels like having a friend in his pocket.

Peta itu milik ayahnya, yang bertahun-tahun lalu bekerja di sini. Peta itu menunjukkan setiap terowongan di pangkalan. Ayahnya menulis catatan-catatan kecil di atasnya dengan pulpen hijau. Orson suka membawanya. Rasanya seperti membawa seorang teman di saku.

He opens it on the table. He puts his finger on the canteen. Then he looks for Dome Four.

Ia membukanya di meja. Ia meletakkan jarinya di kantin. Lalu ia mencari Kubah Empat.

There is a problem. Somebody left a coffee cup on this map once. A brown ring sits right over the dome, thick and dark. The name is under it. The little lines around it are under it too.

Ada masalah. Seseorang pernah meninggalkan cangkir kopi di atas peta ini. Sebuah lingkaran cokelat tepat di atas kubah, tebal dan gelap. Namanya ada di bawahnya. Garis-garis kecil di sekelilingnya juga ada di bawahnya.

"Oh, no," Orson says.

"Aduh, tidak," kata Orson.

He tries to read the ring. He sees a tiny edge of a corridor on the left. He sees a corner of the Ring Road on the right. Nothing more.

Ia mencoba membaca lingkaran itu. Ia melihat ujung kecil sebuah koridor di kiri. Ia melihat sudut Jalan Cincin di kanan. Tak lebih.

He knows the long way. It goes around the sleeping rooms and past the farm. Then it climbs the big ramp. Last week it took him twenty-five minutes. It is eight thirty-one now.

Ia tahu jalan panjangnya. Jalan itu mengitari kamar-kamar tidur dan melewati ladang pertanian. Lalu menaiki tanjakan besar. Minggu lalu ia butuh dua puluh lima menit. Sekarang pukul delapan tiga puluh satu.

"Too slow," he says. "The cover closes in nine minutes."

"Terlalu lambat," katanya. "Penutupnya menutup sembilan menit lagi."

He runs anyway. In the corridor, a cleaning robot rolls out of a door. It stops in front of him. It beeps. He jumps left. It jumps left, too. He jumps right.

Ia tetap berlari. Di koridor, sebuah robot pembersih bergulir keluar dari sebuah pintu. Robot itu berhenti di depannya. Robot itu berbunyi bip. Orson melompat ke kiri. Robot itu ikut ke kiri. Ia melompat ke kanan.

"Please," he says, "move."

"Tolong," katanya, "minggir."

The robot turns and goes away as slowly as a sleepy snail. Orson does not wait. He runs to the first corner. A sign hangs there: CORRIDOR C CLOSED, REPAIRS. A yellow tape crosses the way.

Robot itu berbalik dan pergi selambat siput yang mengantuk. Orson tidak menunggu. Ia berlari ke tikungan pertama. Sebuah papan tergantung di sana: LORONG C DITUTUP, PERBAIKAN. Pita kuning melintang di jalan.

Corridor C is the short path. Everybody knows that. Now he must take the long way. But the long way is too long.

Lorong C adalah jalan pintas. Semua orang tahu itu. Sekarang ia harus lewat jalan panjang. Tetapi jalan panjang itu terlalu panjang.

He stops. His heart beats hard. He looks at the map again. This time he holds it up to the bright lamp.

Ia berhenti. Jantungnya berdegup keras. Ia memandang peta itu lagi. Kali ini ia mengangkatnya ke lampu yang terang.

The light shines through the thin paper. The brown ring glows like a small gold moon. And under it, Orson sees something new. A line of tiny dots runs through the stain. It starts at the bottom edge. It is not part of the corridors. His father drew it in green pen. The coffee ring hid it.

Cahaya menembus kertas tipis itu. Lingkaran cokelat itu berpendar seperti bulan kecil keemasan. Dan di bawahnya, Orson melihat sesuatu yang baru. Sebaris titik-titik kecil membentang menembus noda itu. Garis itu bermula dari tepi bawah. Itu bukan bagian dari koridor. Ayahnya menggambarnya dengan pulpen hijau. Lingkaran kopi itu menyembunyikannya.

At the end of the dotted line, there is one short word. It is in his father's neat writing.

Di ujung garis putus-putus itu, ada satu kata pendek. Tertulis dengan tulisan rapi ayahnya.

LIFT.

LIFT.

Orson reads it twice. His eyes go to the left side of the map. The dotted line starts at a small square, behind the canteen. It is the storeroom. He passes it every day when he takes out the boxes.

Orson membacanya dua kali. Matanya beralih ke sisi kiri peta. Garis putus-putus itu bermula dari sebuah kotak kecil, di belakang kantin. Itu gudang penyimpanan. Ia melewatinya setiap hari ketika mengeluarkan kardus-kardus.

"The cargo lift," he says. "There is a lift to the dome."

"Lift kargo," katanya. "Ada lift menuju kubah."

