30. Yoko hián-jiân sī pún-tē ko͘-niû | Yoko 顯然是本地姑娘

30. Yoko hián-jiân sī pún-tē ko͘-niû

Cha-àm khì iàn-hōe chhēng ê saⁿ iáu kòa tī piah, hiàn-chhut lāi-té-saⁿ ê âng lāi-lí.

Komako the̍h hóe-thio, liú-lia̍h peh thui khí-lâi.

"Sui-jiân sī ùi pēⁿ-pâng lâi ê, m̄-koh thiaⁿ-kóng, hóe bē ū pēⁿ-khún."

Komako ná kóng, ná àⁿ tú se hó ê thâu, lo̍h-khì póe lô͘ lih ê hóe-thòaⁿ. Yi mā kā Shimamura kóng, pēⁿ-lâng hoān tn̂g-kiat-hu̍t, sī boeh tún-lâi tán sí ê.

Kóng sī "kò͘-hiang", kî-si̍t i m̄-sī chhut-sì tī chia. Chia sī in lāu-bú ê gōa-ke-chhù. Lāu-bú bô koh tī Káng-khu chò gē-tòaⁿ liáu, tō lâu lo̍h-lâi chò bú-tō sai-hū. Bōe gō͘-cha̍p ê sî tiòng-hong, tō tún-lâi chit-ê un-chôaⁿ liâu-iáng. Hāu-seⁿ chū sè-hàn ài pìⁿ ke-khì, thiâu-kang lâu tī Káng-khu, ji̍p chi̍t-keng cheng-pió-siā. Kòe bô-kú, ká-ná khì Tokyo tha̍k iā-hāu. Káⁿ sī siuⁿ piàⁿ-sè, sin-thé bē kham-lih. Kin-nî chiah jī-la̍k-hòe.

Komako chi̍t-khùi kóng chiah-ê ōe, m̄-koh, pôe hāu-seⁿ tún lâi ê ko͘-niû sī sáng? Komako ná ē tòa tī chit-ê chhù? Chiah-ê yi lóng bô kóng tio̍h.

M̄-koh, sui-jiân án-ne, tī ná-chhiūⁿ tiàu tī khong-tiong ê chit-keng chhù lih, Komako ê siaⁿ-im mā ná-chhiūⁿ ē sia̍p-kàu múi chi̍t-ê kak-lo̍h. Che hō͘ Shimamura kám-kak put-an.

Tú boeh kiâⁿ chhut pâng-keng mûi, ká-ná ū gán tio̍h chi̍t-ê pe̍h-sek ê mi̍h-kiāⁿ, oa̍t-thâu chi̍t khòaⁿ, he sī tông-bo̍k chò ê samisen a̍p-á. Khòaⁿ khí-lâi khah tōa it-poaⁿ ê samisen a̍p-á, mā khah tn̂g, siūⁿ bē-kàu yi tio̍h phāiⁿ che khì chham-ka iàn-hōe. Án-ne tih siūⁿ ê sî, hit-ê hō͘ ian hun o͘ ê keh-piah mûi khui--khui.

"Komako Chan*, che ē-sái hāⁿ kòe bô?" [* Chan /chiàng/ = San ê chhin-chhiat kóng-hoat]

He siaⁿ chheng koh iu-bí kah bô-siá-sì, ná-chhiūⁿ sī tá-ūi lâi ê hôe-im. 

Shimamura thiaⁿ kòe chit-ê siaⁿ. He sī ùi iā-chhia thang-á-mûi thàm thâu kiò seh tiong ê chām-tiúⁿ, hit-ê Yoko ê siaⁿ.

"Ē-sái." Komako ìn chi̍t-siaⁿ, Yoko chhēng seh-khò͘, hut chi̍t-ē hāⁿ kòe samisen a̍p-á, chhiú the̍h chi̍t-ê po-lê jiō-ô͘.

M̄-koán ùi cha-àm yi hām chām-tiúⁿ kóng-ōe chhin-hò͘-hò͘, a̍h-sī ùi yi taⁿ chhēng seh-khò͘ lâi khòaⁿ, Yoko hián-jiân sī sio̍k tī chit-ê só͘-chāi ê ko͘-niû. Hit-tiâu hiáⁿ-ba̍k ê io-tòa hiàn chi̍t-pòaⁿ tī seh-khò͘ téng, hō͘ seh-khò͘ he chang-sek hām o͘-sek sio-chhap ê tiâu-bûn te̍k-pia̍t bêng-hián, mā hō͘ mô͘ kimono ê tn̂g chhiú-úiⁿ koh-khah chhiⁿ-chhioh. Khò͘-kha tī kha-thâu-u khah khí-lih ê ūi hun-chhe, khòaⁿ-tio̍h phòng-phòng, m̄-koh án-ne hō͘ ngē-chiaⁿ ê mî-chit khah thêng, khòaⁿ-tio̍h mā khah an-ún.

--

30. Yoko 顯然是本地姑娘

昨暗去宴會穿 ê 衫猶掛 tī 壁, 現出內底衫 ê 紅內裡.

Komako 提火挑, 扭掠 peh 梯起來.

"雖然是 ùi 病房來 ê, 毋過聽講, 火袂有病菌."

Komako ná 講, ná àⁿ 拄梳好 ê 頭, 落去掰爐 lih ê 火炭. 她 mā kā Shimamura 講, 病人患腸結核, 是欲 tún 來等死 ê.

講是 "故 hiang", 其實伊毋是出世 tī 遮. 遮是 in 老母 ê 外家厝. 老母無 koh tī 港區做藝旦了, tō 留落來做舞蹈師傅. 未五十 ê 時中風, tō tún 來這个溫泉療 iáng. 後生自細漢愛 pìⁿ ke 器, thiâu 工留 tī 港區, 入一間鐘錶社. 過無久, ká-ná 去 Tokyo 讀夜校. Káⁿ 是傷拚勢, 身體袂堪 lih. 今年才二六歲.

Komako 一氣講 chiah-ê 話, 毋過, 陪後生 tún 來 ê 姑娘是 sáng? Komako 那會蹛 tī 這个厝? Chiah-ê 她攏無講著.

毋過, 雖然 án-ne, tī ná 像吊 tī 空中 ê 這間厝 lih, Komako ê 聲音 mā ná 像會洩到每一个角落. 這予 Shimamura 感覺不安.

拄欲行出房間 mûi, ká-ná 有眼著一个白色 ê 物件, 越頭一看, 彼是桐木做 ê samisen 盒仔. 看起來較大一般 ê samisen 盒仔, mā 較長, 想袂到她著揹這去參加宴會. Án-ne tih 想 ê 時, 彼个予煙薰烏 ê 隔壁 mûi 開--開.

"Komako Chan*, 這會使迒過無?" [* Chan /chiàng/ = San ê 親切講法]

彼聲清 koh 優美 kah 無捨世, ná 像是 tá 位來 ê 回音. 

Shimamura 聽過這个聲. 彼是 ùi 夜車窗仔 mûi 探頭叫雪中 ê 站長, 彼个 Yoko ê 聲.

"會使." Komako 應一聲, Yoko 穿雪褲, 忽一下迒過 samisen 盒仔, 手提一个玻璃尿壺.

毋管 ùi 昨暗她和站長講話親戽戽, 抑是 ùi 她今穿雪褲來看, Yoko 顯然是屬 tī 這个所在 ê 姑娘. 彼條顯目 ê 腰帶現一半 tī 雪褲頂, 予雪褲 he 棕色和烏色 sio-chhap ê 條紋特別明顯, mā 予毛 kimono ê 長手 úiⁿ 閣較鮮沢. 褲跤 tī 跤頭趺較起 lih ê 位分叉, 看著膨膨, 毋過 án-ne 予硬 chiaⁿ ê 棉質較騰, 看著 mā 較安穩.

--

30.

The kimono of the evening before hung on the wall, open to show the brilliant red under-kimono. Komako came spryly up the ladder with a supply of charcoal.

"It's from the sickroom. But you needn't worry.

They say fire spreads no germs." Her newly dressed hair almost brushed the kotatsu as she stirred away at the coals. The music teacher's son had intestinal tuberculosis, she said, and had come home to die.

But it was not entirely accurate to say that he had "come home." He had as a matter of fact not been born here. This was his mother's home. His mother had taught dancing down on the coast even when she was no longer a geisha, but she had had a stroke while she was still in her forties, and had come back to this hot spring to recover. The son, fond of machinery since he was a child, had stayed behind to work in a watch-shop. Presently he moved to Tokyo and started going to night school, and the strain was evidently too much for him. He was only twenty-five.

All this Komako told him with no hesitation, but she said nothing about the girl who had brought the man home, and nothing about why she herself was in this house.

Shimamura felt most uncomfortable at what she did say, however. Suspended there in the void, she seemed to be broadcasting to the four directions. As he stepped from the hallway, he saw something faintly white through the corner of his eye. It was a samisen box, and it struck him as larger and longer than it should be. He found it hard to imagine her carrying so unwieldy an object to parries. The darkened door inside the hallway slid open.

"Do you mind if I step over this, Komako?" It

was that clear voice, so beautiful that it was almost sad. Shimamura waited for an echo to come back. It was Yoko's voice, the voice that had called out over the snow to the station master the night before.

"No, please go ahead." Yoko stepped lightly over the samisen box, a glass chamber-pot in her hand.

It was clear, from the familiar way she had talked to the station master the evening before and from the way she wore "mountain trousers," that she was a native of this snow country, but the bold pattern of her obi, half visible over the trousers, made the rough russet and black stripes of the latter seem fresh and cheerful, and for the same reason the long sleeves of her woolen kimono took on a certain voluptuous charm. The trousers, split just below the knees, filled out toward the hips, and the heavy cotton, for all its natural stiffness, was somehow supple and gentle.

--

29. Pún-lâi sī chhī niû-á ê pâng-keng | 本來是飼娘仔 ê 房間

29. Pún-lâi sī chhī niû-á ê pâng-keng 

Chiàⁿ-chhiú pêng sī khàm seh ê hûiⁿ, tò-pêng iân keh-keng ê chhù-piah sī chi̍t-pâi khī-á-chhiū. Chhù ê thâu-chêng ká-ná sī hoe-hûiⁿ, chiàⁿ tiong-ng ū chi̍t-ê sè-sè ê liân-hoe-tî, tî tiong ê peng í-keng ko͘ tī tî-á-piⁿ, tî lāi âng-lí-hî siû lâi siû khì. Chhù hām khī-á chhiū-kut kāng-khoán, àu-kó͘ kah bē-kóng-lih. Chek-seh ê chhù-téng, chhâ-pang í-keng àu, gîm-chîⁿ mā oai-ko-chhi̍h-chhoa̍h.

Ji̍p-mûi kàu thô͘-keng (土間, ji̍p mûi bô pho͘ tē-pán ê só͘-chāi), chēng koh kôaⁿ, sáⁿ mā bô khòaⁿ-e, Shimamura tō hō͘ chhōa khì peh lâu-thui. Che sī chin-chiàⁿ ê thui, téng-koân ê pâng-keng mā chin-chiàⁿ sī lâu-kông-téng.

"Chia pún-lâi sī chhī niû-á ê pâng-keng. Lí ū kiaⁿ tio̍h bô?"

"Chùi-bâng-bâng tún lâi, peh che thui ka-chài m̄-bat poa̍h lo̍h."

"Bat poa̍h lo̍h! M̄-koh nā lim siuⁿ chē, góa chóng-sī kiu ji̍p lâu-kha ê phōe-lô͘, sûi tō khùn khì." Komako án-ne kóng, ná kā chhiú chhun ji̍p phōe-lô͘ ê phōe lih thàm chi̍t-ē, tō koh khiā khí-lâi, khì lâu-kha the̍h hóe-thòaⁿ.

Shimamura sàu chi̍t-liàn khòaⁿ che kî-koài ê pâng-keng. Kan-ta ǹg lâm khui chi̍t-ê kē-kē ê thang-á-mûi, sè-keh thoah-mûi ê chóa sī sin kô͘ ê, ji̍t-thâu chiò tio̍h kuiⁿ-iāⁿ-iāⁿ. Piah-téng mā iōng-sim tah móa soan-chóa, hō͘ lâng kám-kak ná-chhiūⁿ tī kū chóa-siuⁿ-á lāi-té. M̄-koh, thâu-khak téng ê chhù-kòa khòaⁿ hiān-hiān, óa thang-á-mûi ê ūi chhù chin kē, àm-àm sàm-sàm, ū chi̍t-chióng chheⁿ-chhìn ê khì-hun. Siūⁿ tio̍h piah ê hit-pêng m̄-chai sī sáⁿ khoán, tō ē kám-kak che chhù ká-ná tiàu tī pòaⁿ khong-tiong, hō͘ lâng sim bē an-tēng. M̄-koh, piah hām tatami sui-jiân sī kū, khiok lóng chin chheng-khì.

Khó-lêng ná niû-á án-ne, Komako thàu-bêng ê hûn-su mā tī chia seng-oa̍h lah: i án-ne siūⁿ.

Phōe-lô͘ téng kòa chi̍t-niá hām seh-khò͘ kāng-khoán ti̍t-chōa hoe-chháu ê mî-phōe. Saⁿ-á-kūi sui-jiân kū, khiok sī ti̍t-bûn ba̍t-chit ê tông-bo̍k, káⁿ sī Komako tī Tokyo seng-oa̍h só͘ lâu lo̍h-lâi ê. Che hām chho͘-phè-phè ê se-chng-tâi bô sù-phòe. Âng-chu-chhat ê chiam-sòaⁿ-a̍p iáu ē siám-kuiⁿ, ū chhia-hoa ê khoán-sè. Tèng tī piah-téng chi̍t-chàn chi̍t-chàn ê chhâ-pang, káⁿ sī chheh-kè, téng-bīn kòa chi̍t-tè po̍h-po̍h mô͘ ê pò͘-lî.

