23. 魚全身出水, koh 落去

23. Hî choân-sin chhut chúi, koh lo̍h-khì

"Khin-jiû ê tang-pak hong," i kóng. "Thiⁿ-khì tùi góa pí tùi lí khah iú-lī ah."

I ê tò-chhiú iáu kiù-kin, i bān-bān kā peⁿ-khui."

Góa chheh kiù-kin, i siūⁿ. Ka-tī ê sin-thé teh chō-hoán. In-ūi si̍t-bu̍t tiòng-to̍k tī pa̍t-lâng bīn-chêng làu-sái a̍h-sī thò͘, chiâⁿ bô bīn-chú. Ka-tī chi̍t ê sî kiù-kin (cramp, Sepanga-gí kiò 'calambre'), mā chin sit bīn-chú.

Gín-á nā tī chia, i ē thè góa thui, ùi chhiú-ē-chat thui lo̍h-khì kā pàng-sang, i siūⁿ. M̄-koh i chóng-sī ē sang-lo̍h lah.

Sòa lo̍h, i ê chiàⁿ-chhiú seng kám-kak tio̍h soh-á ê khiú-la̍t bô-kāng, koh khòaⁿ tio̍h chúi ni̍h soh-á ê siâ-tō͘ teh piàn. Só͘-tì, i oan-sin ná keng soh-á, tò-chhiú ná phiat tōa-thúi, i khòaⁿ tio̍h soh-á bān-bān chhiâ hiòng koân.

"I boeh khí-lâi ah," i kóng. "Chhiú ah, kín. Kín-hó lah."

Soh-á bān-bān-á, un-un-á giâ khí-lâi, chûn chêng ê hái-bīn phòng khí-lâi, hî chhut-lâi lah. I it-ti̍t chhut-lâi, chúi ùi i ê nn̄g-pêng sià-lo̍h. I tī ji̍t-kng tiong kng-sih-sih, thâu kap bóe chhim-kiô-sek, i sin-khu nn̄g-pêng ê tiâu-bûn tī ji̍t-kng ē hián-sī khoah-khoah ê chhián-kiô-sek. I ê tn̂g-chhùi ná iá-kiû batah hiah tn̂g, ná chhì-kiàm (rapier), lú bóe-liu lú chiam, i choân-sin chhut-chúi, koh lo̍h-khì, sūn-sūn-á ná chhàng-chúi chiáu, lāu lâng khòaⁿ tio̍h i ná tōa phut-to (scythe) ê bóe-liu lo̍h-khì, soh-á sûi liu chhut-khì.

"I pí chûn tn̂g nn̄g chhioh," lāu lâng kóng. Soh-á liu chin kín, m̄-koh ún-tēng, hî bô tio̍h-kiaⁿ. Lāu lâng chhì iōng siang-chhiú khiú soh-á, tú hó ân kàu bē piak-tn̄g ê thêng-tō͘. I chai, nā bô iōng ún-tēng ê ap-la̍t kā hî bān--lo̍h-lâi, i ē kā soh-á lóng thoa-khì koh piak-tn̄g.

I sī tōa hî, góa ài hâng-ho̍k i, i án-ne siūⁿ. Bē-sái hō͘ chai i ū gōa ióng, a̍h-sī án-chóaⁿ i ē-sái tô-thoat. Góa nā sī i, góa tō sûi piàⁿ-miā cháu, it-ti̍t kàu chhòng tn̄g siáⁿ. M̄-koh, ka-chài, in bô chhiūⁿ lia̍h in ê lâng hiah khiáu; sui-jiân in khah ko-sióng, khah gâu.

Lāu lâng khòaⁿ-kòe chin chē tōa hî, khòaⁿ-kòe chin chē chhiau-kòe chi̍t chheng pōng ê, mā bat nn̄g kái lia̍h tio̍h hit khoán hî, m̄-koh m̄-sī ka-tī chi̍t lâng lia̍h tio̍h. Taⁿ ka-tī chi̍t lâng, tī khòaⁿ bô lio̍k-tē ê só͘-chāi, hām siōng tōa bóe, m̄-bat thiaⁿ-kòe hiah tōa ê hî ká-chò-hóe, hô-hóng i ê tò-chhiú khiû-kah ná lāi-hio̍h ê jiáu.

I ē hó lah, i siūⁿ. Tong-jiân kiù-kin ē hó, tò-chhiú ài pang-bâng chiàⁿ-chhiú. Ū saⁿ ê hó hiaⁿ-tī: hî kap góa ê nn̄g-ki chhiú. Kiù-kin kín hó. Bô èng-kai kiù-kin lah. Hî koh pàng bān ah, hôe-ho̍k pún-lâi ê sok-tō͘.

Góa m̄-chai, i ná ē thiàu, lāu lâng siūⁿ. I thiàu, ná sī boeh hō͘ góa khòaⁿ i ū gōa tōa. Hoâiⁿ-ti̍t taⁿ góa chai ah, i siūⁿ. Góa mā siūⁿ boeh hō͘ i chai, góa sī siáⁿ khoán lâng. Nā án-ne, i ē khòaⁿ tio̍h kiù-kin ê chhiú. Hō͘ i siūⁿ-kóng góa pí sū-si̍t koh-khah ióng, góa ài ū hiah ióng. Góa hi-bōng góa nā sī hî, i siūⁿ, góa ē iōng i só͘-ū ê it-chhè lâi tùi-khòng góa ê ì-chì kap tì-hūi.

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23. 魚全身出水, koh 落去

"輕柔 ê 東北方," 伊講. "天氣對我比對你較有利 ah."

伊 ê 倒手猶糾筋, 伊慢慢 kā peⁿ 開."

