Cerita Seram: Siapa di Dalam Tandas?

Ini cuma cerita klise. Cerita klise Sheila yang terpaksa kerja malam untuk menghabiskan baki kerja yang tidak dapat disiapkan siang tadi.

Apalah yang mampu dikatakan.

Tangan Sheila mencapai telefon bimbit yang diletakkan di sebelah buku nota di atas meja. Buku nota itu pemberian Zulhilmi, kekasih hatinya. Kekasih hatinya dikenali dari waktu belajar lagi. Sheila hanya menunggu masa. Kalau Zulhilmi masih belum mahu meminangnya, dia nekad untuk menyambut pinangan Encik Azmi, duda anak tiga, disyaki memakai gigi palsu.

Namun, ini bukan cerita tentang semua itu. Ini cerita Sheila yang sakit perut pada jam 2.30 pagi di pejabat (berdasarkan pada jam yang sempat dilihat oleh Sheila sebelum beliau berjalan ke arah tandas sambil memegang perut.

' Adui...' Sheila mengaduh sambil berjalan melepasi bilik rehat. Zairi, rakannya berada di bilik tersebut sambil membelek majalah. Mengular!

' Perut secondhand betul kau ni Sheila. Baru kari nasi kandar,' Zairi menegur dengan yakin. Zairi bukannya ahli nujum, apatah lagi seorang bomoh sehingga tahu ke mana Sheila ingin pergi. Beliau cuma meneka berdasarkan bahasa tubuh badan Sheila yang sedang membongkok, tangan di perut, dan muka berkerut.

Sheila hanya mengacu jari tengah ke arah Zairi. Pantas sahaja Zairi menjengukkan kepala keluar dari bilik rehat untuk mentertawakan Sheila.

Beliau tersilap langkah. Sheila baru sahaja melepaskan sisa angin di dalam badan beserta bau yang sedikit puaka. Zairi hampir rebah ke bumi.

Dalam kesakitan, Sheila sempat menoleh untuk mentertawakan Zairi tetapi sedikit sahaja. Beliau tidak mahu mengambil risiko melepaskan pepejal pula.

Sampai sahaja di tandas, Sheila tekan suis lampu dgn tergopoh-gapah. Entah siapalah yang begitu cintakan alam sehingga di tutup semua lampu tandas di tingkat ini. Masih dengan kepayahan, Sheila melangkah ke arah kubikel tengah, tandas kegemarannya. Bukanlah itu bermaksud ada bau istimewa di tandas itu hingga menjadi kegemaran Sheila. Beliau cuma lebih suka untuk ke kubikel yang tengah jika ada tiga kubikel di dalam satu tandas.

Sudah sampai destinasi. Sheila lega. Satu, kerana, ya..sudah sampai destinasi. Dua, kerana tiada siapa di kiri kanannya. Beliau bebas untuk berbuat sesuka perutnya.

Namun, Sheila terlupa bahawa sememangnya tandas di tingkat ini dielakkan oleh hampir semua orang selepas jam 12 tengah malam. Sheila juga terlupa yang semua pekerja wanita sudah diingatkan untuk mengajak teman ke tandas ini kalau terpaksa juga melawatnya selepas jam 12 tengah malam.

Sheila betul-betul terlupa sehinggalah beliau terdengar suara wanita sedang tertawa kecil, seperti ditahan-tahan. Itupun, dia tidak akan perasan tentang suara itu jika tidak disebabkan bau bunga melur yang menerpa (Sheila pasti ini bukan baru haruman di pejabat). Dan Sheila seperti ingin pengsan bila melihat jari-jemari menggenggam bahagian bawah pintu kubikel. Kuku hitam legam seperti dicat pewarna hitam. Cebisan daging pula jatuh ke lantai dengan bau bunga bertukar busuk.

' Heee...heee..'

Sekali lagi, Sheila terlupa bila dia pengsan. Dia juga tidak ingat samada dia sudah membersihkan diri atau belum.

If it was not for the trolley...

Two hands reached for the same bowl. Immediately, the surrounding air became tense.

' So, even now you want to snatch it from my hands?' Someone said through clenched teeth. Every body at the table groaned. ' What? he started it first.

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It all started one Sunday morning. Sha, pushing a trolley purposely in the hypermarket. It was her baking day. She always baked on Sundays. Today, she needed to see what other mold available, just to add more variety to her cookies.

At the same time, Am was walking in the hypermarket. His mother sent him out for errand for the dessert that his girlfriend will be making later. He has just dated Ana, who is coincidentally a daughter of his mother's friend.

Am had spread, butter, and yogurt in his arms. It was then when he saw an empty trolley sitting in the middle of the lane, very close to the Baking Supply section. With a glee, he put everything into the trolley after looking around (half-heartedly) for the owner of the trolley. He turned around the trolley, this time hunting for a huge tin of Milo.

Sha, in the meantime, was lost in her search for the perfect mold. Of course, she will get distracted by all the other beautiful bowls. She was just looking at the bowls for less than two minutes when she turned to the left at her trolley (she was too lazy to push it into the a smaller path) and realized it was empty. Carefully, she put the bowl in its shelf and ran towards the lane where she believed she put the trolley.

'Hey!' she shouted after a guy in a black shirt. The guy did not even bother to turn back. ' Excuse me,' Sha jogged a little and tap a finger on the guy's shoulder.

This time, Am turned around with a start. ' Yes?'

' That's my trolley,' Sha said in a stern voice.

' Excuse me?' Am asked, a smiled forming on his lips. Really? This girl is claiming she owns this trolley?

' Yes, mine. You stole it from where I left it.' Now Sha has assumed the position of a kid demanding for her toy back.

Am let out a laugh. ' Sorry, babe. It was there with no one there. And I see no name here,' Am pretended to look for a name on the trolley's handle.

' Wait! Hey!' Sha tried to run after Am but they ended up chasing each other in the hypermarket. They only stopped when Am nearly ran into a little kid. He took the chance to run to the counter and paid for the things.

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' It wasn't as if you had to pay for the trolley,' Sha explained hotly to her friend over chai. Farid laughed.

' Seriously. You have the silliest drama sometimes.'

And that tea with Farid changed everything. It so happened that Am was Farid's unit trust agent and it both Am and Sha nearly toppled the table if it was not Farid who stopped them.

' Children! Behave yourself!'

Sha ended up seeing Farid for a bit. For some reason, Farid thought it was funny to bring Am along sometimes when he was having drinks with Sha. It happened that Am was also dating Farid's old schoolmate.

Fate interfered. In the midst of their quarrel (over the trolley issue which Am has not apologized for), Farid and Syikin sneakily left the restaurant on one double date night. They had enough of both Am and Sha and decided to have a drink somewhere. A drink turned into a date. Then, another date, movie date and soon, they are an item.

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' Idiot,' Am said to particularly no one although Sha was also sitting on the ground with him, staring at the people playing kites in FRIM.

' Hey!..' Sha started.

' Not you. Me. They fell in love instead,' Am looked ahead. They just came back from a lunch at Am's house. It was weird that some time later, Am missing Sha after Syikin left. Especially after #SyikinxFarid event.

' You could have just said sorry,' Sha shrugged.

Their partners became partners and they are still arguing about that troley.