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English to Indonesian: Translated Text of The Swimmer General field: Art/Literary Detailed field: Poetry & Literature
Source text - English THE SWIMMER
By John Cheever
It was one of those midsummer Sundays when everyone sits around saying, “I drank too much last night.” You might have heard it whispered by the parishioners leaving church, heard it from the lips of the priest himself, struggling with his cassock in the vestiarium, heard it from the golf links and the tennis courts, heard it from the wild-life preserve where the leader of the Audubon group was suffering from a terrible hangover. “I drank too much,” said Donald Westerhazy. “We all drank too much, “ said Lucinda Merill. “It must have been the wine,” said Helen Westerhazy. “I drank too much of that claret.”
That was the edge of the Westerhazy’s pool. The pool, fed by an artesian well with a high iron content, was a pale shade green. It was a fine day. In the west there was a massive stand of cumulus cloud so like a city seen from a distance – from the bow of an approaching ship – that it might have had a name. Lisbon. Hackensack. The sun was hot. Neddy Merill sat by the green water, one hand in it, one around a glass of gin. He was a slender man – he seemed to have the special slenderness of youth – and while he was far from young he had slid down his banister that morning and given the bronze backside of Aphrodite on the hall table a smack, as he jogged toward the smell of coffee in his dining room. He might have been compared to a summer’s day, particularly the last hours of one, and while he lacked a tennis racket or a sail bag the impression was definitely one of youth, sport, and clement weather. He had been swimming and now he was breathing deeply, stertorously as if he could gulp into his lungs the components of that moment, the heat of the sun, the intenseness of his pleasure. It all seemed to flow into his chest. His own house stood in Bullet Park, eight miles to the south, where his four beautiful daughters would have had their lunch and might be playing tennis. Then it occurred to him that by taking a dogleg to the southwest he could reach his home by water.
His life was not confining and the delight he took in this observation could not be explained by its suggestion of escape. He seemed to see, with a cartographer’s eye, that string of swimming pools, that quasi-subterranean stream that curved across the county. He had made a discovery, a contribution to modern geography; he would name the stream Lucinda after his wife. He was not a practical joker nor was he a fool but he was determinedly original and had a vague and modest idea of himself as a legendary figure. The day was beautiful and it seemed to him that a long swim might enlarge and celebrate its beauty.
He took off a sweater that was hung over his shoulders and dove in. He had an inexplicable contempt for men who did not hurl themselves into pools. He swam a choppy crawl, breathing either with every stroke or every fourth stroke and counting somewhere well in the back of his mind the one-two one-two of a flutter kick. It was not a serviceable stroke for long distances but the domestication of swimming had saddled the sport with some customs and in his pan of the world a crawl was customary. To be embraced and sustained by the light green water was less a pleasure, it seemed, than the resumption of a natural condition, and he would have liked to swim without trunks, but this was not possible, considering his project. He hoisted himself up on the far curb – he never used the ladder – started across the lawn. When Lucinda asked where he was going he said he was going to swim home.
The only maps and charts he had to go by were remembered or imaginary but these were clear enough. First there were the Grahams, the Hammers, the Lears, the Howlands, and the Crosscups. He would cross Ditmar Street to the Bunkers and come, after a short portage, to the Levys, the Welchers, and the public pool in Lancaster. Then there were the Hallorans, the Sachses, the Biswangers, Shirley Adams, the Gilmartins, and the Clydes. The day was lovely, and that he lived in a world so generously supplied with water seemed like a clemency, a beneficence. His heart was high and he ran across the grass. Making his way home by an uncommon route gave him the feeling that he was a pilgrim, an explorer, a man with a destiny, and he knew that he would find friends all along the way; friends would line the banks of the Lucinda River.
He went through a hedge that separated the Westerhazys’ land from the Grahams’, walked under some flowering apple trees, passed the shed that housed their pump and filter, and came out at the Grahams’ pool. “Why, Neddy,” Mrs. Graham said, “what a marvelous surprise. I’ve been trying to get you on the phone all morning. Here, let me get you a drink.” He saw then, like any explorer, that the hospitable customs and traditions of the natives would have to be handled with diplomacy if he was ever going to reach his destination. He did not want to mystify or seem rude to the Grahams nor did he have the time to linger there. He swam the length of their pool and joined them in the sun and was rescued, a few minutes later, by the arrival of two carloads of friends from Connecticut. During the uproarious reunions he was able to slip away. He went down by the front of the Grahams’ house, stepped over a thorny hedge, and crossed a vacant lot to the Hammers’. Mrs. Hammer, looking up from her roses, saw him swim by although she wasn’t quite sure who it was. The Lears heard him splashing past the open windows of their living room. The Howlands and the Crosscups were away. After leaving the Howlands’ he crossed Ditmar Street and started for the Bunkers’, where he could hear, even at that distance, the noise of a party.
The water refracted the sounds of voices and laughter and seemed to suspend it in midair. The Bunkers’ pool was on a rise and he climbed some stairs to a terrace where twenty-five or thirty men and women were drinking. The only person in the water was Rusty Towers, who floated there on a rubber raft. Oh, how bonny and lush were the banks of the Lucinda River. Prosperous men and women gathered by the sapphire-colored waters while caterer’s men in white coats passed them cold gin. Overhead a red de Haviland trainer was circling around and around and around in the sky with something like the glee of a child in a swing. Ned felt a passing affection for the scene, a tenderness for the gathering, as if it was something he might touch. In the distance he heard thunder. As soon as Enid Bunker saw him she began to scream: “Oh, look who’s here! What a marvelous surprise! When Lucinda said you couldn’t come I thought I’d die.” She made her way to him through the crowd, and then they had finished kissing she led him to the bar, a progress that was slowed by the fact that he stopped to kiss eight or ten other women and shake the hands of as many men. A smiling bartender he had seen at a hundred parties gave him a gin and tonic and he stood by the bar for a moment, anxious not to get stuck in any conversation that would delay his voyage. When he seemed about to be surrounded he dove in and swam close to the side to avoid colliding with Rusty’s raft. At the far end of the pool he bypassed the Tomlinsons with a broad smile and jogged up the garden path. The gravel cut his feet but this was the only unpleasantness. The party was confined to the pool, and as he went toward the house he heard the brilliant, watery sound of voices fade, heard the noise of a radio from the Bunkers’ kitchen, where someone was listening to a ball game Sunday afternoon. He made his way through the parked cars and down the grassy border of their driveway to Alewives Lane. He did not want to be seen on the road in his bathing trunks but there was no traffic and he made the short distance to the Levys’ driveway, marked with a PRIVATE PROPERTY sign and a green tube for The New York Times. All the doors and windows of the big house were open but there were no signs of life; not even a dog barked. He went around the side of the house to the pool and saw that the Levys had only recently left. Glasses and bottles and dishes of nuts were on a table at the deep end, where there was a bathhouse or gazebo, hung with Japanese lanterns. After swimming the pool he got himself a glass and poured a drink. It was his fourth or fifth drink and he had swum nearly half the length of the Lucinda River. He felt tired, clean, and pleased at that moment to be alone; pleased with everything.