It is eight thirty-four. He turns and runs back the way he came. He pushes through the kitchen door and past the pots. He runs into the storeroom. Behind the boxes, a low grey door sits in the wall. An old sign says SUPPLIES ONLY.

Pukul delapan tiga puluh empat. Ia berbalik dan berlari kembali ke arah semula. Ia menerobos pintu dapur dan melewati panci-panci. Ia berlari masuk ke gudang. Di balik kardus-kardus, sebuah pintu abu-abu rendah terpasang di dinding. Sebuah papan tua bertuliskan KHUSUS PERSEDIAAN.

He pulls the door open. A small metal cage stands inside. It smells of dust and cold metal. Orson steps in and pushes the big green button.

Ia menarik pintu itu hingga terbuka. Sebuah sangkar logam kecil berdiri di dalam. Baunya debu dan logam dingin. Orson melangkah masuk dan menekan tombol hijau besar.

The lift shakes. Then it climbs. It makes a loud noise like a tired old dog. Orson holds the map tight against his chest and counts the seconds. One, two, three. At forty, the lift stops with a bump.

Lift itu berguncang. Lalu naik. Suaranya keras seperti anjing tua yang lelah. Orson memegang peta erat-erat di dadanya dan menghitung detik. Satu, dua, tiga. Pada hitungan keempat puluh, lift berhenti dengan sentakan.

The door opens. He walks out into a dark room full of boxes. A thin line of light shines under a second door. Orson crosses the room in three steps and pushes it open.

Pintu terbuka. Ia berjalan keluar ke ruangan gelap yang penuh kotak. Sebaris cahaya tipis bersinar di bawah pintu kedua. Orson melintasi ruangan dalam tiga langkah dan mendorongnya terbuka.

And he stops.

Dan ia berhenti.

The dome is huge and round and made of glass. Hundreds of small chairs stand in rows, all empty. Above them, the sky is black. The stars are too many to count. In the middle of the sky hangs a small, bright ball. It is blue and white.

Kubah itu besar, bundar, dan terbuat dari kaca. Ratusan kursi kecil berjajar dalam barisan, semuanya kosong. Di atasnya, langit berwarna hitam. Bintang-bintangnya terlalu banyak untuk dihitung. Di tengah langit tergantung sebuah bola kecil yang terang. Berwarna biru dan putih.

It is Earth.

Itu Bumi.

Teo stands at the control panel by the wall. Her hand rests on a silver switch. She turns when she hears his steps, and her eyes grow wide.

Teo berdiri di panel kendali di dekat dinding. Tangannya bertumpu pada sebuah sakelar perak. Ia menoleh ketika mendengar langkah Orson, dan matanya membelalak.

"You came through the supply door!" she says. "Nobody uses that lift."

"Kamu datang lewat pintu persediaan!" katanya. "Tak ada yang memakai lift itu."

"My father did." He holds up the map, a little out of breath. "A coffee ring saved me."

"Ayahku memakainya." Ia mengangkat peta, sedikit terengah-engah. "Lingkaran kopi menyelamatkanku."

She looks at the clock on the wall. It is eight thirty-nine. "You have one minute. I will wait as long as I can."

Teo melihat jam di dinding. Pukul delapan tiga puluh sembilan. "Kamu punya satu menit. Aku akan menunggu selama aku bisa."

"What did you want to show me?"

"Apa yang mau kamu tunjukkan?"

She points up. "Your home. I see that you never look at it. So I want you to have the best seat."

Ia menunjuk ke atas. "Rumahmu. Kulihat kamu tidak pernah memandanginya. Jadi aku ingin kamu mendapat tempat duduk terbaik."

Orson walks slowly between the chairs. He sits in the front row. The glass curves over his head. For a moment, the whole room is silent. The blue ball shines above him. He thinks of his old street and his old school. He misses a hundred small things.

Orson berjalan pelan di antara kursi-kursi. Ia duduk di barisan depan. Kaca melengkung di atas kepalanya. Sejenak, seluruh ruangan hening. Bola biru itu bersinar di atasnya. Ia teringat jalan lamanya dan sekolah lamanya. Ia merindukan seratus hal kecil.

Behind him, the switch clicks. The metal cover begins to move. It slides slowly from the edge of the dome. Teo comes to the front row and stands near him.

Di belakangnya, sakelar berbunyi klik. Penutup logam mulai bergerak. Penutup itu bergeser perlahan dari tepi kubah. Teo datang ke barisan depan dan berdiri di dekatnya.

She looks at the empty chair at his side. Orson looks at her. In the last light, the stars seem very close.

Ia memandang kursi kosong di samping Orson. Orson memandangnya. Dalam cahaya terakhir, bintang-bintang tampak sangat dekat.

"Teo," he says quietly, "is this seat taken?"

"Teo," kata Orson pelan, "apakah kursi ini sudah ada yang menempati?"