--

29. 本來是飼娘仔 ê 房間

正手爿是崁雪 ê hûiⁿ, 倒爿沿隔間 ê 厝壁是一排柿仔樹. 厝 ê 頭前 ká-ná 是花 hûiⁿ, 正中央有一个細細 ê 蓮花池, 池中 ê 冰已經 ko͘ tī 池仔邊, 池內紅鯉魚泅來泅去. 厝和柿仔樹骨仝款, 漚古 kah 袂講 lih. 積雪 ê 厝頂, 柴枋已經漚, 砛簷 mā 歪膏揤斜.

入 mûi 到 thô͘-keng (土間, 入 mûi 無鋪地板 ê 所在), 靜 koh 寒, 啥 mā無看e, Shimamura tō 予 chhōa 去 peh 樓梯. 這是真正 ê 梯, 頂懸 ê 房間 mā 真正是樓栱頂.

"遮本來是飼娘仔 ê 房間. 你有驚著無?"

"醉茫茫 tún 來, peh 這梯佳哉 m̄-bat 跋落."

"Bat 跋落! 毋過若啉傷濟, 我總是勼入樓跤 ê 被爐, 隨 tō 睏去." Komako án-ne 講, ná kā 手伸入被爐 ê 被 lih 探一下, tō koh 徛起來, 去樓跤提火炭.

Shimamura 掃一輾看這奇怪 ê 房間. 干焦 ǹg 南開一个低低 ê 窗仔 mûi, 細格挩 mûi ê 紙是新糊 ê, 日頭照著 kuiⁿ 焱焱. 壁頂 mā 用心貼滿宣紙, 予人感覺 ná 像 tī 舊紙箱仔內底. 毋過, 頭殼頂 ê 厝蓋看現現, 倚窗仔 mûi ê 位厝真低, 暗暗毿毿, 有一種生凊 ê 氣氛. 想著壁 ê 彼爿毋知是啥款, tō 會感覺這厝 ká-ná 吊 tī 半空中, 予人心袂安定. 毋過, 壁和 tatami 雖然是舊, 卻攏真清氣.

可能 ná 娘仔 án-ne, Komako 透明 ê 魂軀 mā tī 遮生活 lah: 伊 án-ne 想.

被爐頂掛一領和雪褲仝款直逝花草 ê 棉被. 衫仔櫃雖然舊, 卻是直紋密質 ê 桐木, káⁿ 是 Komako tī Tokyo 生活所留落來 ê. 這和粗 phè-phè ê 梳妝台無四配. 紅朱漆 ê 針線盒猶會閃 kuiⁿ, 有奢華 ê 款勢. 釘 tī 壁頂一層一層 ê 柴枋, káⁿ 是冊架, 頂面掛一塊薄薄毛 ê 布簾.

--

29.

To the right was a small field, and to the left persimmon trees stood along the wall that marked off the neighboring plot. There seemed to be a flower garden in front of the house, and red carp were swimming in the little lotus pond. The ice had been broken away and lay piled along the bank. The house was old and decayed, like the pitted trunk of a persimmon. There were patches of snow on the roof, the rafters of which sagged to draw a wavy line at the eaves.

The air in the earthen-floored hallway was still and cold. Shimamura was led up a ladder before his eyes had become accustomed to the darkness. It was a ladder in the truest sense of the word, and the room at the top was an attic.

"This is the room the silkworms used to live in. Are you surprised?"

" You're lucky you've never fallen downstairs, drinking the way you do."

"I have. But generally when I've had too much to drink 1 crawl into the kotatsu downstairs and go off to sleep." She pushed her hand tentatively into the kotatsu, then went below for charcoal. Shimamura looked around at the curious room. Although there was but one low window, opening to the south, the freshly changed paper on the door turned off the rays of the sun brightly. The walls had been industriously pasted over with rice paper, so that the effect was rather like the inside of an old-fashioned paper box; but overhead was only the bare roof sloping down toward the window, as if a dark loneliness had settled itself over the room. Wondering what might be on the other side of the wall, Shimamura had the uneasy feeling that he was suspended in a void. But the walls and the floor, for all their shabbiness, were spotlessly clean.

For a moment he was taken with the fancy that the light must pass through Komako, living in the silkworms' room, as it passed through the translucent silkworms.

The kotatsu was covered with a quilt of the same rough, striped cotton material as the standard "mountain trousers . " The chest of drawers was old, but the grain of the wood was fine and straight-perhaps it was a relic of Komako's years in Tokyo. It was badly paired with a cheap dresser, while the vennilion sewing-box gave off the luxurious glow of good lacquer. The boxes stacked along the wall behind a thin woolen curtain apparently served as bookshelves.

--

28. Lâi goán tau chē chi̍t-ē | 來阮兜坐一下

28. Lâi goán tau chē chi̍t-ē

Shimamura kám-kak ka-tī ê bīn ká-ná mā sio-thǹg-thǹg, tú siūⁿ boeh kín kiâⁿ kòe, Komako sûi jek óa lâi.

"Lâi chit-ê só͘-chāi, hāi góa kài pháiⁿ-sè."

"Lí pháiⁿ-sè? Góa chiah sī pháiⁿ-sè neh! Lín chi̍t-tīn lâng, hāi góa kiaⁿ kah m̄-káⁿ kiâⁿ kòe. Lín chhêng-chāi án-ne hioh?"

"Sī ah, chia̍h-tàu-pá tō án-ne."

"Lí án-ne bīn âng-âng jek óa lâi, kám bē koh-khah pháiⁿ-sè?"

"Bô chha lah." Ōe chin kian-tēng, m̄-koh Komako ê bīn iū-koh âng ah. Kha-pō͘ thêng lo̍h-lâi, yi hōaⁿ lō͘-piⁿ ê chi̍t-châng khī-á-chhiū.

"Siūⁿ boeh chhiáⁿ lí lâi goán tau chē chi̍t-ē, chiah cháu kòe-lâi."

"Lín tau tī chit-kak?"

"Hmh."

"Nā hŏa khòaⁿ ji̍t-kì, khì chē chi̍t-ē mā hó."

"Hiah-ê tio̍h sio liáu chiah boeh sí."

"M̄-koh, lín tau m̄-sī ū pēⁿ-lâng?"

"Aih, lí ná chai chiah chē?"

"Cha-àm lí m̄-sī oân-á khì chhia-thâu chiap lâng, chhēng khóng-sek hoan-moa? Góa mā chē hit-pang hóe-chhia, chē tī pēⁿ-lâng piⁿ-á. Hit-ê ko͘-niû chiàu-kò͘ pēⁿ-lâng chiâⁿ jīn-chin, chiâⁿ chhin-chhiat, he sī in bó͘ hioh? Sī ùi chia khì chiap, a̍h-sī ùi Tokyo lâi ê? Bē-su lāu-bú hiah chû-ài, góa khòaⁿ kah chiok kám-tōng."

"Lí cha-àm ná bô kóng-khí chit-ê tāi-chì? Ná kek tiām-tiām?" Komako ê bīn-sek piàn ah.

"Sī in bó͘ hioh?"

M̄-koh, Komako bô ìn chit-ê būn-tê, koh mūi kóng:

"Cha-àm ná ē bô kóng? Lí chiâⁿ kî-koài."

Shimamura bô kah-ì cha-bó͘-lâng chiah lī-hāi. M̄-koh, hō͘ cha-bó͘ chiah lī-hāi ê, m̄-sī Shimamura, mā m̄-sī Komako ū sáⁿ lí-iû, che hoān-sè ē-sái khòaⁿ chò sī Komako kò-sèng ê piáu-hiān. Chóng--sī, hō͘ yi án-ne it-chài chit-mūi, i ká-ná khì hō͘ thok tio̍h thiàⁿ-tiám. Chá-khí khòaⁿ Komako tī hoán-siā soaⁿ-téng seh ê kiàⁿ lih ê sî, Shimamura tong-jiân ū siūⁿ-khí hông-hun hóe-chhia po-lê-thang ê ko͘-niû, m̄-koh, i ná ē bô kā chit-chân tāi-chì kā Komako kóng-khí ah?

"Ū pēⁿ-lâng mā bô-iàu-kín. Bô-lâng ē lâi góa ê pâng-keng." Komako ná án-ne kóng, ná kiâⁿ ji̍p kē-kē chio̍h-chhiûⁿ ê lāi-bīn.

--

28. 來阮兜坐一下

Shimamura 感覺家治 ê 面 ká-ná mā 燒燙燙, 拄想欲緊行過, Komako 隨 jek 倚來.

"來這个所在, 害我蓋歹勢."

"你歹勢? 我才是歹勢 neh! 恁一陣人, 害我驚 kah 毋敢行過. 恁 chhêng 在 án-ne hioh?"

"是 ah, 食晝飽 tō án-ne."

"你 án-ne 面紅紅 jek 倚來, 敢袂閣較歹勢?"

"無差 lah." 話真堅定, 毋過 Komako ê 面又閣紅 ah. 跤步停落來, 她扞路邊 ê 一叢柿仔樹.

"想欲請你來阮兜坐一下, 才走過來."

"恁兜 tī 這角?"

"Hmh."

"若 hŏa 看日記, 去坐一下 mā 好."

"Hiah-ê 著燒了才欲死."

"毋過, 恁兜毋是有病人?"

"Aih, 你那知 chiah 濟?"

"昨暗你毋是 oân-á 去車頭接人, 穿紺色番幔? 我 mā 坐彼幫火車, 坐 tī 病人邊仔. 彼个姑娘照顧病人誠認真, 誠親切, 彼是 in 某 hioh? 是 ùi 遮去接, 抑是 ùi Tokyo 來 ê? 袂輸老母 hiah 慈愛, 我看 kah 足感動."

"你昨暗那無講起這个代誌? 那激恬恬?" Komako ê 面色變 ah.

"是 in 某 hioh?"

毋過, Komako 無應這个問題, koh mūi 講:

"昨暗那會無講? 你誠奇怪."

Shimamura 無佮意查某人 chiah 厲害. 毋過, 予查某 chiah 厲害 ê, 毋是 Shimamura, mā 毋是 Komako 有啥理由, 這凡勢會使看做是 Komako 個性 ê 表現. 總是, 予她 án-ne 一再質 mūi, 伊 ká-ná 去予 thok 著疼點. 早起看 Komako tī 反射山頂雪 ê 鏡 lih ê 時, Shimamura 當然有想起黃昏火車玻璃窗 ê 姑娘, 毋過, 伊那會無 kā 這層代誌 kā Komako 講起 ah?

"有病人 mā 無要緊. 無人會來我 ê 房間." Komako ná án-ne 講, ná 行入低低石牆 ê 內面.

--

28.

Shimamura's cheeks too were aflame. He walked briskly by, and immediately Komako came after him.

"You mustn't. You embarrass me, walking by at a time like this."

"I embarrass you--you think I'm not embarrassed myself, with all of you lined up to waylay me? I could hardly make myself walk past. Is it always this way?"

"Yes, I suppose so. In the afternoon."

"But I'd think you'd be even more embarrassed, turning bright red and then chasing after me."

"What difference does it make?" The words were clear and definite, but she was blushing again. She stopped and put her arm around a persimmon tree beside the road. "I ran after you because I thought I might ask you to come by my house."

"Is your house near here?"

"Very near."

"I'll come if you'll let me read your diary." 

"I'm going to burn my diary before I die." 

"But isn't there a sick man in your house?" 

"How did you know?"

"You were at the station to meet him yesterday. You had on a dark-blue cape. I was sitting near him on the train. And there was a woman with him, looking after him, as gentle as she could be. His wife? Or someone who went from here to bring him home? Or someone from Tokyo? She was exactly like a mother. I was very much impressed."

"Why didn't you say so last night? Why were you so quiet?" Something had upset her.

"His wife?"

Komako did not answer. "Why didn't you say anything last night? What a strange person you are."

Shimamura did not like this sharpness. Nothing he had done and nothing that had happened seemed to call for it, and he wondered if something basic in the woman's nature might not be coming to the surface. Still, when she came at him the second time, he had to admit that he was being hit in a vulnerable spot. This morning, as he glanced at Komako in that mirror reflecting the mountain snow, he had of course thought of the girl in the evening train window. Why then had he said nothing?

"It doesn't matter if there is a sick man. No one ever comes to my room." Komako went in through an opening in a low stone wall.

--

27. Yi ê gē-miâ kiò-chò Komako | 她 ê 藝名叫做 Komako

27. Yi ê gē-miâ kiò-chò Komako

Tú kiâⁿ ji̍p chng lih ke-lō͘ ê sî, tō thiaⁿ tio̍h ùi gîm-chîⁿ tih lo̍h-lâi ê khin-khin tih-chúi siaⁿ.

Gîm-chîⁿ chêng kòa ê sè-sè sng-á-ki siám-sih kah chiâⁿ khó-ài. 

Chi̍t-ê tú sé un-chôaⁿ tún lâi ê cha-bó͘, taⁿ-thâu khòaⁿ tī chhù-téng sàu seh ê cha-po͘-lâng, kóng:

"Eh, goán ê chhù-téng sūn-sòa sàu-sàu leh, hó bô?" 

Cha-bó͘ khòaⁿ kah khí hîn, tō iōng tâm chhiú-kin chhit hia̍h-thâu. Yi ká-ná sī pí chhu-seh kùi-cheh khah chá lâi ê tiàm-oân. Keh-piah sī chi̍t-keng kapi thiaⁿ, po-lê-thang ê chhái-sek-ōe í-keng chin kū, chhù-téng oai-oai.

It-poaⁿ ê chhù-téng lóng khàm sè-pán ê pang, téng-bīn koh teh chio̍h-thâu. Hiah-ê îⁿ chio̍h-thâu, kan-ta pha̍k-ji̍t ê hit-bīn o͘-o͘ tī seh lih khòaⁿ ē tio̍h, hit-ê sek m̄-sī tâm, sī siū-chīn hong-song ná ba̍k ê o͘. Ke-ke hō͘-hō͘ ê chu-sè tō ná-chhiūⁿ chhù-téng ê chio̍h-thâu án-ne, kui pâi kē-kē phak tī tē-bīn, kài ū pak-kok ê bô͘-iūⁿ.