It would storm. The stand of cumulus cloud – that city – had risen and darkened, and while he sat there he heard the percussiveness of thunder again. The de Haviland trainer was still circling overhead and it seemed to Ned that he could almost hear the pilot laugh with pleasure in the afternoon; but when there was another peal of thunder he took off for home. A train whistle blew and he wondered what time it had gotten to be. Four? Five? He thought of the provincial station at that hour, where a waiter, his tuxedo concealed by a raincoat, a dwarf with some flowers wrapped in newspaper, and a woman who had been crying would be waiting for the local. It was suddenly growing dark; it was that moment when the pinheaded birds seemed to organize their song into some acute and knowledgeable recognition of the storm’s approach. Then there was a fine noise of rushing water from the crown of an oak at his back, as if a spigot there had been turned. Then the noise of fountains came from the crowns of all the tall trees. Why did he love storms, what was the meaning of his excitement when the door sprang open and the rain wind fied rudely up the stairs, why had the simple task of shutting the windows of an old house seemed fitting and urgent, why did the first watery notes of a storm wind have for him the unmistakable sound of good news, cheer, glad tidings? Then there was an explosion, a smell of cordite, and rain lashed the Japanese lanterns that Mrs. Levy had bought in Kyoto the year before last, or was it the year before that?
He stayed in the Levys’ gazebo until the storm had passed. The rain had cooled the air and he shivered. The force of the wind had stripped a maple of its red and yellow leaves and scattered them over the grass and the water. Since it was midsummer the tree must be blighted, and yet he felt a peculiar sadness at this sign of autumn. He braced his shoulders, emptied his glass, and started for the Welchers’ pool. This meant crossing the Lindleys’ riding ring and he was surprised to find it overgrown with grass and all the jumps dismantled. He wondered if the Lindleys had sold their horses or gone away for the summer and put them out to board. He seemed to remember having heard something about the Lindleys and their horses but the memory was unclear. On he went, barefoot through the wet grass, to the Welchers’, where he found their pool was dry.
This breach in his chain of water disappointed him absurdly, and he felt like some explorer who seeks a tonential headwater and finds a dead stream. He was disappointed and mystified. It was common enough to go away for the summer but no one ever drained his pool. The Welchers had definitely gone away. The pool furniture was folded, stacked, and covered with a tarpaulin. The bathhouse was locked. All the windows of the house were shut, and when he went around to the driveway in front he saw a FOR SALE sign nailed to a tree. When had he last heard from the Welchers – when, that is, had he and Lucinda last regretted an invitation to dine with them? It seemed only a week or so ago. Was his memory failing or had he so disciplined it in the repression of unpleasant facts that he had damaged his sense of the truth? Then in the distance he heard the sound of a tennis game. This cheered him, cleared away all his apprehensions and let him regard the overcast sky and the cold air with indifference. This was the day that Neddy Merrill swam across the county. That was the day! He started off then for his most difficult portage.
Had you gone for a Sunday afternoon ride that day you might have seen him, close to naked, standing on the shoulders of Route 424, waiting for a chance to cross. You might have wondered if he was the victim of foul play, had his car broken down, or was he merely a fool. Standing barefoot in the deposits of the highway – beer cans, rags, and blowout patches – exposed to all kinds of ridicule, he seemed pitiful. He had known when he started that this was a part of his journey – it had been on his maps – but confronted with the lines of traffic, worming through the summery light, he found himself unprepared. He was laughed at, jeered at, a beer can was thrown at him, and he had no dignity or humor to bring to the situation. He could have gone back, back to the Westerhazys’, where Lucinda would still be sitting in the sun. He had signed nothing, vowed nothing, pledged nothing, not event to himself. Why, believing as he did, that all human obduracy was susceptible to common sense, was he unable to turn back? Why was he determined to complete his journey even if it meant putting his life in danger? At what point had this prank, this joke, this piece of horseplay become serious? He could not go back, he could not even recall with any clearness the green water at the Westerhazys’, the sense of inhaling the day’s components, the friendly and relaxed voices saying that they had drank too much. In the space of an hour, more or less, he had covered a distance that made his return impossible.
An old man, tooling down the highway at fifteen miles an hour, let him get to the middle of the road, where there was a grass divider. Here he with a scoop. They seemed not surprised or displeased to see him. Their pool was perhaps the oldest in the country, a fieldstone rectangle, fed by a brook. It had no filter or pump and its waters were the opaque gold of the stream.
“I’m swimming across the county,” Ned said.
“Why, I didn’t know one could,” exclaimed Mrs. Halloran.
“Well, I’ve made it from the Westerhazys’,” Ned said. “That must be about four miles.”
He left his trunks at the deep end, walked to the shallow end, and swam this stretch. As he was pulling himself out of the water he heard Mrs. Halloran say, “We’ve been terribly sorry to hear about all your misfortunes, Neddy.”
“My misfortunes?” Ned asked. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“Why we heard that you sold the house and that your poor children……”
“I don’t recall having sold the house,” Ned said, “and the girls are at home.”
“Yes,” Mrs. Halloran sighed. “Yes….” Her voice filled the air with an unseasonable melancholy and Ned spoke briskly. “Thank you for the swim.”
“Well, have a nice trip,” said Mrs. Halloran.
Beyond the hedge he pulled on his trunks and fastened them. They were loose and he wondered if, during the space of an afternoon, he could have lost some weight. He was cold and he was tired and the naked Hallorans and their dark water had depressed him. The swim was too much for his strength but how could he have guessed this, sliding down the banister that morning and sitting in the Westerhazys’ sun? His arms were lame. His legs felt rubbery and ached at the joints. The worst of it was the cold in his bones and the feeling that he might never be warm again. Leaves were falling down around him and he smelled wood smoke on the wind. Who would be burning wood at this time of the year?
He needed a drink. Whiskey would warm him, pick him up, carry him through the last of his journey, refresh his feeling that it was original and valorous to swim across the county. Channel swimmers took brandy. He needed a stimulant. He crossed the lawn in front of the Hallorans’ house and went down a little path to where they had built a house for their only daughter, Helen, and her husband, Eric Sachs. The Sachses’ pool was small and he found Helen and her husband there.
