3. 明仔載欲出去遠遠

3. Bîn-á-chài boeh chhut-khì hn̄g-hn̄g

"Góa ē-kì-tit chū lán chò-hoé í-lâi ê ta̍k hāng tāi-chì."

Lāu lâng iōng i hō͘ ji̍t-thâu pha̍k-kian ê kian-teng koh chû-ài ê ba̍k-chiu kā khòaⁿ.

"Lí nā sī goán kiáⁿ, góa ē chhōa lí khì poa̍h-kiáu," i kóng. "M̄-koh lí ū pē-bú, taⁿ koh teh tòe hó-ūn ê chûn."

"Góa khì pìⁿ kóa un-á hî, hó bô? Góa mā chai khì tó the̍h sì ê jī."

"Kin-á-ji̍t ê góa ū chhun. Góa kā sīⁿ-iâm, khǹg tī siuⁿ-á ni̍h."

"Góa khì the̍h sì ê sin ê jī."

"Chi̍t ê," lāu lâng kóng. I chóng sī ū hi-bāng kap sìn-sim. Taⁿ, tō ná tī khí-hong ê sî, i koh khah sī án-ne.

"Nn̄g ê," gín-á kóng.

"Nn̄g ê," lāu lâng tông-ì. "Lí m̄-sī thau ê hoⁿh?"

"Góa ē-sái thau," gín-á kóng. "M̄-koh chiah-ê sī bé ê."

"To-siā lí," lāu lâng kóng. I chiâⁿ tiâu-ti̍t, soah m̄-chai ka-tī tang-sî piàn-kap chiah hó-lé.

M̄-koh i chai, i í-keng piàn hó-lé ah, che m̄-sī kián-siàu-tāi, mā bē bô bīn-chú.

"Hái-lâu án-ne, bîn-á-chài it-tēng hó-thiⁿ," i kóng.

"Lí boeh khì tó?" gín-á mn̄g.

"Chhut-khì hn̄g-hn̄g, piàn hong tō tńg lâi. Góa thiⁿ bōe kng tō boeh chhut-mn̂g."

"Góa ē kiàn-gī i mā khì khah hn̄g hia lia̍h," gín-á kóng. "Lí nā tiàu tio̍h tōa-bóe ê, goán ē-sái lâi tàu saⁿ-kāng."

"I bô-ài khì siuⁿ hn̄g lia̍h."

"Tio̍h," gín-á kóng. "M̄-koh góa khòaⁿ ū i khòaⁿ bô ê, chhiūⁿ kóng chiáu-á chhōe hî, góa ē kiò i tòe hái-ti-á chhut-khì."

"I ê ba̍k-chiu hiah bái?"

"I kiōng boeh chheⁿ-mê lah."

"Kî-koài," lāu lâng kóng. "I m̄-bat khì lia̍h hái-ku. He chiah sī chin sńg ba̍k-chiu."

"Lí bat kúi-ā nî tī Mosquito /mos.ki.to/ Hái-hōaⁿ lia̍h hái-ku, ba̍k-chiu iáu-koh hiah hó."

"Góa sī koài-ló-chú."

"Nā lia̍h tio̍h chiok tōa-bóe ê hî, lí ū kàu ióng bô?"

"Bô būn-tê. Ū chin chē mê-kak leh."

"Lán seng the̍h mi̍h-kiāⁿ tńg," gín-á kóng. "Góa chiah the̍h pha-bāng khì lia̍h un-á."

--

3. 明仔載欲出去遠遠

"我會記得自咱做伙以來 ê 逐項代誌."

老人用伊予日頭曝 kian ê 堅定 koh 慈愛 ê 目睭 kā 看.

"你若是阮囝, 我會揣你去跋筊," 伊講. "毋過你有爸母, 今 koh teh 綴好運 ê 船."

"我去提鰮仔魚, 好無? 我 mā 知去 tó 提四个餌."

"今仔日 ê 我有賰. 我 kā 豉鹽, 囥 tī 箱仔 ni̍h."

"我去提四个新 ê 餌."

"一个," 老人講. 伊總是有希望 kap 信心. 今, tō ná tī 起風 ê 時, 伊閣較是 án-ne.

"兩个," 囡仔講.

"兩个," 老人同意. "你毋是偷 ê hoⁿh?"

"我會使偷," 囡仔講. "毋過 chiah-ê 是買 ê."

"多謝你," 老人講. 伊誠條直, 煞毋知 ka-tī tang-sî 變甲遮好禮.

毋過伊知, 伊已經變好禮 ah, 這毋是見笑代, mā 袂無面子.

"海流 án-ne, 明仔載一定好天," 伊講.

"你欲去 tó?" 囡仔問.

"出去遠遠, 變風 tō 轉來. 我天未光 tō 欲出門."

"我會建議伊 mā 去較遠遐掠," 囡仔講. "你若釣著大尾 ê, 阮會使來鬥相共."

"伊無愛去 siuⁿ 遠掠."

"著," 囡仔講. "毋過我看有伊看無 ê, 像講鳥仔揣魚, 我會叫伊綴海豬仔出去."

"伊 ê 目睭 hiah 䆀?"

"伊強欲青盲 lah."

"奇怪," 老人講. "伊 m̄-bat 去掠海龜. 彼才是真損目睭."

"你 bat 幾若年 tī Mosquito /mos.ki.to/ 海岸掠海龜, 目睭猶閣 hiah 好."

"我是怪老子."

"若掠著足大尾 ê 魚, 你有夠勇無?"

"無問題. 有真濟 mê 角 leh."

"咱先提物件轉," 囡仔講. "我才提拋網去掠鰮仔."

--

3.

“I remember everything from when we first went together.”

The old man looked at him with his sun-burned, confident loving eyes.

“If you were my boy I’d take you out and gamble,” he said. “But you are your father’s and your mother’s and you are in a lucky boat.”

“May I get the sardines? I know where I can get four baits too.”

“I have mine left from today. I put them in salt in the box.”

“Let me get four fresh ones.”

“One,” the old man said. His hope and his confidence had never gone. But now they were freshening as when the breeze rises.

“Two,” the boy said.

“Two,” the old man agreed. “You didn’t steal them?”

“I would,” the boy said. “But I bought these.”

“Thank you,” the old man said. He was too simple to wonder when he had attained humility.

But he knew he had attained it and he knew it was not disgraceful and it carried no loss of true pride.

“Tomorrow is going to be a good day with this current,” he said.

“Where are you going?” the boy asked.

“Far out to come in when the wind shifts. I want to be out before it is light.”

“I’ll try to get him to work far out,” the boy said. “Then if you hook something truly big we can come to your aid.”

“He does not like to work too far out.”

“No,” the boy said. “But I will see something that he cannot see such as a bird working and get him to come out after dolphin.”

“Are his eyes that bad?”

“He is almost blind.”

“It is strange,” the old man said. “He never went turtle-ing. That is what kills the eyes.”

“But you went turtle-ing for years off the Mosquito Coast and your eyes are good.”

“I am a strange old man”

“But are you strong enough now for a truly big fish?”

“I think so. And there are many tricks.”

“Let us take the stuff home,” the boy said. “So I can get the cast net and go after the sardines.”

--