Chi̍t-tīn gín-á kā kau-á ê peng-kak phóng khí-lâi hiat tī lō͘ tiong-ng án-ne tih chò-sńg. In tāi-khài sī kám-kak phòa peng sap-á thiàu-tāng ê siám-kuiⁿ chin hó-sńg. Khiā tī ji̍t-thâu tiong, khòaⁿ he peng-kak kāu kah lân-tit siang-sìn, Shimamura kè-sio̍k tī hia khòaⁿ chi̍t-khùn.

Chi̍t-ê cha̍p-saⁿ-sì hòe ê cha-bó͘ gín-á, ka-tī khò tī chio̍h-piah tih chhiah-phòng-se. Yi chhēng seh-khò͘, ta̍h koân-kha ba̍k-kia̍h, bô chhēng boe̍h-á, khòaⁿ ē-tio̍h he âng-âng ê kha-té pit-hûn. Piⁿ-á chhâ-tui chē chi̍t-ê liōng-iak saⁿ-hòe ê sè-hàn chă-gín-á, bô-ì bô-ì thè yi the̍h phòng-se-oân. Ùi sè chă-gín-á khan kàu tōa chă-gín-á ê hit-tiâu kū ê phú phòng-se-sòaⁿ, mā siám-sih tio̍h un-loán ê kuiⁿ.

Ùi chhit-peh keng chêng ê chhu-seh-pang chè-chō-só͘ ū thiaⁿ-e khau-chhâ ê siaⁿ. Tùi-bīn pêng gîm-chîⁿ-kha jia-ji̍t ê ūi, ū gō͘-la̍k-ê gē-tòaⁿ khiā leh tih khai-káng, hit-ê cha-bó͘ khó-lêng mā khiā tī hia pah. It-ti̍t kàu chá-khí, i chiah ùi kheh-chàn lú-tiong thàm-thiaⁿ tio̍h, yi ê gē-miâ kiò-chò Komako (駒子). Bô-m̄-tio̍h, yi ùi hit-pêng, piáu-chêng chèng-keng, ū khòaⁿ-e i kiâⁿ lâi. Yi it-tēng sī bīn âng-âng koh tio̍h ké bô tāi-chì, Shimamura bē-hù án-ne siūⁿ, Komako í-keng bīn âng kàu ām-kún khì ah. Sui-jiân yi ē-sái kā bīn oa̍t-khui, m̄-koh yi pháiⁿ-sè kah ba̍k-chiu khòaⁿ thô͘-kha. Tán i kiâⁿ khah óa ê sî, yi iū bān-bān kā bīn oa̍t ǹg i chit-pêng lâi.

--

27. 她 ê 藝名叫做 Komako

拄行入庄 lih 街路 ê 時, tō 聽著 ùi 砛簷滴落來 ê 輕輕滴水聲.

砛簷前掛 ê 細細霜仔支閃爍 kah 誠可愛. 

一个拄洗溫泉 tún 來 ê 查某, taⁿ 頭看 tī 厝頂掃雪 ê 查埔人, 講:

"Eh, 阮 ê 厝頂順紲掃掃 leh, 好無?" 

查某看 kah 起眩, tō 用澹手巾拭額頭. 她 ká-ná 是比趨雪季節較早來 ê 店員. 隔壁是一間 kapi 廳, 玻璃窗 ê 彩色畫已經真舊, 厝頂歪歪.

一般 ê 厝頂攏崁細板 ê 枋, 頂面 koh 硩石頭. Hiah-ê 圓石頭, 干焦曝日 ê 彼面烏烏 tī 雪 lih 看會著, 彼个色毋是澹, 是受盡風霜 ná 墨 ê 烏. 家家戶戶 ê 姿勢 tō ná 像厝頂 ê 石頭 án-ne, 規排低低仆 tī 地面, 蓋有北國 ê 模樣.

一陣囡仔 kā 溝仔 ê 冰角捧起來㧒 tī 路中央 án-ne tih 做耍. In 大概是感覺破冰屑仔跳動 ê 閃 kuiⁿ 真好耍. 徛 tī 日頭中, 看 he 冰角厚 kah 難得相信, Shimamura 繼續 tī 遐看一睏.

一个十三四歲 ê 查某囡仔, 家治靠 tī 石壁 tih 刺膨紗. 她穿雪褲, 踏懸跤木屐, 無穿襪仔, 看會著 he 紅紅 ê 跤底 pit 痕. 邊仔柴堆坐一个量 iak 三歲 ê 細漢 chă 囡仔, 無意無意替她提膨紗丸. Ùi 細 chă 囡仔牽到大 chă 囡仔 ê 彼條舊 ê 殕膨紗線, mā 閃爍著溫暖 ê kuiⁿ.

Ùi 七八間前 ê 趨雪枋製造所有聽 e 剾柴 ê 聲. 對面爿砛簷跤遮日 ê 位, 有五六个藝旦徛 leh tih 開講, 彼个查某可能 mā 徛 tī 遐 pah. 一直到早起, 伊才 ùi 客棧女中探聽著, 她 ê 藝名叫做 Komako (駒子). 無毋著, 她 ùi 彼爿, 表情正經, 有看 e 伊行來. 她一定是面紅紅 koh 著假無代誌, Shimamura 袂赴 án-ne 想, Komako 已經面紅到頷頸去 ah. 雖然她會使 kā 面越開, 毋過她歹勢 kah 目睭看塗跤. 等伊行較倚 ê 時, 她又慢慢 kā 面越 ǹg 伊這爿來.

--

27.

As he started into the part of the village that fronted on the highway, he heard a sound as of quiet rain.

Little icicles glistened daintily along the eaves.

"While you're at it, would you mind shoveling a little from ours?" Dazzled by the bright light, a woman on her way back from the bath wiped at her forehead with a damp towel as she looked up at a man shoveling snow from a roof. A waitress, probably, who had drifted into the village a little in advance of the skiing season. Next door was a cafe with a sagging roof, its painted window flaking with age.

Rows of stones held down the shingles with which most of the houses along the street were roofed. Only on the side exposed to the sun did the round stones show their black surfaces, less a moist black from the melting snow than an ink-stone black, beaten away at by icy wind and storm. The houses were of a kind with the dark stones on their roofs. T h e low eaves hugging the ground seemed to have in them the very essence of the north country.

Children were breaking off chunks of ice from the drains and throwing them down in the middle of the road. It was no doubt the sparkle of the ice as it went flying off into bits that enchanted them so. Shimamura, standing in the sunlight, found it hard to believe that the ice could be so thick. He stopped for a moment to watch.

A girl of twelve or thirteen stood knitting apart from the rest, her back against a stone wall. Under the baggy "mountain trousers," her feet were bare but for sandals, and Shimamura could see that the soles were red and cracked from the cold. A girl of perhaps two stood on a bundle of firewood beside her patiently holding a ball of yarn. Even the faded, ashen line of reclaimed yarn from the younger girl to the older seemed warmly aglow.

He could hear a carpenter's plane in a ski shop seven or eight doors down the street. Five or six geisha were talking under the eaves opposite. Among them, he was sure, would be the woman, Komako--he had just that morning learned her geisha name from a maid at the inn. And indeed, there she was. She had apparently noticed him. The deadly serious expression on her face set her off from the others. She would of course flush scarlet, but if she could at least pretend that nothing had happened--before Shimamura had time to go further with his thoughts, he saw that she had flushed to the throat. She might better have looked away, but her head turned little by little to follow him, while her eyes were fixed on the ground in acute discomfort.

--

26. Kiàⁿ lih ê pe̍h siak-siak goân-lâi sī seh | 鏡 lih ê 白鑠鑠原來是雪

26. Kiàⁿ lih ê pe̍h siak-siak goân-lâi sī seh

Chit-sî, khó-lêng sit-lāi mā í-keng kuiⁿ ah, cha-bó͘ âng-âng ê bīn mā khòaⁿ ē chheng-chhó ah. Che bê-lâng, chhiⁿ-chhioh ê âng-sek hō͘ Shimamura khòaⁿ kah sîn khì:

"Khòaⁿ lí ê bīn, tàng kah âng kì-kì."

"M̄-sī tàng lah. Sī pe̍h-hún lo̍h-chng ê koan-hē. Góa nā chùiⁿ ji̍p mî-phōe, tō kui-sin sio kàu kha-bóe ah." Ná án-ne kóng, yi koh khòaⁿ ǹg chím-thâu piⁿ se-chng-tâi ê kiàⁿ.

"Thiⁿ chóng-sī í-keng kuiⁿ ah. Góa tio̍h lâi túiⁿ."

Shimamura ǹg yi khòaⁿ khì, hut-leh ām-kún kiu chi̍t-ē. Kiàⁿ lih ê pe̍h siak-siak goân-lâi sī seh. Tī hit-ê pe̍h siak-siak tiong-kan, phû-chhut cha-bó͘ âng-âng ê bīn. He sī kóng bē-chhut ê sûn-kiat ê súi.

Káⁿ sī ji̍t chhut ê iân-kò͘, kiàⁿ lih ê seh oa̍t-lú kuiⁿ, bē-su hóe tih to̍h. Phû-chhut tī seh ê cha-bó͘ ê thâu-chang, mā siám-sih tio̍h kiô-sek ê kuiⁿ, khòaⁿ-tio̍h oa̍t-lú o͘.

*

Tāi-khài ūi-tio̍h bián-tit chek seh, iân kheh-chàn ê gōa-piah ó͘ chi̍t-tiâu lîm-sî ê kau, ín e̍k-tî ek chhut-lâi ê sio-chúi kàu tōa-mûi kháu, tī hia chek chò chhián-chhián ê chúi-tî-á. Chi̍t-chiah chho͘-ióng ê o͘ chhiu-tiān-khián (秋田犬) phak tī chi̍t-tè chio̍h-thiap-á téng, tiu-tiu tih chīⁿ un-chôaⁿ chúi. Mûi-kháu pha̍k kui pâi kheh-iōng ê chhu-seh-pang, ká-ná tú ùi khò͘-pâng poaⁿ chhut-lâi, sió-khóa ê seⁿ-ko͘-hiàn mā hō͘ un-chôaⁿ ê sio-khì chhiong tām khì. Ùi sam-chhiū-ki lak lo̍h kong-kiōng e̍k-tiûⁿ chhù-téng ê seh tui, mā in-ūi tú tio̍h sio-khì iûⁿ kah pang khì.

Tī nî-té kàu chiaⁿ goe̍h hit kha-tau, chit-tiâu lō͘ tō ē hō͘ hong-seh khàm kah khòaⁿ bē-tio̍h, boeh lâi iàn-hōe tio̍h chhēng seh-khò͘, chhiū-leng tn̂g ê-kóng, koh tio̍h phi hoan-moa, tì thâu-kin. Hit-sî ê seh ē chek kah chi̍t-tn̄g koân. Chit-tiâu kiā lō͘, cha-bó͘ tī chá-khí thiⁿ bōe-kuiⁿ chìn-chêng, ū ùi soaⁿ-phiâⁿ kheh-chàn ê thang-á khòaⁿ kòe; chit-má Shimamura tng-tih lo̍h chit-ê kiā. Ùi lō͘-piⁿ nê koân-koân tih pha̍k ê jiō-chū-á ē-bīn, ē-tàng khòaⁿ tio̍h pian-kài ê koân soaⁿ, soaⁿ-téng ê seh kuiⁿ sih-sih. Chhài-hûiⁿ ê chheⁿ chhang iáu bōe hō͘ seh khàm khì.

Chng lih ê gín-á tī chhân-po͘ chhu-seh.

--

26. 鏡 lih ê 白鑠鑠原來是雪

這時, 可能 sit 內 mā 已經 kuiⁿ ah, 查某紅紅 ê 面 mā 看會清楚 ah. 這迷人, 鮮沢 ê 紅色予 Shimamura 看 kah 神去:

"看你 ê 面, 凍 kah 紅 kì-kì."

"毋是凍 lah. 是白粉落妝 ê 關係. 我若 chùiⁿ 入棉被, tō 規身燒到跤尾 ah." Ná án-ne 講, 她 koh 看 ǹg 枕頭邊梳妝台 ê 鏡.

"天總是已經 kuiⁿ ah. 我著來 túiⁿ."

Shimamura ǹg 她看去, 忽 leh 頷頸勼一下. 鏡 lih ê 白鑠鑠原來是雪. Tī 彼个白鑠鑠中間, 浮出查某紅紅 ê 面. 彼是講袂出 ê 純潔 ê 媠.

Káⁿ 是日出 ê 緣故, 鏡 lih ê 雪越 lú kuiⁿ, 袂輸火 tih to̍h. 浮出 tī 雪 ê 查某 ê 頭鬃, mā 閃爍著茄色 ê kuiⁿ, 看著越 lú 烏.

*

大概為著免得積雪, 沿客棧 ê 外壁挖一條臨時 ê 溝, 引浴池溢出來 ê 燒水到大 mûi 口, tī 遐積做淺淺 ê 水池仔. 一隻粗勇 ê 烏 chhiu-tiān-khián (秋田犬) 仆 tī 一塊石疊仔頂, tiu-tiu tih 舐溫泉水. Mûi 口曝規排客用 ê 趨雪枋, ká-ná 拄 ùi 庫房搬出來, 小可 ê 生菇羶 mā 予溫泉 ê 燒氣沖淡去. Ùi 杉樹枝 lak 落公共浴場厝頂 ê 雪堆, mā 因為拄著燒氣溶 kah 崩去.

Tī 年底到正月彼跤兜, 這條路 tō 會予風雪崁 kah 看袂著, 欲來宴會著穿雪褲, 樹奶長鞋管, koh 著披番幔, 戴頭巾. 彼時 ê 雪會積 kah 一丈懸. 這條崎路, 查某 tī 早起天未 kuiⁿ 進前, 有 ùi 山坪客棧 ê 窗仔看過; 這馬 Shimamura 當 tih 落這个崎. Ùi 路邊晾懸懸 tih 曝 ê 尿苴仔下面, 會當看著邊界 ê 懸山, 山頂 ê 雪 kuiⁿ sih-sih. 菜 hûiⁿ ê 青蔥猶未予雪崁去.

