48. 老人 koh teh 眠夢獅仔

48. Lâu lâng koh teh bîn-bāng sai-á

Góa chai án-chóaⁿ kā chiàu-kò͘. Cha-àm góa phùi kî-koài ê mi̍h-kiāⁿ, ká-ná heng-khám ū siáⁿ phòa--khì."

"Kín hó--khí-lâi," gín-á kóng. "Tó--leh, lāu--ê. Góa khì the̍h lí ê sin siatchuh. Iáu-koh the̍h kóa chia̍h--ê."

"Chah góa bô-tī-lih hit kúi-kang ê sin-bûn lâi," lāu lâng kóng.

"Lí ài kín hó, in-ūi góa ū chin chē ài o̍h ê, ta̍k-hāng lí lóng ē-tàng kà góa. Lí chia̍h-khó͘ ū gōa-chē?"

"Chin chē," lāu lâng kóng.

"Góa khì the̍h chia̍h--ê kap sin-bûn," gín-á kóng. "Hó-hó hioh-khùn, lāu--ê. Góa khì io̍h-pâng the̍h hō͘ lí boah chhiú ê."

"M̄-thang bē-kì-tit kā Pedrico kóng, hî-thâu boeh hō͘ i."

"Bē bē-kì lah. Góa ē-kì-tit."

Gín-á chhut-mn̂g, kiâⁿ-lo̍h phòa soan-ô͘ chio̍h pho͘ ê lō͘ sî, i iū khai-sí khàu.

Hit ē-po͘ ū chi̍t-tīn koan-kong-kheh tī Terrace, khòaⁿ tio̍h hái-chúi ni̍h ū khang bihlù koàn-á kap sí ê so-á hî (barracuda), chi̍t-ê cha-bó͘ khòaⁿ tio̍h tn̂g-tn̂g ê pe̍h-sek hî-chiah-kut liân chi̍t-ê tōa bóe, thêng tī chúi-bīn sûi hái-éng teh phiau-tāng, hit-sî tang-hong ùi gōa-hái it-ti̍t chhoe-jip káng-kháu.

"He sī siáⁿ?" i mn̄g ho̍k-bū-seng, chhiú pí tōa-hî tn̂g-tn̂g ê kha-chiah-kut, he taⁿ sī pùn-sò tī hia tán hái-éng kā sé--chhut-khì.

"Soa-hî," ho̍k-bū-seng kóng. "Soa-hî." I ê ì-sù sī boeh kái-soeh kóng, ná ē piàn án-ne.

"Góa í-chêng m̄-chai soa-hî ū hiah súi koh hó-khòaⁿ ê bóe."

"Góa mā m̄-chai," i ê lâm-tông-phōaⁿ kóng.

Tī lō͘-téng, i ê liâu-á ni̍h, lāu lâng koh teh khùn. I iáu sī sin-khu phak-tio̍h khùn, gín-á chē i piⁿ-á khòaⁿ i. Lāu lâng teh bîn-bāng hiah-ê sai-á.

[Oân]

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48. 老人 koh teh 眠夢獅仔

我知按怎 kā 照顧. 昨暗我呸奇怪 ê 物件, 敢若胸坎有啥破去."

"緊好起來," 囡仔講. "倒 leh, 老 ê. 我去提你 ê 新 siatchuh. 猶閣提寡食 ê."

"扎我無 tī-lih 彼幾工 ê 新聞來," 老人講.

"你愛緊好, 因為我有真濟愛學 ê, 逐項你攏 ē-tàng 教我. 你食苦有偌濟?"

"真濟," 老人講.

"我去提食 ê kap 新聞," 囡仔講. "好好歇睏, 老 ê. 我去藥房提予你抹手 ê."

"毋通袂記得 kā Pedrico 講, 魚頭欲予伊."

"袂袂記 lah. 我會記得."

囡仔出門, 行落破珊瑚石鋪 ê 路時, 伊又開始哭.

彼下晡有一 tīn 觀光客 tī Terrace, 看著海水 ni̍h 有空 bihlù 罐仔 kap 死 ê 梭仔魚 (barracuda), 一个查某看著長長 ê 白色魚脊骨連一个大尾, 停 tī 水面隨海湧 teh 漂動, 彼時東風 ùi 外海一直吹入港口.

"彼是啥?" 伊問服務生, 手比大魚長長 ê 尻脊骨, 彼今是 pùn-sò tī 遐等海湧 kā 洗出去.

"鯊魚," 服務生講. "鯊魚." 伊 ê 意思是欲解說講, 那會變 án-ne.

"我以前毋知鯊魚有 hiah 媠 koh 好看 ê 尾."

"我 mā 毋知," 伊 ê 男同伴講.

Tī 路頂, 伊 ê 寮仔 ni̍h, 老人 koh teh 睏. 伊猶是身軀仆著睏, 囡仔坐伊邊仔看伊. 老人 teh 眠夢 hiah-ê 獅仔.

[完]

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48.

“I know how to care for them. In the night I spat something strange and felt something in my chest was broken.”

“Get that well too,” the boy said. “Lie down, old man, and I will bring you your clean shirt. And something to eat.”

“Bring any of the papers of the time that I was gone,” the old man said.

“You must get well fast for there is much that I can learn and you can teach me everything. How much did you suffer?”

“Plenty,” the old man said.

“I’ll bring the food and the papers,” the boy said. “Rest well, old man. I will bring stuff from the drugstore for your hands.”

“Don’t forget to tell Pedrico the head is his.”

“No. I will remember.”

As the boy went out the door and down the worn coral rock road he was crying again.

That afternoon there was a party of tourists at the Terrace and looking down in the water among the empty beer cans and dead barracudas a woman saw a great long white spine with a huge tail at the end that lifted and swung with the tide while the east wind blew a heavy steady sea outside the entrance to the harbour.

“What’s that?” she asked a waiter and pointed to the long backbone of the great fish that was now just garbage waiting to go out with the tide.

“Tiburon,” the waiter said. “Shark.” He was meaning to explain what had happened.

“I didn’t know sharks had such handsome, beautifully formed tails.”

“I didn’t either,” her male companion said.

Up the road, in his shack, the old man was sleeping again. He was still sleeping on his face and the boy was sitting by him watching him. The old man was dreaming about the lions.

THE END.

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