99. Gán-chêng ū hóe-chi̍h tih iāⁿ | 眼前有火舌 tih 颺

99. Gán-chêng ū hóe-chi̍h tih iāⁿ

Hit-tâi phòng-phù lâi, Komako mā siám khì lō͘-piⁿ. Khòaⁿ tio̍h Shimamura, in nn̄g-lâng tō iū tâng-chê cháu. Khiā tī lō͘-piⁿ ê lâng-lâng kán-ná hō͘ phòng-phù khip-ín tio̍h, tòe tī āu-piah jek. Taⁿ in nn̄g-lâng mā lóng sī kóaⁿ óng hóe-chai hiān-tiûⁿ lâng-tīn ê sêng-oân ah-lah.

"Lí iáu-sī lâi ah. Chin ài tàu-lāu-jia̍t neh."

"Hmh. Bô-siá-sì ê phòng-phù neh. Sī Meiji sî-tāi í-chêng ê mi̍h-kiāⁿ."

"Sī ah. M̄-thang khì ku̍t-tò neh."

"Chiâⁿ ku̍t."

"Sī ah. Āu-pái tán sàu chi̍t-àm ê tōa hong-seh, lí chiah koh lâi khòaⁿ-māi. Hoān-sè lí bô hoat-tō͘ lâi kàu-ūi. Hit-sî liân thò͘-á, thī-ke lóng bih lâi bîn-ke-chhù." Komako án-ne kóng, tòe he siau-hông-tūi ê hoah-siaⁿ hām lâng-tīn ê kha-pō͘-siaⁿ lú kóng lú sòa-phah. Shimamura mā kám-kak hûn-su khin-sang.

Ē-tàng thiaⁿ tio̍h hóe-iām ê siaⁿ ah. Gán-chêng tō ū hóe-chi̍h tih iāⁿ. Komako lia̍h tiâu Shimamura ê chhiú-khiau. Ke-lō͘ téng kē koh o͘ ê chhù-téng hō͘ hóe chiò tio̍h, ná chhiūⁿ tih chhoán-khùi, kuiⁿ chi̍t-ē, àm chi̍t-ē. Phòng-phù ê chúi lâu kòe kha-té ê lō͘. Shimamura hām Komako chū-jiân mā hō͘ lâng-tīn tòng tio̍h, thêng kha lo̍h-lâi. Hóe-tiûⁿ ê chhàu hóe-ta bī lāi-té, ū sa̍h niû-á-khok ê chhàu-chho bī.

Thâu-khí-seng, lâng-lâng sì-kè tâm-lūn, kóng hóe-chai sī in-ūi tiān-iáⁿ ê film to̍h-hóe ín-khí ê, kóng khòaⁿ tiān-iáⁿ ê gín-á chi̍t-ê chi̍t-ê ùi jī-lâu hóng phiaⁿ lo̍h-lâi, kóng bô-lâng siū-siang lah, kóng hó-ka-chài kin-nî chng lih ê niû-á-khok hām bí lóng bô khǹg ji̍p-khì, téng-téng. Taⁿ, bīn-tùi tōa hóe, ta̍k-ê lóng tiām-tiām, m̄-koán lī hóe-tiûⁿ hūiⁿ a̍h kīn, ta̍k-ê lóng thóng-it tī chi̍t-phiàn tiām-chēng ê khì-hun tiong-kan. Ta̍k-ê lóng tiām-tiām tih thiaⁿ hóe ê siaⁿ hām phòng-phù ê siaⁿ.

Put-sî ū chi̍t-kóa āu-bóe-lâi ê chng lih ê lâng, sì-kè kiò chhin-lâng ê miâ. Nā ū-lâng ìn, tō hoaⁿ-hí kah tōa siaⁿ kiò, mā kan-ta chiah-ê siaⁿ-im hián-chhut hiān-tiûⁿ ê oa̍h-la̍t. Hóe-kéng ê cheng-siaⁿ mā í-keng bô hiáng ah.

Khióng-kiaⁿ pa̍t-lâng khòaⁿ tio̍h, Shimamura chēng-chēng lī-khui Komako, khiā khì chi̍t-tīn gín-á āu-piah. Hóe sio kah kā gín-á haⁿh tò-thè. Kha-té ta̍h ê seh mā kán-ná sió-khóa sang khí-lâi ah. In-ūi hóe hām chúi, lâng-tīn thâu-chêng ê seh tih iûⁿ, ta̍h kah chiâu sī kha-ìn, lòm kô͘-kô͘.

