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English to Indonesian: Tigress General field: Art/Literary Detailed field: Poetry & Literature
Source text - English Tigress
Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a harder battle.
Plato
I’m not sure how Jesse got to my clinic.
He didn’t look old enough to drive, although his body had begun to broaden and he moved with the grace of young manhood.
His face was direct and open.
When I walked into the waiting room, Jesse was lovingly petting his cat through the open door of the carrier on his lap.
With a schoolboy’s faith in me, he had brought his sick cat in for me to mend.
The cat was a tiny thing, exquisitely formed, with a delicate skull and beautiful markings.
She looked like she was about 15 years old, give or take a year.
I could see how her spots and stripes and her fierce, bright face had evoked the image of a tiger in a child’s mind, and Tigress she had become.
Age had dimmed the bright green fire of her eyes and there was a dullness there now, but she was still elegant and self-possessed.
She greeted me with a friendly rub against my hand.
I began to ask questions to determine what had brought these two to see me.
Unlike most adults, the young man answered simply and directly.
Tigress had had a normal appetite until recently, when she’d begun to vomit a couple of times a day.
Now she was not eating at all and was withdrawn and sullen.
She had also lost a pound, which is a lot when you weigh only six.
Stroking Tigress, I told her how beautiful she was while I examined her eyes and mouth, listened to her heart and lungs, and felt her stomach.
And then I found it: a tubular mass in mid-abdomen.
Tigress politely tried to slip away.
She did not like the mass being handled.
I looked at the fresh-faced teen and back at the cat he had probably had all his life.
I was going to have to tell him that his beloved companion had a tumor.
Even if it were surgically removed, she probably would survive less than a year, and might need weekly chemotherapy to last that long.
It would all be very difficult and expensive.
So I was going to have to tell him that his cat was likely to die.
And there he was, all alone.
It seemed he was about to learn one of life’s toughest lessons: that death is something that happens to every living thing
It is an omnipresent part of life.
How death is first experienced can be life-forming, and it seemed that I was going to be the one to guide him through his first.
I did not want to make any mistakes.
It had to be done perfectly, or he might end up emotionally scarred.
It would have been easy to shirk this task and summon a parent.
But when I looked at his face, I could not do it.
He knew something was wrong.
I could not just ignore him.
So I talked to Jesse as Tigress’s rightful owner and told him as gently as I could what I had found, and what it meant.
As I spoke, Jesse jerked convulsively away from me, probably so I could not see his face, but I had seen it begin to twist as he turned.
I sat down and turned to Tigress, to give Jesse some privacy, and stroked her beautiful old face while I discussed the alternatives with him: I could do a biopsy of the mass, let her fade away at home, or give her an injection and put her to sleep.
Jesse listened carefully and nodded.
He said he didn’t think she was very comfortable anymore, and he didn’t want her to suffer.
He was trying very hard.
The pair of them broke my heart.
I offered to call a parent to explain what was going on.
Jesse gave me his father’s number.
I went over everything again with the father while Jesse listened and petted his cat.
Then I let the father speak to his son.
Jesse paced and gestured and his voice broke a few times, but when he hung up, he turned to me with dry eyes and said they had decided to put her to sleep.
No arguing, no denial, no hysteria, just acceptance of the inevitable.
I could see, though, how much it was costing him.
I asked if he wanted to take her home overnight to say good-bye.
But he said no.
He just wanted to be alone with her for a few minutes.
I left them and went to sign out the barbiturate I would use to ease her into a painless sleep.
I could not control the tears streaming down my face, or the grief I felt welling up inside for Jesse, who had to become a man so quickly and so alone.
I waited outside the exam room.
In a few minutes he came out and said that he was ready.
I asked if he wanted to stay with her.
He looked surprised, but I explained that it was often easier to observe how peaceful it was than forever to wonder how it actually happened.
Immediately seeing the logic of that, Jesse held her head and reassured her while I administered the injection.
She drifted off to sleep, her head cradled in his hand.
The animal looked quiet and at rest.
The owner now bore all the suffering.
This was the finest gift you could give, I said, to assume another’s pain so that a loved one might rest.