“Oh, Neddy,” Helen said. “Did you lunch at Mother’s?”
“Not really,” Ned said. “I did stop to see your parents.” This seemed to be explanation enough. “I’m terribly sorry to break in on you like this but I’ve taken a chill and I wonder if you’d give me a drink.”
“Why, I’d love to,” Helen said, “but there hasn’t been anything in this house to drink since Eric’s operation. That was three years ago.”
“Oh, Neddy,” Helen berkata. “Kamu habis makan siang di tempat Mama?”
Was he losing his memory, had his gift for concealing painful facts let him forget that he had sold his house, that his children were in trouble, and that his friend had been ill? His eyes slipped from Eric’s face to his abdomen where he saw three pale, sutured scars, two of them at least a foot long. Gone was his navel, and what, Neddy thought, would the roving hand, bed-checking one’s gifts at 3 a.m., make a belly with no navel, no link to birth, this breach in the succession?
“I’m sure you can get a drink at the Biswangers’,” Helen said. “They’re having an enormous do. You can hear it from here, Listen!”
She raised her head and from across the road, the lawns, the gardens, the woods, the fields, he heard again the brilliant noise of voices over water. “Well, I’ll get wet,” he said, still feeling that he had no freedom of choice about his means of travel. He dove into the Sachses’ cold water, and gasping, close to drowning, made his way from one end of the pool to the other. “Lucinda and I want terribly to see you,” he said over his shoulder, his face set toward the Biswangers’, “We’re sorry it’s been so long and we’ll call you very soon.”
He crossed some fields to the Biswangers’ and the sounds of revelry there. They would be honored to give him a drink, they would be happy to give him a drink. The Biswangers invited him and Lucinda for dinner four times a year, six weeks in advance. They were always rebuffed and yet they continued to send out their invitations unwilling to comprehend the rigid and undemocratic realities of their society. They were the sort of people who discussed the price of things at cocktails, exchanged market tips during dinner, and after dinner told dirty stories to mixed company. They did not belong to Neddy’s set – they were not even on Lucinda’s Christmas card list. He went toward their pool with feelings of indifference, charity, and some unease, since it seemed to be getting dark and these were the longest days of the year. The party when he joined it was noisy and large. Grace Biswanger was the kind of hostess who asked the optometrist, the veterinarian, the real-estate dealer, and the dentist. No one was swimming and the twilight, reflected on the water of the pool, had a wintry gleam. There was a bar and he started for this. When Grace Biswanger saw him she came toward him, not affectionately as he had every right to expect, but bellicosely.
“Why, this party has everything,” she said loudly, “including a gate crasher.”
She could not deal him a social blow – there was no question about this and he did not flinch. “As a gate crasher,” he asked politely, “do I rate a drink?”
“Suit yourself,” she said. “You don’t seem to pay much attention to invitations.”
She turned her back on him and joined some guests, and he went to the bar and ordered a whiskey. The bartender served him but he served him rudely. His was a world in which the caterer’s men kept the social score, and to be rebuffed by a part-time barkeep meant that he had suffered some loss of social esteem. Or perhaps the man was new and uninformed. Then he heard Grace at his back say: “They went for broke overnight – nothing but income – and he showed up drunk one Sunday and asked us to loan him five thousand dollars…” She was always talking about money. It was worse than eating your peas off a knife. He dove into the pool, swam its length and went away.
The next pool on his list, the last but two, belonged to his old mistress, Shirley Adams. If he had suffered any injuries at the Biswangers’ they would be cured here. Love – sexual roughhouse in fact – was the supreme elixir, the pain killer, the brightly colored pill that would put the spring back into his step, the joy of life in his heart. They had had an affair last week, last month, last year. He couldn’t remember. It was he who had broken it off, his was the upper hand, and he stepped through the gate of the wall that surrounded her pool with nothing so considered as self-confidence. It seemed in a way to be his pool, as the lover, particularly the illicit lover, enjoys the possessions of his mistress with an authority unknown to holy matrimony. She was there, her hair the color of brass, but her figure, at the edge of the lighted cerulean water, excited in him no profound memories. It had been, he thought, a lighthearted affair, although she had wept when he broke it off. She seemed confused to see him and he wondered if she was still wounded. Would she, God forbid, weep again?
“What do you want?” she asked
“I’m swimming across the county.”
“Good Christ. Will you ever grow up?”
“What’s the matter?”
“If you’ve come here for money,” she said, “I won’t give you another cent.”
“You could give me a drink.”
“I could but I won’t. I’m not alone.”
“Well, I’m on my way.”
He dove in and swam the pool, but when he tried to haul himself up onto the curb he found that the strength in his arms and shoulders had gone, and he paddled to the ladder and climbed out. Looking over his shoulder he saw, in the lighted bathhouse, a young man. Going out onto the dark lawn he smelled chrysanthemums or marigolds – some stubborn autumnal fragrance – on the night air, strong as gas. Looking overhead he saw that the stars had come out, but why should he seem to see Andromeda, Cepheus, and Cassiopeia? What had become of the constellations of midsummer? He began to cry.
It was probably the first time in his adult life that he had ever cried, certainly the first time in his life that he had ever felt so miserable, cold, tired, and bewildered. He could not understand the rudeness of the caterer’s barkeep or the rudeness of a mistress who had come to him on her knees and showered his trousers with tears. He had swum too long, he had been immersed too long, and his nose and his throat were sore from the water. What he needed then was a drink, some company, and some clean, dry clothes, and while he could have cut directly across the road to his home he went on to the Gilmartins’ pool. Here, for the first time in his life, he did not dive but went down the steps into the icy water and swam a hobbled sidestroke that he might learned as a youth. He staggered with fatigue on his way to the Clydes’ and paddled the length of their pool, stopping again and again with his hand on the curb to rest. He climbed up the ladder and wondered if he had the strength to get home. He had done what he wanted, he had swum the county, but he was so stupefied with exhaustion that his triumph seemed vague. Stooped, holding on to the gateposts for support, he turned up the driveway of his own house.
The place was dark. Was it so late that they had all gone to bed? Had Lucinda stayed at the Westerhazys’ for supper? Had the girls joined her there or gone someplace else? Hadn’t they agreed, as they usually did on Sunday, to regret all their invitations and stay at home? He tried the garage doors to see what cars were in but the doors were locked and rust came off the handles onto his hands. Going toward the house, he saw the force of the thunderstorm had knocked one of the rain gutters loose. It hung down over the front door like an umbrella rib, but it could be fixed in the morning. The house was locked, and he thought that the stupid cook or the stupid maid must have locked the place up until he remembered that it had been some time since they had employed a maid or cook. He shouted, pounded on the door, tried to force it with his shoulder, and then, looking in at the windows saw that the place was empty.
