The Porch Light That Blinked at Nine

Gwen lives in one half of a duplex house. Her neighbor Elias lives in the other half. Every night, Gwen's porch light blinks three times at nine o'clock. She thinks it is strange and wants to know why.

Gwen tinggal di salah satu sisi rumah kembar. Tetangganya, Elias, tinggal di sisi yang lain. Setiap malam, lampu teras Gwen berkedip tiga kali pada pukul sembilan. Ia merasa itu aneh dan ingin tahu sebabnya.

One evening, Gwen watches the porch light closely. At nine o'clock, it blinks again, right on time. She walks to Elias's side of the house. She knocks on his door.

Suatu malam, Gwen mengamati lampu terasnya dengan saksama. Pukul sembilan, lampu itu berkedip lagi, tepat waktu. Ia berjalan ke sisi rumah Elias. Ia mengetuk pintunya.

"Hi, Elias. Can I ask you something strange?" she says. "Sure, what is it?" Elias says. "My porch light blinks every night at nine," Gwen says. "Do you know why?"

"Hai, Elias. Boleh aku tanya sesuatu yang aneh?" katanya. "Tentu, apa itu?" kata Elias. "Lampu terasku berkedip setiap malam pukul sembilan," kata Gwen. "Kamu tahu sebabnya?"

Elias thinks for a moment. "Actually, I think I know," he says. "Our two homes share one basement. The timer for both porches is down there."

Elias berpikir sejenak. "Sebenarnya, kurasa aku tahu," katanya. "Kedua rumah kita berbagi satu ruang bawah tanah. Pengatur waktu untuk kedua teras ada di sana."

"Last week, I plugged in my new holiday lights," Elias says. "I used the same timer by mistake. I'm sorry about that. I'm going to fix it right now."

"Minggu lalu, aku memasang lampu hias liburan yang baru," kata Elias. "Aku tidak sengaja memakai pengatur waktu yang sama. Maaf soal itu. Aku akan memperbaikinya sekarang juga."

They walk down to the basement together. Elias moves his holiday lights to a different outlet. He checks the timer twice before they go back upstairs.

Mereka turun ke ruang bawah tanah bersama-sama. Elias memindahkan lampu hiasnya ke stopkontak yang lain. Ia memeriksa pengatur waktu itu dua kali sebelum mereka naik lagi.

That night, Gwen sits on her porch and waits. Nine o'clock comes, and the light stays steady. She smiles and goes back inside for dinner.

Malam itu, Gwen duduk di terasnya dan menunggu. Pukul sembilan tiba, dan lampunya tetap menyala stabil. Ia tersenyum dan masuk kembali untuk makan malam.