The Roots Under the Driveway

Agathe stands on her driveway with a cup of tea, looking at a crack she has privately named the River. It runs from the garage door to the street and gets wider every spring.

Agathe berdiri di jalan masuk rumahnya sambil memegang secangkir teh, memandangi retakan yang diam-diam ia beri nama Sungai. Retakan itu memanjang dari pintu garasi sampai ke jalan dan melebar setiap musim semi.

The cause is no mystery. Her neighbor's oak, which is older than the street itself, has been pushing a thick root under the concrete for years.

Penyebabnya bukan misteri. Pohon ek milik tetangganya, yang lebih tua daripada jalan itu sendiri, bertahun-tahun mendorong sebuah akar tebal ke bawah beton.

"If it were my driveway, I would have sent a lawyer's letter months ago," her brother says on the phone. He has even drafted one for her. It begins with the words "Pursuant to," and it makes her stomach hurt.

"Kalau itu jalan masuk rumahku, aku sudah mengirim surat dari pengacara berbulan-bulan lalu," kata kakak laki-lakinya di telepon. Ia bahkan sudah menyusun satu surat untuknya. Surat itu dibuka dengan kata-kata "Berdasarkan ketentuan", dan membuat perut Agathe mulas.

"Hedwig hasn't done anything wrong," Agathe says. "It's a tree."

"Hedwig tidak melakukan kesalahan apa pun," kata Agathe. "Itu pohon."

"The tree belongs to her, though. That's the whole point."

"Tapi pohon itu miliknya. Itu intinya."

Agathe thinks about Hedwig, who has lived next door for forty years. Once, after a storm, Hedwig left a jar of plum jam on Agathe's step. Then Agathe folds the draft, puts it in a drawer, and crosses the grass in her slippers.

Agathe memikirkan Hedwig, yang sudah empat puluh tahun tinggal di sebelah. Pernah, setelah badai, Hedwig meninggalkan sebotol selai plum di anak tangga rumah Agathe. Lalu Agathe melipat draf itu, memasukkannya ke laci, dan menyeberangi rumput dengan sandal rumahnya.

Hedwig opens the door with flour up to her elbows. "It's the driveway, isn't it?" she says before Agathe can speak. "I've been lying awake about it all week. I should have knocked on your door first."

Hedwig membuka pintu dengan tepung sampai ke siku. "Soal jalan masuk itu, kan?" katanya sebelum Agathe sempat bicara. "Aku tidak bisa tidur sepanjang minggu memikirkannya. Seharusnya aku yang lebih dulu mengetuk pintumu."

It turns out that both of them have been rehearsing speeches. Hedwig admits that she looked up the price of cutting the oak down, and then closed the page as if it had bitten her.

Ternyata keduanya sama-sama sudah berlatih pidato. Hedwig mengaku ia sempat mencari tahu biaya menebang pohon ek itu, lalu menutup halamannya seakan halaman itu menggigitnya.

"Nobody has ever cut that tree," she says, "and nobody will while I'm here."

"Belum pernah ada yang menebang pohon itu," katanya, "dan tidak akan ada selama aku di sini."

"I don't want it cut," Agathe says. "I just want to open my car door without checking where my feet are."

"Aku tidak ingin pohonnya ditebang," kata Agathe. "Aku hanya ingin membuka pintu mobil tanpa harus memeriksa di mana kakiku berpijak."

A week later a paving contractor crouches over the root, whistling quietly through his teeth. The concrete could be laid in a curve, he explains, with flexible slabs that would rise and fall with the root. It would cost more than a straight pour, although the tree would never be harmed.

Seminggu kemudian, seorang kontraktor pengecoran berjongkok di atas akar itu, bersiul pelan lewat sela giginya. Betonnya bisa dibuat melengkung, jelasnya, dengan lempengan lentur yang naik turun mengikuti akar. Biayanya lebih mahal daripada pengecoran lurus, tetapi pohonnya tidak akan terluka sama sekali.

"Half each," Hedwig says at once. "And I'll bring the tea."

"Dibagi dua," kata Hedwig seketika. "Dan aku yang bawa tehnya."

When Agathe reports all this by phone, her brother is silent for a moment. "So you saved a tree, kept a neighbor and spent less money than a lawyer would have cost?"

Ketika Agathe melaporkan semua itu lewat telepon, kakaknya terdiam sejenak. "Jadi kamu menyelamatkan pohon, mempertahankan tetangga, dan mengeluarkan uang lebih sedikit daripada ongkos pengacara?"

"Yes."

"Ya."

"I wrote a very good letter, you know."

"Aku menulis surat yang bagus sekali, lho."

In the autumn, the contractor leaves behind a stack of spare timber. Agathe and Hedwig build a bench from it, directly under the oak. Hedwig lays a spirit level across the seat and frowns, because the bench leans a little, one leg resting on a root. Agathe sits down anyway, and the bench rocks once. Neither of them reaches for a tool.

Pada musim gugur, sang kontraktor meninggalkan setumpuk kayu sisa. Agathe dan Hedwig membuat sebuah bangku darinya, tepat di bawah pohon ek. Hedwig meletakkan alat pengukur datar di atas dudukan dan mengernyit, karena bangku itu sedikit miring, satu kakinya bertumpu pada sebuah akar. Agathe duduk saja, dan bangku itu bergoyang satu kali. Tak seorang pun dari mereka meraih perkakas.