Translation - Indonesian Si Perenang
Oleh John Cheever
Alih bahasa: Suryahadi Yulia Rachman
Kala itu seperti hari Minggu yang biasanya di pertengahan musim panas ketika kebanyakan orang bersantai dan bergumam, “Aku terlalu banyak minum semalam.” Gumaman seperti ini mungkin pernah terdengar dari bisikan para jemaat gereja, terdengar langsung dari bibir sang Pendeta sendiri, dari pekerja di lapangan golf dan tenis, bahkan dari penjaga hutan yang mana pemimpinnya pernah mengalami mabuk berat. “Aku minum terlalu banyak,” kata Donald Westerhazy. “Kita semua kebanyakan minum,” sebut Lucinda Merill. “Pasti ini karena anggurnya,” menurut Helen Westerhazy. “Aku terlalu banyak meminum anggur merah Prancis.”
Mereka semua berkumpul di pinggir kolam renang milik keluarga Westerhazy. Kolam renang tersebut terletak di dekat sumur artesis dengan pembatas baja yang tinggi. Kolam renang milik keluarga Westerhazy terlihat hijau muda anggun. Hari itu cuaca cukup bersahabat. Tetapi di sebelah barat terlihat gumpalan awan kumulus yang cukup besar bahkan terlihat seperti kota Lisbon atau Hackensack dari kejauhan. Mentari bersinar cerah. Neddy Merrill duduk di pinggiran kolam. Satu tangannya dicelupkan ke dalam kolam sementara satu tangannya lagi memegang segelas gin. Neddy adalah seorang lelaki yang santai – bahkan dia selalu terlihat santai semenjak masih muda – dan ketika dia beranjak menua pun dia masih meluncur ke bawah dari sandaran tangga di rumahnya pagi itu dan mendarat di dekat patung Aphrodite di ruang tengah ketika dia berusaha untuk mengambil secangkir kopi di ruang makan. Neddy mungkin bisa dibandingkan dengan suatu hari di musim panas, terutama hari terakhir di musim panas, dan dia selalu terlihat berjiwa muda, sporty, dan ceria. Neddy telah berenang cukup lama dan sekarang dia terlihat terengah-engah seolah-olah dia menelan segala keindahan hari itu, panas terik mentari dan keceriaan hari itu. Semuanya seperti mengalir dalam dadanya. Rumahnya sendiri terletak di Bullet Park, 8 mil ke arah selatan, dimana keempat anak perempuannya mungkin sedang makan siang atau sedang bermain tenis. Dan kemudian terlintas dalam pikirannya kalau dia berpetualang ke arah barat daya dia bisa menjangkau rumahnya dengan berenang.
Hidupnya seperti terlihat bebas dan kesenangannya dalam petualangan ini tidak bisa dilukiskan dengan kata-kata. Dia seperti melihat, dengan sudut pandang seorang kartografer, bahwa deretan kolam renang dengan arus subterranean semu terlihat melintas sepanjang lingkungan komplek. Neddy telah membuat suatu penemuan, suatu kontribusi pada geografi modern, bahwa dia akan menamai arus tersebut seperti nama istrinya, Lucinda. Neddy bukanlah seseorang yang gampang melontarkan candaan ataupun seorang yang bodoh tetapi dia seperti yakin dan memiliki prinsip bahwa dirinya adalah seperti sesosok legenda. Hari itu terlihat indah dan dalam pikirannya berenang dengan jarak tempuh yang jauh akan terlihat seperti perayaan akan hari yang indah itu.
Neddy melepas jaketnya dan dia lilitkan di atas pundaknya lalu dia pun menceburkan dirinya. Dia seperti memiliki rasa jijik yang tidak bisa dijelaskan kepada para lelaki yang tidak mau menceburkan dirinya ke dalam kolam dengan bersemangat. Neddy berenang dalam ombak yang relatif kecil dengan gaya bebas, mengambil napas dalam setiap gaya atau pada setiap hitungan keempat, dimana dia berhitung dalam angan-angannya satu-dua-satu-dua untuk setiap hentakan. Sebenarnya itu bukan gaya renang yang tepat untuk jarak tempuh yang jauh tapi dalam angannya renang gaya bebas adalah suatu hal yang umum dilakukan. Berenang dalam air yang hijau jernih kelihatannya terasa kurang mengasyikkan, dibandingkan dengan berenang dalam kondisi air yang alami, dan Neddy pun lebih suka berenang tanpa memakai celananya, tetapi hal ini tidak mungkin dilakukan mengingat kondisi proyek petualangan jarak jauhnya. Dia merangkak naik melalui pinggiran kolam yang agak jauh – dia tidak pernah menggunakan tangga kolam – dan mulai bergerak menyeberangi rerumputan. Ketika Lucinda bertanya dia hendak kemana dia pun menjawab bahwa dia akan pulang ke rumah dengan berenang.
Satu-satunya grafik peta yang harus Neddy lalui telah terekam dalam memori dengan baik walau imajiner tetapi rutenya cukup jelas. Pertama-tama dia harus melalui milik keluarga Graham, keluarga Hammer, keluarga Lear, keluarga Howland, dan Crosscup. Dia akan menyeberang Jalan Ditmar menuju keluarga Bunker dan kemudian menuju keluarga Levy, keluarga Welcher, dan kolam renang umum di Lancaster. Lalu masih ada keluarga Halloran, keluarga Sachs, keluarga Biswanger, Shirley Adams, keluarga Gilmartin, dan keluarga Clyde. Hari itu cerah dan Neddy menyadari bahwa dia hidup dalam dunia yang memberikannya berkah air yang berlimpah untuknya. Jantungnya berdetak kencang dan dia pun berlari melintasi rerumputan. Kembali ke rumah melalui rute yang tidak lazim dia lalui membuat Neddy merasa bahwa dia adalah seorang petualang, seorang lelaki dengan garis takdir, dan dia memahami bahwa dia akan mendapatkan teman sepanjang petualangannya ini; teman-teman akan berbaris di sepanjang tepi Sungai Lucinda.
