Pukul 9.15

“Rosa! Kamu sudah kembali!”

“Rosa! You’re back!”

Perawat dari rumah sakit naik di stasiun. Dia tertawa dan mengibaskan dingin dari mantelnya. Hari ini Senin, 30 November. Sekarang pukul delapan malam.

The nurse from the hospital gets on at the station. She laughs and shakes the cold off her coat. It is Monday, 30 November. It is eight o’clock in the evening.

“Aku sudah kembali!” kataku. “Dingin malam ini, ya?”

“I’m back!” I say. “Cold tonight, eh?”

“Dingin sekali. Besok ada salju?”

“Very cold. Is there snow tomorrow?”

“Kata radio ada. Radio selalu bilang ada.”

“The radio says yes. The radio always says yes.”

Sepanjang November aku bekerja di siang hari. Aku mengajar dua sopir baru. Malam ini itu selesai. Malam ini aku punya bus lamaku lagi. Jalur 24, shift malam, dari pukul empat sampai setengah satu malam.

All November I work in the day. I teach two new drivers. Tonight that ends. Tonight I have my old bus again. Line 24, the evening shift, four o’clock to half past twelve.

Jalur 24 adalah jalur yang pendek. Jalur ini dari stasiun pusat ke St Nicholas Square. Itu pemberhentian terakhir. Dua puluh lima menit ke sana, dua puluh lima menit kembali. Delapan kali setiap malam. Aku tahu setiap halte dan setiap lubang di jalan.

Line 24 is a short line. It goes from the central station to St Nicholas Square. That is the last stop. Twenty-five minutes there, twenty-five minutes back. Eight times a night. I know every stop and every hole in the road.

Aku kenal penumpangku juga. Aku bicara dengan mereka. Aku bicara dengan semua orang. Ibuku bilang aku terlalu banyak bicara. Dia benar, tapi aku tidak bilang padanya.

I know my passengers too. I talk to them. I talk to everybody. My mother says I talk too much. She is right, but I don’t tell her.

Pukul 9.15 aku di stasiun lagi. Seorang pria naik. Dia tinggi dan kurus. Dia memakai mantel panjang yang gelap dan membawa kotak hitam. Aku tidak kenal dia.

At 9:15 I am at the station again. A man gets on. He is tall and thin. He has a long dark coat and a black case. I don’t know him.

“Selamat malam,” katanya.

“Good evening,” he says.

“Selamat malam! Anda mau ke mana?”

“Good evening! Where to?”

Dia menunjukkan tiketnya. Dia tidak menjawab. Dia duduk di kursi pertama, di belakangku.

He shows me his ticket. He doesn’t answer. He sits in the first seat, behind me.

Aku melihatnya di kaca spion. Matanya abu-abu dan wajahnya sedih. Rambutnya panjang dan kurang rapi. Dia tampak lelah.

I look at him in my mirror. He has grey eyes and a sad face. His hair is long and not very tidy. He looks tired.

“Anda pergi jauh?” tanyaku.

“Do you go far?” I ask.