The Baby Name List

When Margit was eight months pregnant, she and Kasimir sat on the sofa with two sheets of paper. Each of them had written a list of names, and they had agreed to compare them that evening.

Ketika usia kehamilan Margit delapan bulan, ia dan Kasimir duduk di sofa dengan dua lembar kertas. Masing-masing telah menulis daftar nama, dan mereka sepakat membandingkannya malam itu.

It took about thirty seconds. They had no names in common. Not one.

Hanya butuh sekitar tiga puluh detik. Mereka tidak punya satu nama pun yang sama. Tidak satu pun.

Margit's list was full of long, old-fashioned names. Kasimir's list was full of short, modern ones. "Yours all sound like grandmothers," he said. "Yours all sound like robots," she answered. They argued for an hour, not angrily, but very stubbornly.

Daftar Margit penuh dengan nama-nama panjang yang kuno. Daftar Kasimir penuh dengan nama-nama pendek yang modern. "Semua pilihanmu terdengar seperti nenek-nenek," katanya. "Semua pilihanmu terdengar seperti robot," jawab Margit. Mereka berdebat selama satu jam, tidak dengan marah, tetapi dengan sangat keras kepala.

Then Kasimir had an idea. "What if we stop trying to choose? We only cross out. Each of us crosses out one name we hate, and we take turns. Whatever is left at the end wins."

Lalu Kasimir mendapat ide. "Bagaimana kalau kita berhenti berusaha memilih? Kita hanya mencoret. Kita masing-masing mencoret satu nama yang tidak kita sukai, bergantian. Apa pun yang tersisa di akhir, itulah pemenangnya."

"And if nothing is left?"

"Dan kalau tidak ada yang tersisa?"

"Then we get a dog instead."

"Berarti kita pelihara anjing saja."

Margit laughed, and the argument was over. They crossed out names for two evenings. Some were easy to lose. Some hurt a little. Margit crossed out one that she had loved since she was twelve, and she pretended it didn't matter. By Sunday, both lists were almost empty, and the baby kicked as if she had an opinion.

Margit tertawa, dan pertengkaran itu pun berakhir. Mereka mencoret nama selama dua malam. Beberapa mudah dilepaskan. Beberapa agak menyakitkan. Margit mencoret satu nama yang ia sukai sejak berumur dua belas tahun, dan ia pura-pura tidak peduli. Pada hari Minggu, kedua daftar itu hampir kosong, dan sang bayi menendang seolah punya pendapat sendiri.

"We should stop," Margit said. "If we keep going, our daughter will have no name at all."

"Kita harus berhenti," kata Margit. "Kalau kita terus begini, putri kita tidak akan punya nama sama sekali."

"We could call her Baby," Kasimir said. "It's short, it's modern, and everyone already knows it."

"Kita bisa memanggilnya Baby," kata Kasimir. "Pendek, modern, dan semua orang sudah mengenalnya."

Three weeks later, they were sitting on plastic chairs in the hospital, waiting for a check. There was a big poster on the wall, with pictures of wildflowers and each name printed underneath. To pass the time, Kasimir read them one by one. In the corner, there was a small purple flower.

Tiga minggu kemudian, mereka duduk di kursi plastik di rumah sakit, menunggu pemeriksaan. Ada poster besar di dinding, bergambar bunga-bunga liar dengan nama masing-masing tercetak di bawahnya. Untuk mengisi waktu, Kasimir membacanya satu per satu. Di pojok, ada sebuah bunga ungu kecil.

"Iris," he said.

"Iris," katanya.

"Say it again," Margit said.

"Coba ucapkan lagi," kata Margit.

He did. It wasn't on his list. It wasn't on hers. It wasn't long and old, and it wasn't short and trendy. It was simply a name that felt right.

Ia mengulanginya. Nama itu tidak ada dalam daftarnya. Tidak ada dalam daftar Margit juga. Nama itu tidak panjang dan kuno, dan tidak pendek dan sedang tren. Nama itu sekadar terasa pas.

"Don't cross anything out," Margit said. "That's the one."

"Jangan coret apa-apa," kata Margit. "Itu dia."

Their daughter was born ten days later. When the nurse asked for the name for the form, Margit began to answer. Kasimir was already saying it too, and they finished the word together.

Putri mereka lahir sepuluh hari kemudian. Ketika perawat meminta nama untuk formulir, Margit mulai menjawab. Kasimir ternyata juga sudah mengucapkannya, dan mereka menyelesaikan kata itu bersama-sama.