25. 想起伊 kap 烏人遏手把

25. Siūⁿ-khí i kap o͘-lâng at-chhiú-pà

I nā khéng khùn chi̍t-ē tō hó ah, góa mā thang bîn chi̍t-ē, thang bāng sai-á, i siūⁿ. Sī án-chóaⁿ khah bāng mā-sī sai-á? Mài siūⁿ he, lāu lâng, i kā ka-tī kóng. Khin-khin phak pang hioh-khùn, siáⁿ lóng mài siūⁿ. I teh phah-piàⁿ. Lí hó-hó hioh-khùn.

Boeh kòe-tàu, chûn iáu sī bān-bān, ún-ún teh kiâⁿ. M̄-koh ū cheng-ka bî-bî tang-hong ê chó͘-la̍t, lāu lâng sûi sió pho-lōng khin-khin khí-lo̍h, kha-chiah-phiaⁿ phoa̍h soh-á ê ūi khin-khin, jiû-jiû teh thiàⁿ.

Ē-po͘ ū chi̍t kái, soh-á koh khí-lâi. M̄-koh hî kan-ta tī sió-khóa khah chhián ê ūi kè-sio̍k siû. Ji̍t-thâu chiò tio̍h lāu lâng ê tò-chhiú, tò-keng kap kha-chiah-āu. Só͘-í i chai, hî í-keng kái-hiàng, ǹg tang-pak.

Khòaⁿ-kòe hî chi̍t-bīn, taⁿ i ē-tàng siūⁿ-chhut hî tī chúi ni̍h siû ê khoán: kiô-sek ê heng-kî tián-khui ná si̍t, thán-khiā ê tōa bóe tī o͘-àm tiong sàu. Góa m̄-chai, o͘-àm tiong i khòaⁿ-ū bô, lāu lâng siūⁿ. I ū tōa ba̍k-chiu. Bé-á ê ba̍k-chiu sè chē ah, tī o͘-àm tiong mā khòaⁿ-ū. Í-chêng góa tī o͘-àm tiong mā khòaⁿ-ū. Tong-jiân m̄-sī choa̍t-tùi ê o͘-àm. Tō ná chhiūⁿ niau-á án-ne.

Ji̍t-thâu pha̍k kap i it-ti̍t tāng chéng-thâu-á, i ê tò-chhiú taⁿ oân-choân hó ah, bô kiù-kin lah, i khai-sí pàng kóa la̍t hō͘ i, kha-chiah-phiaⁿ chhe̍k-chhe̍k leh, kā soh-á bán thiàⁿ ê ūi sió sóa leh.

"Hî ah, lí nā bē thiám," i tōa-siaⁿ kóng, "lí tō ū-kàu kî-koài."

Taⁿ i thiám-kah, i chai liâm-mi tō thiⁿ-àm, i tō khì siūⁿ pa̍t-hāng tāi. I siūⁿ tōa liân-bêng ê pí-sài, Sepanga-gí kiò Gran Ligas, I chai New York ê Yankees tú teh kap Detroit ê Tigers pí-sài.

Che sī góa m̄-chai pí-sài kiat-kó ê tē-jī kang, i siūⁿ. M̄-koh góa ài ū sìn-sim, ài tùi ē-khí DiMaggio lāu-tōa, i chò siáⁿ lóng oân-boán, sui-bóng i aū-teⁿ seⁿ kut-chhì. Kut-chhì sī siáⁿ? i mn̄g ka-tī. Kut-thâu seⁿ chhì. Goán lóng bô kut-chhì. He ē chhiūⁿ tī tak-ke ê kha chng chiam-to hiah thiàⁿ bô? Góa bô hoat-tō͘ jím-siū he, a̍h-sī tak-kah chheⁿ-mê, chi̍t lúi sīm-chì nn̄g lúi, koh chhiūⁿ tak-ke kè-sio̍k tak lo̍h. Lâng kap ióng chiáu a̍h-sī cháu-siù bē pí-tit. Góa kam-goān chhin-chhiūⁿ o͘-àm hái ni̍h hit chiah tōng-bu̍t.

"Tî-hui soa-hî lâi," i tōa-siaⁿ kóng. "Nā soa-hî lâi, Thiⁿ ah, chhian-bān m̄-thang lâi."

“Lí siūⁿ, DiMaggio láu-tōa ē kò͘ chi̍t bóe hî ê chhiūⁿ góa kò͘ chit bóe chiah kú bô?” I siūⁿ. Góa siong-sìn I ē, jî-chhiáⁿ pí góa khah kú, in-ūi I siàu-liân koh ióng-kiāⁿ. In lāu-pē chá-chêng mā sī thó-hái-lâng. M̄-koh, I ê kut-chhì sī-m̄-sī chin thiàⁿ?

