At the Doctor’s

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On Monday morning Sam woke up and said, “Good morning.” Or he tried to. What came out sounded like an old door.

Pada Senin pagi Sam bangun dan berkata, “Selamat pagi.” Atau dia mencobanya. Suara yang keluar terdengar seperti pintu tua.

He tried again. Nothing. Only air.

Dia mencoba lagi. Tidak ada apa-apa. Hanya udara.

In the kitchen, Maya was just back from her night shift. She looked at him for two seconds.

Di dapur, Maya baru saja kembali dari giliran kerja malamnya. Dia menatapnya selama dua detik.

“Open your mouth. Say ‘ah’.”

“Buka mulutmu. Katakan ‘ah’.”

Sam opened his mouth. No ‘ah’ came out.

Sam membuka mulutnya. Tidak ada suara ‘ah’ yang keluar.

“Hm. Red throat, a bit of a temperature, no voice. You’re not dying,” she said. “You have a cold. Drink tea, stay in bed, don’t talk. That last one will be easy.”

“Hm. Tenggorokan merah, sedikit demam, tidak ada suara. Kamu tidak akan mati,” katanya. “Kamu terkena flu. Minum teh, tetap di tempat tidur, jangan bicara. Yang terakhir itu akan mudah.”

Sam took a pen and wrote on the back of a pizza menu: NEW JOB. STARTED LAST WEEK. I NEED A DOCTOR’S NOTE.

Sam mengambil pena dan menulis di balik menu piza: PEKERJAAN BARU. MULAI MINGGU LALU. SAYA BUTUH SURAT KETERANGAN DOKTER.

“Then you need a real doctor. I’m a nurse, and I’m going to bed.” Maya was already at her door. “Leo can take you. He knows Dr. Weber on the corner. Leo, you go with him and you do the talking.”

“Kalau begitu kamu butuh dokter sungguhan. Aku seorang perawat, dan aku mau tidur.” Maya sudah berada di depan pintunya. “Leo bisa mengantarmu. Dia tahu Dokter Weber di tikungan. Leo, kamu pergi bersamanya dan kamu yang bicara.”

Leo put down his toast. He looked very, very happy. Sam didn’t.

Leo meletakkan roti panggangnya. Dia terlihat sangat, sangat senang. Sam tidak.