This morning Vlad, call for Vladimir, was so restless. Many times he walked back and forth in and out of the house. His tail waggled loudly.
I am waiting for you. Why don't you come. He shook his tail again and stepped into the middle of the yard.
The sun was rising. Its lights were slowly poured off the leaves and branches of angsana tree. Noise of the main road began to burst into the silent courtyard. Every now and then motorcycle taxi drivers passed or picked up customers.
His master, a little girl with eyes as wide as ping pong ball, came out with a bowl of food. The girl called out to Vlad's friends. The little dogs jumped up and down happily. They engulfed the girl.
Vlad looked at them. They are starving. Is there anything more interesting than a vegetable?
He laid down beneath the angsana tree. Gazing at the gate of the house that kept closed all day. His ears raised, listening carefully for passers-by. He occasionally only heard footsteps or sandals. He knew that it was not what he was waiting for. The person he was waiting for had a strange move. Somewhat limp and his legs seemed to be dragged along the cobbled streets. The smell was also typical: a mixture of eucalyptus oil and cooking oil. Maybe he liked to poke his body with eucalyptus oil to warm up in the morning. He did not know. He never visited his house, an old Betawi house with a fragrant wooden wall.
From the house sometimes he heard a voice. His ears stood up and his tongue protruded. It was the sound most appealing to him. There was no voice in the world that was more interesting than the voice miaw. He'd jump and scratch the fence. He always wished the cement fence would collapse and he could run to the house. Who knew he would meet a beautiful miaw and fun to play with. But the damn fence never collapsed. Scratching just made the wall dirty and a few months later someone would come and painted it. The next day, he would scratch it again and it would be dirty again. A few months later the person would come again and paint it again with the same color. He really don't have an artistic taste.
He should have arrived that morning at exactly at 7 o'clock. But the vegetable merchant had passed over. It meant the time was past 7 and he had not been seen yet.
Vlad walked sluggishly approaching the basin of food. He tasted the menu of the day lazily. Then he fell asleep under angsana tree.
Days passed and the man did not appear. The man always came with potato chips. He liked potato chips and would welcome him with barking. The man would laugh and threw a bag of his potato chips. Vlad would catch it and bite it hard. He did not allow other dogs to get a share. The little dogs could only stare at him with a small whine.
The man will then be chatting with his master, the sweet little girl with eyes as wide as a ping pong balls. They sit on a park bench under angsana tree. They actually could talk a whole day but the girl always quibble must leave for work immediately. The man would then say goodbye and left. But, Vlad knew that he was disappointed. He could see his reluctant and dragging steps.
But, that day he also did not come. Vlad laid on the porch. His head was suddenly erect as the gate shifted. No, not him. A young woman with hijab came in. She chatted with his master and handed something over. He did not know what it was. He did not care. Not the one he's waiting for. The woman then went and closed the gate that will be closed all day.
The little girl approached him. "I have a surprise for you," she said. She pulled something out of her bag: a bag of potato chips. Vlad jumped. He barked joyfully. Other little dogs ran over. Vlad yanked at them: Don't get closer. This is for me. His eyes sharply stared at them.
The girl opened a bag of chips and scattered it into a green basin. Vlad happily ate it as if he had been fasting for a whole month. "Vlad, he's gone. Don't wait for him again," the girl said sadly. Vlad looked at her. His tongue protruded. He did not understand what she said but he liked potato chips and chewed them again.
Penantian Vladimir (Cerita Pendek)
Pagi ini Vlad, panggilan untuk Vladimir, gelisah. Berkali-kali dia berjalan hilir mudik keluar-masuk rumah. Ekornya bergoyang-goyang riuh.
Aku menunggumu. Mengapa kau tak datang-datang juga. Dia kembali menggoyang-goyangkan ekornya dan melangkah ke tengah halaman.
Matahari terus naik. Sinarnya perlahan menyirami daun-daun dan ranting pohon angsana. Kebisingan jalan raya mulai menyeruak ke halaman rumah yang sunyi sejak Subuh. Sesekali tukang ojek motor lewat mengantar atau menjemput pelanggannya.
Tuannya, gadis kecil bermata bola pingpong, keluar membawa sebaskom makanan. Gadis itu memanggil-manggil teman-teman Vlad. Anjing-anjing kecil melompat-lompat gembira mendengarnya. Mereka mengerubuti sang gadis.
Vlad menatap mereka. Mahluk-mahluk kelaparan. Apa tak ada yang lebih menarik daripada sebaskom sayur?