Dia pergi melewati pagar tanaman yang membatasi tanah keluarga Westerhazy dengan keluarga Graham. Neddy berjalan di bawah pohon apel yang sedang berbunga, melewati lumbung yang menyimpan pompa dan alat penyaring, dan tiba di kolam milik keluarga Graham. “Wow, Neddy,” Nyonya Graham berkata, “kebetulan sekali. Aku tadi sudah berusaha menelponmu sepanjang pagi ini. Sini, kusiapkan minuman ya.” Neddy lalu melihat seperti petualang lainnya, bahwa tradisi dan kebiasaan keramahtamahan penduduk lokal harus ditangani dengan diplomasi jika dia belum tiba di tempat tujuan. Dia tidak ingin membuat Ny. Graham salah paham dan berlaku kasar padanya walaupun dia tidak punya waktu yang banyak untuk singgah di tempat ini. Neddy berenang di dalam kolam sebentar dan kemudian dia terselamatkan, ketika beberapa menit kemudian ada dua mobil yang berisi banyak teman keluarga Graham dari Connecticut. Ketika reuni yang meriah berlangsung, dia bisa meninggalkan rumah keluarga Graham. Dia keluar rumah dan melewati pagar tanaman yang berduri, lalu melintasi tanah lapang menuju ke rumah keluarga Hammer. Ny. Hammer, melihat Neddy berenang di kolam renang dibalik rimbunnya bunga mawar miliknya. Tapi Ny. Hammer tidak begitu yakin bahwa itu Neddy. Keluarga Lear mendengar suara percikan air di kolam renang melalui jendela yang terbuka dekat ruang tengah. Keluarga Howland dan Crosscup sedang bepergian. Ketika dia meninggalkan rumah keluarga Howland, Neddy melintasi Jalan Ditmar dan mulai menuju rumah keluarga Bunker, dimana dia bisa mendengar suara meriahnya pesta dari kejauhan.
Air membiaskan suara tawa dan seolah menghilang di udara. Kolam renang keluarga Bunker sudah terlihat dan Neddy pun menaiki anak tangga menuju teras dimana ada sekitar 30-35 pria dan wanita sedang minum-minum. Satu-satunya orang yang ada di kolam adalah Rusty Towers, yang sedang mengapung di atas rakit karet. Oh, betapa subur dan cantiknya tepi sungai Lucinda ini. Para lelaki dan wanita kaya berpesta di pinggir sungai yang airnya berwarna seperti batu safir sementara beberapa pelayan berpakaian jas putih menghidangkan gin dingin kepada mereka. Diatas kepala terlihat pesawat latihan de Haviland merah berputar-putar di udara seperti keriangan anak kecil di atas ayunan. Ned merasakan cinta kasih yang terlihat dihadapannya, kelembutan pesta, seolah-olah hal tersebut adalah sesuatu yang bisa ia sentuh. Dari kejauhan ia mendengar suara gemuruh guntur. Begitu Enid Bunker melihat Neddy, spontan ia langsung menjerit: “Wow, siapa tuh disitu! Benar-benar kejutan yang luar biasa. Ketika Lucinda bilang kamu tidak bisa datang kupikir aku akan mati.” Dia langsung mendekati Neddy melewati kerumunan, dan begitu mereka selesai saling cium pipi ia lalu mengarahkan Neddy ke bar, dimana Neddy harus terhenti sebentar untuk mencium pipi beberapa wanita dan bersalaman dengan beberapa pria dalam pesta. Seorang bartender yang selalu tersenyum yang sering ia lihat dalam beberapa ratusan pesta menawarinya gin dan tonik dan ia pun berdiri di dekat bar untuk sementara waktu, dan berpendirian teguh untuk tidak terlibat dalam percakapan yang akan menunda waktu petualangannya. Ketika dia merasa akan dikepung oleh beberapa orang dalam pesta, Neddy pun lalu menceburkan diri ke dalam kolam dan berenang menuju pinggir kolam untuk menghindari tabrakan dengan rakit karet Rusty. Ketika sampai di ujung kolam, Neddy pun melewati keluarga Tomlinson dengan senyum lebar dan bergerak menuju jalan setapak di kebun. Kerikil kecil sedikit melukainya tapi hanya itulah kemalangannya. Pestanya hanya ada di kolam renang, begitu ia menuju rumah sebelah ia mendengar suara berisiknya radio di dapur keluarga Bunker, dan suara gemericik air perlahan lenyap, dimana seseorang sedang mendengarkan siaran langsung pertandingan bola Minggu siang. Neddy lanjut melewati mobil yang terparkir dan melintasi Jalan Alewives. Dia tidak ingin terlihat di jalanan hanya mengenakan celana kolor tapi hari itu jalanan sepi dan dia langsung ambil jalan pintas menuju rumah keluarga Levy, dimana di depan rumahnya terpampang tulisan DILARANG MASUK SEMBARANGAN dan satu kotak khusus untuk menampung koran The New York Times. Semua pintu dan jendela di rumah itu terbuka tetapi tidak ada tanda-tanda kehidupan, bahkan tidak ada anjing yang menggonggong. Neddy mengitari rumah tersebut menuju kolam renang dan melihat keluarga Levy baru saja pergi. Gelas dan botol, dan piring berisi kacang tergeletak di meja di ujung kolam, dimana ada gazebo dihiasi lentera Jepang. Setelah berenang, Neddy pun menuangkan air ke dalam gelas. Ini adalah gelas keempat atau kelimanya di siang ini dan ia telah berenang hampir separuh Sungai Lucinda. Neddy merasa kelelahan tapi ia puas akan momen kesendiriannya ini, puas dengan segalanya.
Sepertinya akan ada hujan badai. Gumpalan awan kumulus – yang sebesar kota itu – telah berubah kelam, dan Neddy masih duduk di sana hingga dia mendengar suara petir samar-samar. Pesawat latihan de Haviland masih terbang di atas kepala dan sepertinya Ned masih bisa mendengar suara tawa renyah sang pilot siang hari itu; tetapi ketika ada bunyi halilintar kembali dia memutuskan untuk pulang. Klakson kereta api berbunyi dan Ned berpikir sudah jam berapa ini. Jam 4? Atau 5? Dia membayangkan stasiun pada jam itu, dimana seorang pelayan yang tuxedonya telah tertutupi jas hujan, seorang berperawakan kecil dengan bunga yang telah terbungkus di dalam koran, dan seorang wanita yang mungkin masih menangis menunggu seseorang. Tiba-tiba awan semakin berubah kelam; itulah momen ketika burung-burung sepertinya berkicau menyadari akan adanya badai yang akan mendekat. Lalu ada bunyi air mengalir dari puncak pohon ek, seolah olah pasak di sana telah berubah arah. Kemudian bunyi air terjun datang dari semua puncak pohon-pohon yang tinggi. Mengapa dia menyukai hujan badai, apa maksud dari kesenangannya ketika pintu terbuka lebar dan hujan angin dengan kasarnya membasahi tangga, mengapa tugas sepele seperti menutup rapat-rapat jendela sebuah rumah tua terasa begitu tergesa-gesa, mengapa pula nada-nada air hujan yang pertama jatuh dari suatu hujan badai terasa seperti suara dari berita bagus, ceria, dan menyenangkan? Kemudian ada suatu ledakan, suatu bau bahan peledak yang tidak berasap, dan hujan membasahi lentera Jepang yang dibeli oleh Ny. Levy di Kyoto setahun yang lalu, atau setahun lagi sebelumnya?