庄 lih ê 囡仔 tī 田埔趨雪.

--

26.

Presently the room was so light that he could see the red of her cheeks. His eye was fastened on that extraordinarily bright red.

"Your cheeks are flaming. That's how cold it is."

"It's not from the cold. It's because I've taken off my powder. I only have to get into bed and in a minute I'm warm as an oven. All the way to my feet." She knelt at the mirror by the bed.

"lt's daylight. I'm going horne."

Shimamura glanced up at her, and immediately

lowered his head. The white in the depths of the mirror was the snow, and floating in the middle of it were the woman's bright red cheeks. There was an indescribably fresh beauty in the contrast.

Was the sun already up? The brightness of the snow was more intense, it seemed to be burning icily. Against it, the woman's hair became a clearer black, touched with a purple sheen.

Probably to keep snow from piling up, the water from the baths was led around the walls of the inn by a makeshift ditch, and in front of the entrance it spread out like a shallow spring. A powerful black dog stood on the stones by the doorway lapping at the water. Skis for the hotel guests, probably brought out from a storeroom, were lined up to dry, and the faint smell of mildew was sweetened by the stearn. The snow that had fallen from the cedar branches to the roof of the public bath was breaking down into something warm and shapeless. 

By the end of the year, that road would be shut off from sight by the snowstorms. She would have to go to her parties in long rubber boots with baggy "mountain trousers" over her kimono, and she would have a cape pulled around her and a veil over her face. The snow would by then be ten feet deep--the woman had looked down on the steep road from the window of the inn, high on a hill, before daybreak this morning, and now Shimamura was walking down the same road. Diapers hung high beside the road to dry. Under them stretched the vista of the Border Range, the snow on its peaks glowing softly. The green onions in the garden patches were not yet buried in the snow.

Children of the village were skiing in the fields.

--

25. Cha-bó͘ kui-mê lóng bô khùn | 查某規暝攏無睏

25. Cha-bó͘ kui-mê lóng bô khùn

Tún-lâi kàu pâng-keng, cha-bó͘ tó leh, sió taⁿ khí thán-chhiò ê thâu, iōng bóe-chéng-cháiⁿ-á ná kā thâu-chang loa̍h koân, ná kóng:

"Chiâⁿ pi-ai!" Kan-ta án-ne kóng chi̍t-kù.

Cha-bó͘ ê o͘ ba̍k-chiu ká-ná pòaⁿ kheh pòaⁿ khui, m̄-koh óa-kīn khòaⁿ, chiah chai he sī ba̍k-chiu-mo͘ ê iân-kò͘.

Chit-ê sîn-keng-chit ê cha-bó͘ kui-mê lóng bô khùn.

Io-tòa si-si-sā-sā ê siaⁿ kā Shimamura chhá chhéⁿ.

"Chiah chá kā lí chhá chheⁿ, chìn pháiⁿ-sè. Iáu-bōe thiⁿ-kuiⁿ. Eh, lí khòaⁿ chi̍t-ē, hó bô?" Cha-bó͘ kā tiān-hóe kìm-hoa, koh kóng:

"Ū khòaⁿ-e góa ê bīn bô? a̍h-sī bô khòaⁿ-e?"

"Khòaⁿ bô. Thiⁿ m̄-sī iáu-bōe kuiⁿ?"

"O͘-pe̍h-kóng. Lí chù-ì khòaⁿ lah. Án-nóa?" Cha-bó͘ ná phah-khui thang-á, koh ná kóng:

"Ū khòaⁿ-e hoⁿh? Án-ne bē-sái. Góa kín lâi túiⁿ."

Thiⁿ boeh kuiⁿ chiah-nī kôaⁿ, Shimamura kám-kak ì-gōa. I kā thâu ùi chím-thâu gia̍h chi̍t-ē, thiⁿ-sek iáu àm-àm, m̄-koh soaⁿ sió-khóa khòaⁿ ū.

"Tio̍h, bô iàu-kín. Chit-má chò-sit-lâng heⁿh-khùn, thàu-chá bô lâng chhut-lâi. M̄-koh, m̄-chai ū lâng chiūⁿ soaⁿ bô?" Cha-bó͘ án-ne nauh, ná thoa pa̍k chi̍t-pòaⁿ ê io-tòa kiâⁿ lâi kiâⁿ khì.

"Tú-chiah ùi Tokyo lâi, gō͘-tiám ê hóe-chhia ká-ná bô lâng lo̍h-chhia. Kheh-chàn ê lâng boeh khí-chhn̂g iáu chá leh."

Cha-bó͘ kā io-tòa pa̍k hó-sè, ū-sî khiā, ū-sî chē, iū-koh ná khòaⁿ thang-á-mûi, kiâⁿ lâi kiâⁿ khì. Hit-chióng put-an ê khoán-sè, bē-su iā-kan tōng-bu̍t kiaⁿ thiⁿ-kuiⁿ, kin-tiuⁿ kah lâi-lâi khì-khì se̍h lin-long, ká-ná hō͘ chi̍t-chióng koài-kî ê iá-sèng tih thoa-bôa. 

--

25. 查某規暝攏無睏

Tún 來到房間, 查某倒 leh, 小 taⁿ 起坦笑 ê 頭, 用尾 chéng 指仔 ná kā 頭鬃捋懸, ná 講:

"誠悲哀!" 干焦 án-ne 講一句.

查某 ê 烏目睭 ká-ná 半瞌半開, 毋過倚近看, 才知 he 是目睭毛 ê 緣故.

這个神經質 ê 查某規暝攏無睏.

腰帶 si-si-sā-sā ê 聲 kā Shimamura 吵醒.

"Chiah 早 kā 你吵醒, 晉歹勢. 猶未天 kuiⁿ. Eh, 你看一下, 好無?" 查某 kā 電火禁 hoa, koh 講:

"有看 e 我 ê 面無? 抑是無看 e?"

"看無. 天毋是猶未 kuiⁿ?"

"烏白講. 你注意看 lah. Án-nóa?" 查某 ná 拍開窗仔, koh ná 講:

"有看 e hoⁿh? Án-ne 袂使. 我緊來 túiⁿ."

天欲 kuiⁿ chiah-nī 寒, Shimamura 感覺意外. 伊 kā 頭 ùi 枕頭攑一下, 天色猶暗暗, 毋過山小可看有.

"著, 無要緊. 這馬做穡人 heⁿh 睏, 透早無人出來. 毋過, 毋知有人上山無?" 查某 án-ne nauh, ná 拖縛一半 ê 腰帶行來行去.

"拄才 ùi Tokyo 來, 五點 ê 火車 ká-ná 無人落車. 客棧 ê 人欲起床猶早 leh."

查某 kā 腰帶縛好勢, 有時徛, 有時坐, 又閣 ná 看窗仔 mûi, 行來行去. 彼種不安 ê 款勢, 袂輸夜間動物驚天 kuiⁿ, 緊張 kah 來來去去踅 lin-long, ká-ná 予一種怪奇 ê 野性 tih 拖磨. 

--

25.

Back in the room, she raised her head a little from the pillow and pushed her side hair up with her little finger.

"This makes me very sad." She said only that. Shimamura thought for a moment that her eyes were half open, but he saw that the thick eyelashes created the illusion.

The woman, always high-strung, did not sleep the whole night.

It was apparently the sound of the obi being tied that awakened Shimamura.

"I'm sorry. I should have let you sleep. It's still dark. Look--can you see me?" She turned off the light. "Can you see me? You can't?"

"I can't see you. It's still pitch dark."

"No, no. I want you to look close. Now. Can you see me?" She threw open the window. "It's no good. You can see me. I'm going."

Surprised anew at the morning cold, Shimamura raised his head from the pillow. The sky was still the color of night, but in the mountains it was already morning.

"But it's all right. The hrmers aren't busy this time of the year, and no one will be out so early. But do you suppose someone might be going out into the mountains?" She talked on to herself, and she walked about trailing the end of the halftied obi. "There were no guests on the five-o'clock from Tokyo. None of the inn people will be up for a long while yet."

Even when she had finished tying the obi, she stood up and sat down and stood up again, and wandered about the room with her eye on the window. She seemed on edge, like some restless night beast that fears the approach of the morning. It was as though a strange, magical wildness had taken her.

--

24. Siang-lâng khì sé un-chôaⁿ | 雙人去洗溫泉

24. Siang-lâng khì sé un-chôaⁿ

Cha-bó͘ chai-iáⁿ Shimamura óa lâi, tō kā heng-khám phak tī thang-á-koaiⁿ. Án-ne m̄-sī piáu-sī núi-chiáⁿ, tī chit-chióng àm-iā ê pōe-kéng, tian-tò sī kian-kiâng, kò͘-chip ê chu-thài. Shimamura sim-lāi tih siūⁿ: iū-koh lâi ah.

Sui-bóng soaⁿ-niá o͘-khâm-khâm, m̄-chai sáⁿ iân-kò͘, khòaⁿ-tio̍h soah ná bâng-bâng pe̍h-seh ê sek. Án-ne hō͘ lâng kám-kak soaⁿ-niá ná sī thàu-bêng koh che̍k-bo̍k. Thiⁿ hām soaⁿ ê sek-chúi bô hia̍p-tiau.

Shimamura kā chhiú hōaⁿ tī yi ê nâ-âu, kóng:

"Án-ne ē kôaⁿ tio̍h. Chiah nī léng!" koh ná ǹg-āu kā peⁿ. Cha-bó͘ phō-tio̍h thang-á-koaiⁿ, ná sau-siaⁿ kóng:

"Góa boeh lâi túiⁿ ah."

"Hó, túiⁿ."

"Hō͘ góa án-ne koh chē chi̍t-khùn-á."

"Nā án-ne, góa lâi-khì sé un-chôaⁿ."

"Mài. Tī chia pôe góa."

"Thang-á-mûi koaiⁿ khí-lâi lah"

"Hō͘ góa án-ne koh chē chi̍t-khùn-á."

Chng-thâu ū chi̍t-pòaⁿ iap tī sîn-siā sam-nâ ê āu-bīn. Chū-tōng-chhia bián cha̍p-hun-cheng tō kàu-ūi ê chhia-thâu, hia teng-hóe ia̍p-ia̍p-sih, bē-su kôaⁿ kah pi-pi po̍k-po̍k tit-boeh piak-phòa.

Cha-bó͘ ê chhùi-phé, thang-á ê po-lê, ka-tī ê kimono chhiú-úiⁿ, chhiú bak-tio̍h ê ta̍k-hāng mi̍h-kiāⁿ, lóng sī Shimamura tē-it-pái kám-kak tio̍h hiah-nī léng.

Kha-té ta̍h ê tatami mā-sī léng-ki-ki. I tú boeh ka-tī chi̍t-ê khì sé un-chôaⁿ ê sî, cha-bó͘ soah un-sūn tòe lâi, kóng:

"Tán chi̍t-ē, góa mā boeh khì."

Cha-bó͘ tng-tih khioh i thùiⁿ-lo̍h loān hiat ê saⁿ, khǹg ji̍p nâ-á té ê sî, chi̍t-ê cha-po͘ lâng-kheh ji̍p-lâi, khòaⁿ tio̍h kiu-kiu bih tī Shimamura heng-chêng ê cha-bó͘, tō kóng:

"Ah, sit-lé, sit-lé!"

"Bē lah, ji̍p lâi. Goán boeh khì hit-ê e̍k-keng." Shimamura kín kóng, tō thùiⁿ-pak-theh kā nâ-á mo͘h leh, kiâⁿ ji̍p piⁿ-á ê cha-bó͘ e̍k-keng. Cha-bó͘ tong-jiân sī kek ang-á-bó͘ bīn tòe i ji̍p-khì. Shimamura tiām-tiām bô oa̍t-thâu sûi thiàu ji̍p e̍k-tî. I an-sim lah, tú boeh chhiò chhut-siaⁿ, sûi koh tu chhùi tī un-chôaⁿ kháu, kâm chúi chhìn-chhái lo̍k chi̍t-ē chhùi.

--

24. 雙人去洗溫泉

查某知影 Shimamura 倚來, tō kā 胸坎仆 tī 窗仔杆. Án-ne 毋是表示 núi 汫, tī 這種暗夜 ê 背景, 顛倒是堅 kiâng, 固執 ê 姿態. Shimamura 心內 tih 想: 又閣來 ah.

雖罔山嶺烏 khâm-khâm, 毋知啥緣故, 看著煞 ná 茫茫白雪 ê 色. Án-ne 予人感覺山嶺 ná 是透明 koh 寂寞. 天和山 ê 色水無協調.

Shimamura kā 手扞 tī 她 ê 嚨喉, 講:

"Án-ne 會寒著. Chiah nī 冷!" koh ná ǹg 後 kā peⁿ. 查某抱著窗仔杆, ná 梢聲講:

"我欲來 túiⁿ ah."

"好, túiⁿ."

"予我 án-ne koh 坐一睏仔."

"若 án-ne, 我來去洗溫泉."

"莫. Tī 遮陪我."

"窗仔 mûi 關起來 lah"

"予我 án-ne koh 坐一睏仔."

庄頭有一半 iap tī 神社杉林 ê 後面. 自動車免十分鐘 tō 到位 ê 車頭, hia 燈火 ia̍p-ia̍p-sih, 袂輸寒 kah pi-pi po̍k-po̍k 得欲煏破.

查某 ê 喙 phé, 窗仔 ê 玻璃, 家治 ê kimono 手 úiⁿ, 手沐著 ê 逐項物件, 攏是 Shimamura 第一擺感覺著 hiah-nī 冷.

跤底踏 ê tatami mā 是冷 ki-ki. 伊拄欲家治一个去洗溫泉 ê 時, 查某煞溫順綴來, 講:

"等一下, 我 mā 欲去."

