MISTERI KANTUNG MACAN (11)

 

A novel by Nurlaeli Umar

Publisher; AE Publishing (ISBN 978-602-5468-81-0)

BLOG NURLAELI UMAR- Dia melihat seseorang melintas. Cahaya lampu dari atas meja dan letaknya tinggi di belakang kanan tempatnya berdiri sampai pada orang itu, samar-samar. Orang yang kali ini melintas tidak mempergunakan senter, ia berjalan dalam kegelapan. Diperhatikanya lagi, orang itu berjalan sendirian saja, mungkin orang itu memang suka dengan gelap.

She saw someone pass by. The light from the lamp on top of the table, positioned high behind her to the right where she stood, reached that person faintly. The person passing by this time was not using a flashlight; he walked in the darkness. She watched more closely—he was walking alone, perhaps he simply liked the dark.

 

Ning kecil teringat dulu, dia pun pernah diajak ke rumah saudara, dan bapaknya tidak membawa senter, mereka orang-orang dewasa sepertinya punya lampu di kakinya meski tidak terlihat. Dia yang digendong di belakang dan sempat takut melihat daun-daun pisang di kegelapan yang terkadang seperti bentuk jari makhluk besar, akhirnya sampai ke tempat yang dituju tanpa satu kesulitan berarti.

Little Ning remembered the past. She, too, had once been taken to a relative’s house, and her father had not brought a flashlight. The adults seemed to have lights in their feet, though none could be seen. Carried on his back and briefly frightened by banana leaves in the darkness—leaves that sometimes looked like the fingers of some huge creature—she eventually reached their destination without any real difficulty.

 

 Dan, itu juga berlaku untuk sosok yang melintas di depannya sekarang. Orang itu suka kegelapan, atau tidak mempunyai senter seperti bapaknya. Atau mungkin tertinggal karena sesuatu. Orang itu berjalan cukup jauh, dia tidak terlihat beberapa saat. Mata Ning kecil belum lepas

dari kaca.

And the same seemed to apply to the figure passing in front of her now. The person either liked the darkness or didn’t have a flashlight, like her father. Or perhaps they had been left behind for some reason.

The person walked on for quite a distance and was out of sight for a while. Little Ning’s eyes never left the glass.

 Dia merasakan dan menikmati hangat embusan napasnya yang memantul di kaca dan mengenai sekitar mulut dan dagunya. Dia mengebuskan napasnya sengaja lebih sering.

She felt and enjoyed the warmth of her breath as it bounced off the glass and touched the area around her mouth and chin. She deliberately breathed out more often.

Ada yang .kembali melintas pulang ke arah datang orang tadi. Sayang tidak terlihat jelas siapa orang itu sebenarnya. Sepertinya orang yang sama, karena sama-sama tidak memakai senter. Mungkin seseorang yang suka bertandang ke rumahnya, atau orang lain yang bahkan tidak pernah dikenalnya.

Someone passed by again, heading back in the direction from which the earlier person had come. Unfortunately, it was not clear who the person really was. It seemed to be the same person, since they were also not using a flashlight. Perhaps it was someone who often visited her house, or someone else she had never even known.

 Ingin rasanya dia berteriak agar mamak atau bapaknya membantu orang itu, tetapi itu batal dilakukannya. Mungkin orang itu orang yang sama, dan memang tertinggal sesuatu jadi harus kembali.

She felt like shouting for her mother or father to help the person, but she decided against it. Perhaps it was the same person, and they had simply forgotten something and had to go back.

Mata Ning kecil terus mengawasi jalanan yang sepi dan gelap, dan hanya sedikit yang terkena pancaran lampu dari dalam rumahnya. Hujan benar-benar reda. Sayang sekali ini malam hari, kalau siang hari tentu saja dia diam-diam akan keluar dan bermain tanah becek.

Ups! Orang itu kembali berjalan melintas, tetapi beberapa saat kemudian berbalik arah ke arah datangnya. Itu membuatnya penasaran. Kasihan sekali orang itu. Semoga saja ada yang melintas dan membantunya, begitu pikirnya.

Little Ning’s eyes kept watching the quiet, dark road, only a small part of it touched by the light spilling from inside her house. The rain had completely stopped. It was a pity it was night—if it were daytime, she would surely sneak out and play in the muddy ground.

Oops! The person walked past again, but a few moments later turned back in the direction they had come from. That made her curious. She felt sorry for the person. She hoped that someone would pass by and help them, or so she thought.