He nodded.
He understood.
Something was missing, though.
I did not feel I had completed my task.
It came to me suddenly that though I had asked him to become a man instantly, and he had done so with grace and strength, he was still a youngman.
I held out my arms and asked him if he needed a hug.
He did indeed, and in truth, so did I.
Judith S. Johnessee
from Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul
Translation - Indonesian Tigress
Berbaik-hatilah, karena setiap orang yang kautemui sedang menghadapi perjuangan yang lebih berat.
Plato
Aku tidak tahu cara Jesse datang ke klinikku.
Dia tidak nampak sudah cukup umur untuk menyetir meskipun tubuhnya sudah mulai tegap dan gerakannya ala pejantan muda.
Wajahnya tegas dan polos
Saat aku masuk ke ruang tunggu, Jesse sedang mengelus sayang kucingnya melalui pintu kandang yang terbuka di pangkuannya.
Dengan kepercayaan anak muda, dia membawa kucingnya kepadaku untuk diobati.
Kucingnya mungil, sosoknya elok, kulit kepalanya halus, dan polanya indah.
Ia terlihat berusia kurang lebih 15 tahun.
Aku sadar bahwa pola bintik dan belang di bulunya serta wajahnya yang cerah dan ganas mengingatkan anak-anak pada sosok seekor harimau, sehingga dinamai Tigress.
Mata hijau bagai api cerah itu telah dimakan usia, dan sekarang hanya redup yang ada di sana, tetapi dia masih nampak elegan dan tenang.
Dia menyapaku dengan gesekan ke tangan.
Aku mulai bertanya alasan mereka kemari.
Berbeda dengan kebanyakan orang dewasa, lelaki muda itu menjawabku dengan sederhana dan tanpa basa-basi.
Awalnya Tigress punya nafsu makan normal, namun akhir-akhir ini ia muntah beberapa kali sehari.
Sekarang ia tidak mau makan, jadi pendiam dan kelam.
Berat badannya juga turun setengah kilogram, cukup banyak untuknya yang hanya seberat 3 kilogram.
Aku mengelus Tigress, mengatakan betapa cantiknya dia sambil memeriksa mata dan mulutnya, mendengarkan debar jantung dan paru-parunya, dan meraba perutnya.
Lalu aku menemukan sumber masalahnya: gumpalan pipih di perut bagian tengah.
Dengan sopan Tigress berusaha melepaskan diri dariku.
Ia tidak suka gumpalan itu dipegang.
Aku menatap si remaja muda dan kembali menatap kucing yang mungkin sudah menemaninya seumur hidup.
Aku pasti harus memberitahu bahwa kawan kesayangannya ini menderita tumor.
Meskipun tumor itu diangkat lewat operasi, Tigress mungkin hanya bisa bertahan hidup kurang dari setahun, itu pun harus dengan kemoterapi seminggu sekali.
Melakukan itu sulit dan mahal.
Jadi aku harus memberitahu bahwa kucingnya kemungkinan akan mati.
Dan di sinilah pemuda itu, hanya sendirian.
Tampaknya dia akan belajar mengenai salah satu pelajaran hidup terkejam; bahwa kematian pasti datang ke semua hal.
Kematian ada di mana-mana dalam hidup ini.
Menyaksikan kematian dapat mengubah hidup orang lain, dan sepertinya akulah orang yang akan memandunya dalam mengalami hal baru ini.
Aku jadi tidak ingin membuat kesalahan sedikit pun.
Aku harus menjelaskan hal ini dengan sempurna, kalau tidak, nanti batinnya bisa terluka.
Sebenarnya mudah melalaikan tugas ini dan memanggil orang tuanya saja.
Tapi aku tak bisa melakukan itu saat melihat wajah Jesse.
Dia tahu ada sesuatu yang salah.
Aku tidak bisa mengabaikannya.
Jadi aku bicara pada Jesse sebagai pemilik sah Tigress dan memberitahunya apa yang terjadi, beserta maksudnya.
