A Friend Called Mick

For a moment nobody spoke. The wind blew along the empty platform, and somewhere behind the hills the Manchester train was getting louder. Ana could feel her heart beating in her throat. She had promised. Only a minute ago, she had promised. “This is Mick,” she heard herself say. “He’s a friend. He works at the supermarket warehouse.”

Sesaat tak seorang pun berbicara. Angin berembus di sepanjang peron yang kosong, dan di suatu tempat di balik bukit kereta Manchester terdengar semakin keras. Ana bisa merasakan jantungnya berdegup kencang di tenggorokan. Dia sudah berjanji. Baru satu menit yang lalu, dia berjanji. “Ini Mick,” ia mendengar dirinya berkata. “Dia teman. Dia bekerja di gudang supermarket.”

“Oh. Hi,” Jess said. She looked at him the way teenagers look at most adults, politely and without much interest. Then she opened her crisps. “Are you going to Manchester? The train’s coming.”

“Oh. Halo,” kata Jess. Dia memandangnya seperti remaja memandang kebanyakan orang dewasa, dengan sopan dan tanpa banyak minat. Kemudian dia membuka keripiknya. “Kamu mau pergi ke Manchester? Keretanya datang.”

Michael opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He was holding his wallet so hard that his fingers had gone white. Ana saw him look at Jess’s red hair, at her green eyes, at the small scar on her chin that Ana had never noticed before. He looked at her as if he was trying to remember every detail of her face for the rest of his life.

Michael membuka mulutnya, tetapi tidak ada kata yang keluar. Dia memegang dompetnya begitu erat sampai jari-jarinya memutih. Ana melihatnya menatap rambut merah Jess, mata hijaunya, dan bekas luka kecil di dagunya yang belum pernah Ana perhatikan sebelumnya. Dia menatapnya seolah-olah sedang berusaha mengingat setiap detail wajahnya selama sisa hidupnya.

“No,” he said at last. His voice was rough. “No, I’m not going anywhere. I was just… checking the times.” He cleared his throat. “Nice to meet you, Jess.”

“Bukan,” katanya akhirnya. Suaranya terdengar kasar. “Tidak, aku tidak pergi ke mana-mana. Aku hanya… memeriksa jadwal.” Dia berdeham. “Senang bertemu denganmu, Jess.”

Jess frowned slightly. “How do you know my name?”

Jess sedikit mengernyit. “Bagaimana Anda tahu namaku?”

There was a terrible second of silence. Then Ana laughed, a little too loudly. “Because I never stop talking about you. Jess this, Jess that. Jess and her drawings. Poor Mick has heard everything about you.” It was not even a good lie, but Jess shrugged and ate a crisp. She was too happy after her day in Leeds to care.

Terjadi keheningan selama satu detik yang mengerikan. Lalu Ana tertawa, sedikit terlalu keras. “Karena aku tidak pernah berhenti membicarakanmu. Jess ini, Jess itu. Jess dan gambar-gambarnya. Mick yang malang sudah mendengar semuanya tentang kamu.” Itu bahkan bukan kebohongan yang bagus, tetapi Jess mengangkat bahu dan memakan sepotong keripik. Dia terlalu senang setelah seharian di Leeds untuk memedulikannya.

The train came into the station with a long, tired sound and stopped in front of them. The doors opened. A woman with a pushchair got off, and an old man, and then nobody. Michael stood very still with his bag on his back and watched the open doors. Ana watched him. Jess watched her phone. After a minute, the doors closed again, and the train moved slowly away into the dark.

Kereta masuk ke stasiun dengan suara yang panjang dan letih, lalu berhenti di depan mereka. Pintu-pintu terbuka. Seorang wanita dengan kereta dorong bayi turun, lalu seorang pria tua, dan setelah itu tidak ada orang lagi. Michael berdiri sangat diam dengan tas di punggungnya dan memperhatikan pintu-pintu yang terbuka. Ana memperhatikannya. Jess memperhatikan ponselnya. Setelah satu menit, pintu-pintu tertutup lagi, dan kereta bergerak perlahan menjauh ke dalam kegelapan.

Michael let out a long breath. He looked at Ana, and in his tired eyes there was something she had not seen there before. It was not quite hope, but it was close to it. “Goodnight, Ana,” he said quietly. “Goodnight, Jess. Good luck with the drawings.” Then he turned and walked up the stairs, over the bridge and out of the station.

Michael mengembuskan napas panjang. Dia memandang Ana, dan di matanya yang lelah ada sesuatu yang belum pernah dilihat Ana di sana sebelumnya. Itu belum sepenuhnya harapan, tetapi mendekati itu. “Selamat malam, Ana,” katanya pelan. “Selamat malam, Jess. Semoga berhasil dengan gambar-gambarnya.” Lalu dia berbalik dan berjalan menaiki tangga, melewati jembatan dan keluar dari stasiun.

They walked home down the hill. Hollin Bridge was quiet on a Saturday night, and the streetlights made yellow circles on the wet stones. Jess talked about Leeds for ten minutes without stopping: the glass building, the teacher with the purple glasses, the student who had built a model of a bridge out of spaghetti. Ana said yes and no and really, but she was hardly listening.

Mereka berjalan pulang menuruni bukit. Hollin Bridge sunyi pada Sabtu malam, dan lampu-lampu jalan membuat lingkaran-lingkaran kuning di atas batu-batu basah. Jess bercerita tentang Leeds selama sepuluh menit tanpa henti: gedung kaca, guru dengan kacamata ungu, murid yang membuat miniatur jembatan dari spageti. Ana menjawab ya dan tidak dan sungguh, tetapi dia hampir tidak mendengarkan.