Neddy berteduh di gazebo keluarga Levy hingga hujan badai reda. Hujan telah mendinginkan udara dan dia gemetar. Kekuatan angin telah merontokkan dedaunan merah dan kuning pohon maple dan berserakan di atas rumput dan genangan air. Karena ini adalah pertengahan musim panas pohon-pohon pasti layu, tetapi dia merasakan sedikit kesedihan yang aneh pada tanda awal musim gugur. Dia meregangkan bahunya, mengosongkan gelasnya, dan bersiap menuju kolam renang keluarga Welcher. Ini artinya menyeberangi putaran Lindley dan dia terkejut ketika mendapati rumput telah tumbuh menutupinya dan semua loncatan telah dicabut. Ned berpikir apakah keluarga Lindley telah menjual kuda-kudanya atau mereka hanya pergi sepanjang musim panas dan membawa beberapa item tersebut. Dia teringat telah mendengar sesuatu tentang keluarga Lindley dan kuda milik mereka tetapi ingatannya masih samar-samar. Terus saja Ned berjalan, dengan telanjang kaki melewati rerumputan basah, menuju rumah keluarga Welcher, dimana dia mendapati kolam renangnya sudah dikuras.
Adanya sedikit gangguan dalam rangkaian petualangannya ini telah membuat Ned kecewa, dan dia merasa seperti beberapa penjelajah yang mencari sumber air potensial dan yang dia temukan hanya jalan buntu. Dia merasa kecewa dan bingung. Memang sewajarnya orang-orang bepergian pada musim panas tetapi tidak ada pula yang sampai menguras habis kolam renangnya. Keluarga Welcher jelas sudah pergi. Furnitur di kolam renang sudah dilipat, ditumpuk, dan ditutupi kain terpal. Pemandiannya dikunci. Semua jendela rumah tertutup rapat dan ketika dia pergi menuju halaman depan, dia melihat tanda papan bertuliskan DIJUAL terpaku pada sebuah pohon. Kapan dia terakhir kali mendengar dari keluarga Welcher- apakah, ketika, dia dan Lucinda menyesalkan undangan makan bersama dengan mereka? Kelihatannya baru seminggu yang lalu atau sebelumnya. Apakah ingatannya sudah mulai berkurang atau apakah dia hanya membuang beberapa kenangan yang kurang menyenangkan yang membuatnya tidak mengetahui kenyataan yang sebenarnya? Lalu dari kejauhan dia mendengar suara orang sedang bermain tenis. Hal ini membuatnya senang kembali, menyingkirkan segala kecemasan dan membuatnya memperhatikan langit di atas dan udara yang dingin dengan tak acuh. Ini adalah hari ketika Neddy Merril berenang melintasi kompleks. Inilah harinya! Dia melanjutkannya kembali dan menemui halangan terberatnya.
Jika saja kamu bepergian di hari Minggu siang kamu mungkin melihatnya, setengah telanjang, berdiri dekat papan rute 424, menunggu kesempatan untuk menyeberang. Kamu mungkin menyangka kalau Neddy adalah korban tindak kejahatan, yang mobilnya sedang mogok, atau dia hanyalah orang sinting saja. Berdiri telanjang kaki di pinggir jalan raya dengan segala hal yang konyol – kaleng bir, celana rombeng, baju yang penuh tambalan – dia kelihatan kasihan sekali. Ned menyadarinya bahwa ini adalah bagian dari petualangannya – jalan raya ada pada petanya – tetapi berhadapan dengan lalu lintas yang ramai, bergerak perlahan di bawah terik matahari, dia sepertinya kurang persiapan. Dia ditertawakan, diejek, dilempari kaleng bir, dan dia tidak punya rasa malu atas situasi tersebut. Dia bisa saja kembali, kembali ke rumah keluarga Westerhazy, dimana Lucinda sedang duduk berjemur. Dia tidak menandatangani apapun, bersumpah apapun, berjanji kepada siapapun, bahkan untuk dirinya sendiri. Mengapa, mempercayai yang dia lakukan, bahwa semua ketegaran manusia mudah terpengaruh hal yang sudah lazim, apakah dia sudah tidak bisa kembali? Kenapa dia ngotot untuk meneruskan petualangannya meskipun itu artinya akan mempertaruhkan nyawanya? Pada titik mana keusilan, guyonan, candaan yang seperti ini menjadi serius? Dia tidak bisa kembali, dia bahkan tidak bisa mengingat kejernihan air kolam milik keluarga Westerhazy, perasaan menghirup udara hari itu, suara yang bersahabat dan menenangkan yang mengatakan kalau mereka telah mabuk berat. Dalam waktu satu jam, kurang atau lebih, dia telah separuh jalan yang membuatnya sulit untuk kembali.
Seseorang lelaki tua, berkendara di jalan raya dengan kecepatan 15 mil per jam, membiarkan Neddy sampai ke pertengahan jalan, dimana ada pembatas rumput. Disini dia sambil memegang gayung. Orang-orang sepertinya tidak terkejut atau tidak menyukai melihatnya seperti itu. Kolamnya mungkin yang tertua yang ada di lingkup komplek, kolam batu kotak, yang berbatasan langsung dengan anak sungai. Tak ada penyaring atau pompa dan airnya seperti warna emas yang tak terang.
“Aku berenang melintasi lingkungan komplek,” kata Ned.
“Wah, setahuku tidak ada seorang pun yang bisa,”ujar Ny. Halloran.
“Hei, aku sudah melakukannya dari kolam keluarga Westerhazy,” kata Ned. “Kurasa sekitar 4 mil.”
Dia meninggalkan celananya dekat kolam yang dalam, dia berjalan menuju kolam yang dangkal, dan berenang kembali. Ketika dia menarik dirinya keluar dari kolam dia mendengar Ny. Halloran berkata, “Kami ikut prihatin mendengar tentang segala kemalanganmu, Neddy.”
