English Version
It
would storm. The stand of cumulus cloud – that city – had risen and darkened,
and while he sat there he heard the percussiveness of thunder again. The de
Haviland trainer was still circling overhead and it seemed to Ned that he could
almost hear the pilot laugh with pleasure in the afternoon; but when there was
another peal of thunder he took off for home. A train whistle blew and he
wondered what time it had gotten to be. Four? Five? He thought of the
provincial station at that hour, where a waiter, his tuxedo concealed by a
raincoat, a dwarf with some flowers wrapped in newspaper, and a woman who had
been crying would be waiting for the local. It was suddenly growing dark; it
was that moment when the pinheaded birds seemed to organize their song into
some acute and knowledgeable recognition of the storm’s approach. Then there
was a fine noise of rushing water from the crown of an oak at his back, as if a
spigot there had been turned. Then the noise of fountains came from the crowns
of all the tall trees. Why did he love storms, what was the meaning of his
excitement when the door sprang open and the rain wind fied rudely up the stairs,
why had the simple task of shutting the windows of an old house seemed fitting
and urgent, why did the first watery notes of a storm wind have for him the
unmistakable sound of good news, cheer, glad tidings? Then there was an
explosion, a smell of cordite, and rain lashed the Japanese lanterns that Mrs.
Levy had bought in Kyoto the year before last, or was it the year before that?
He
stayed in the Levys’ gazebo until the storm had passed. The rain had cooled the
air and he shivered. The force of the wind had stripped a maple of its red and
yellow leaves and scattered them over the grass and the water. Since it was
midsummer the tree must be blighted, and yet he felt a peculiar sadness at this
sign of autumn. He braced his shoulders, emptied his glass, and started for the
Welchers’ pool. This meant crossing the Lindleys’ riding ring and he was
surprised to find it overgrown with grass and all the jumps dismantled. He
wondered if the Lindleys had sold their horses or gone away for the summer and
put them out to board. He seemed to remember having heard something about the
Lindleys and their horses but the memory was unclear. On he went, barefoot
through the wet grass, to the Welchers’, where he found their pool was dry.
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Bahasa Indonesia Version
Sepertinya akan ada hujan badai. Gumpalan awan kumulus – yang sebesar kota
itu – telah berubah kelam, dan Neddy masih duduk di sana hingga dia mendengar
suara petir samar-samar. Pesawat latihan de Haviland masih terbang di atas
kepala dan sepertinya Ned masih bisa mendengar suara tawa renyah sang pilot
siang hari itu; tetapi ketika ada bunyi halilintar kembali dia memutuskan untuk
pulang. Klakson kereta api berbunyi dan Ned berpikir sudah jam berapa ini. Jam
4? Atau 5? Dia membayangkan stasiun pada jam itu, dimana seorang pelayan yang
tuxedonya telah tertutupi jas hujan, seorang berperawakan kecil dengan bunga
yang telah terbungkus di dalam koran, dan seorang wanita yang mungkin masih
menangis menunggu seseorang. Tiba-tiba awan semakin berubah kelam; itulah momen
ketika burung-burung sepertinya berkicau menyadari akan adanya badai yang akan
mendekat. Lalu ada bunyi air mengalir dari puncak pohon ek, seolah olah pasak
di sana telah berubah arah. Kemudian bunyi air terjun datang dari semua puncak
pohon-pohon yang tinggi. Mengapa dia menyukai hujan badai, apa maksud dari
kesenangannya ketika pintu terbuka lebar dan hujan angin dengan kasarnya
membasahi tangga, mengapa tugas sepele seperti menutup rapat-rapat jendela
sebuah rumah tua terasa begitu tergesa-gesa, mengapa pula nada-nada air hujan
yang pertama jatuh dari suatu hujan badai terasa seperti suara dari berita
bagus, ceria, dan menyenangkan? Kemudian ada suatu ledakan, suatu bau bahan
peledak yang tidak berasap, dan hujan membasahi lentera Jepang yang dibeli oleh
Ny. Levy di Kyoto setahun yang lalu, atau setahun lagi sebelumnya?
Neddy berteduh di gazebo keluarga Levy hingga hujan badai reda. Hujan telah
mendinginkan udara dan dia gemetar. Kekuatan angin telah merontokkan dedaunan
merah dan kuning pohon maple dan berserakan di atas rumput dan genangan air.
Karena ini adalah pertengahan musim panas pohon-pohon pasti layu, tetapi dia
merasakan sedikit kesedihan yang aneh pada tanda awal musim gugur. Dia
meregangkan bahunya, mengosongkan gelasnya, dan bersiap menuju kolam renang
keluarga Welcher. Ini artinya menyeberangi putaran Lindley dan dia terkejut
ketika mendapati rumput telah tumbuh menutupinya dan semua loncatan telah
dicabut. Ned berpikir apakah keluarga Lindley telah menjual kuda-kudanya atau
mereka hanya pergi sepanjang musim panas dan membawa beberapa item tersebut.
Dia teringat telah mendengar sesuatu tentang keluarga Lindley dan kuda milik
mereka tetapi ingatannya masih samar-samar. Terus saja Ned berjalan, dengan
telanjang kaki melewati rerumputan basah, menuju rumah keluarga Welcher, dimana
dia mendapati kolam renangnya sudah dikuras.
numpang baca2 mas buat belajar english
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