98. Chi̍t-tīn lâng khiú siau-hông phòng-phù kiâⁿ
M̄-koh, yi he sán-thiu ê phīⁿ hêng mā khòaⁿ bē bêng, sè-sè chhùi-tûn ê sek mā khòaⁿ bô. Shimamura bô hoat-tō͘ siang-sìn, he hoâiⁿ thiⁿ lâu kòe, bêng-liāng ê kuiⁿ chân, kèng-jiân chiah-nī im-àm. Tāi-khài sī chheⁿ ê kuiⁿ khah àm àm-tām ê goe̍h iā. M̄-koh, chit-sî ê thian-hô khah bêng-liāng kòe jīm-hô móa-goe̍h ê thiⁿ, tī tē-bīn chiò bô iáⁿ ê bî-bî-á kuiⁿ tiong-kan, phû-hiān chhut Komako ê bīn, ná chhiūⁿ chi̍t-ê kó͘-chá bīn-khak, koh sàn-hoat chhut cha-bó͘-lâng ê khì-bī, si̍t-chāi chin hi-kî.
Gia̍h thâu chi̍t-ē khòaⁿ, thian-hô koh chhe̍h lo̍h-lâi, ká-ná boeh siâm chit-tè thó͘-tē.
Ná tōa tiâu kuiⁿ-tòa ê thian-hô, chhin-chhiūⁿ sī lâu kòe Shimamura ê hûn-su, phiau-liû kàu thó͘-tē ê chīn-pōng, khiā tī hia. Che sī chi̍t-chióng hân-léng ê che̍k-chēng, mā sī chi̍t-chióng iau-kiau, chi̍t-chióng sin-kî.
"Lí túiⁿ liáu-āu, góa boeh koai-koai kòe ji̍t-chí." Komako hiàng chêng kiâⁿ ná kóng, ná iōng chhiú chéng-lí sang khì ê thâu-chang-kòe. Kiâⁿ gō͘/la̍k pō͘, yi iū oa̍t-thâu kóng:
"Lí án-nóa lah? Mài án-ne lah."
Shimamura khiā tiām-tiām.
"Án-ne? Lí tán góa. Liâm-mi tâng-chê khì lí ê pâng-keng."
Komako tò-chhiú iāⁿ chi̍t-ē, tō cháu ah. Yi ê sin-iáⁿ ná chhiūⁿ khì suh-ji̍p soaⁿ-té. Thian-hô ê saⁿ-á-ki ká-ná hē lo̍h tī soaⁿ-me̍h chīn-pōng ê ūi, koh ùi hia hiàng thiⁿ-téng tián-khui i he hôa-lē ê khòng-khoah. Soaⁿ koh-khah im-tîm ah.
Shimamura kiâⁿ bô kúi-pō͘, Komako ê sin-iáⁿ tō hō͘ ke-lō͘ ê bîn-ke-chhù cha̍h tio̍h ah.
Ū thiaⁿ-e "iat-siò, iat-siò, iat-siò" ê hoah siaⁿ, khòaⁿ-e tōa-ke téng chi̍t-tīn lâng khiú siau-hông phòng-phù kiâⁿ. Tōa-ke téng lâng-lâng lóng hiàng thâu-chêng cháu. Shimamura mā lâi kàu tōa-ke. Nn̄g-lâng tú-chiah kiâⁿ ê lō͘, hām tōa-ke T jī-hêng sio-chiap.
Koh lâi chi̍t-tâi phòng-phù. Shimamura niū i seng kòe, tòe tī āu-piah cháu.
He sī chi̍t-tâi chhâ chò ê, iōng chhiú ah ê kū-sek phòng-phù. Chi̍t-tīn lâng tī thâu-chêng iōng tn̂g-tn̂g ê soh-á giú, koh ū chi̍t-kóa siau-hông-oân ûi tī phòng-phù piⁿ-á. He phòng-phù khòaⁿ-tio̍h sī sè kah bô-siá-sì.
