The Wrong Number

One small mistake

Satu kesalahan kecil

Wanjiru lived in Nairobi. She was twenty-nine, and she was a hairdresser.

Wanjiru tinggal di Nairobi. Umurnya dua puluh sembilan tahun, dan dia seorang penata rambut.

She worked in a busy salon in the city centre. But the salon was not hers. The owner kept most of the money.

Dia bekerja di sebuah salon yang ramai di pusat kota. Tetapi salon itu bukan miliknya. Pemilik salon mengambil sebagian besar uangnya.

Every month, Wanjiru saved a little. She had a plan. One day, she wanted her own salon.

Setiap bulan, Wanjiru menabung sedikit. Dia punya rencana. Suatu hari nanti, dia ingin memiliki salon sendiri.

On Friday evening, she sat on the bus home and opened her bank app. There were 210,000 shillings in her account.

Pada Jumat malam, dia duduk di dalam bus menuju rumah dan membuka aplikasi banknya. Ada 210.000 shilling di rekeningnya.

“Two hundred and ten thousand,” she said quietly. “Ninety thousand more, and I can start.”

“Dua ratus sepuluh ribu,” katanya pelan. “Sembilan puluh ribu lagi, dan aku bisa mulai.”

Then her phone rang. It was her mother.

Lalu teleponnya berdering. Itu ibunya.

“Wanjiru? It’s Mama. How are you, my child?”

“Wanjiru? Ini Mama. Bagaimana kabarmu, anakku?”

“I’m fine, Mama. I’m on the bus. Is everything OK?”

“Aku baik-baik saja, Mama. Aku sedang di bus. Apakah semuanya baik-baik saja?”

“Everything is fine. Well, almost. It’s the roof again. There was a lot of rain last night, and the water came into the kitchen.”

“Semuanya baik-baik saja. Ya, hampir. Masalah atap lagi. Tadi malam hujan lebat, dan air masuk ke dapur.”

“Again? Did you call the man from the village?”

“Lagi? Apakah Mama memanggil pria dari desa?”

“Yes. He came this morning and looked at it. ‘Fifty thousand,’ he said. ‘I can start on Monday.’”

“Ya. Dia datang pagi ini dan melihatnya. ‘Lima puluh ribu,’ katanya. ‘Saya bisa mulai hari Senin.’”

Wanjiru looked at the number in her bank app. Fifty thousand shillings was five months of saving.

Wanjiru melihat angka di aplikasi banknya. Lima puluh ribu shilling adalah hasil menabung selama lima bulan.

“I’m sorry, my child,” said her mother. “I know about your salon. I don’t like asking you.”

“Maafkan Mama, anakku,” kata ibunya. “Mama tahu tentang salonmu. Mama tidak suka meminta uang kepadamu.”