Big Enough

“Four years,” said Father Tom. “You have taught at this school for four years, Miss Novak. And you have never once said no to me.”

“Empat tahun,” kata Father Tom. “Anda sudah mengajar di sekolah ini selama empat tahun, Bu Novak. Dan Anda tidak pernah sekali pun berkata tidak kepada saya.”

He sat on one of the children’s chairs in my classroom. It was much too small for him, and he laughed at it, his big, happy laugh. It was half past three. My Year 4 children were gone. Outside, it was already getting dark over St Nicholas Square.

Dia duduk di salah satu kursi anak-anak di kelas saya. Kursi itu jauh terlalu kecil untuknya, dan dia menertawakannya dengan tawanya yang besar dan riang. Sudah pukul setengah empat. Anak-anak Kelas 4 saya sudah pulang. Di luar, hari sudah mulai gelap di St Nicholas Square.

“What do you want, Father?”

“Apa yang Bapak mau, Father?”

“The Christmas play.”

“Drama Natal.”

I put down my pen.

Saya meletakkan pulpen saya.

“Every Christmas Eve, at five o’clock, the children of the parish do the nativity in the church,” he said. “Mary, Joseph, the baby, the angels, the shepherds. For twenty years Edith Green ran it. Then she stopped, and I have run it myself.”

“Setiap Malam Natal, pukul lima, anak-anak paroki bermain drama kelahiran Yesus di gereja,” katanya. “Maria, Yusuf, bayi Yesus, para malaikat, para gembala. Selama dua puluh tahun Edith Green yang mengurusnya. Lalu dia berhenti, dan saya mengurusnya sendiri.”

“I know. I was there last year.”

“Saya tahu. Tahun lalu saya ada di sana.”

“Then you know.” He stopped laughing. “In 2023 the lights went out. In 2024 somebody brought a real sheep. In 2025 I left the script on the 24 bus. The parish council has spoken to me. One more disaster, they say, and there will be no more children’s play. Ever. Diane Price said those words twice.”

“Kalau begitu Anda tahu.” Dia berhenti tertawa. “Tahun 2023 lampunya mati. Tahun 2024 ada orang membawa domba asli. Tahun 2025 saya meninggalkan naskahnya di bus 24. Dewan paroki sudah bicara dengan saya. Kata mereka, satu bencana lagi, dan tidak akan ada drama anak-anak lagi. Selamanya. Diane Price mengatakan kata-kata itu dua kali.”

I looked at the pile of books on my desk. I have thirty children, reports to write and no free evenings. But when I first came to this school, from my small town, Edith Green still came in every Friday. She heard the children read. She knew every child’s name in a week. I wanted to be a teacher like her.

Saya melihat tumpukan buku di meja saya. Saya punya tiga puluh anak, laporan yang harus ditulis, dan tidak ada malam yang kosong. Tetapi waktu saya pertama kali datang ke sekolah ini, dari kota kecil saya, Edith Green masih datang setiap hari Jumat. Dia mendengarkan anak-anak membaca. Dalam seminggu dia sudah tahu nama setiap anak. Saya ingin menjadi guru seperti dia.

It was Edith’s play.

Itu drama Edith.

“Yes,” I said.

“Ya,” kata saya.

“Thank God,” said Father Tom. “The first meeting is at six. In the church hall.”

“Syukur kepada Tuhan,” kata Father Tom. “Pertemuan pertama pukul enam. Di aula gereja.”

The church hall is a long, cold room behind the church. It has a small kitchen, an old piano and a high little window at the back. In one corner stands the church’s old crib. It is a wooden stable as big as a suitcase. Inside there is a baby Jesus doll the size of my hand, two little angels with wire wings, a tin star and three wooden sheep, on real straw, with a small lamp. Father Tom says it is a hundred years old.

Aula gereja adalah ruangan panjang yang dingin di belakang gereja. Ada dapur kecil, piano tua, dan jendela kecil yang tinggi di belakang. Di satu sudut berdiri palungan Natal tua milik gereja. Itu kandang kayu sebesar koper. Di dalamnya ada boneka bayi Yesus sebesar tangan saya, dua malaikat kecil dengan sayap kawat, sebuah bintang dari timah, dan tiga domba kayu, di atas jerami asli, dengan sebuah lampu kecil. Father Tom bilang umurnya seratus tahun.

Ruth Adler was already at the piano. She leads the children’s choir. She is seventy, tall and very straight, with short silver hair.

Ruth Adler sudah ada di depan piano. Dia memimpin paduan suara anak-anak. Umurnya tujuh puluh tahun, tinggi dan sangat tegak, dengan rambut perak yang pendek.