查某當 tih 抾伊 thùiⁿ 落亂㧒 ê 衫, 囥入籃仔底 ê 時, 一个查埔人客入來, 看著勼勼覕 tī Shimamura 胸前 ê 查某, tō 講:

"Ah, 失禮, 失禮!"

"袂 lah, 入來. 阮欲去彼个浴間." Shimamura 緊講, tō thùiⁿ 腹裼 kā 籃仔 mo͘h leh, 行入邊仔 ê 查某浴間. 查某當然是激翁仔某面綴伊入去. Shimamura 恬恬無越頭隨跳入浴池. 伊安心 lah, 拄欲笑出聲, 隨 koh tu 喙 tī 溫泉口, 含水凊彩 lo̍k 一下喙.

--

24.

As she sensed Shimamura's approach, the woman fell over with her breast against the railing. There was no hint of weakness in the pose. Rather, against the night, it was the strongest and most stubborn she could have taken. So we have to go through that again, thought Shimamura.

Black though the mountains were, they seemed at that moment brilliant with the color of the snow. They seemed to him somehow transparent, somehow lonely. The harmony between sky and mountains was lost.

Shimamura put his hand to the woman's throat. "You'll catch cold. See how cold it is." He tried to pull her back, but she clung to the railing.

"I'm going home." Her voice was choked. 

"Go home, then."

"Let me stay like this a little longer."

"I'm going down for a bath."

"No, stay here with me."

"If you close the window."

"Let me stay here like this a little longer."

Half the village was hidden behind the cedars of the shrine grove. The light in the railway station, not ten minutes away by taxi, flickered on and off as if crackling in the cold.

The woman's hair, the glass of the window, the sleeve of his kimono--everything he touched was cold in a way Shimamura had never known before.

Even the straw mats under his feet seemed cold. He started down to the bath.

"Wait. I'll go with you." The woman followed meekly.

As she was rearranging the clothes he had thrown to the floor outside the bath, another guest, a man, came in. The woman crouched low in front of Shimamura and hid her face.

"Excuse me." The other guest started to back away.

"No, please," Shimamura said quickly. "We'll go next door." He scooped up his clothes and stepped over to the women's bath. The woman followed as if they were married. Shimamura plunged into the bath without looking back at her. He felt a high laugh mount to his lips now that he knew she was with him. He put his face to the hot-water tap and noisily rinsed his mouth.

--

23. Che sī chi̍t-pak tōa kôaⁿ ê iā-kéng | 這是一幅大 kôaⁿ ê 夜景

23. Che sī chi̍t-pak tōa kôaⁿ ê iā-kéng

Put-jî-kò, yi he tùi to͘-chhī sū-bu̍t ê him-siān, taⁿ í-keng sī choa̍t-bāng, iōng tan-sûn ê hòng-khì kā pau khí-lâi; kóng he sī to͘-chhī sit-pāi-chiá chū-ko ê put-boán, put-jû kóng sī chi̍t-chióng tan-sûn ê bô-chhái-kang. Yi ka-tī bô piáu-hiān ai-oàn,  m̄-koh chāi Shimamura khòaⁿ, ū chi̍t-chióng kî-miāu ê ai-chhiû. Nā tîm-chùi tī chit-chióng su-khó, Shimamura hoān-sè ē ka-tī hām-lo̍h iâu-oán ê kám-siang, hoâi-gî jîn-seng mā sī chi̍t-chióng bô-chhái-kang. M̄-koh, ba̍k-chiu chêng chit-ê cha-bó͘ ê bīn, hō͘ soaⁿ ê khong-khì chìm kah âng kì-kì, súi tang-tang.

Bô-lūn án-nóa, Shimamura chóng-sī tùi yi ū sin ê khòaⁿ-hoat. M̄-koh, tùi-hong í-keng sī chi̍t-ê gē-tòaⁿ, taⁿ soah tian-tò pháiⁿ khui-chhùi ah.

Hit-sî, yi chùi bâng-bâng, khì-náu chhiú-kut bâ-pì, hē-la̍t kā i kā, koh hoah kóng:

"Che sī sáⁿ mi̍h-kiāⁿ! Cheng-seⁿ. Cheng-seⁿ. Lán-si-kut. Lí chit-ê mi̍h-kiāⁿ!"

Yi ê kha khiā bē-chāi, hàiⁿ nn̄g-ē tō poa̍h-tó ah.

"Choa̍t-tùi bô sáⁿ hó khó-sioh lah. M̄-koh, góa m̄-sī hit-khoán cha-bó͘." Siūⁿ-khí chit-kù ōe, Shimamura tiû-tî chi̍t-ē. Cha-bó͘ chin bín-kám, sûi kak-chhat tio̍h, tō khiā khí-lâi. Chit-sî tú-hó thiaⁿ tio̍h hóe-chhia ê chúi-lê siaⁿ, yi kóng: "Pòaⁿ-mê óng Tokyo ê chhia." Āu lâi, yi tōa-la̍t thoah-khui chóa-thang, koh phah-khui po-lê-thang, chē tī thang-á-tâi, hûn-su khò tī thang-á ê hoâiⁿ-koaiⁿ.

Léng khong-khì sûi tō lâu-ji̍p pâng-keng. Hóe-chhia siaⁿ chiām-chiām hūiⁿ khì, thiaⁿ-tio̍h ná iā-hong ê siaⁿ.

"Oeh, bē léng hioh? Sam-pat!" 

Simamura mā khiā khí-lâi, kiâⁿ kòe-khì, bô kám-kak ū hong.

Che sī chi̍t-pak tōa kôaⁿ ê iā-kéng, ká-ná ē-tàng thiaⁿ-tio̍h tàng-seh ê siaⁿ hiàng kàu tē-khak ê chhim-té. Bô goe̍h. Gia̍h-thâu khòaⁿ, móa thiⁿ ê chheⁿ, chē kah ná m̄-sī chin ê, iāⁿ-iāⁿ-sih, chhin-chhiūⁿ iōng thài-hi ê sok-tō͘ lak lo̍h-lâi. Chheⁿ-sîn óa-kīn gán-chêng lâi, iā-khong oa̍t-lú tò-thè, iā-sek mā oa̍t-lú chhim. Pian-kài ê soaⁿ í-keng hun bē-chhut chêng-āu, kan-ta sī o͘-khâm-khâm, tāng-hoâiⁿ-hoâiⁿ chhāi tī iā-khong ê kûn-ûi. Che sī chi̍t-phiàn bêng-lóng, an-chēng ê hô-hâi khì-hun.

--

23. 這是一幅大 kôaⁿ ê 夜景

不而過, 她 he 對都市事物 ê 欣羨, 今已經是絕望, 用單純 ê 放棄 kā 包起來; 講彼是都市失敗者自高 ê 不滿, 不如講是一種單純 ê 無彩工. 她家治無表現哀怨, 毋過在 Shimamura 看, 有一種奇妙 ê 哀愁. 若沉醉 tī 這種思考, Shimamura 凡勢會家治陷落遙遠 ê 感 siang, 懷疑人生 mā 是一種無彩工. 毋過, 目睭前這个查某 ê 面, 予山 ê 空氣浸 kah 紅 kì-kì, 媠 tang-tang.

無論 án-nóa, Shimamura 總是對她有新 ê 看法. 毋過, 對方已經是一个藝旦, 今煞顛倒歹開喙 ah.

彼時, 她醉茫茫, 氣惱手骨麻痺, 下力 kā 伊咬, koh 喝講:

"這是啥物件! 精牲. 精牲. 懶屍骨. 你這个物件!"

她 ê 跤徛袂在, 幌兩下 tō 跋倒 ah.

"絕對無啥好可惜 lah. 毋過, 我毋是彼款查某." 想起這句話, Shimamura 躊 tî 一下. 查某真敏感, 隨覺察著, tō 徛起來. 這時拄好聽著火車 ê 水螺聲, 她講: "半暝往 Tokyo ê 車." 後來, 她大力挩開紙窗, koh 拍開玻璃窗, 坐 tī 窗仔台, 魂軀靠 tī 窗仔 ê 橫杆.

冷空氣隨 tō 流入房間. 火車聲漸漸 hūiⁿ 去, 聽著 ná 夜風 ê 聲.

"Oeh, 袂冷 hioh? 三八!" 

Simamura mā 徛起來, 行過去, 無感覺有風.

這是一幅大 kôaⁿ ê 夜景, ká-ná 會當聽著凍雪 ê 聲 hiáng 到地殼 ê 深底. 無月. 攑頭看, 滿天 ê 星, 濟 kah ná 毋是真 ê, 焱焱爍, 親像用太虛 ê 速度 lak 落來. 星辰倚近眼前來, 夜空越 lú 倒退, 夜色 mā 越 lú 深. 邊界 ê 山已經分袂出前後, 干焦是烏 khâm-khâm, 重橫橫 chhāi tī 夜空 ê 裙圍. 這是一遍明朗, 安靜 ê 和諧氣氛.

--

23.

But her longing for the city had become an undemanding dream, wrapped in simple resignation, and the note of wasted effort was much stronger in it than any suggestion of the exile's lofty dissatisfaction. She did not seem to find herself especially sad, but in Shimamura's eyes there was something strangely touching about her. Were he to give himself quite up to that consciousness of wasted effort, Shimamura felt, he would be drawn into a remote emotionalism that would make his own life a waste. But before him was the quick, live face of the woman, ruddy from the mountain air.

In any case, he had revised his view of her, and he had found, surprisingly, that her being a geisha made it even more difficult for him to be free and open with her.

Dead-drunk that night, she had savagely bitten her half-paralyzed arm in a fit of irritation at its recalcitrance. "What's the matter with you? Damn you, damn you. Lazy, worthless. What's the matter with you?"

And, unable to stand, she had rolled from side to side. "I'll never have any regrets. But I'm not that sort of woman. I'm not that sort of woman."

"The midnight for Tokyo." The woman seemed to sense his hesitation, and she spoke as if to push it away. At the sound of the train whistle she stood up. Roughly throwing open a paper-paneled door and the window behind it, she sat down on the sill with her body thrown back against the railing. The train moved off into the distance, its echo fading into a sound as of the night wind. Cold air flooded the room.

"Have you lost your mind?" Shimamura too went over to the window. The air was still, without a suggestion of wind.

It was a stern night landscape. The sound of the freezing of snow over the land seemed to roar deep into the earth. There was no moon. The stars, almost too many of them to be true, came forward so brightly that it was as if they were falling with the swiftness of the void. As the stars came nearer, the sky retreated deeper and deeper into the night color. The layers of the Border Range, indistin­guishable one from another, cast their heaviness at the skirt of the starry sky in a blackness grave and somber enough to communicate their mass. The whole of the night scene came together in a clear, tranquil harmony.

--

22. Oân-choân sī bô-chhái-kang | 完全是無彩工

22. Oân-choân sī bô-chhái-kang

Pí khí ji̍t-kì, Shimamura koh-khah ì-gōa ê sī, yi chū cha̍p-gō͘/la̍k hòe khai-sí, lóng kā tha̍k kòe ê sió-soat kì khí-lâi, cha̍p-kì-phō͘ mā í-keng kì cha̍p pún ah.

"Kám-sióng lóng kì lo̍h-lâi, hoⁿh?"

"Góa bô siá sáⁿ-mih kám-sióng. Kan-ta kì chheh miâ, chok-chiá, hām chheh tiong jîn-bu̍t ê miâ, iáu ū hiah-ê lâng tiong-kan ê koan-hē."

"Kan-ta kì hiah-ê, ū sáⁿ lō͘-iōng?"

"Sī bô lō͘-iōng ah."

"Bô-chhái-kang."

"Sī ah," cha-bó͘ khin-sang án-ne kā ìn, bô-iàu-bô-kín, koh kim-kim khòaⁿ Shimamura.

Oân-choân sī bô-chhái-kang, Shimamura m̄-chai án-nóa, chiok siūⁿ boeh koh-chài kiâng-tiāu chit-tiám. 

Hit-ê sî-chūn, seh ê lêng-chēng thàng kòe i ê hûn-su, in-ūi i chhim-chhim hō͘ hit-ê cha-bó͘ só͘ khip-ín. I chai-iáⁿ, che tùi yi m̄-sī bô-chhái-kang, m̄-koh khí-thâu kóng bô-chhái-kang liáu, tian-tò kám-kak chit-ê cha-bó͘ ê chûn-chāi koh-khah sûn-kiat.

Chit-ê cha-bó͘ kóng tio̍h ê sió-soat, thiaⁿ khí-lâi hām lán ji̍t-siâng sú-iōng ê "bûn-ha̍k" chit-ê gí-sû bô sáⁿ koan-hē. Khòaⁿ lâi, yi hām chng-lāi ê lâng ê iú-gî, kan-ta sī kau-ōaⁿ lú-jîn cha̍p-chì, āu--lâi tō sûi-lâng ka-tī tha̍k. Bô kéng tha̍k, mā bô iau-kiû liáu-kái, khòaⁿ tio̍h kheh-chàn kheh-thiaⁿ ū sáⁿ-mih sió-soat a̍h cha̍p-chì, yi tō chioh lâi tha̍k. Yi kì ē-tio̍h ê sin chok-ka ê miâ, ū bē-chió Shimamura mā m̄-bat. Thiaⁿ yi ê kháu-khì, bē-su tih kóng iâu-oán ê gōa-kok bûn-ha̍k, ū chi̍t-chióng chhe-liâng, ai-oàn ê siaⁿ-tiāu, ná-chhiūⁿ bô chì-khì ê khit-chia̍h kāng-khoán. Shimamura sim-lāi tih siūⁿ: i ka-tī khò gōa-bûn chheh ê tô͘-phìⁿ hām bûn-jī lâi bāng-sióng iâu-oán ê Se-iûⁿ bú-tō, oân-á mā sī án-ne neh.

