Fifty at the Top

The photo on the wall

Foto di dinding

Sipho lived in Cape Town with his wife. He was forty-nine, and he was a teacher at a big school.

Sipho tinggal di Cape Town bersama istrinya. Dia berumur empat puluh sembilan tahun, dan dia adalah seorang guru di sebuah sekolah besar.

Every morning, he drove to work under Table Mountain. He looked up at it every day. He never went up.

Setiap pagi, dia mengemudi ke tempat kerja di bawah Table Mountain. Dia memandang ke arah gunung itu setiap hari. Dia tidak pernah naik ke sana.

One Sunday evening, his wife sat down next to him on the sofa.

Pada suatu Minggu malam, istrinya duduk di sebelahnya di sofa.

“Your birthday is in three weeks,” she said. “You’re going to be fifty. What would you like? A big party?”

“Ulang tahunmu tiga minggu lagi,” katanya. “Kamu akan berumur lima puluh tahun. Kamu mau apa? Pesta besar?”

“No party,” said Sipho. “I’d like to walk up Table Mountain.”

“Tidak usah pesta,” kata Sipho. “Aku ingin berjalan mendaki Table Mountain.”

His wife laughed. “You? You take the car to the shop at the end of the street.”

Istrinya tertawa. “Kamu? Kamu saja naik mobil ke toko di ujung jalan.”

“I know. But I want to do it. With the old group.”

“Aku tahu. Tapi aku ingin melakukannya. Bersama kelompok lama.”

He looked at a photo on the wall. Four thin boys stood on a big rock. Behind them, there was the sea and the whole city.

Dia melihat sebuah foto di dinding. Empat anak laki-laki kurus berdiri di atas sebuah batu besar. Di belakang mereka, ada laut dan seluruh kota.

It was the top of Table Mountain, in 1994. The boys were eighteen. They finished their last exam that week. The next day, they walked up the mountain.

Itu adalah puncak Table Mountain, pada tahun 1994. Anak-anak laki-laki itu berumur delapan belas tahun. Mereka menyelesaikan ujian terakhir mereka minggu itu. Keesokan harinya, mereka berjalan mendaki gunung itu.

“Thirty-two years,” said Sipho. “I want the same photo. The same four people, at fifty.”

“Tiga puluh dua tahun,” kata Sipho. “Aku ingin foto yang sama. Empat orang yang sama, pada umur lima puluh tahun.”

“When did you last see them?”

“Kapan kamu terakhir kali bertemu mereka?”

Sipho thought about it. “Five years ago. Maybe six.”

Sipho memikirkannya. “Lima tahun yang lalu. Mungkin enam.”

“Then write to them,” said his wife. “Tonight.”

“Kalau begitu kirim pesan kepada mereka,” kata istrinya. “Malam ini.”