Rem San Rafael

Surat di Dalam Laci

The Letter in the Drawer

Kereta kabel San Rafael berusia seratus dua belas tahun, tingginya tiga puluh satu meter, dan menjadi jalur penghubung terpendek antara pelabuhan Valparaíso dan permukiman di atas bukit. Dua kabin kayu tergantung pada seutas kabel tunggal; yang satu bergerak naik saat yang lain meluncur turun, dan di tengah jalur, di titik persimpangan, keduanya saling menyapa dengan suara derit yang bisa ditirukan oleh setiap anak di lingkungan itu.

The funicular of San Rafael was a hundred and twelve years old, thirty-one metres high, and the shortest link between the harbour of Valparaíso and the neighbourhood on the hill. Two wooden cabins hung from a single cable; one went up while the other slid down, and halfway along the track, at the passing place, they greeted each other with a squeak that every child in the neighbourhood could imitate.

Kereta itu dibangun oleh seorang insinyur Swiss yang belum pernah menginjakkan kaki di Cile dan mengirimkan rancangannya di atas kertas, disertai catatan bahwa Valparaíso adalah “kota bagi kambing dan kaum optimis”. Sejak saat itu, kereta tersebut telah bertahan melewati dua kali gempa bumi, sebuah kebakaran besar, dan, seperti kata orang-orang di lingkungan itu, tujuh wali kota—yang konon jauh lebih sulit dihadapi.

It had been built by a Swiss engineer who had never been to Chile and had sent his plans on paper with the remark that Valparaíso was “a city for goats and optimists”. Since then the railway had survived two earthquakes, a fire and, as people in the neighbourhood said, seven mayors, which had been far more difficult.

Don Rodrigo Maldonado telah mengoperasikan kereta itu selama tiga puluh satu tahun—satu tahun untuk setiap meter tingginya, begitulah ia suka berujar jika suasana hatinya sedang baik. Hal itu jarang terjadi. Usianya enam puluh satu tahun, memiliki lutut yang berbunyi seperti engsel berkarat saat kabut turun, dan selembar surat di dalam laci stasiun atas yang ia tulis enam tahun silam. “Dengan ini saya menyatakan mengundurkan diri,” demikian bunyinya, dan di bawahnya tertera namanya, ditulis dengan gaya tulisan tangan yang ia anggap resmi.

Don Rodrigo Maldonado had operated the railway for thirty-one years, one year for every metre, as he liked to say when he was in the mood. That rarely happened. He was sixty-one, had knees that sounded like rusty hinges in the fog, and a letter in the drawer of the top station that he had written six years ago. “I hereby declare my resignation,” it said, and beneath it, in handwriting he considered official, his name.

Ia tidak pernah mengirimkan surat itu, sebab ia sudah tahu jawabannya. Tiga kali ia mengajukan pengunduran diri secara lisan, dan tiga kali pula pemerintah kota memberinya jawaban yang sama: mereka dengan senang hati akan melepasnya begitu ada orang yang bisa mengoperasikan kereta itu. Namun, siapa yang sudi membangunkan mesin buatan tahun 1912 setiap pagi pada pukul enam lewat seperempat demi upah yang едва cukup untuk membayar sewa tempat tinggal? Tak seorang pun mendaftar. Don Rodrigo terus bekerja, dan di dalam lacinya, surat itu menunggu bagaikan paspor yang tak pernah digunakan.

He had never sent it, because he knew the answer. Three times he had resigned by word of mouth, and three times the city administration had told him the same thing: they would gladly let him go as soon as someone was found who could operate the railway. But who would want to wake a machine from 1912 every morning at a quarter past six for a wage that barely covered the rent? Nobody applied. Don Rodrigo kept working, and in his drawer the letter waited like a passport one never uses.

Pada hari Selasa di bulan Mei ini, kabut menyelimuti pelabuhan, dan ketika wanita yang membawa map itu melangkah masuk ke stasiun bawah, terdapat bintik-bintik tetesan air gelap di mantelnya. Ia memperkenalkan diri sebagai Marisol Vidal, insinyur di dinas pekerjaan umum kota, lalu meletakkan selembar surat dinas di atas meja. Isinya singkat. Kereta kabel San Rafael hari ini juga akan menjalani pemeriksaan keselamatan menyeluruh. Jika gagal dalam uji rem, operasionalnya harus dihentikan sesegera mungkin.

On this Tuesday in May there was fog over the harbour, and when the woman with the folder entered the bottom station, there were dark drops on her coat. She introduced herself as Marisol Vidal, an engineer from the city’s building department, and put a letter on the table. It was short. The funicular of San Rafael would undergo a complete safety inspection that very day. If it failed the brake test, operation was to be suspended with immediate effect.

Don Rodrigo membaca kalimat itu dua kali, dan tampak sesuatu bergerak di wajahnya, ekspresi yang belakangan tak mampu digambarkan oleh Marisol. Itu bukan rasa terkejut. Kelihatannya lebih mirip seorang pria yang telah bertahun-tahun menunggu kereta api dan akhirnya diberi tahu jam keberangkatannya. “Kopi?” tanyanya. Marisol menolak. Kendati demikian, ia tetap menyodorkan secangkir kopi beraroma kayu manis ke hadapannya dan berkata bahwa Marisol boleh memeriksa kereta itu sesuka hati, kuncinya tergantung di samping pintu.

Don Rodrigo read the sentence twice, and something in his face moved that Marisol would later not have been able to describe. It was not alarm. It looked more as if a man who had been waiting for a train for years had at last been told the departure time. “Coffee?” he asked. She declined. He put a cup in front of her anyway, one that smelled of cinnamon, and said she could have the railway for as long as she liked; the keys hung next to the door.

Marisol berusia tiga puluh empat tahun dan selama sebelas tahun di dinas pekerjaan umum, ia belajar bahwa seorang pria yang tersenyum saat tempat kerjanya hendak ditutup biasanya antara tidak mengerti apa-apa atau sedang menyembunyikan sesuatu. Ia bertekad untuk mewaspadai kedua kemungkinan tersebut. Kemudian, ia membuka mapnya, mengenakan sarung tangan, lalu menaiki kabin bawah.

Marisol was thirty-four and had learned in eleven years at the building department that a man who smiles at a shutdown has either understood nothing or is hiding something. She resolved to watch for both. Then she opened her folder, put on gloves and climbed into the lower cabin.