“Kemalanganku?” Ned bertanya. “Aku tidak tahu apa maksudmu.”
“Kami dengar kamu menjual rumahmu dan anak-anakmu yang malang....”
“Aku tidak ingat sudah menjual rumah,” kata Ned, “dan anak-anak sedang ada di rumah.”
“Ya,” keluh Ny. Halloran. “Ya...” Suaranya menggema dengan kesedihan yang tidak pada waktunya dan Ned berbicara dengan asyiknya. “Terima kasih untuk berenangnya ya.”
“Ya, semoga perjalanannya menyenangkan,” kata Ny. Halloran.
Di atas pagar dia memakai kembali celananya dan mengencangkannya. Celananya menjadi longgar dan dia heran, sepanjang siang ini, apakah berat badannya sudah turun. Dia kedinginan dan dia kelelahan dan keluarga Halloran beserta air keruhnya sudah membuatnya depresi. Kegiatan berenang sepertinya sudah terlalu berat untuk ukuran kekuatannya tetapi bagaimana dia bisa memperkirakan hal ini, meluncur ke bawah dari sandaran anak tangga pagi ini dan duduk-duduk saja berjemur di rumah keluarga Westerhazy? Lengannya terasa lembek. Kakinya terasa melar dan terasa sakit di persendian. Yang paling buruk adalah rasa dingin di tulang dan perasaan bahwa dia mungkin tidak bisa merasa hangat kembali. Daun-daun berguguran di sekitarnya dan dia mencium bau kayu yang terbakar di udara. Siapa pula yang membakar kayu di saat-saat seperti ini?
Dia perlu minum. Wisky akan menghangatkannya, membangunkannya, membawanya melalui akhir perjalanannya ini, menyegarkan perasaannya kembali bahwa dia sudah gagah berani berenang melintasi lingkungan komplek. Perenang Selat Channel membawa brandy. Dia membutuhkan stimulan. Dia melintasi padang rumput di depan rumah keluarga Halloran dan menyusuri jalan setapak yang menuju ke arah dimana keluarga Halloran membuat sebuah rumah untuk putri semata wayangnya, Helen, dan suaminya, Eric Sachs. Kolam keluarga Sachs kecil dan dia menjumpai Helen dan suaminya ada di sana.
“Oh, Neddy,” Helen berkata. “Kamu habis makan siang di tempat Mama?”
“Tidak juga,” kata Ned. “Tapi tadi aku memang mampir menemui mamamu.” Penjelasan ini mungkin sudah cukup. “Mohon maaf dengan sangat aku telah lancang seperti ini tapi aku ingin menenangkan diri dan aku mohon bisakah kamu memberiku minuman.”
“Hm, aku mau saja,” kata Helen, “tapi sudah tidak ada minuman lagi di rumah semenjak operasi Eric. Sudah tiga tahun yang lalu.”
Apakah dia sudah kehilangan ingatannya, ataukah berkah kemampuannya untuk menutupi fakta yang menyakitkan membuatnya lupa bahwa dia sudah menjual rumahnya, bahwa anak-anaknya sedang dalam kesulitan, dan bahwa temannya sakit selama ini? Matanya memandangi wajah Eric dan turun ke perut Eric dimana Ned melihat 3 luka jahitan, 2 diantaranya setidaknya sepanjang kaki. Hilang sudah pusarnya, Neddy berpikir, dan apakah mungkin tangan-tangan itu bisa membuat pinggang tanpa pusar, tanpa ada penghubung dengan kelahiran, keanehan dalam rangkaian ini?
“Aku yakin kamu bisa dapat minuman di rumah keluarga Biswanger,” kata Helen. “Mereka sedang mengadakan pesta besar-besaran. Kamu bisa dengar dari sini, coba perhatikan!”
Dia menegakkan kepalanya dan dari seberang jalan, Neddy mendengar lagi suara keriuhan yang mengalahkan suara air. “Ya, aku bakalan basah,” kata Ned, masih merasa bahwa dia tidak punya pilihan dalam sarana bepergiannya. Dia menceburkan diri ke dalam kolam keluarga Sachs yang airnya dingin, dia megap-megap, hampir tenggelam, dan berhasil berenang dari satu ujung kolam ke ujung yang satunya lagi. “Lucinda dan aku ingin sekali menemuimu,” dia berkata pada Eric dari balik bahunya, mukanya sudah menuju ke arah rumah keluarga Biswanger. “Maaf sudah lama sekali dan kami akan menghubungimu sesegera mungkin.”
Ned melintasi padang rumput menuju rumah keluarga Biswanger dan suara suka ria ada di sana. Mereka akan merasa terhormat untuk memberinya segelas minuman, mereka akan suka memberi Ned minuman. Keluarga Biswanger mengundang Ned dan Lucinda untuk makan malam 4 kali dalam setahun, bahkan dalam 6 bulan kemudian. Keluarga Biswanger selalu ditolak tetapi mereka tetap saja mengundang Ned dan Lucinda. Biswanger semacam orang yang membahas harga macam-macam barang di pesta koktail, berbagi tips berbelanja selama makan malam, dan menceritakan cerita jorok setelah makan malam kepada beberapa orang. Mereka sebenarnya bukan tipikal teman Neddy – mereka bahkan tidak ada ada dalam daftar kartu ucapan Selamat Natal dari Lucinda. Ned pergi menuju kolam renang mereka dengan perasaan acuh tak acuh, tak enak, karena sepertinya ini akan berubah kelam dan mungkin ini adalah hari yang panjang dalam setahun ini. Pestanya benar-benar berisik dan ramai. Grace Biswager itu semacam tuan rumah yang mengundang optometrist, dokter hewan, pengembang real estate, dan dokter gigi. Tak ada seorang pun yang berenang dan cahaya senja, terbiaskan oleh air kolam renang, berpendar digin. Ada semacam bar dan Ned bersiap menuju ke sana. Ketika Grace melihatnya mendekat, dia menyambut Ned tidak dengan ramah seperti yang diharapkan, tetapi menyambutnya dengan sinis.
“Wah wah, pesta ini memang punya segalanya,” kata Grace keras sekali, “termasuk si perusak suasana.”
Grace tidak bisa menghindarinya – sudah jelas sekali dan Ned tidak mundur sedikit pun. “Sebagai seorang perusak suasana,” dia berkata secara sopan, “bolehkah aku meminta minuman?”
“Silakan saja,” kata Grace. “Toh kamu juga tidak mengundang perhatian para tamuku.”