Selama aku bicara, Jesse tersentak menjauh dariku, mungkin supaya aku tidak bisa melihat wajahnya, tapi aku dapat lihat raut wajahnya mengkerut saat ia berbalik badan.
Untuk memberinya privasi, aku duduk beralih pada Tigress, mengelus wajah tuanya yang cantik sambil memberi pilihan alternatif pada Jesse: aku bisa saja melakukan biopsi pada Tigress sehingga ia berpulang di rumah, atau membiusnya.
Jesse mendengarkan dengan seksama lalu mengangguk.
Dia bilang, Tigress tidak lagi terlihat nyaman, dan dia tidak ingin Tigress menderita.
Jesse sedang berjuang sangat keras.
Mereka berdua membuat hatiku hancur.
Aku menawarkan menghubungi orang tuanya untuk menjelaskan yang terjadi.
Jesse memberikan nomor telepon ayahnya.
Aku menjelaskan semuanya kembali kepada ayahnya sementara Jesse mendengarkan dan mengelus kucingnya.
Lalu aku biarkan ayahnya bicara dengan Jesse.
Jesse mondar-mandir dan beberapa kali suaranya terdengar parau, tapi dia berbalik padaku dengan mata yang kering saat ia menutup telepon, berkata bahwa mereka sudah memutuskan untuk membius Tigress.
Tidak ada perdebatan, penyangkalan, dan kepanikan.
Yang ada hanyalah penerimaan akan hal yang tak dapat dihindari.
Namun, aku dapat lihat betapa berat pengorbanan Jesse.
Kutanya maukah dia membawa Tigress pulang dalam semalam untuk memberi salam perpisahan.
Tapi dia menolak.
Dia hanya ingin sendirian saja bersama Tigress untuk sementara.
Aku meninggalkan mereka dan mempersiapkan obat bius yang akan kugunakan untuk memudahkan Tigress terlelap ke dalam tidur tanpa rasa sakit.
Aku tidak bisa mengendalikan air mata yang menetes di wajahku, atau rasa duka yang mengalir untuk Jesse, seorang anak lelaki yang harus menjadi dewasa dengan amat cepat, amat sendirian.
Aku menunggu di luar ruang periksa.
Beberapa menit kemudian, Jesse keluar dan berkata sudah siap.
Aku menawarkan dia ikut menunggu di dalam.
Ia nampak terkejut, tetapi aku menjelaskan, kadang lebih mudah melihat damainya kematian daripada selamanya penasaran bagaimana hal itu terjadi.
Mengerti logika dari pemikiran itu, Jesse memegangi kepala Tigress dan menenangkannya sementara aku mulai menyuntik.
Tigress berangsur tidur, kepalanya terayun di tangan si remaja.
Hewan itu tampak tenang dan damai.
Sekarang, pemiliknyalah yang harus menahan penderitaannya.
Kubilang padanya, ini adalah hadiah terindah yang bisa kau berikan, yaitu menanggung rasa sakit orang lain supaya si tersayang dapat beristirahat.
Jesse mengangguk.
Dia paham.
Meski begitu, ada sesuatu yang mengganjal.
Aku tidak merasa telah menyelesaikan pekerjaanku.
Aku sadar, meskipun aku yang mengubahnya segera menjadi pemuda dewasa, dan dia melakukannya dengan lapang dada dan kuat, Jesse masihlah seorang anak-anak.
Aku mengulurkan tanganku, bertanya apakah dia butuh pelukan.
Ternyata ia memang butuh pelukan, dan sebenarnya, begitu juga denganku.
Judith S. Johnessee
dari Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul
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Translation education
Master's degree - Universitas Indonesia
Experience
Years of experience: 5. Registered at ProZ.com: Nov 2017.
Graduate student from one of the best universities in Indonesia, Universitas Indonesia. Specialized in translation studies. Freelancer translator. Past project (ENG-ID): online game translator, science translator. Portfolio (WIP): https://liatranslation.blogspot.com/ / GitHub profile for voluntary game translation project (WIP): https://github.com/astrmlptr
Keywords: english, indonesian, indonesia, gaming, localization, media, translation, transcription, video games