 Yi mā thiòng kah kóng-khí m̄-bat khòaⁿ kòe ê tiān-iáⁿ hām hì-kio̍k, ká-ná kúi-ā kò goe̍h iau kho̍k-kho̍k, chiah tán tio̍h kóng chit-lō ōe-tê ê phōaⁿ. Kám kóng yi bē-kì-lih chi̍t-pah káu-cha̍p-káu kang chêng, kāng chiah-ê ōe-tê, hō͘ yi jia̍t kah ka-tī hiàn-sin hō͘ Shimamura ê tāi-chì? Chit-má yi mā in-ūi ka-tī só͘ kóng ê ōe, iū-koh kui-hûn-su sio hōng-hōng.

--

22. 完全是無彩工

比起日記, Shimamura 閣較意外 ê 是, 她自十五六歲開始, 攏 kā 讀過 ê 小說記起來, 雜記簿 mā 已經記十本 ah.

"感想攏記落來, hoⁿh?"

"我無寫啥物感想. 干焦記冊名, 作者, 和冊中人物 ê 名, 猶有 hiah-ê 人中間 ê 關係."

"干焦記 hiah-ê, 有啥路用?"

"是無路用 ah."

"無彩工."

"是 ah," 查某輕鬆 án-ne kā 應, 無要無緊, koh 金金看 Shimamura.

完全是無彩工, Shimamura 毋知 án-nóa, 足想欲閣再 kiâng 調這點. 

彼个時陣, 雪 ê 寧靜迵過伊 ê 魂軀, 因為伊深深予彼个查某所吸引. 伊知影, 這對她毋是無彩工, 毋過起頭講無彩工了, 顛倒感覺這个查某 ê 存在閣較純潔.

這个查某講著 ê 小說, 聽起來和咱日 siâng 使用 ê "文學" 這个語詞無啥關係. 看來, 她和庄內 ê 人 ê 友誼, 干焦是交換女人雜誌, 後來 tō 隨人 ka-tī 讀. 無揀讀, mā 無要求了解, 看著客棧客廳有啥物小說 a̍h 雜誌, 她 tō 借來讀. 她記會著 ê 新作家 ê 名, 有袂少 Shimamura mā m̄-bat. 聽她 ê 口氣, 袂輸 tih 講遙遠 ê 外國文學, 有一種淒涼, 哀怨 ê 聲調, ná 像無志氣 ê 乞食仝款. Shimamura 心內 tih 想: 伊 ka-tī 靠外文冊 ê 圖片和文字來夢想遙遠 ê 西洋舞蹈, oân 仔 mā 是 án-ne neh.

她 mā 暢 kah 講起 m̄-bat 看過 ê 電影和戲劇, ká-ná 幾 ā 個月枵 kho̍k-kho̍k, chiah 等著講 chit-lō 話題 ê 伴. 敢講她袂記 lih 一百九十九工前, 仝 chiah-ê 話題, 予她熱 kah ka-tī 獻身予 Shimamura ê 代誌? Chit-má 她 mā 因為 ka-tī 所講 ê 話, 又閣規魂軀燒烘烘.

--

22.

But even more than at the diary, Shimamura was surprised at her statement that she had carefully catalogued every novel and short story she had read since she was fifteen or sixteen. The record already filled ten notebooks.

"You write down your criticisms, do you?"

"I could never do anything like that. I just write down the author and the characters and how they are related to each other. That is about all."

"But what good does it do?"

"None at all."

"A waste of effort."

"A complete waste of effort," she answered brightly, as though the admission meant little to her. She gazed solemnly at Shimamura, however. A complete waste of effort. For some reason Shimamura wanted to stress the point. But, drawn to her at that moment, he felt a quiet like the voice of the rain flow over him. He knew well enough that for her it was in fact no waste of effort, but somehow the final determination that it was had the effect of distilling and purifying the woman's existence.

Her talk of novels seemed to have little to do with "literature" in the everyday sense of the word. The only friendly ties she had with the people of this village had come from exchanging women's magazines, and afterwards she had gone on with her reading by herself. She was quite indiscriminate and had little understanding of literature, and she borrowed even the novels and magazines she found lying in the guests' rooms at the inn. Not a few of the new novelists whose names came to her meant nothing to Shimamura. Her manner was as though she were talking of a distant foreign literature. There was something lonely, something sad in it, something that rather suggested a beggar who has lost all desire. It occurred to Shimamura that his own distant fantasy on the occidental ballet, built up from words and photographs in foreign books, was not in its way dissimilar.

She talked on happily too of movies and plays she had never seen. She had no doubt been starved all these months for someone who would listen to her. Had she forgotten that a hundred and ninety-nine days earlier exactly this sort of conversation had set off the impulse to throw herself at Shima· mura? Again she lost herself in the talk, and again her words seemed to be warming her whole body.

--

21. Lí ū kì ji̍t-kì? | 你有記日記?

21. Lí ū kì ji̍t-kì?

Shimamura thâu-chi̍t-pái ù tio̍h chiah léng ê thâu-chang, kiaⁿ chi̍t-tiô. I kám-kak, hoān-sè m̄-sī in-ūi thiⁿ-khì hân-léng, sī chit-chióng thâu-mo͘ pún-sin ê iân-kò͘, só͘-í kim-kim kā khòaⁿ. Cha-bó͘ tī phōe-lô͘ téng áu chéng-thâu-á tih sùiⁿ, bô chi̍t-sî thêng.

"Lí tih sùiⁿ sáⁿ-mih?"

I mūi kòe liáu, cha-bó͘ iáu-sī tiām-tiām áu chéng-thâu-á kòe chi̍t-khùn.

"He sī gō͘-goe̍h jī-saⁿ."

"Sī oh? Lí tih sùiⁿ ji̍t-chí hioh? Chhit-goe̍h hām peh-goe̍h liân-sòa lóng sī tōa-goe̍h oh."

"Hēⁿ, tē chi̍t-pah káu-cha̍p-káu kang. Tú-hó sī tē chi̍t-pah káu-cha̍p-káu kang."

"Lí ná ē hiah chheng-chhó, ē-kì-lih sī gō͘-goe̍h jī-saⁿ?"

"Hian ji̍t-kì, sûi tō chai-iáⁿ lah."

"Ji̍t-kì? Lí ū kì ji̍t-kì?"

"Hmh. Tha̍k kū ê ji̍t-kì chiâⁿ chhù-bī. Siá ji̍t-kì sáⁿ-mih to m̄-bián am-khàm. Ka-tī koh tha̍k ê sî mā ē kiàn-siàu."

"Tang-sî khai-sí kì?"

"Khì Tokyo pôe-chiú ê bô kú í-chêng. Hit-chūn chîⁿ bô chē, ka-tī bé bē khí ji̍t-kì phō͘, kan-ta iōng nn̄g-saⁿ-sián chîⁿ bé ê cha̍p-kì phō͘-á, iōng chhioh ōe keh-á, iân-pit siah chiam-chiam ōe ê sòaⁿ chìn hó-khòaⁿ. Phō͘-á chóa ùi téng-kak kàu ē-kak, iōng sè-sè ê jī siá móa-móa. Kàu ka-tī ū chîⁿ bé ji̍t-kì-phō͘ ê sî, tō bē-sái ah. Mi̍h-kiāⁿ tō iōng kah chìn thó-chè. Liān siá-jī, í-chêng iōng kū pò-chóa, taⁿ lóng ti̍t-chiap iōng pe̍h-chóa siá."

"Siá ji̍t-kì lóng bô thêng?"

"Hmh, cha̍p-la̍k hòe kì ê hām kin-nî kì ê siāng chhù-bī. Ta̍k-pái lóng sī ùi iàn-hōe tún lâi, khùn-saⁿ ōaⁿ hó tō sûi kì. Tún lâi ê sî chìn òaⁿ ah, siá leh, siá leh tō khùn khì ah. Ū-ê só͘-chāi chit-má mā khòaⁿ ē chhut."

"Sī án-ne oh?"

"M̄-koh, mā m̄-sī ta̍k-kang kì, mā ū bô kì ê sî-chūn. Tī chit-khoán soaⁿ-lāi, khì iàn-hōe, ta̍k-hāng lóng mā kāng-khoán. Kin-nî kan-ta bé tio̍h ta̍k-ia̍h lóng ìn ji̍t-kî ê, bô hó iōng. In-ūi kì ê sî, ū-sî mā ē siá kah chìn tn̂g."

--

21. 你有記日記?

Shimamura 頭一擺焐著 chiah 冷 ê 頭鬃, 驚一趒. 伊感覺, 凡勢毋是因為天氣寒冷, 是這種頭毛本身 ê 緣故, 所以金金 kā 看. 查某 tī 被爐頂拗指頭仔 tih sùiⁿ, 無一時停.

"你 tih sùiⁿ 啥物?"

伊 mūi 過了, 查某猶是恬恬拗指頭仔過一睏.

"He 是五月二三."

"是 oh? 你 tih sùiⁿ 日子 hioh? 七月和八月連紲攏是大月 oh."

"Hēⁿ, 第一百九十九工. 拄好是第一百九十九工."

"你那會 hiah 清楚, 會記 lih 是五月二三?"

"掀日記, 隨 tō 知影 lah."

"日記? 你有記日記?"

"Hmh. 讀舊 ê 日記誠趣味. 寫日記啥物 to 毋免掩崁. Ka-tī koh 讀 ê 時 mā 會見笑."

"當時開始記?"

"去 Tokyo 陪酒 ê 無久以前. 彼陣錢無濟, ka-tī 買袂起日記簿, 干焦用兩三仙錢買 ê 雜記簿仔, 用尺畫格仔, 鉛筆削尖尖畫 ê 線晉好看. 簿仔紙 ùi 頂角到下角, 用細細 ê 字寫滿滿. 到 ka-tī 有錢買日記簿 ê 時, tō 袂使 ah. 物件 tō 用 kah 晉討債. 練寫字, 以前用舊報紙, 今攏直接用白紙寫."

"寫日記攏無停?"

"Hmh, 十六歲記 ê 和今年記 ê 上趣味. 逐擺攏是 ùi 宴會 tún 來, 睏衫換好 tō 隨記. Tún 來 ê 時 chìn 晏 ah, 寫 leh, 寫 leh tō 睏去 ah. 有 ê 所在這馬 mā 看會出."

"是 án-ne oh?"

"毋過, mā 毋是逐工記, mā 有無記 ê 時陣. Tī 這款山內, 去宴會, 逐項攏 mā 仝款. 今年干焦買著逐頁攏印日期 ê, 無好用. 因為記 ê 時, 有時 mā 會寫 kah 晉長."

--

21.

Shimamura looked at the hair and wondered whether the coldness that had so startled him--he had never touched such cold hair, he said--might be less the cold of the snow-country winter than something in the hair itself. The woman began counting on her fingers. For some time she counted on.

"What are you counting?" he asked. Still the counting continued.

"It was the twenty-third of May."

"You're counting the days, are you. Don't forget that July and August are two long months in a row."

"It's the hundred-and-ninety-ninth day. It's exzactly a hundred and ninety-nine days."

"How did you remember it was the twenty-third of May?"

"All I have to do is look in my diary."

"You keep a diary?"

"It's always fun to read an old diary. But I don't hide anything when I write in my diary, and sometimes I'm ashamed to look at it myself."

"When did you begin?"

"Just before I went t o Tokyo as a geisha. I didn't have any money, and I bought a plain notebook for two or three sen and drew in lines. I must have had a very sharp pencil. The lines are all neat and close together, and every page is crammed from top to bottom. When I had enough money to buy a diary, it wasn't the same any more. I started taking things for granted. It's that way with my writing practice, too. I used to practice on newspapers before I even thought of trying good paper, but now I set it down on good paper from the start."

"And you've kept the diary all this time?"

"Yes. The year I was sixteen and this year have been the best. I write in my diary when I'm home from a party and ready for bed, and when I read it over I can see places where I've gone to sleep writing. . . . But I don't write every day. Some days I miss. Way off here in the mountains, every party's the same. This year I couldn't find anything except a diary with a new day on each page. It was a mistake. When I start writing, I want to write on and on."

--

20. Lo̍h-bóe góa mā bô chhiò lí | 落尾我 mā 無笑你

20. Lo̍h-bóe góa mā bô chhiò lí

Chi̍t-chām-á yi tiām kah ná bô tih chhoán-khùi. Hiông-hiông iū ná siūⁿ tio̍h sáⁿ, tōa siaⁿ kiò:

"Lí tih chhiò. Tih chhiò góa hoⁿh?"

"Góa bô chhiò lah."

"Chhiò tī sim-koaⁿ té hoⁿh? Chit-má bô chhiò, í-āu lí mā ē chhiò lah." Cha-bó͘  àⁿ-sin, soah iⁿ-iⁿ-n̄g-n̄g tih khàu.

M̄-koh, kòe bô kú, yi tō bô koh chheh-khùi, tō óa-kīn i, un-jiû, thé-thiap, kóng-khí ka-tī ê sin-sè. Chiú-chùi ê kan-khó͘ ká-ná lóng bē-kì-lih ah, mā lóng bô kóng-khí tú-chiah ê tāi-chì.

"Ai-ah, kò͘ kóng-ōe, soah bē-kì-lih sî-kan." Yi bīn âng khí-lâi, chhiò chi̍t-ē. 

Thiⁿ-kuiⁿ chìn-chêng tio̍h lī-khui, yi án-ne kóng:

"Iáu àm-àm, m̄-koh chia ê lâng chin chá khí lâi." yi án-ne kóng, kúi-ā kái peh khí-lâi, thoah thang-á-mûi khòaⁿ.

"Iáu khòaⁿ bô lâng. Chá-khí lo̍h-hō͘, bô-lâng chhut-mûi lo̍h chhân."

Tùi-bīn soaⁿ-thâu hām soaⁿ-kha ê chhù-téng tī bông-bông ê hō͘ tiong phû-hiān chhut-lâi, cha-bó͘ ká-ná m̄-kam lī-khui. Lo̍h-bóe, tī kheh-chàn ê lâng khí-chhn̂g chìn-chêng, yi kā thâu-chang se hó, kiaⁿ Shimamura sàng yi kàu mûi-kháu ē hông khòaⁿ tio̍h, tō hiong-hiong kông-kông ka-tī chi̍t-ê chhut-khì, iōng cháu ê lī-khui. 

