The Last Water Crossing

Ingrid checked the map again, though she already knew what it would tell her. The next reliable water source was eleven kilometers away, and the cache they had buried two weeks earlier should have been six.

Ingrid memeriksa peta sekali lagi, padahal ia sudah tahu apa yang akan dikatakan peta itu. Sumber air andal berikutnya berjarak sebelas kilometer, dan persediaan yang mereka kubur dua minggu lalu seharusnya ada di jarak enam kilometer.

"It's not here," Bram said, still digging at the marked spot with his hands. "Either we buried it wrong, or somebody else found it."

"Tidak ada di sini," kata Bram, yang masih menggali titik bertanda itu dengan tangan kosong. "Entah kita salah menguburnya, atau ada orang lain yang menemukannya."

They had been walking since before sunrise to avoid the worst heat, and both of their bottles were down to less than a liter. If they pushed on to the next source without finding the cache, they would be crossing the hottest part of the day on almost nothing.

Mereka sudah berjalan sejak sebelum matahari terbit untuk menghindari panas terik, dan isi botol mereka berdua tinggal kurang dari satu liter. Kalau mereka terus ke sumber air berikutnya tanpa menemukan persediaan itu, mereka akan melewati bagian siang yang paling panas dengan hampir tanpa air.

"We have two choices," Ingrid said, trying to keep her voice steady. "We ration what we have and go for the eleven kilometers. Or we backtrack four kilometers to that dry wash and hope it's holding water after last month's storm."

"Kita punya dua pilihan," kata Ingrid, berusaha menjaga suaranya tetap tenang. "Kita jatah air yang ada lalu menempuh sebelas kilometer itu. Atau kita kembali empat kilometer ke alur kering itu dan berharap masih ada air di sana sesudah badai bulan lalu."

Bram looked at the horizon, where heat was already rising off the sand in visible waves. "If we'd checked the wash on the way out, we'd know for certain. We didn't, so it's a gamble either way."

Bram menatap cakrawala, tempat hawa panas sudah naik dari pasir dalam gelombang yang terlihat jelas. "Kalau kita memeriksa alur kering itu waktu berangkat, kita pasti sudah tahu. Kita tidak melakukannya, jadi pilihan mana pun ini berjudi."

"The wash is closer," Ingrid said. "If we go and it's dry, we've lost time but we can still make the eleven kilometers before dark. If we go straight for the eleven and we're wrong about our pace, we won't have a backup."

"Alur kering itu lebih dekat," kata Ingrid. "Kalau kita ke sana dan ternyata kering, kita memang rugi waktu, tapi kita masih bisa menempuh sebelas kilometer itu sebelum gelap. Kalau kita langsung ke yang sebelas kilometer dan ternyata perkiraan langkah kita meleset, kita tidak punya cadangan."

Bram nodded slowly. "The wash, then. Slower and surer."

Bram mengangguk pelan. "Kalau begitu, ke alur kering. Lebih lambat tapi lebih pasti."

They turned off the main route, moving carefully now to keep their bodies from overheating, resting in every patch of shade a rock formation offered. Two hours later, they reached the wash and found a shallow pool, cloudy but real, collected in a hollow of stone.

Mereka berbelok dari jalur utama, kini bergerak hati-hati agar tubuh tidak kepanasan, beristirahat di setiap petak bayangan yang diberikan formasi batu. Dua jam kemudian, mereka sampai di alur kering itu dan menemukan kolam dangkal, keruh tetapi nyata, terkumpul di cekungan batu.

"I could cry," Bram said, already filtering water into his bottle.

"Rasanya aku mau menangis," kata Bram, yang sudah menyaring air ke botolnya.

"Save the tears. We still have eleven kilometers to walk," Ingrid said, though she was smiling for the first time all morning.

"Simpan air matamu. Kita masih harus berjalan sebelas kilometer," kata Ingrid, meskipun ia tersenyum untuk pertama kalinya sepanjang pagi itu.

They refilled everything they carried and rested until the worst heat passed. Then they set off again, with water enough, finally, to trust the distance ahead of them.

Mereka mengisi ulang semua yang mereka bawa dan beristirahat sampai panas terburuk berlalu. Lalu mereka berangkat lagi, akhirnya dengan air yang cukup untuk memercayai jarak di depan mereka.