94. Sio tio̍h niû-á pâng lah
"Góa m̄-chai neh."
"Lí khòaⁿ, lí khòaⁿ!" Komako iáu-sī hoaⁿ-hí kah chhiò bi-bi. Koh kā keng-thâu khò óa lâi, kóng:
"Sī án-nóa m̄ chhōa góa khì? Pìⁿ kah léng ki-ki tún lâi. Thó-ià neh."
Hut-jiân pò-hóe-kéng ê cheng-siaⁿ hiáng khí-lâi.
Nn̄g-lâng oa̍t-thâu khòaⁿ.
"Hóe sio chhù, hóe sio chhù!"
"Ū hóe sio chhù."
Hóe-iām tī ē-bīn ê chng tiong-sim hia chhèng koân.
Komako hoah nn̄g-saⁿ-siaⁿ sáⁿ, kā Shimamura ê chhiú tēⁿ ân-ân.
Tī kún koân ê o͘-ian tiong-kan, ū khòaⁿ-e hóe-chi̍h. He hóe ká-ná tòe gîm-chîⁿ hiàng nn̄g-pêng tih thòaⁿ-khui.
"He sī tá-ūi? Kám m̄-sī chin kīn lí goân-lâi tòa ê sai-hū ê chhù?"
"M̄-sī."
"Nā án-ne, sī tah?"
"Koh-khah kòe. Óa chhia-thâu hit tah."
Hóe-iām thàng kòe chhù-téng chhèng koân.
"Ai-ah, sī niû-á pâng. Niû-á pâng. Ai-ah, ai-ah, sio tio̍h niû-á pâng lah." Komako it-ti̍t kóng, koh kā bīn khò tī Shimamura ê keng-kah-thâu, kóng:
"Sī niû-á pâng, niû-á pâng lah."
Hóe-sè lú sio lú ōng. Tī móa-thiⁿ chheⁿ ē-kha, ùi koân-tē khòaⁿ lo̍h-khì, he hóe tō ná chhiūⁿ thit-thô-mi̍h chēng-chēng tih sio. M̄-koh, hit-chióng khióng-pò͘ iáu sī thoân kàu chia, in ná chhiūⁿ thiaⁿ ē tio̍h hóe sio ê siaⁿ. Shimamura kā Komako siâm tio̍h:
"M̄-bián kiaⁿ!"
"Mh, mh, mh!" Komako ná iô-thâu, ná khàu chhut-lâi. Shimamura chhiú phóng yi ê bīn, kám-kak he bīn pí pêng-sî khah sè. Tēng khok-khok ê pìn-piⁿ pho̍k-pho̍k thiàu.
Khòaⁿ tio̍h hóe, yi tōa khàu. Ūi sáⁿ-mih khàu, Shimamura pēng bô hòⁿ-kî, kan-ta sī kā yi lám tio̍h.
Komako hut-jiân bô koh khàu, kā bīn sóa khui, kóng:
"Ai-ah, tio̍h lah. Niû-á-pâng ū tiān-iáⁿ, sī e-àm. Lâng tiāⁿ-tio̍h chiâⁿ chē, lí chai bô..."
"Án-ne tō hāi ah!"
"Ū-lâng ē tio̍h-siang, ē sio-sí lah."
--
94. 燒著娘仔房 lah
"我毋知 neh."
"你看, 你看!" Komako 猶是歡喜 kah 笑 bi-bi. Koh kā 肩頭靠倚來, 講:
"是 án-nóa 毋 chhōa 我去? Pìⁿ kah 冷 ki-ki tún 來. 討厭 neh."
忽然報火警 ê 鐘聲響起來.
兩人越頭看.
"火燒厝, 火燒厝!"
"有火燒厝."
火焰 tī 下面 ê 庄中心遐衝懸.
Komako 喝兩三聲啥, kā Shimamura ê 手捏絚絚.
Tī 滾懸 ê 烏煙中間, 有看 e 火舌. 彼火 ká-ná 綴砛簷向兩爿 tih 湠開.
"彼是 tá 位? 敢毋是真近你原來蹛 ê 師傅 ê 厝?"
"毋是."
"若 án-ne, 是 tah?"
"閣較過. 倚車頭彼搭."
火焰迵過厝頂衝懸.
"Ai-ah, 是娘仔房. 娘仔房. Ai-ah, ai-ah, 燒著娘仔房 lah." Komako 一直講, koh kā 面靠 tī Shimamura ê 肩胛頭, 講:
"是娘仔房, 娘仔房 lah."
火勢 lú 燒 lú 旺. Tī 滿天星下跤, ùi 懸地看落去, he 火 tō ná 像 thit-thô-mi̍h 靜靜 tih 燒. 毋過, 彼種恐怖猶是傳到遮, in ná 像聽會著火燒 ê 聲. Shimamura kā Komako siâm 著:
"毋免驚!"
"Mh, mh, mh!" Komako ná 搖頭, ná 哭出來. Shimamura 手捧她 ê 面, 感覺 he 面比平時較細. tēng 硞硞 ê 鬢邊 pho̍k-pho̍k 跳.
看著火, 她大哭. 為啥物哭, Shimamura 並無好奇, 干焦是 kā 她攬著.
Komako 忽然無 koh 哭, kā 面徙開, 講:
"Ai-ah, 著 lah. 娘仔房有電影, 是下暗. 人定著誠濟, 你知無..."
"Án-ne tō 害 ah!"
"有人會著 siang, 會燒死 lah."
--
94.
"I didn't."
"See?" Laughing happily to herself, she came very near him. "Why didn't you take me along? You leave me behind and you come back cold--I don't like it at all."
Suddenly a fire-alarm was ringing, with the spe- cial fury that told of an emergency.
They looked back.
"Fire, fire!"
"A fire!"
A column of sparks was rising in the village below.
Komako cried out two or three times, and clutched at Shimamura's hand.
A tongue of flames shot up intermittently in the spiral of smoke, dipping down to lick at the roofs about it.
"Where is it? Fairly near the music teacher's?"
"No."
"Where, then?"
"Farther up toward the station."
The tongue of flame sprang high over the roofs.
"It's the cocoon-warehouse. The warehouse. Look, look! The cocoon-warehouse is on fire." She pressed her face to his shoulder. "The warehouse, the warehouse!"
The fire blazed higher. From the mountain, however, it was as quiet under the starry sky as a little make-believe fire. Still the terror of it came across to them. They could almost hear the roar of the flames. Shimamura put his arm around Komako's shoulders.
"What is there to be afraid of?"
"No, no, no! " Komako shook her head and burst into tears. Her face seemed smaller than usual in Shimamura's hand. The hard forehead was trembling.
She had burst out weeping at the sight of the fire, and Shimamura held her to him without thinking to wonder what had so upset her.
She stopped weeping as quickly as she had begun, and pulled away from him.
"There's a movie in the warehouse. Tonight. The place will be full of people. . . . People will be hurt. People will burn to death."
--
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