The Smell of Cinnamon

Marta lived alone in a small apartment. Her new neighbor, Doña Pilar, was an old woman. They saw each other in the elevator sometimes, but they did not talk.

Marta tinggal sendirian di sebuah apartemen kecil. Tetangga barunya, Doña Pilar, adalah seorang nenek tua. Mereka kadang bertemu di lift, tapi tidak pernah berbicara.

One Sunday morning, Marta opened her front door to go for a walk. There was a small plate on the floor. On the plate was a piece of cake. The cake smelled like cinnamon and oranges.

Pada suatu pagi Minggu, Marta membuka pintu depan untuk jalan-jalan. Ada sebuah piring kecil di lantai. Di atas piring itu ada sepotong kue. Kue itu berbau harum seperti kayu manis dan jeruk.

There was a note. "It is my grandmother's recipe. I made too much. Welcome to the building. — Pilar."

Ada secarik kertas. "Ini resep nenek saya. Saya membuat terlalu banyak. Selamat datang di gedung ini. — Pilar."

Marta ate the cake at her kitchen table. It was the best cake she had eaten in a long time. She did not know how to thank Pilar. She did not bake. She did not have a recipe from her grandmother.

Marta makan kue itu di meja dapur. Ini adalah kue terenak yang pernah dia makan sejak lama. Dia tidak tahu bagaimana cara berterima kasih kepada Pilar. Dia tidak bisa membuat kue. Dia tidak punya resep dari neneknya.

Finally, she wrote a card. "Thank you. The cake was wonderful. If you ever need help with shopping, please knock." She left the card under Pilar's door. Now they had something to start with.

Akhirnya, dia menulis sebuah kartu. "Terima kasih. Kuenya sangat enak. Kalau Ibu butuh bantuan belanja, silakan ketuk pintu saya." Dia menaruh kartu itu di bawah pintu Pilar. Sekarang mereka punya sesuatu untuk memulai percakapan.