every child is unique. but tell me you don't agree that twins (or multiplets) are more than unique. because I think so. I remember when I was in senior high school, we had two sets of twins in my grade, one set in the grade below, and no twins in the upper grade. I could barely tell which one is who. I always asked 'are you Nug or Cah?' , 'are you Yad or Yan?'. I didn't realize then, how annoying it could be to them.
setiap anak unik. tapi katakan padaku kau tidak setuju kalo kembar itu lebih dari sekedar unik. karena menurutku begitu. aku ingat waktu SMA, ada sepasang kembar di angkatanku. sepasang lagi di angkatan bawahku, dan tidak ada di angaktan atasku. aku selalu bingung yang mana siapa. jadi aku selalu tanya, 'kamu Nug atau Cah?', 'kamu Yad atau Yan?'. waktu itu aku ngga berpikir bahwa pertanyyan itu mungkin menyebalkan buat mereka.
now my boys have to deal with the 'same' question, almost everyday. our neighbours, even my mom and siblings can not tell which one is Ar and which one is Ir. I know the boys have had enough and been bored with the same question all the time, and some time they just keep silent or leave without answers. I had to bring them to the mirror, and let them see how they look a lot alike. that makes people have trouble in recognizing them as individual, so they have to answer that question.
sekarang anak-anakku yang harus berhadapan dengan pertanyaan itu, hampir tiap hari. tetangga kami, bahkan ibuku dan saudara-saudaraku ngga bisa bedain mana Ar mana Ir. aku tahu Ar Ir pasti bosen banget tiap kali ditanya begitu. kadang mereka diam, atau pergi gitu aja tanpa menjawab. akhirnya aku bawa mereka ke depan cermin, dan kuminta memperhatikan bahwa mereka mirip, dan orang suka bingung. jadi mereka harus jawab pertanyaan itu.
I don't meet too many twins around us. even in our neighborhood of over 300 families, there are only 3 sets of twins. first are mine, boy-boy. the second are boy-girl, and the last one are girl-girl. it is so cute that the girl-girl twin are happening to live just two doors away. and it brings funny things to us.
ngga banyak pasangan kembar di sekitar kami. bahkan di perumahan kami yang lebih dari 300 KK, hanya ada tiga pasang kembar. satu, anakku cowok-cowok. dua, cewek-cowok. dan satu lagi cwek-cewek. kebetulan banget yang kembar cewek-cewek itu tinggal cuma dua rumah jauhnya dari rumah kami. dan itu bikin terjadinya hal-hal lucu lebih lucu...
my twins always play with them, any time. when Ar Ir woke up in the morning, before they go to school, first thing they do is visit Nda and Nin. after school before nap, they play together again. in the afternoon after nap, them again.
I was touched when we just came from Solo visiting Dan's Grandma. first thing they do when they stepped out of the car, was, going to Nda and Nin's house. just to say hello, and then home.
Ar-Ir main dengan mereka tiap hari. bangun tidur, sebelum berangkat sekolah, hal pertama yang dilakukan adalah mengunjungi Nda dan Nin. pulang sekolah, sebelum tidur siang, main ke Nda dan Nin. sore bangun tidur, mereka lagi.
aku terharu waktu kami baru datang dari Solo mengunjungi mbahnya Dan, hal pertama yang mereka lakukan begitu keluar dari mobil, adalah, ke rumah Nda dan Nin. just say hello, lalu pulang.
their mother told me once, about this funny conversation they had when Nda and Nin were looking at their parents wedding pictures:
Nda: Mom, I want to get married
mom: with who?
Nda: Ar-Ir
Oh yeah, isn't that a great idea? I have to wait and see what will happen in, let's say, 20 years? :D
suatu hari ibu mereka bercerita padaku tentang percakapan lucu di antara mereka ketika Nda dan Nin sedang melihat-lihat foto manten orang tua mereka
Nda: Bunda, aku mau menikah
bunda: sama siapa?
Nda: Ar-Ir
Oh yeah, ide bagus kan? aku akan menunggu dan lihat apa yang akan terjadi dalam waktu, katakan, 20 tahun? :D
my other neighbor told me about other funny thing she found.
she met 'I-wasn't-sure-it-was-Ar-or-Ir' in front of her house and asked him, 'where is your brother?'. answered. then she left but still could see and hear 'I-wasn't-sure-it-was-Nda-or-Nin' came to him and asked, 'did she asked you who you are?'
tetanggaku yang lain bercerita tentang hal lucu yang ditemuinya.
dia bertemu dengan 'entah-Ar-atau-Ir' di depan rumahnya, lalu bertanya kepadanya, 'mana saudaramu?'. dijawab. lalu dia pergi tapi masih sempat melihat dan mendengar 'entah-Nda-atau-Nin' mendekati si cowok dan bertanya, 'dia tanya siapa kamu?'
yes, they play around the block, four of them. but people only know them as 'Ar-Ir' and 'Nda-Nin', can not tell which one is who. they said, 'it doesn't matter if we can not tell it, as long as their parents can'.
oh, have I told you that Dan pinched the wrong 'naughty'? and how often I miss-called them?
iya, mereka main berempat keliling blok. tapi orang-orang cuma tahu meraka adalah 'Ar-Ir' dan 'Nda-Nin', ga tau siapa yang mana. kata mereka, 'biar aja kita ga tahu, yang penting orang tuanya tahu'
oh, aku sudah pernah cerita kan, tentang Dan salah cubit si anak 'nakal', dan betapa seringnya aku salah panggil?