我 chheh 糾筋, 伊想. 家己 ê 身體 teh 造反. 因為食物中毒 tī 別人面前 làu 屎抑是吐, 誠無面子. 家己一个時糾筋 (cramp, Sepanga 語叫 'calambre'), mā 真失面子.

囡仔若 tī 遮, 伊會替我推, ùi 手下節推落去 kā 放鬆, 伊想. 毋過伊總是會鬆落 lah.

紲落, 伊 ê 正手先感覺著索仔 ê 搝力無仝, koh 看著水 ni̍h 索仔 ê 斜度 teh 變. 所致, 伊彎身 ná 弓索仔, 倒手 ná 撇大腿, 伊看著索仔慢慢斜向懸.

"伊欲起來 ah," 伊講. "手 ah, 緊. 緊好 lah."

索仔慢慢仔, 勻勻仔夯起來, 船前 ê 海面膨起來, 魚出來 lah. 伊一直出來, 水 ùi 伊 ê 兩爿瀉落. 伊 tī 日光中光爍爍, 頭 kap 尾深茄色, 伊身軀兩爿 ê 條紋 tī 日光下顯示闊闊 ê 淺茄色. 伊 ê 長喙 ná 野球 batah hiah 長, ná 刺劍 (rapier), 愈尾溜愈尖, 伊全身出水, koh 落去, 順順仔 ná 藏水鳥, 老人看著伊 ná 大 phut 刀 (scythe) ê 尾溜落去, 索仔隨溜出去.

"伊比船長兩尺," 老人講. 索仔溜真緊, 毋過穩定, 魚無著驚. 老人試用雙手搝索仔, 拄好絚到袂煏斷 ê 程度. 伊知, 若無用穩定 ê 壓力 kā 魚慢落來, 伊會 kā 索仔攏拖去 koh 煏斷.

伊是大魚, 我愛降伏伊, 伊 án-ne 想. 袂使予知伊有偌勇, 抑是按怎伊會使逃脫. 我若是伊, 我 tō 隨拚命走, 一直到創斷啥. 毋過, 佳哉, in 無像掠 in ê 人 hiah 巧; 雖然 in 較高尚, 較 gâu.

老人看過真濟大魚, 看過真濟超過一千磅 ê, mā bat 兩改掠著彼款魚, 毋過毋是家己一人掠著. 今家己一人, tī 看無陸地 ê 所在, 和上大尾, m̄-bat 聽過 hiah 大 ê 魚絞做伙, 何況伊 ê 倒手 khiû kah ná lāi 鴞 ê 爪.

伊會好 lah, 伊想. 當然糾筋會好, 倒手愛幫忙正手. 有三个好兄弟: 魚 kap 我 ê 兩支手. 糾筋緊好. 無應該糾筋 lah. 魚 koh 放慢 ah, 回復本來 ê 速度.

我毋知, 伊那會跳, 老人想. 伊跳, ná 是欲予我看伊有偌大. 橫直今我知 ah, 伊想. 我 mā 想欲予伊知, 我是啥款人. 若 án-ne, 伊會看著糾筋 ê 手. 予伊想講我比事實閣較勇, 我愛有 hiah 勇. 我希望我若是魚, 伊想, 我會用伊所有 ê 一切來對抗我 ê 意志 kap 智慧.

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23.

“Light brisa,” he said. “Better weather for me than for you, fish.”

His left hand was still cramped, but he was unknotting it slowly.

I hate a cramp, he thought. It is a treachery of one’s own body. It is humiliating before others to have a diarrhoea from ptomaine poisoning or to vomit from it. But a cramp, he thought of it as a calambre, humiliates oneself especially when one is alone.

If the boy were here he could rub it for me and loosen it down from the forearm, he thought. But it will loosen up.

Then, with his right hand he felt the difference in the pull of the line before he saw the slant change in the water. Then, as he leaned against the line and slapped his left hand hard and fast against his thigh he saw the line slanting slowly upward.

“He’s coming up,” he said. “Come on hand. Please come on.”

The line rose slowly and steadily and then the surface of the ocean bulged ahead of the boat and the fish came out. He came out unendingly and water poured from his sides. He was bright in the sun and his head and back were dark purple and in the sun the stripes on his sides showed wide and a light lavender. His sword was as long as a baseball bat and tapered like a rapier and he rose his full length from the water and then re-entered it, smoothly, like a diver and the old man saw the great scythe-blade of his tail go under and the line commenced to race out.

“He is two feet longer than the skiff,” the old man said. The line was going out fast but steadily and the fish was not panicked. The old man was trying with both hands to keep the line just inside of breaking strength. He knew that if he could not slow the fish with a steady pressure the fish could take out all the line and break it.

He is a great fish and I must convince him, he thought. I must never let him learn his strength nor what he could do if he made his run. If I were him I would put in everything now and go until something broke. But, thank God, they are not as intelligent as we who kill them; although they are more noble and more able.

The old man had seen many great fish. He had seen many that weighed more than a thousand pounds and he had caught two of that size in his life, but never alone. Now alone, and out of sight of land, he was fast to the biggest fish that he had ever seen and bigger than he had ever heard of, and his left hand was still as tight as the gripped claws of an eagle.

It will uncramp though, he thought. Surely it will uncramp to help my right hand. There are three things that are brothers: the fish and my two hands. It must uncramp. It is unworthy of it to be cramped. The fish had slowed again and was going at his usual pace.

I wonder why he jumped, the old man thought. He jumped almost as though to show me how big he was. I know now, anyway, he thought. I wish I could show him what sort of man I am. But then he would see the cramped hand. Let him think I am more man than I am and I will be so. I wish I was the fish, he thought, with everything he has against only my will and my intelligence.

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