Shimamura mā tī hit-kang túiⁿ Tokyo.

*

"Hit-chūn lí án-ne kóng, m̄-koh he m̄-sī chin ê. Nā bô, sáng ē tī tang-bóe lâi chiah kôaⁿ ê chia? Lo̍h-bóe góa mā bô chhiò lí."

Cha-bó͘ hut-leh gia̍h thâu. Yi he goân-pún tah tī Shimamura chhiú-té ê bīn âng khí-lâi, thàng-kòe kāu-kāu ê pe̍h-hún, ùi ba̍k-phôe kàu bīn-kut nn̄g-pêng, iáu sī khòaⁿ ē chhut. Che sui-jiân hō͘ i siūⁿ-tio̍h Seh-kok àm-iā ê hân-léng, m̄-koh yi he ba̍t koh kāu ê o͘-thâu-chang ū un-loán ê kám-kak.

Yi ê bīn phû chhut chi̍t-ê bâ-bún chhiò, Kám sī chit-má yi koh siūⁿ tio̍h "hit-tong-sî" ah? Ká-ná Shimamura ê ōe chiām-chiām kā yi kui-hûn-su lóng ní âng khí-lâi ah. Cha-bó͘ ê thâu lê loeh, kimono ê āu-niá khui khui, khòaⁿ ē-tio̍h kha-chiah-phiaⁿ mā sī âng kì-kì, bē-su tú-chiah chhut-e̍k ê lō͘-thé. Khó-lêng sī pí-phēng thâu-mo͘ ê sek, chiah ū chit-chióng kám-kak. Hia̍h-thâu téng ê thâu-mo͘ bô sùiⁿ ba̍t, mo͘-si ná cha-po͘-lâng ê hiah chho͘, bô iù-mo͘-á, mā ná o͘ ê khòng-chio̍h, o͘ kah ē siám-kuiⁿ.

--

20. 落尾我 mā 無笑你

一站仔她恬 kah ná 無 tih 喘氣. 雄雄又 ná 想著啥, 大聲叫:

"你 tih 笑. Tih 笑我 hoⁿh?"

"我無笑 lah."

"笑 tī 心肝底 hoⁿh? 這馬無笑, 以後你 mā 會笑 lah." 查某  àⁿ 身, 煞 iⁿ-iⁿ-n̄g-n̄g tih 哭.

毋過, 過無久, 她 tō 無 koh chheh 氣, tō 倚近伊, 溫柔, 體貼, 講起 ka-tī ê 身世. 酒醉 ê 艱苦 ká-ná 攏袂記 lih ah, mā 攏無講起拄才 ê 代誌.

"Ai-ah, 顧講話, 煞袂記 lih 時間." 她面紅起來, 笑一下. 

天 kuiⁿ 進前著離開, 她 án-ne 講:

"猶暗暗, 毋過遮 ê 人真早起來." 她 án-ne 講, 幾 ā 改 peh 起來, 挩窗仔 mûi 看.

"猶看無人. 早起落雨, 無人出 mûi 落田."

對面山頭和山跤 ê 厝頂 tī 濛濛 ê 雨中浮現出來, 查某 ká-ná 毋甘離開. 落尾, tī 客棧 ê 人起床進前, 她 kā 頭鬃梳好, 驚 Shimamura 送她到 mûi 口會 hông 看著, tō 兇兇狂狂家治一个出去, 用走 ê 離開. 

Shimamura mā tī 彼工 túiⁿ Tokyo.

*

"彼陣你 án-ne 講, 毋過 he 毋是真 ê. 若無, sáng 會 tī 冬尾來 chiah 寒 ê 遮? 落尾我 mā 無笑你."

查某忽 leh 攑頭. 她 he 原本貼 tī Shimamura 手底 ê 面紅起來, 迵過厚厚 ê 白粉, ùi 目皮到面骨兩爿, 猶是看會出. 這雖然予伊想著雪國暗夜 ê 寒冷, 毋過她 he 密 koh 厚 ê 烏頭鬃有溫暖 ê 感覺.

她 ê 面浮出一个麻吻笑, 敢是 chit-má 她 koh 想著 "彼當時" ah? Ká-ná Shimamura ê 話漸漸 kā 她規魂軀攏染紅起來 ah. 查某 ê 頭犁 loeh, kimono ê 後領開開, 看會著尻脊骿 mā 是紅 kì-kì, 袂輸拄才出浴 ê 露體. 可能是比並頭毛 ê 色, 才有這種感覺. 額頭頂 ê 頭毛無 sùiⁿ 密, 毛絲 ná 查埔人 ê hiah 粗, 無幼毛仔, mā ná 烏 ê 礦石, 烏 kah 會閃 kuiⁿ.

--

20.

She was quiet for a time, apparently drained of feeling. Then, as if the thought came to her from somewhere in her memory, she struck out: "You're laughing, aren't you? You're laughing at me."

"I am not."

"Deep in your heart you're laughing at me. Even if you aren't now, you will be later." She was choked with tears. Turning away from him, she buried her face in her hands.

But a moment later she was calm again. Soft and yielding as if she were offering herself up, she was suddenly very intimate, and she began telling him all about herself. She seemed quite to have forgotten the headache. She said not a word about what had just happened.

"But I've been so busy talking 1 haven't noticed how late it is." She smiled a little bashfully. She had to leave before daylight, she said. "It's still dark. But people here get up early." Time after time she got up to look out the window. "They won't be able to see my face yet. And it's raining. No one will be going out to the fields this morning."

She seemed reluctant to go even when the lines of the mountain and of the roofs on its slopes were floating out of the rain. Finally it was time for the hotel maids to be up and about. She retouched her hair and ran, almost fled, from the room, brushing aside Shimamura's offer to see her to the door. Someone might catch a glimpse of the two of them together.

Shimamura went back to Tokyo that day.

 *

 "You remember what you said then? But you were wrong. Why else would anyone come to such a place in December? I wasn't laughing at you."

The woman raised her head. Her face where it had been pressed against Shimamura's hand was red under the thick powder, from the eye across the bridge of the nose. It made him think of the snow-country cold, and yet, because of the darkness of her hair, there was a certain warmth in it.

She smiled quietly, as though dazzled by a bright light. Perhaps, as she smiled, she thought of "then," and Shimamura's words gradually colored her whole body. When she bowed her head, a little stiffly, he could see that even her back under her kimono was flushed a deep red. Set off by the color of her hair, the moist sensuous skin was as if laid naked before him. Her hair could not really have been called thick. Stiff like a man's, and swept up into a high Japanese-style coiffure with not a hair out of place, it glowed like some heavy black stone.

--

19. Sī lí tòng bē tiâu, m̄-sī góa | 是你擋袂牢, 毋是我

19. Sī lí tòng bē tiâu, m̄-sī góa

"Bē-sái án-ne. Taⁿ án-ne tō hó, góa koàn-sì ah." Yi ná kóng ná chē thêng, suh chi̍t-ê tōa khùi, m̄-koh iáu sī ut-ut bē tháu-khùi. Thang-á-mûi thoah khui, siūⁿ boeh thò͘, mā thò͘ bô. Pún-chiâⁿ siūⁿ boeh tó lo̍h, tī tē-pán kún-liông chi̍t-ē, m̄-koh iáu sī jím tio̍h. Án-ne kòe chi̍t-khùn. Ū-sî yi iū chheng-chhéⁿ hó-hó, liân-sòa hoah boeh túiⁿ. Sî-kan í-keng sī pòaⁿ-mê nn̄g-tiám.

"Lí khì khùn lah. Ai-ah, lí kín khì khùn."

"Iah lí boeh chhòng sáⁿ?" Shimamura mūi yi.

"Góa chē tī chia, tán khah chheng-chhéⁿ tō boeh túiⁿ. Thiⁿ bōe kuiⁿ góa tio̍h ài túiⁿ." Yi iōng kha-thâu-u sóa khì Shimamura sin-piⁿ, kā khiú tio̍h kóng: 

"Lí bián chhap góa, kín khì khùn lah."

Shimamura koh kiu ji̍p mî-phōe. Cha-bó͘ pê khì toh-á hia tōa-chhùi koàn chúi.

"Lí khí-lâi, kín khí-lâi lah."

 "Tàu-té sī án-nóa lah?"

"Lí iáu sī khì khùn hó lah."

"Ná ē án-ne kóng ah?" Shimamura peh khí-lâi, hut-leh kā cha-bó͘ khiú kòe.

Chū án-ne, cha-bó͘ ê bīn oa̍t lâi oa̍t khì, hut-leh kā chhùi-tûn tu kòe-lâi.

Án-ne liáu-āu, koh ná hām-bîn án-ne kóng chhut khó͘-thiong:

"Bē-sái lah. Bē-sái án-ne. Lí m̄-sī kóng kan-ta boeh chò pêng-iú?" M̄-chai án-ne tiông-ho̍k kóng kúi piàn.

Shimamura kám-tōng tio̍h yi he chin-chêng ê siaⁿ-tiāu, khòaⁿ yi ba̍k-thâu kat ân, chīn-la̍t ah-chè ka-tī ê kian-kiông ì-chì, i ê hóe hoa khì ah, sīm-chì tih siūⁿ, sī-m̄-sī tio̍h chun-siú hām yi ê iak-sok.

"Góa bô sáⁿ hó khó-sioh, choa̍t-tùi bô sáⁿ hó khó-sioh lah. M̄-koh, góa m̄-sī hit-khoán cha-bó͘, m̄-sī hit-khoán cha-bó͘ lah. Lí m̄-sī ka-tī kóng, he bē kú-tn̂g?"

Yi í-keng chùi kah nōa kô͘-kô͘ ah.

"M̄-sī góa bô-koai. Sī lí bô-koai lah. Sī lí su lah. Sī lí tòng bē-tiâu, m̄-sī góa."

Yi kóng kah chhùi poe-poe, ūi tio̍h ah-lo̍h sim-lāi ê hoaⁿ-hí, kín khì kā chhiú-úiⁿ.

--

19. 是你擋袂牢, 毋是我

"袂使 án-ne. 今 án-ne tō 好, 我慣勢 ah." 她 ná 講 ná 坐騰, 欶一个大氣, 毋過猶是鬱鬱袂敨氣. 窗仔 mûi 挩開, 想欲吐, mā 吐無. 本成想欲倒落, tī 地板滾龍一下, 毋過猶是忍著. Án-ne 過一睏. 有時她又清醒好好, 連紲喝欲 túiⁿ. 時間已經是半暝兩點.

"你去睏 lah. Ai-ah, 你緊去睏."

"Iah 你欲創 sáⁿ?" Shimamura mūi 她.

"我坐 tī 遮, 等較清醒 tō 欲 túiⁿ. 天未 kuiⁿ 我著愛 túiⁿ." 她用跤頭趺徙去 Shimamura 身邊, kā 搝著講: 

"你免 chhap 我, 緊去睏 lah."

Shimamura koh 勼入棉被. 查某爬去桌仔遐大喙灌水.

"你起來, 緊起來 lah."

 "到底是 án-nóa lah?"

"你猶是去睏好 lah."

"那會 án-ne 講 ah?" Shimamura peh 起來, 忽 leh kā 查某搝過.

自 án-ne, 查某 ê 面越來越去, 忽 leh kā 喙唇 tu 過來.

Án-ne 了後, koh ná 陷眠 án-ne 講出苦衷:

"袂使 lah. 袂使 án-ne. 你毋是講干焦欲做朋友?" 毋知 án-ne 重複講幾遍.

Shimamura 感動著她 he 真情 ê 聲調, 看她目頭結絚, 盡力壓制 ka-tī ê 堅 kiâng 意志, 伊 ê 火 hoa 去 ah, 甚至 tih 想, 是毋是著遵守和她 ê iak 束.

"我無啥好可惜, 絕對無啥好可惜 lah. 毋過, 我毋是彼款查某, 毋是彼款查某 lah. 你毋是家治講, he 袂久長?"

她已經醉 kah 爛糊糊 ah.

"毋是我無乖. 是你無乖 lah. 是你輸 lah. 是你擋袂牢, 毋是我."

她講 kah 喙飛飛, 為著壓落心內 ê 歡喜, 緊去咬手 úiⁿ.

--

19.

"No, no. This is the way. I'm used to it." She sat up straight and took a deep breath, but breathing was clearly painful. She felt a little nauseated, she said, and opened the window behind her, but she could not vomit. She seemed to be holding back the urge to fall down writhing on the floor. Now and then she came to herself. "I'm going home, I'm going home," she said again and again, and presently it was after two.

"Go on to bed. Go on to bed when a person tells you to."

"But what will you do?" Shimamura asked.

" I'll j ust sit here like this. When I feel a little better I'll go home. I'll go home before daylight." She crawled·over on her knees and tugged at him. "Go on to sleep. Pay no attention to me, I tell you."

Shimamura went back to bed. The woman sprawled over the table and took another drink of water.

"Get up. Get up when a person tells you to."

"Which do you want me to do?"

"All right, go to sleep."

"You aren't making much sense, you know." He pulled her into bed after him.

Her face was turned half away, hidden from him, but after a time she thrust her lips violently toward him.

Then, as if in a delirium she v'ere trying to tell of her pain, she repeated over and over, he did not know how many times: "No, no. Didn't you say you wanted to be friends?"

The almost too serious tone of it rather dulled his ardor, and as he saw her wrinkle her forehead in the effort to control herself, he thought of standing by the commitment he had made.

But then she said: "I won't have any regrets. I'll never have any regrets. But I'm not that sort of woman. It can't last. Didn't you say so yourself?"

She was still half numb from the liquor.

"It's not my fault. It's yours. You lost. You're the weak one. Not I." She ran on almost in a trance, and she bit at her sleeve as if to fight back the happiness.

--

18. I kā chhiú chhun ji̍p yi ê heng-khám | 伊 kā 手伸入她 ê 胸坎

18. I kā chhiú chhun ji̍p yi ê heng-khám

"Ah, lí ū tī leh."

