Rainy Day at the Boarding House

Sejak pagi, hujan deras mengguyur kosku di Yogyakarta, dan suara air di atap terdengar seperti tepuk tangan panjang.

Since morning, heavy rain poured over my boarding house in Yogyakarta, and the water on the roof sounded like long applause.

Tadi niat mau ke kampus, tapi dosen mengirim pesan agar kelas daring saja, jadi ransel kutaruh lagi di pojok.

I planned to go to campus, but the lecturer messaged that class would be online, so I put my backpack back in the corner.

Adit, teman sekamar, sudah menyalakan kompor kecil; ia merebus mi instan sementara aku menyeduh kopi tubruk, dan dapur langsung wangi.

Adit, my roommate, had already turned on the small stove; he boiled instant noodles while I brewed strong coffee, and the kitchen smelled good right away.

Angin mendorong air lewat celah jendela, jadi kami menutup rapat tirai dan menaruh handuk di bawahnya supaya lantai tidak licin.

Wind pushed water through the window gap, so we shut the curtains tight and put a towel under it so the floor wouldn’t be slippery.

Tiba-tiba lampu berkedip lalu padam, namun suasana malah jadi hangat ketika kami menyalakan lilin kecil dan mendengarkan ritme hujan.

Suddenly the lights flickered and went out, yet the mood grew warm when we lit a small candle and listened to the rhythm of the rain.

Daripada mengeluh, kami makan mi dari panci yang sama, lalu mengobrol soal kenangan saat SD waktu pulang sekolah sambil kehujanan.

Instead of complaining, we ate noodles from the same pot, then chatted about memories from elementary school when we went home in the rain.

Tak lama, Bu Rini dari kamar ujung mengetuk pintu dan minta tolong meminjam ember, karena atap lorong bocor dan air merembes.

Soon, Mrs. Rini from the room at the end knocked and asked to borrow a bucket, because the hallway roof was leaking and water was seeping in.

Kami ambil dua ember bekas cat dan mengalirkannya ke titik bocor, sementara sandal sudah basah tapi hati agak lega bisa bantu.

We grabbed two old paint buckets and set them under the leak, while our sandals got wet but we felt a bit relieved to help.

Setelah itu kembali ke kamar, kuambil novel tipis dan Adit menata papan congklak; hujan terus mengalun seperti musik latar.

After that we went back to the room, I picked up a thin novel and Adit set up a congklak board; the rain kept flowing like background music.

Kami bergantian membaca dan bermain, kadang tertawa ketika biji congklak jatuh satu-satu, dan waktu terasa melambat.

We took turns reading and playing, sometimes laughing when the congklak seeds dropped one by one, and time seemed to slow down.

Menjelang sore, listrik menyala lagi; kami menatap jendela yang masih berkabut dan sepakat bahwa hari basah begini tetap bisa jadi cerita menyenangkan di dalam kamar kos.

Toward evening, the power came back on; we looked at the still-foggy window and agreed that a wet day like this could still become a pleasant story inside our boarding room.