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98. 一陣人搝消防 phòng-phù 行
毋過, 她 he 瘦抽 ê 鼻形 mā 看袂明, 細細喙唇 ê 色 mā 看無. Shimamura 無法度相信, he 橫天流過, 明亮 ê kuiⁿ 層, 竟然 chiah-nī 陰暗. 大概是星 ê kuiⁿ 較暗暗淡 ê 月夜. 毋過, 這時 ê 天河較明亮過任何滿月 ê 天, tī 地面照無影 ê 微微仔 kuiⁿ 中間, 浮現出 Komako ê 面, ná 像一个古早面殼, koh 散發出查某人 ê 氣味, 實在真稀奇.
攑頭一下看, 天河 koh chhe̍h 落來, ká-ná 欲 siâm 這塊土地.
Ná 大條 kuiⁿ 帶 ê 天河, 親像是流過 Shimamura ê 魂軀, 漂流到土地 ê 盡磅, 徛 tī 遐. 這是一種寒冷 ê 寂靜, mā 是一種妖嬌, 一種新奇.
"你 túiⁿ 了後, 我欲乖乖過日子." Komako 向前行 ná 講, ná 用手整理鬆去 ê 頭鬃髻. 行五六步, 她又越頭講:
"你 án-nóa lah? 莫 án-ne lah."
Shimamura 徛恬恬.
"Án-ne? 你等我. Liâm-mi 同齊去你 ê 房間."
Komako 倒手颺一下, tō 走 ah. 她 ê 身影 ná 像去欶入山底. 天河 ê 衫仔裾 ká-ná 下落 tī 山脈盡磅 ê 位, koh ùi 遐向天頂展開伊 he 華麗 ê 曠闊. 山閣較陰沉 ah.
Shimamura 行無幾步, Komako ê 身影 tō 予街路 ê 民家厝閘著 ah.
有聽 e "iat-siò, iat-siò, iat-siò" ê 喝聲, 看 e 大街頂一陣人搝消防 phòng-phù 行. 大街頂人人攏向頭前走. Shimamura mā 來到大街. 兩人拄才行 ê 路, 和大街 T 字形相接.
閣來一台 phòng-phù. Shimamura 讓伊先過, 綴 tī 後壁走.
彼是一台柴做 ê, 用手壓 ê 舊式 phòng-phù. 一陣人 tī 頭前用長長 ê 索仔搝, koh 有一寡消防員圍 tī phòng-phù 邊仔. 彼 phòng-phù 看著是細 kah 無捨世.
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98.
The shape of her slightly aquiline nose was not clear, and the color was gone from her small lips. Was it so dim, then, the light that cut across the sky and overflowed it? Shimamura found that hard to believe. The light was dimmer even than on the night of the new moon, and yet the Milky Way was brighter than the brightest full moon. In the faint light that left no shadows on the earth, Komako's face floated up like an old mask. It was strange that even in the mask there should be the scent of the woman.
He looked up, and again the Milky Way came down to wrap itself around the earth.
And the Milky Way, like a great aurora, flowed through his body to stand at the edges of the earth. There was a quiet, chilly loneliness in it, and a sort of voluptuous astonishment.
"If you leave, I'll lead an honest life," Komako said, walking on again. She put her hand to her disordered hair. When she had gone five or six steps she turned to look back at him. "What's the matter? You don't have to stand there, do you?"
But Shimamura stood looking at her.
"Oh? You'll wait, then? And afterwards you'll take me to your room with you."
She raised her left hand a little and ran off. Her retreating figure was drawn up into the mountain. The Milky Way spread its skirts to be broken by the waves of the mountain, and, fanning out again in all its brilliant vastness higher in the sky, it left the mountain in a deeper darkness.
Komako turned into the main street and disappeared. Shimamura started after her.
Several men were pulling a fire-pump down the street to a rhythmical chant. Floods of people poured after them. Shimamura joined the crowd from the side road he and Komako had taken.
Another pump came down the street. He let it pass, and fell in behind it.
It was an old wooden hand-pump, ridiculously small, with swarms of men at the long rope pulling it and other swarms to man it.
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