Cha-bó͘ kā khîⁿ tio̍h chē lo̍h-lâi, óa-khò i ê hûn-su.

"Bô chùi lah. Hmh, sáng tih chùi? Kan-khó͘, kan-ta sī kan-khó͘ nîa. Thâu-khak chìn chheng-chhéⁿ neh. Aah, boeh lim-chúi. Bē-sái lām wiski lim. He chhèng khì thâu-khak, chiâⁿ thiàⁿ. Hiah-ê lâng bé ê sī sio̍k chiú. Góa ná ē chai lah?"

Yi án-ne na̍uh-na̍uh kóng, koh ná iōng chhiú-pôaⁿ so bīn.

Gōa-kháu ê hō͘ siaⁿ hut-leh tōa khí-lâi.

Sió-khóa kā pàng liōng, cha-bó͘ sûi tō boeh un loeh. In-ūi i kā siâm tī ām-kún, cha-bó͘ ê thâu-chang-kòe kiâng boeh hō͘ i ê bīn chiⁿ sòaⁿ khì. I sūn-sè kā chhiú chhun ji̍p yi ê heng-khám.

Yi bô tah-èng i ê iau-kiû, nn̄g-ki chhiú-kut ná mûi-chhòaⁿ án-ne mo͘h tī i boeh ài ê mi̍h-kiāⁿ téng-koân, chiú-chùi ê iân-kò͘, chhiú sái bô la̍t.

"Sī án-nóa lah, lí chit-ê mi̍h-kiāⁿ! Cheng-seⁿ. Cheng-seⁿ. Lán-si-kut. Che sī sáⁿ mi̍h-kiāⁿ ah!" ná án-ne kóng, yi hut-leh khì kā ka-tī ê chhiú-kut.

I kiaⁿ chi̍t-tiô, kín kā yi ê chhiú-kut póe-khui, téng-koân í-keng ū chhim-chhim ê chhùi-khí hûn.

M̄-koh, cha-bó͘ bô koh té-khòng, chhut-chāi i khì. Yi gia̍h pit loān siá, kóng boeh siá yi kah-ì ê lâng ê miâ, chi̍t-lō͘ siá jī/saⁿ-cha̍p ê hì-kio̍k a̍h tiān-iáⁿ ián-oân ê miâ, koh kúi-ā piàn liân-sòa siá Shimamura.

Shimamura chhiú tiong he lân-tit hiah phòng ê mi̍h-kiāⁿ mā chiām-chiām sio khí-lâi.

"Ah, an-sim ah, án-ne góa an-sim ah-lah." I jiû-jiû ká-ná lāu-bú án-ne kā kóng. 

Cha-bó͘ hiông-hiông kám-kak kan-khó͘, tō thiu sin khiā khí-lâi, phak khì pâng-keng ê pa̍t kak-ūi.

"Bē-sái, bē-sái. Góa boeh túiⁿ, boeh túiⁿ lah."

"Kám kiâⁿ ē khì? Lo̍h tōa-hō͘ neh."

"Chhiah-kha kiâⁿ, iōng pê ê túiⁿ!"

"Hûi-hiám lah. Lí nā boeh túiⁿ, góa lâi sàng lí."

Kheh-chàn tī soaⁿ-phiâⁿ téng-koân, ū chi̍t-ê tōa kiā.

"Io-tòa pàng liōng, sió tó chi̍t-ē, chiú-chhéⁿ tō hó ah-lah."

--

18. 伊 kā 手伸入她 ê 胸坎

"Ah, 你有 tī leh."

查某 kā khîⁿ 著坐落來, 倚靠伊 ê 魂軀.

"無醉 lah. Hmh, sáng tih 醉? 艱苦, 干焦是艱苦 nîa. 頭殼 chìn 清醒 neh. Aah, 欲啉水. 袂使濫 wiski 啉. He chhèng 去頭殼, 誠疼. Hiah-ê 人買 ê 是俗酒. 我那會知 lah?"

她 án-ne na̍uh-na̍uh 講, koh ná 用手盤挲面.

外口 ê 雨聲忽 leh 大起來.

小可 kā 放 liōng, 查某隨 tō 欲瘟 loeh. 因為伊 kā siâm tī 頷頸, 查某 ê 頭鬃髻 kiâng 欲予伊 ê 面 chiⁿ 散去. 伊順勢 kā 手伸入她 ê 胸坎.

她無答應伊 ê 要求, 兩支手骨 ná mûi 閂 án-ne mo͘h tī 伊欲愛 ê 物件頂懸, 酒醉 ê 緣故, 手使無力.

"是 án-nóa lah, 你這个物件! 精牲. 精牲. 懶屍骨. 這是 sáⁿ 物件 ah!" ná án-ne 講, 她忽 leh 去咬家治 ê 手骨.

伊驚一趒, 緊 kā 她 ê 手骨 póe 開, 頂懸已經有深深 ê 喙齒痕.

毋過, 查某無 koh 抵抗, 出在伊去. 她攑筆亂寫, 講欲寫她佮意 ê 人 ê 名, 一路寫二三十个戲劇 a̍h 電影演員 ê 名, koh 幾 ā 遍連紲寫 Shimamura.

Shimamura 手中彼難得 hiah 膨 ê 物件 mā 漸漸燒起來.

"Ah, 安心 ah, án-ne 我安心 ah-lah." 伊柔柔 ká-ná 老母 án-ne kā 講. 

查某雄雄感覺艱苦, tō 抽身徛起來, 仆去房間 ê 別角位.

"袂使, 袂使. 我欲 túiⁿ, 欲 túiⁿ lah."

"敢行會去? 落大雨 neh."

"赤跤行, 用爬 ê túiⁿ!"

"危險 lah. 你若欲 túiⁿ, 我來送你."

客棧 tī 山坪頂懸, 有一个大崎.

"腰帶放冗, 小倒一下, 酒醒 tō 好 ah-lah."

--

18

"You're here." Clinging to him, she sank to the floor. She leaned against him as she spoke. "I'm not drunk. Who says I'm drunk? Ah, it hurts, it hurts. It's just that it hurts. I know exactly what I'm doing. Give me water, I want water. I mixed my drinks, that was my mistake. That's what goes to your head. It hurts. They had a bottle of cheap whisky. How was I to know it was cheap ? " She rubbed her forehead with her fists.

The sound of the rain outside was suddenly louder.

Each time he relaxed his embrace even a little, she threatened to collapse. His arm was around her neck so tight that her hair was rumpled against his cheek. He thrust a hand inside the neck of her kimono.

He added coaxing words, but she did not answer. She folded her arms like a bar over the breast he was asking for.

"What's the matter with you." She bit savagely at her arm, as though angered by its refusal to serve her. "Damn you, damn you. Lazy, useless. What's the matter with you."

Shimamura drew back startled. There were deep teeth-marks on her arm.

She no longer resisted, however. Giving herself up to his hands, she began writing something with the tip of her finger. She would tell him the people she liked, she said. After she had written the names of some twenty or thirty actors, she wrote "Shimamura, Shimamura," over and over again.

The delicious swelling under Shimamura's hand grew warmer.

"Everything is all right." His voice was serene. "Everything is all right again." He sensed something a little motherly in her.

But the headache came back. She writhed and twisted, and sank to the floor in a corner of the room.

"It won't do. It won't do. I'm going home. Going home."

"Do you think you can walk that far? And listen to the rain."

"I'll go home barefoot. I'll crawl home."

"You don't think that's a little dangerous? If you have to go, I'll take you."

The inn was on a hill, and the road was a steep one.

"Suppose you try loosening your clothes. Lie down for a little while and you'll feel well enough to go."

--

17. Hit-àm yi chùi-bâng-bâng phiân ji̍p-lâi | 彼暗她醉茫茫蹁入來

17. Hit-àm yi chùi-bâng-bâng phiân ji̍p-lâi

Tùi chi̍t-ê bat pôe-chiú ê cha-bó͘ lâi kóng, yi ê heng-khám sùiⁿ ū-kàu phòng ah.

"Ai-ah, tang-sî poe lâi chiah-ê báng-á." Cha-bó͘ iōng saⁿ-á-ki pōaⁿ-pōaⁿ leh, khiā khí-lâi.

Tī chit-chióng tiām-chēng tiong-kan, nn̄g-lâng bô ōe hó kóng, piáu-chêng piàn kah bô chū-chāi. 

Hit-àm cha̍p-tiám chó-iū, cha-bó͘ ùi cháu-lông tōa-siaⁿ kiò Shimamura ê miâ, phiaⁿ ji̍p-lâi i ê pâng-keng. Yi poa̍h-lo̍h tī toh-á, iōng chùi-bâng-bâng ê chhiú loān sa téng-koân ê mi̍h-kiāⁿ, koh ko͘-lok ko͘-lok tih lim-chúi.

Kin-nî kôaⁿ--lâng tī chhu-seh-tiûⁿ bat ê chi̍t-tīn cha-po͘, tī boeh-àm ê sî pôaⁿ-soaⁿ lâi-kàu chia sio-hōe. In iau-chhiáⁿ yi lâi kheh-chàn, koh kiò gē-tòaⁿ, tī hia lāu-jia̍t kún-kún, soah khì hō͘ in koàn kah chiú-chùi.

Yi ê thâu ná iô ná hàiⁿ, ka-tī chi̍t-ê i-i ū-ū án-ne kóng.

"Án-ne m̄-hó, góa boeh lâi-khì ah. In ē siūⁿ-kóng góa sī án-nóa ah, ē sì-kè chhōe. Liâm-mi góa chiah koh lâi." Kóng liáu, yi tō phiân-leh phiân-leh kiâⁿ chhut khì.

Tāi-khài chi̍t-tiám-cheng liáu-āu, cháu-lông téng iū-koh ū cha̍p-loān ê kha-pō͘ siaⁿ, ká-ná phiân lâi phiân khì án-ne chi̍t-lō͘ kiâⁿ kòe-lâi.

"Shimamura San! Shimamura San!" cha-bó͘ ê koân-siaⁿ.

"Ah, khòaⁿ bô lah. Shimamura San!"

Che sī cha-bó͘ iōng sûn-kiat ê sim tih kiò ka-tī cha-po͘-lâng ê siaⁿ-im lah. Shimamura kám-kak chiâⁿ ì-gōa. M̄-koh yi ê kiò-siaⁿ tiāⁿ-tio̍h í-keng thoân kàu kui-ê kheh-chàn. Shimamura sió-khóa gông-ngia̍h, tú siūⁿ boeh khiā khí-lâi, cha-bó͘ í-keng iōng chéng-thâu-á thok-ji̍p thoah-mûi, lia̍h tio̍h mûi-kheng, tōa-la̍t siàng tī i ê hûn-su.

--

17. 彼暗她醉茫茫蹁入來

對一个 bat 陪酒 ê 查某來講, 她 ê 胸坎 sùiⁿ 有夠膨 ah.

"Ai-ah, 當時飛來 chiah-ê 蠓仔." 查某用衫仔裾拌拌 leh, 徛起來.

Tī 這種恬靜中間, 兩人無話好講, 表情變 kah 無自在. 

彼暗十點左右, 查某 ùi 走廊大聲叫 Shimamura ê 名, 抨入來伊 ê房間. 她跋落 tī 桌仔, 用醉茫茫 ê 手亂捎頂懸 ê 物件, koh ko͘-lok ko͘-lok tih 啉水.

今年寒人 tī 趨雪場 bat ê 一陣查埔, tī 欲暗 ê 時盤山來到遮相會. In 邀請她來客棧, koh 叫藝旦, tī 遐鬧熱滾滾, 煞去予 in 灌 kah 酒醉.

她 ê 頭 ná 搖 ná 幌, ka-tī 一个 i-i ū-ū án-ne 講.

"Án-ne 毋好, 我欲來去 ah. In 會想講我是 án-nóa ah, 會四界揣. Liâm-mi 我才 koh 來." 講了, 她 tō 蹁 leh 蹁 leh 行出去.

大概一點鐘了後, 走廊頂又閣有雜亂 ê 跤步聲, ká-ná 蹁來蹁去 án-ne 一路行過來.

"Shimamura San! Shimamura San!" 查某 ê 懸聲.

"Ah, 看無 lah. Shimamura San!"

這是查某用純潔 ê 心 tih 叫 ka-tī 查埔人 ê 聲音 lah. Shimamura 感覺誠意外. 毋過她 ê 叫聲定著已經傳到規个客棧. Shimamura 小可 gông-ngia̍h, 拄想欲徛起來, 查某已經用指頭仔 thok 入挩 mûi, 掠著 mûi 框, 大力摔 tī 伊 ê 魂軀.

--

17.

Her breasts were rather full for a woman used to the high, binding obi of the geisha.

"The sand flies have come out," she said, standing up and brushing at the skirt of her kimono.

Alone in the quiet, they could think of little to say.

It was perhaps ten o'clock that night. The woman called loudly to Shimamura from the hall, and a moment later she fell into his room as if someone had thrown her. She collapsed in front of the table. Flailing with a drunken arm at everything that happened to be on it, she poured herself a glass of water and drank in great gulps.

She had gone out to meet some travelers down from the mountains that evening, men she had been friendly with during the skiing season the winter before. They had invited her to the inn, whereupon they had had a riotous party, complete with geisha, and had proceeded to get her drunk.

Her head waved uncertainly, and she seemed prepared to talk on forever. Presently she remembered herself. "I shouldn't be here. I'll come again. They'll be looking for me. I'll come again later." She staggered from the room.

An hour or so later, he heard uneven steps coming down the long hall. She was weaving from side to side, he could tell, running into a wall, stumbling to the floor.

"Shimamura, Shimamura," she called in a high voice. "I can't see. Shimamura! "

It was, with no attempt at covering itself, the naked heart of a woman calling out to her man. Shimamura was startled. That high, piercing voice must surely be echoing all through the inn. He got up hastily. Pushing her fingers through the paper panel, the woman clutched at the frame of the door, and fell heavily against him.

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