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99. 眼前有火舌 tih 颺

彼台 phòng-phù 來, Komako mā 閃去路邊. 看著 Shimamura, in 兩人 tō 又同齊走. 徛 tī 路邊 ê 人人 kán-ná 予 phòng-phù  吸引著, 綴 tī 後壁 jek. 今 in 兩人 mā 攏是趕往火災現場人陣 ê 成員 ah-lah.

"你猶是來 ah. 真愛鬥鬧熱 neh."

"Hmh. 無捨世 ê phòng-phù neh. 是 Meiji 時代以前 ê 物件."

"是 ah. 毋通去滑倒 neh."

"誠滑."

"是 ah. 後擺等掃一暗 ê 大風雪, 你才 koh 來看覓. 凡勢你無法度來到位. 彼時連兔仔, 雉雞攏覕來民家厝." Komako án-ne 講, 綴 he 消防隊 ê 喝聲和人陣 ê 跤步聲 lú 講 lú 紲拍. Shimamura mā 感覺魂軀輕鬆.

會當聽著火焰 ê 聲 ah. 眼前 tō 有火舌 tih 颺. Komako 掠牢 Shimamura ê 手曲. 街路頂低 koh 烏 ê 厝頂予火照著, ná 像 tih 喘氣, kuiⁿ 一下, 暗一下. Phòng-phù ê 水流過跤底 ê 路. Shimamura 和 Komako 自然 mā 予人陣擋著, 停跤落來. 火場 ê 臭火焦味內底, 有煠娘仔 khok ê 臭臊味.

頭起先, 人人四界談論, 講火災是因為電影 ê film to̍h 火引起 ê, 講看電影 ê 囡仔一个一个 ùi 二樓 hông 抨落來, 講無人受 siang lah, 講好佳哉今年庄 lih ê 娘仔 khok 和米攏無囥入去, 等等. 今, 面對大火, 逐个攏恬恬, 毋管離火場 hūiⁿ a̍h 近, 逐个攏統一 tī 一遍恬靜 ê 氣氛中間. 逐个攏恬恬 tih 聽火 ê 聲和 phòng-phù ê 聲.

不時有一寡後尾來 ê 庄 lih ê 人, 四界叫親人 ê 名. 若有人應, tō 歡喜 kah 大聲叫, mā 干焦 chiah-ê 聲音顯出現場 ê 活力. 火警 ê 鐘聲 mā 已經無響 ah.

恐驚別人看著, Shimamura 靜靜離開 Komako, 徛去一陣囡仔後壁. 火 sio kah kā 囡仔 haⁿh 倒退. 跤底踏 ê 雪 mā kán-ná 小可鬆起來 ah. 因為火和水, 人陣頭前 ê 雪 tih 溶, 踏 kah chiâu 是跤印, lòm 糊糊.

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99.

Komako too had stopped to let it pass. She spotted Shimamura and ran along beside him. All down the road people who had stood aside fell in again as if sucked up by the pump. The two of them were now no more than part of a mob running to a fire.

"So you came. Always looking for excitement."

"That's right. It's a sad little pump, though, isn't it. The better part of a hundred years old."

"At least. Careful you don't fall."

"It is slippery."

"Come sometime when we have a real blizzard,

and the snow drives along the ground all night long. But you won't, of course. Rabbits and pheasants come running inside the house to get out of the storm." Komako's voice was bright and eager. She seemed to take her beat from the chanting voices a n d the tramping feet around her. Shimamura too was buoyed up by the crowd.

They could hear the sound of the flames now, and tongues of flame leaped up before them. Komako clutched at Shimamura's arm. The low, dark houses along the street seemed to be breathing as they floated up in the light of the fire and faded away again. Water from the pumps flowed along the street. They came against a wall of people. Mixed in with the smoke was a smell like boiling cocoons.

The same standard remarks were taken up in loud voices through the crowd: the fire had started at the projector; children had been thrown one after another from the balcony; no one was hurt; it was lucky there had been no rice or cocoons in the warehouse. And yet a sort of quiet unified the whole fiery scene, as though everyone were voiceless before the flames, as though the heart, the point of reference, had been" torn away from each individual. Everyone seemed to be listening to the sound of the fire and the pumps.

Now and then a villager came running up late, and called out the name of a relative. There would be an answer, and the two would call happily back and forth. Only those voices seemed alive and present. The fire-alarm no longer sounded.

Afraid people would be watching, Shimamura slipped away from Komako and stood behind a group of children. The children moved back from the heat. The snow at their feet was melting, while farther on it had already turned to slush from the fire and water, a muddy confusion of foot-prints.

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