“Góa m̄-chai,” I tōa siaⁿ kóng. “Góa m̄-bat seⁿ kut-chhì.”

Ji̍t-lo̍h ê sî, ūi tio̍h cheng-ka sìn-sim, i siūⁿ-khí tī Casablanca chiú-koán ê tāi-chì: i hām Cienfuegos lâi ê o͘-tōa--ê at-chhiú-pà, hit lâng sī bé-thâu siōng ióng ê cha-po͘. In chhiú-āu-khiau teh tī toh-téng ê hún-pit sòaⁿ, chhiú-ē-chat khiā-ti̍t, nn̄g-chhiú ân-ân sio-tēⁿ, piàⁿ chi̍t-ji̍t koh chi̍t-mê. Nn̄g lâng lóng siūⁿ boeh kā tùi-chhiú at-tó tī toh-bīn. Su-iâⁿ chin tōa, lâng chhut-chhut ji̍p-ji̍p tī tiám mûi-iû-teng ê pâng-keng, i khòaⁿ o͘-lâng ê chhiú-kó͘ kap chhiú, koh khòaⁿ i ê bīn. Piàⁿ peh tiám-cheng bô-su-iâⁿ liáu, in múi sì tiám-cheng ōaⁿ chi̍t ê chhâi-phòaⁿ, hō͘ chhâi-phòaⁿ thang khì khùn. I kap o͘-lâng ê chhiú chéng-kah lóng chhut-hoeh, nn̄g lâng lóng khòaⁿ tùi-hong ê ba̍k-chiu, chhiú, kap chhiú-kó͘, lâng tī pâng-keng chhut-chhut ji̍p-ji̍p, chē tī piah-piⁿ ê koân-í-á téng-koân khòaⁿ. Piah sī chhâ-pang, chhat chhián-nâ-sek, teng-hóe kā in nn̄g lâng ê iáⁿ chiò tī piah-téng. O͘-lâng ê iáⁿ chin tōa, hong chhoe ê sî, teng-hóe tín-tāng, o͘-iáⁿ mā tín-tāng.

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25. 想起伊 kap 烏人遏手把

伊若肯睏一下 tō 好 ah, 我 mā 通眠一下, 通夢獅仔, 伊想. 是按怎 khah 夢 mā 是獅仔? 莫想彼, 老人, 伊 kā 家己講. 輕輕仆枋歇睏, 啥攏莫想. 伊 teh 拍拚. 你好好歇睏.

欲過晝, 船猶是慢慢, 穩穩 teh 行. 毋過有增加微微東風 ê 阻力, 老人隨小波浪輕輕起落, 尻脊骿袚索仔 ê 位輕輕, 柔柔 teh 疼.

下晡有一改, 索仔 koh 起來. 毋過魚干焦 tī 小可較淺 ê 位繼續泅. 日頭照著老人 ê 倒手, 倒肩 kap 尻脊後. 所以伊知, 魚已經改向, ǹg 東北.

看過魚一面, 今伊會當想出魚 tī 水 ni̍h 泅 ê 款: 茄色 ê 胸鰭展開 ná 翼, 坦徛 ê 大尾 tī 烏暗中掃. 我毋知, 烏暗中伊看有無, 老人想. 伊有大目睭. 馬仔 ê 目睭細濟 ah, tī 烏暗中 mā 看有. 以前我 tī 烏暗中 mā 看有. 當然毋是絕對 ê 烏暗. Tō ná 像貓仔 án-ne.

日頭曝 kap 伊一直動指頭仔, 伊 ê 倒手今完全好 ah, 無糾筋 lah, 伊開始放寡力予伊, 尻脊骿 chhe̍k-chhe̍k leh, kā 索仔挽疼 ê 位小徙 leh.

"魚 ah, 你若袂 thiám," 伊大聲講, "你 tō 有夠奇怪."

今伊 thiám 甲, 伊知 liâm-mi tō 天暗, 伊 tō 去想別項代. 伊想大聯盟 ê 比賽, Sepanga 語叫 Gran Ligas, 伊知 New York ê Yankees 拄 teh kap Detroit ê Tigers 比賽.

這是我毋知比賽結果 ê 第二工, 伊想. 毋過我愛有信心, 愛對會起 DiMaggio 老大, 伊做啥攏圓滿, 雖罔伊後蹬生骨刺. 骨刺是啥? 伊問家己. 骨頭生刺. 阮攏無骨刺. 彼會像 tī 觸雞 ê 跤裝尖刀 hiah 疼無? 我無法度忍受彼, 抑是觸甲青盲, 一蕊甚至兩蕊, koh 像觸雞繼續觸落. 人 kap 勇鳥抑是走獸袂比得. 我甘願親像烏暗海 ni̍h 彼隻動物.