Grace berpaling darinya dan menemui beberapa tamu yang lain, dan Ned pergi ke bar dan memesan segelas wisky. Bartender melayaninya tetapi dengan kasar. Dunia ini adalah tempat dimana biasanya para pelayan menjaga tabiatnya, dan dikasari oleh seorang bartender paruh waktu artinya Ned telah kehilangan kebanggaan status sosialnya. Atau mungkin bartender ini hanya orang baru dan kurang wawasan. Lalu dia mendengar Grace bergosip di belakangnya mengatakan: “Mereka jadi bangkrut dalam semalam – tak ada penghasilan sama sekali – dan Ned muncul pada suatu Minggu sambil mabuk dan meminta dipinjami uang sebesar lima ribu dollar...” Grace selalu saja membicarakan uang. Ini bahkan lebih buruk daripada mencoba memakan kacang polong dengan sebuah pisau. Ned menceburkan diri ke kolam, berenang, dan pergi.
Pada daftar berikutnya, setelah ini masih ada 2 lagi, adalah milik selingkuhan lamanya, Shirley Adams. Jika Ned mengalami sakit hati di rumah keluarga Biswanger, dia mungkin bisa disembuhkan di sini. Cinta – padahal nafsu seksual saja – adalah obat yang manjur, pereda nyeri, pil yang berwarna cerah yang membuat hati kembali bersemi. Mereka memiliki hubungan gelap entah itu seminggu yang lalu, sebulan yang lalu, atau setahun yang lalu. Ned tidak bisa mengingatnya. Dia sendiri yang memutuskan hubungan itu dan dia melangkah masuk menuju kolam renang dengan rasa percaya diri. Ini dulunya adalah kolam mereka bersama, sebagai kekasih, Ned menikmati memiliki seorang selingkuhan. Shirley ada di sana, rambutnya seperti kuningan, tetapi bentuk tubuhnya, membuat Ned terngiang kembali kenangannya. Dulunya mereka hanya berselingkuh untuk selingan saja, tetapi Shirley menangis ketika Ned memutuskannya. Dia bingung melihat Ned dan Ned penasaran apakah dia masih terluka. Demi Tuhan, apakah dia akan menangis lagi?
“Mau apa kamu?” tanya Shirley
“Aku sedang berenang melintasi lingkungan komplek.”
“Ya Tuhan. Bisa dewasa sedikit tidak sih?”
“Memangnya kenapa?”
“Kalau kamu ke sini untuk pinjam uang,” kata Shirley, “Aku tidak akan memberimu sesen pun.”
“Kamu bisa beri aku minuman.”
“Aku bisa tapi aku tidak mau. Aku sedang tidak sendirian.”
“Ya sudah, aku akan pergi.”
Ned menceburkan diri dan berenang di dalam kolam, tetapi ketika dia berusaha menarik dirinya ke atas berpegangan pada sandaran kolam renang, dia menyadari bahwa dia tidak punya tenaga di lengan dan pundaknya, dan dia menjejak tangga di dalam kolam dan memanjatinya. Dari bahunya dia melihat, di dalam ruang pemandian, seorang anak muda. Ketika dia keluar dari semak yang gelap, dia mencium bau bunga krisyan - atau semacam wewangian musim gugur – di udara malam, sekuat bau gas. Melihat ke atas Ned melihat beberapa bintang, tetapi kenapa pula dia melihat Andromeda, Cepheus, dan Cassiopeia? Apa saja gugusan bintang di pertengahan musim panas? Dia mulai menangis.
Mungkin ini pertama kali dalam hidupnya sebagai seorang dewasa Ned pernah menangis, inilah waktunya pertama kali dia merasa begitu berantakan, kedinginan, kelelahan, dan kebingungan. Dia tidak bisa memahami keangkuhan bartender atau kekasaran seorang tuan rumah yang dulunya sering memohon meminta bantuannya hingga menangis membasahi pakaiannya. Mungkin dia telah terlalu lama berenang, mungkin dia telah tercebur dalam air terlalu lama, dan hidung dan tenggorokannya sudah dipenuhi air. Yang dia butuhkan adalah minuman, seorang teman, beberapa pakaian yang kering, dan selagi dia bisa memotong jalan langsung menuju rumahnya Ned lanjut menuju kolam renang milik Gilmartin. Di sini, untuk pertama kali dalam hidupnya, dia tidak menceburkan diri tetapi dia langsung melangkah ke bawah kolam renang dan melakukan gaya renang yang dulu pernah dia pelajari semasa muda. Dia merasakan kelelahan yang amat sangat ketika menuju ke kolam renang milik Clyde. Dia berenang dan berhenti dan berhenti berenang beberapa kali dengan tangan memegang pinggiran kolam untuk beristirahat. Dia memanjat tangga di bawah kolam renang dan berpikir apakah dia masih punya kekuatan untuk pulang ke rumah. Dia sudah melakukan apa yang dia inginkan. Dia sudah berenang melintasi lingkungan komplek tempat tinggalnya tetapi dia seperti dialihkan dengan rasa lelah yang amat sangat yang membuat kemenangannya ini tersamarkan. Tertunduk, sambil memegangi tiang gerbang, dia melangkah masuk menuju rumahnya sendiri.
Tempat itu gelap. Apakah sudah begitu larut malam sehingga mereka semua sudah terlelap tidur? Apakah Lucinda menginap di keluarga Westerhazy setelah makan malam? Apakah anak-anak gadisnya ikut menyusul ke sana atau pergi ke tempat yang lain? Bukannya mereka semua sudah sepakat, seperti yang selalu mereka lakukan pada hari Minggu, untuk menolak segala macam undangan dan tinggal di rumah? Ned membuka pintu garasi untuk melihat mobil yang mana yang ada di dalam tetapi pintunya terkunci dan debu terlihat di pegangan pintu garasi di atas tangannya. Ketika akan melangkah masuk ke dalam rumahnya, dia melihat kekuatan hujan badai telah membuat berantakan sekitar rumah. Beberapa benda tergantung di atas pintu depan rumah tetapi itu bisa diperbaiki di pagi hari. Rumahnya terkunci, dan dia berpikir kalau mungkin juru masak yang bodoh atau pembantu rumah tangga yang bodoh yang telah mengunci rumahnya hingga Ned teringat kalau sudah cukup lama dia tidak mempekerjakan seorang juru masak ataupun pembantu rumah tangga. Dia berteriak, menggedor-gedor pintu, mencoba mendobraknya dengan bahunya, dan kemudian, dia melihat dari jendela bahwa tempat itu kosong.
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Translation education
Bachelor's degree - Yogyakarta State University
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Years of experience: 10. Registered at ProZ.com: Mar 2019.
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