80. Yi kā gín-á sé hûn-su koh chhiùⁿ-koa | 她 kā 囡仔洗魂軀 koh 唱歌

80. Yi kā gín-á sé hûn-su koh chhiùⁿ-koa

Yoko ê ba̍k-sái ùi ba̍k-kîⁿ tih lo̍h, ùi tatami khioh chi̍t-chiah sè-chiah ia̍h-á, koh ná khàu ná kóng:

"Koma-Chan kóng góa tit-boeh khí-siáu ah." Kóng-liáu hut leh kiâⁿ chhut pâng-keng.

Shimamura kám-kak chi̍t-chūn chheⁿ-léng.

Tú boeh kā Yoko tēⁿ sí ê ia̍h-á khui thang-á hiat chhut-khì, I khòaⁿ tio̍h chiú-chùi ê Komako io thèⁿ koân, àⁿ hiàng lâng-kheh tih hoah-kûn. Thiⁿ-téng í-keng khàm o͘-hûn. Shimamura kiâⁿ khì lāi-tiûⁿ ê un-chôaⁿ e̍k-keng.

Yoko mā chhōa kheh-chàn ê gín-á lâi kàu keh-piah ê cha-bó͘ e̍k-keng.

Yi thè gín-á thùiⁿ saⁿ, koh kā sé hûn-su, kóng-ōe chhin-chhiat, ká-ná sin lāu-bú, siaⁿ-im tiⁿ-bi̍t, hó-thiaⁿ.

Hit-sî, kāng-khoán ê siaⁿ-im, yi tih chhiùⁿ-koa:

"Chhut-lâi āu-bóe khòaⁿ-māi leh,

Lâi-á chhiū ū saⁿ-châng,

Sam-á chhiū ū saⁿ-châng,

Lóng-chóng sī la̍k-châng,

Ē-bīn ū o͘-a 

Tī hia chò-siū,

Téng-bīn ū chhek-chiáu-á 

Tī hia chò-siū,

Chhiū-nâ ê tō͘-kâu tih chhiùⁿ sáⁿ,

Sam-á pêng-iú lâi pài-bōng,

Chi̍t-ki, chi̍t-ki, koh chi̍t-ki."

Che sī cha-bó͘ gín-á phah-kiû ê koa. He iù-chíⁿ, khin-khoài, oa̍h-thiàu, koh hoaⁿ-hí ê siaⁿ-tiāu, hō͘ Shimamura kám-kak ná sī tú-chiah hit-ê Yoko tī bāng-tiong chhut-hiān.

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80. 她 kā 囡仔洗魂軀 koh 唱歌

Yoko ê 目屎 ùi 目墘滴落, ùi tatami 抾一隻細隻蝶仔, koh ná 哭 ná 講:

"Koma-Chan 講我得欲起痟 ah." 講了忽 leh 行出房間.

Shimamura 感覺一陣生冷.

拄欲 kā Yoko 捏死 ê 蝶仔開窗仔㧒出去, 伊看著酒醉 ê Komako 腰 thèⁿ 懸, àⁿ 向人客 tih 喝拳. 天頂已經崁烏雲. Shimamura 行去內場 ê 溫泉浴間.

Yoko mā chhōa 客棧 ê 囡仔來到隔壁 ê 查某浴間.

她替囡仔 thùiⁿ 衫, koh kā 洗魂軀, 講話親切, ká-ná 新老母, 聲音甜蜜, 好聽.

彼時, 仝款 ê 聲音, 她 tih 唱歌:

"出來後尾看覓 leh,

梨仔樹有三叢,

杉仔樹有三叢,

攏總是六叢,

下面有烏鴉 

Tī 遐做岫,

頂面有粟鳥仔 

Tī 遐做岫,

樹林 ê 杜猴 tih 唱啥,

杉仔朋友來拜墓,

一枝, 一枝, koh 一枝."

這是查某囡仔拍球 ê 歌. He 幼茈, 輕快, 活跳, koh 歡喜 ê 聲調, 予 Shimamura 感覺 ná 是拄才彼个 Yoko tī 夢中出現.

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80.

There were tears in the corners of Yoko's eyes. She sniffled as she slapped at a small moth on the matting. "Komako says I'll go crazy." With that she slipped from the room.

Shimamura felt a chill come over him.

As he opened the window to throw out the moth, he caught a glimpse of the drunken Komako playing parlor games with a guest. She leaned forward half from her seat, as though to push her advantage home by force. The sky had clouded over. Shimamura went down for a bath.

In the women's bath next door, Yoko was bathing the innkeeper's little daughter.

Her voice was gentle as she undressed the child and bathed it-soothing and agreeable, like the voice of a young mother.

Presently she was singing in that same voice:

"See, out in back,

Three pears, three cedars,

Six trees in all.

Crows' nests below,

Sparrows' nests above.

And what is it they're singing?

'Hakamairi itcho, itcho, itcho ya.' "*

[* In imitation of the birds. Literally: "To the cemetery, a hundred yards, a hundred yards, a hundred yards again."]

It was a song little girls sang as they bounced rubber balls. The quick, lively manner in which Yaka rolled off the nonsense-words made Shimamura wonder if he might not have seen the earlier Yaka in a dream.

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