What Really Happened

Inside, the Second Chance was half packed and very cold. Books were stacked in boxes along one wall; the little table had been pushed against the stove. Michael lit the stove with a match and some newspaper, and for a few minutes neither of them said anything while the fire caught and the boat slowly began to warm up. Ana noticed that his hands shook while he did it.

Di dalam, kapal Second Chance setengah terkemas dan sangat dingin. Buku-buku ditumpuk di dalam kotak di sepanjang satu dinding; meja kecil telah didorong merapat ke kompor. Michael menyalakan kompor dengan korek api dan beberapa lembar koran. Selama beberapa menit, tak satu pun dari mereka berbicara saat api mulai menyala dan perahu perlahan terasa hangat. Ana memperhatikan bahwa tangan Michael gemetar saat ia melakukannya.

He made two mugs of tea and sat down opposite her. He did not look at her. He looked at the small window, where the curtain still did not quite close, and at the dark canal beyond it. When he began to speak, his voice was flat and careful, as if he had practised the words many times but never said them aloud.

Ia membuat dua cangkir teh dan duduk di seberang Ana. Ia tidak memandangnya. Ia menatap ke jendela kecil, tempat tirainya masih belum tertutup rapat, dan ke arah kanal yang gelap di baliknya. Ketika ia mulai berbicara, suaranya terdengar datar dan berhati-hati, seolah-olah ia telah melatih kata-katanya berkali-kali tetapi tidak pernah mengucapkannya dengan keras.

“You have to understand what he was like after my mother died,” he said. “People think grief is crying. It isn’t, not with men like my father. He just went quiet. He stopped singing in the kitchen. He stopped going to the pub on Fridays. He worked, and he slept, and in between he sat at that old table and stared at the wall.”

“Kamu harus mengerti bagaimana keadaannya setelah ibuku meninggal,” katanya. “Orang-orang berpikir duka itu menangis. Padahal tidak, setidaknya tidak bagi pria seperti ayahku. Ia hanya menjadi pendiam. Ia berhenti bernyanyi di dapur. Ia berhenti pergi ke pub pada hari Jumat. Ia bekerja, lalu ia tidur, dan di antara waktu-waktu itu ia duduk di meja tua itu dan menatap dinding.”