The Original Version (English)
His
life was not confining and the delight he took in this observation could not be
explained by its suggestion of escape. He seemed to see, with a cartographer’s
eye, that string of swimming pools, that quasi-subterranean stream that curved
across the county. He had made a discovery, a contribution to modern geography;
he would name the stream Lucinda after his wife. He was not a practical joker
nor was he a fool but he was determinedly original and had a vague and modest
idea of himself as a legendary figure. The day was beautiful and it seemed to him
that a long swim might enlarge and celebrate its beauty.
He
took off a sweater that was hung over his shoulders and dove in. He had an
inexplicable contempt for men who did not hurl themselves into pools. He swam a
choppy crawl, breathing either with every stroke or every fourth stroke and
counting somewhere well in the back of his mind the one-two one-two of a
flutter kick. It was not a serviceable stroke for long distances but the
domestication of swimming had saddled the sport with some customs and in his
pan of the world a crawl was customary. To be embraced and sustained by the
light green water was less a pleasure, it seemed, than the resumption of a
natural condition, and he would have liked to swim without trunks, but this was
not possible, considering his project. He hoisted himself up on the far curb –
he never used the ladder – started across the lawn. When Lucinda asked where he
was going he said he was going to swim home.
The only maps and charts he had to go by were
remembered or imaginary but these were clear enough. First there were the
Grahams, the Hammers, the Lears, the Howlands, and the Crosscups. He would
cross Ditmar Street to the Bunkers and come, after a short portage, to the
Levys, the Welchers, and the public pool in Lancaster. Then there were the
Hallorans, the Sachses, the Biswangers, Shirley Adams, the Gilmartins, and the
Clydes. The day was lovely, and that he lived in a world so generously supplied
with water seemed like a clemency, a beneficence. His heart was high and he ran
across the grass. Making his way home by an uncommon route gave him the feeling
that he was a pilgrim, an explorer, a man with a destiny, and he knew that he
would find friends all along the way; friends would line the banks of the
Lucinda River.
.......
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The Translated Version (Bahasa Indonesia)
Hidupnya
seperti terlihat bebas dan kesenangannya dalam petualangan ini tidak bisa
dilukiskan dengan kata-kata. Dia seperti melihat, dengan sudut pandang seorang
kartografer, bahwa deretan kolam renang dengan arus subterranean semu terlihat
melintas sepanjang lingkungan komplek. Neddy telah membuat suatu penemuan,
suatu kontribusi pada geografi modern, bahwa dia akan menamai arus tersebut
seperti nama istrinya, Lucinda. Neddy bukanlah seseorang yang gampang melontarkan
candaan ataupun seorang yang bodoh tetapi dia seperti yakin dan memiliki
prinsip bahwa dirinya adalah seperti sesosok legenda. Hari itu terlihat indah
dan dalam pikirannya berenang dengan jarak tempuh yang jauh akan terlihat
seperti perayaan akan hari yang indah itu.
Neddy
melepas jaketnya dan dia lilitkan di atas pundaknya lalu dia pun menceburkan
dirinya. Dia seperti memiliki rasa jijik yang tidak bisa dijelaskan kepada para
lelaki yang tidak mau menceburkan dirinya ke dalam kolam dengan bersemangat.
Neddy berenang dalam ombak yang relatif kecil dengan gaya bebas, mengambil
napas dalam setiap gaya atau pada setiap hitungan keempat, dimana dia berhitung
dalam angan-angannya satu-dua-satu-dua untuk setiap hentakan. Sebenarnya itu
bukan gaya renang yang tepat untuk jarak tempuh yang jauh tapi dalam angannya
renang gaya bebas adalah suatu hal yang umum dilakukan. Berenang dalam air yang
hijau jernih kelihatannya terasa kurang mengasyikkan, dibandingkan dengan
berenang dalam kondisi air yang alami, dan Neddy pun lebih suka berenang tanpa
memakai celananya, tetapi hal ini tidak mungkin dilakukan mengingat kondisi
proyek petualangan jarak jauhnya. Dia merangkak naik melalui pinggiran kolam
yang agak jauh – dia tidak pernah menggunakan tangga kolam – dan mulai bergerak
menyeberangi rerumputan. Ketika Lucinda bertanya dia hendak kemana dia pun
menjawab bahwa dia akan pulang ke rumah dengan berenang.
......
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