Kisah Priya

Pada pukul tiga sore, Ana menyeberangi Bridge Street. Dia tidak pergi ke pintu depan Shah’s. Dia pergi ke sudut jalan ke pintu belakang yang kecil, lalu dia mengetuk.

At three o’clock in the afternoon, Ana crossed Bridge Street. She didn’t go to the front door of Shah’s. She went round the corner to the small back door, and she knocked.

Priya langsung membuka pintu. “Masuk, Sayang. Cepat.” Di belakang toko ada kamar kecil dengan sebuah meja, dua kursi, dan ketel air. Ada kotak keripik dan koran lama di mana-mana.

Priya opened the door at once. “Come in, my dear. Quickly.” Behind the shop there was a small room with a table, two chairs and a kettle. There were boxes of crisps and old newspapers everywhere.

Priya membuat teh dan menaruh sepiring biskuit di atas meja. Lalu dia duduk dan memandang Ana. “Sepatu olahragamu ada di jendela pagi tadi,” katanya. “Basah. Kamu pergi ke mana semalam?”

Priya made tea and put a plate of biscuits on the table. Then she sat down and looked at Ana. “Your trainers were in the window this morning,” she said. “Wet. Where did you go last night?”

Ana tidak mau berbohong lagi. “Aku melihat seorang pria,” katanya. “Pukul tiga lebih dua puluh. Dia mengambil roti dari tangga belakang dan melipat kantong kertas. Lalu dia melihat aku di jendelaku. Aku mengejar dia, ke kanal. Tetapi aku kehilangan jejaknya di sana.”

Ana didn’t want to lie again. “I saw a man,” she said. “At twenty past three. He took the bread from the back step and folded the bag. Then he saw me at my window. I ran after him, to the canal. But I lost him there.”

Priya memejamkan mata. Untuk sesaat dia tidak berkata apa-apa.

Priya closed her eyes. For a moment she didn’t say anything.

“Priya, tolonglah,” kata Ana. “Apa yang terjadi di sini? Semua orang tahu, dan tidak ada yang memberi tahu aku. Walter tidak berbicara. Jess tidak berbicara. Daniel berkata bahwa ini cerita sedih. Aku ingin tahu.”

“Priya, please,” Ana said. “What happened here? Everybody knows, and nobody tells me. Walter doesn’t talk. Jess doesn’t talk. Daniel says it’s a sad story. I want to know.”

Priya membuka mata. “Baiklah,” katanya. “Aku akan menceritakannya kepadamu. Tetapi ini bukan cerita bahagia, Sayang. Minum tehmu.”

Priya opened her eyes. “All right,” she said. “I’m going to tell you. But it isn’t a happy story, my dear. Drink your tea.”

“Lima belas tahun lalu, toko roti itu memiliki nama yang berbeda. Bell & Son. Walter dan putranya, Michael. Michael berumur tiga puluh tahun saat itu. Dia pembuat roti yang hebat, lebih baik daripada ayahnya, kata orang-orang. Dia tertawa sepanjang waktu, dan dia bernyanyi ketika dia bekerja.”

“Fifteen years ago, the bakery had a different name. Bell & Son. Walter and his son, Michael. Michael was thirty then. He was a wonderful baker, better than his father, people said. He laughed all the time, and he sang when he worked.”

“Michael punya seorang istri, Karen, dan anak perempuan kecil berambut merah. Jess. Umurnya dua tahun. Mereka semua tinggal di atas toko roti bersama Walter. Mary sudah meninggal saat itu, dan Walter sangat sedih dan sangat lelah.”

“Michael had a wife, Karen, and a little girl with red hair. Jess. She was two years old. They all lived above the bakery with Walter. Mary was already dead then, and Walter was very sad and very tired.”

“Lalu pada suatu malam di bulan Januari, ada kebakaran. Api mulai dari bagian belakang toko roti, dekat oven. Aku melihatnya dari jendelaku. Apinya sangat besar dan sangat terang. Aku menelepon dinas pemadam kebakaran, dan aku berlari menyeberangi jalan dengan gaun tidurku.”

“Then one night in January, there was a fire. It started at the back of the bakery, near the oven. I saw it from my window. The fire was very big and very bright. I phoned the fire service, and I ran across the road in my nightdress.”

“Walter keluar dari rumah terlebih dahulu. Dia membawa Jess di dalam selimut. Lalu Michael dan Karen keluar. Tidak ada yang mati, syukurlah. Tetapi bagian belakang rumah terbakar, dan toko roti ditutup selama enam bulan.”

“Walter came out of the house first. He was carrying Jess in a blanket. Then Michael and Karen came out. Nobody died, thank God. But the back of the house burned, and the bakery was closed for six months.”

Ana ingat wajah putih Walter ketika roti bundar kecil terbakar. Jangan lagi, katanya malam itu. Sekarang dia mengerti.

Ana remembered Walter’s white face when the rolls burned. Not again, he said that night. Now she understood.

“Pagi berikutnya,” kata Priya, “Michael berdiri di jalan, di depan tokoku. Banyak orang ada di sana. Dan dia berkata kepada semua orang: ini salahku. Aku membiarkan oven menyala. Aku pergi tidur dan aku melupakannya. Itu aku.”

“The next morning,” Priya said, “Michael stood in the street, in front of my shop. A lot of people were there. And he told everybody: it was my fault. I left the oven on. I went to bed and I forgot it. It was me.”

“Lalu bagaimana?”

“And then?”