"除非鯊魚來," 伊大聲講. "若鯊魚來, 天 ah, 千萬毋通來."

“你想, DiMaggio 老大會顧一尾魚會像我顧這尾 chiah 久無?” 伊想. 我相信伊會, 而且比我較久, 因為伊少年 koh 勇健. In 老爸早前 mā 是討海人. 毋過, 伊 ê 骨刺是毋是真疼?

“我毋知,” 伊大聲講. “我 m̄-bat 生骨刺.”

日落 ê 時, 為著增加信心, 伊想起 tī Casablanca 酒館 ê 代誌: 伊和 Cienfuegos 來 ê 烏大 ê 遏手把, 彼人是碼頭上勇 ê 查埔. In 手後曲 teh tī 桌頂 ê 粉筆線, 手下節徛直, 兩手絚絚相捏, 拚一日 koh 一暝. 兩人攏想欲 kā 對手遏倒 tī 桌面. 輸贏真大, 人出出入入 tī 點煤油燈 ê 房間, 伊看烏人 ê 手股 kap 手, koh 看伊 ê 面. 拚八點鐘無輸贏了, in 每四點鐘換一个裁判, 予裁判通去睏. 伊 kap 烏人 ê 手指甲攏出血, 兩人攏看對方 ê 目睭, 手, kap 手股, 人 tī 房間出出入入, 坐 tī 壁邊 ê 懸椅仔頂懸看. 壁是柴枋, 漆淺藍色, 燈火 kā in 兩人 ê 影照 tī 壁頂. 烏人 ê 影真大, 風吹 ê 時, 燈火振動, 烏影 mā 振動.

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25.

I wish he’d sleep and I could sleep and dream about the lions, he thought. Why are the lions the main thing that is left? Don’t think, old man, he said to himself, Rest gently now against the wood and think of nothing. He is working. Work as little as you can.

It was getting into the afternoon and the boat still moved slowly and steadily. But there was an added drag now from the easterly breeze and the old man rode gently with the small sea and the hurt of the cord across his back came to him easily and smoothly.

Once in the afternoon the line started to rise again. But the fish only continued to swim at a slightly higher level. The sun was on the old man’s left arm and shoulder and on his back. So he knew the fish had turned east of north.

Now that he had seen him once, he could picture the fish swimming in the water with his purple pectoral fins set wide as wings and the great erect tail slicing through the dark. I wonder how much he sees at that depth, the old man thought. His eye is huge and a horse, with much less eye, can see in the dark. Once I could see quite well in the dark. Not in the absolute dark. But almost as a cat sees.

The sun and his steady movement of his fingers had uncramped his left hand now completely and he began to shift more of the strain to it and he shrugged the muscles of his back to shift the hurt of the cord a little.

“If you’re not tired, fish,” he said aloud, “you must be very strange.”

He felt very tired now and he knew the night would come soon and he tried to think of other things. He thought of the Big Leagues, to him they were the Gran Ligas, and he knew that the Yankees of New York were playing the Tigres of Detroit.

This is the second day now that I do not know the result of the juegos, he thought. But I must have confidence and I must be worthy of the great DiMaggio who does all things perfectly even with the pain of the bone spur in his heel. What is a bone spur? he asked himself. Un espuela de hueso. We do not have them. Can it be as painful as the spur of a fighting cock in one’s heel? I do not think I could endure that or the loss of the eye and of both eyes and continue to fight as the fighting cocks do. Man is not much beside the great birds and beasts. Still I would rather be that beast down there in the darkness of the sea.

“Unless sharks come,” he said aloud. “If sharks come, God pity him and me.”

Do you believe the great DiMaggio would stay with a fish as long as I will stay with this one? he thought. I am sure he would and more since he is young and strong. Also his father was a fisherman. But would the bone spur hurt him too much?

“I do not know,” he said aloud. “I never had a bone spur.”

As the sun set he remembered, to give himself more confidence, the time in the tavern at Casablanca when he had played the hand game with the great negro from Cienfuegos who was the strongest man on the docks. They had gone one day and one night with their elbows on a chalk line on the table and their forearms straight up and their hands gripped tight. Each one was trying to force the other’s hand down onto the table. There was much betting and people went in and out of the room under the kerosene lights and he had looked at the arm and hand of the negro and at the negro’s face. They changed the referees every four hours after the first eight so that the referees could sleep. Blood came out from under the fingernails of both his and the negro’s hands and they looked each other in the eye and at their hands and forearms and the bettors went in and out of the room and sat on high chairs against the wall and watched. The walls were painted bright blue and were of wood and the lamps threw their shadows against them. The negro’s shadow was huge and it moved on the wall as the breeze moved the lamps.

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