Dia berbaring di bawah angsana. Menatap pintu gerbang rumah yang terus tertutup sepanjang hari. Telinganya terangkat, mendengarkan dengan seksama kalau-kalau ada yang lewat. Dia sesekali hanya mendengar langkah-langkah sepatu atau sandal. Dia tahu bukan itu yang ditunggunya. Orang yang ditunggunya punya langkah aneh. Agak pincang dan kakinya seakan terseret di jalanan berbatu. Baunya juga khas: campuran minyak kayu putih dan minyak goreng. Mungkin dia suka membalur tubuhnya dengan minyak kayu putih agar hangat di pagi hari. Mungkin juga di suka menggoreng sesuatu di rumah. Dia tidak tahu. Dia tak pernah mengunjungi rumahnya, sebuah rumah tua Betawi berdinding kayu berbau harum.
Dari rumah itu kadang dia mendengar suara miau. Telinganya langsung berdiri dan lidahnya terjulur. Itu suara paling menarik baginya. Tak ada suara di dunia yang lebih menarik daripada suara miau. Dia akan melompat dan menggaruk-garuk pagar. Dia selalu berharap pagar semen itu lama-lama akan roboh dan dia bisa lari ke rumah itu. Siapa tahu dia akan bertemu seekor miau yang cantik dan asyik diajak bermain. Tapi, pagar sialan itu tak pernah roboh. Garukannya cuma membuat dindingnya kotor dan beberapa bulan kemudian seseorang akan datang dan mengecatnya. Esoknya, dia akan menggaruknya lagi dan mengotorinya lagi. Beberapa bulan kemudian orang itu akan datang lagi dan mengecatnya lagi dengan warna yang sama. Betul-betul tak punya selera seni.
Seharusnya dia datang pagi itu, tepat pukul 7. Tapi, tukang sayur sudah lewat. Berarti, waktu sudah lewat pukul 7. Dan, dia belum juga tampak.
Vlad berjalan lesu mendekati baskom makanan. Dia mencicipi menu hari itu dengan malas. Lalu dia tertidur di bawah pohon angsana.
Tig hari berlalu dan orang itu tak juga muncul. Orang itu selalu datang membawa keripik kentang. Dia suka keripik kentang dan akan menyambutnya dengan gonggongan riuh. Orang itu akan tertawa dan melempar sekantong keripik kentangnya. Vlad akan menangkapnya dan menggigitnya kencang-kencang. Dia tak mengizinkan anjing-anjing lain mendapat bagian. Anjing-anjing kecil itu hanya bisa menatapnya sambil mendengking kecil.
Orang itu kemudian akan bercakap-cakap dengan majikannya, gadis kecil manis bermata bola pingpong. Mereka duduk di bangku taman di bawah pohon angsana. Mereka bisa bercakap seharian sebenarnya tapi sang gadis selalu berdalih harus berangkat kerja segera. Orang itu kemudian akan pamit dengan sopan dan pergi. Tapi, Vlad tahu bahwa dia kecewa. Dia bisa melihat langkahnya yang enggan dan terseret-seret.
Tapi, hari itu dia juga tidak datang. Vlad tengkurap di teras. Kepalanya mendadak tegak ketika pintu gerbang bergeser. Bukan, bukan dia. Seorang perempuan muda berkerurung masuk. Dia bercakap-cakap dengan majikannya dan menyerahkan sesuatu. Dia tidak tahu. Dia tidak peduli. Bukan dia yang dia tunggu. Perempuan itu lalu pergi dan menutup gerbang yang akan tertutup seharian.
Gadis kecil itu mendekatinya. "Aku punya kejutan untukmu," katanya. Dia mengeluarkan sesuatu dari tasnya: sekantong keripik kentang. Vlad terlonjak. Dia menggonggong-gonggong girang. Anjing-anjing kecil lain berlarian menghampiri. Vlad menggonggi mereka: Jangan mendekat. Ini untukku. Matanya tajam menatap mereka.
Gadis itu membuka kantong keripik dan menghamburkannya ke baskom hijau. Vlad dengan gembira menyantapnya seakan dia telah berpuasa sebulan penuh. "Vlad. Dia telah pergi. Kau jangan menunggunya lagi," kata gadis itu dengan sedih. Vlad menatapnya. Lidahnya terjulur. Dia tak mengerti apa yang majikannya katakan. Tapi, dia suka keripik kentang dan kembali mengunyahnya.
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