 

Sebuah sorot senter kembali terlihat, kali ini lumayan terang, tidak seperti sorot senter yang pertama kali di lihatnya tadi.. Semoga saja orang yang tadi melintas gelap-gelapan bertemu dengan pembawa senter dan mendapat bantuan. Orang yang membawa senter itu melindungi kepalanya dengan sarung, berjalan mendekat ke arah rumahnya. Oh, ternyata itu Kang Jamal. Dia sekarang berdiri menunggu di depan pintu, Ning melihat jelas dari kaca tempatnya berdiri.

A flashlight beam appeared again—this time quite bright, unlike the first one she had seen earlier. Hopefully, the person who had been walking in the darkness met the one carrying the flashlight and received some help.

The man with the flashlight covered his head with a sarong and walked closer toward her house. Oh, it turned out to be Kang Jamal. He was now standing and waiting in front of the door, clearly visible to Ning through the glass where she stood.

 

“Ning, ada Bapakmu?”

“Ada,” jawabnya sembari menarik muka dari kaca, kemudian berjalan mendekat ke arah pintu yang berkaca.

“Bukakan pintu! Aku ada perlu dengan Bapakmu!”

Ning kecil berteriak memanggil bapaknya, “Pak, ada Kang Jamal!”

“”Iya, sebentar.” Terdengar jawaban dari arah dalam. Kemudian muncul lelaki yang dipanggil bapak itu. Tangannya masih berlumuran tepung, yang dicoba dibersihkan dengan menepuk-nepuk kedua telapak tangannya. Pintu dibuka setelah anak kunci yang terpasang di lubang kunci diputar.

“Ning, is your father home?”

“He is,” she answered, pulling her face away from the glass and walking closer to the glass door.

“Open the door! I need to speak with your father!”

Little Ning shouted to call her father, “Dad, Kang Jamal is here!”

“Yes, just a moment,” came the reply from inside. Then the man she called Father appeared. His hands were still smeared with flour, which he tried to clean by patting his palms together. The door was opened after the key already in the lock was turned.

 

“Assalamualaikum!”

“Waalaikum salam. Masuk, Kang! Aku masih nyambut gawe.”

Kang Jamal menolak. “Tidak. Aku cuma mampir sebentar, besok sambatan ke rumahku, ada sedikit urusan, mau memindahkan kandang. Itu kalau kamu bisa. Kalau tidak, tidak usah dipaksakan. Sebisanya saja.”

“Bisa. Kapan itu? Ayo masuk dulu, Kang!”

“Gak usah. Bada dhuhur, hanya mengundang beberapa orang saja. Cuma itu, aku pamit! Oh, iya, terus kenapa anakmu dibiarkan melek sampai selarut ini? Suruh dia tidur!”

“Sudah disuruh, belum mau, mungkin sebentar lagi akan mengantuk.”

“Assalamu’alaikum!”

“Wa’alaikum salam. Come in, Kang! I’m still in the middle of some work.”

Kang Jamal shook his head. “No. I’m just stopping by for a moment. Tomorrow there’s sambatan at my place—there’s a small matter, we need to move a cage. That is, if you can come. If not, don’t force it. Just do what you can.”

“I can. When will it be? Come in first, Kang!”

“No need. After the Dhuhr prayer. I’m only inviting a few people. That’s all, I’ll take my leave. Oh, by the way, why is your child still awake this late? Tell her to go to sleep!”

“She’s been told, but she won’t yet. Maybe she’ll get sleepy in a little while.”

Ning kecil mendekati pintu, dia sengaja memperlihatkan wajahnya lebih dekat. “Gak mau belum ngantuk, Kang.”

“Hei! Pakde, kau harus memanggilku begitu. Waduh, seharusnya kamu sudah tidur! Anak- anakku sudah tidur selepas isya tadi.”

Little Ning stepped closer to the door, deliberately bringing her face nearer. “I don’t want to—I’m not sleepy yet, Kang.”

“Hey! You should call me Pakde, not that. Goodness, you should already be asleep! My children have been sleeping since right after the Isha prayer.”

Kang Jamal berbalik badan, bersiap pergi menembus gelap malam meninggalkan mereka berdua, dia akan membeli obat untuk istrinya yang terkena demam. Tetapi Ning kecil menahannya. “Tunggu, Kang, eh … Pakde!”

“Kamu kenapa, Ning?” tanya bapaknya. Tapi sepertinya Ning kecil lebih tertarik untuk memuaskan rasa keingintahuannya. Dia menatap kang Jamal meminta perhatian.(P16)

Kang Jamal turned away, preparing to head back into the darkness of the night and leave the two of them behind. He was going to buy medicine for his wife, who had a fever. But little Ning stopped him.

“Wait, Kang—uh… Pakde!”

“What is it, Ning?” her father asked. But little Ning seemed more interested in satisfying her curiosity. She looked at Kang Jamal, seeking his attention.