C70b 古早時, 老師是人

2. Kó͘-chá-sî, lāu-su sī lâng

Tommy kō͘ hong-sîn ê ba̍k-sek khòaⁿ yi. "In-ūi he m̄-sī lán chit-chióng ha̍k-hāu lah, hàu-tai. He sī kúi-nā pah nî chêng ê hit-chióng kó͘-chá ha̍k-hāu." I koh āng-siaⁿ án-ne kóng, siông-sè liām-chhut hit-ê jī-sû, "Kúi-ā pah nî chêng."

Margie kám-kak bô bīn-chú. "Hó lah, góa m̄-chai in tī hiah kú í-chêng ū siáⁿ-khoán ê ha̍k-hāu." Yi ùi i ê keng-thâu téng tha̍k hit-pún chheh chi̍t-khùn, jiân-āu kóng, "Chóng-kóng, in hit-sî ū lāu-su."

"Tong-jiân, in ū lāu-su, m̄-koh he m̄-sī pho͘-thong ê lāu-su. He sī chi̍t-ê lâng." "Lâng? Lâng án-chóaⁿ chò lāu-su ah?" "Hmh, i kà gín-á tāi-chì, kau-tài chok-gia̍p, koh mn̄g in būn-tê." "Lâng bô khó-lêng ū hiah khiáu." "Tong-jiân, i ū. Goán lāu-pē ê khiáu bē khah su goán lāu-su." "Bô khó-lêng. Lâng bô khó-lêng chhiūⁿ lāu-su bat hiah chē." "I chai ê chha-put-to pêⁿ chē, góa kap lí tó͘."

Margie bô siūⁿ boeh hām i sio-chèⁿ. Yi kóng, "Góa bô-ài chheⁿ-hūn lâng tī goán tau kà góa."

Tommy chhiò kah ki chhut-siaⁿ. "Lí chai ê chiâⁿ chió, Margie. Hit-sî ê lāu-su bô tòa tī chhù ni̍h. In ū chi̍t-ê te̍k-pia̍t ê kiàn-bu̍t, só͘-ū ê gín-á lóng khì hia." "Só͘-ū ê gín-á lóng o̍h kāng-khoán ê mi̍h-kiāⁿ?" "Tong-jiân, chí-iàu in sī kāng nî-hòe."

"M̄-koh goán lāu-bú kóng, lāu-su tio̍h kin-kì só͘ kà ê gín-á khì tiâu-chéng, kō͘ bô-kāng ê hong-sek kà múi chi̍t-ê gín-á."

"Kāng-khoán, hit-sî in bô án-ne chò. Lí nā bô kah-ì, lí bô su-iàu tha̍k chit-pún chheh."

"Góa bô kóng góa bô kah-ì he," Margie kín án-ne kóng. Yi boeh ài tha̍k iú-koan hiah-ê chiâⁿ chhù-bī ê ha̍k-hāu.

In iáu-bōe tha̍k chi̍t-pòaⁿ, Margie ê lāu-bú tō hoah-siaⁿ ah, "Margie! Siōng-khò!" Margie gia̍h-thâu khòaⁿ. "Iáu bōe lah, Mamma."

"Kín lâi!" Jones Tt kóng. "Tommy ê sî-kan khó-lêng mā kàu ah."

Margie kā Tommy kóng. "Siōng-khò liáu, góa ē-sái koh hām lí tâng-chê tha̍k chit-pún chheh bô?"

"Khòaⁿ-māi lah," i léng-léng án-ne ìn. I ná kho͘ sut-á ná kiâⁿ khui, hit-pún kha̍h eng-ia ê kū-chheh gia̍p tī chhiú-kó͘-ē.

Margie kiâⁿ-ji̍p siōng-khò ê pâng-keng. He hām yi ê khùn-pâng sio keh-piah, ke-khì lāu-su í-keng khui-ki, teh tán yi. Tî-liáu pài-la̍k hām lé-pài, ta̍k-kang i chóng-sī tī kāng chi̍t-ê sî-kan khui-ki, in-ūi yin lāu-bú kóng, sè-hàn gín-á nā tī kò͘-tēng sî-kan ha̍k-si̍p, hāu-kó khah hó.

Êng-bō͘ tiám to̍h, téng-bīn siá: "Kin-á-ji̍t ê sǹg-su̍t khò sī iú-koan chin hun-sò͘ ê ke-hoat. Chhiáⁿ kā cha-hng ê chok-gia̍p khǹg-ji̍p sek-tòng ê chhah-chô."

Margie thó͘ chi̍t-kháu khùi, chiàu án-ne chò. Yi teh siūⁿ yin akong ê akong iáu sī gín-á hit-sî ê ha̍k-hāu. Só͘-ū hū-kīn ê gín-á lóng lâi, tī hāu-tiâⁿ kún-chhiò, hoah-hiu, chò-hóe chē tī kàu-sek, chi̍t-kang kiat-sok ê sî koh tâng-chê tńg-chhù. In o̍h kāng-khoán ê mi̍h-kiāⁿ, só͘-í in ē-tàng hō͘-siong pang-chō͘ chok-gia̍p, koh hō͘-siong thó-lūn.

Lāu-su lóng sī lâng...

Ke-khì lāu-su ê êng-bō͘ teh sih: "Lán lâi ke nn̄g ê hun-sò͘: 1/2 hām 1/4..."

Margie teh siūⁿ, kó͘-chá gín-á tiāⁿ-tio̍h chiok kah-ì hit-lō ha̍k-hāu. Yi teh siūⁿ in hit-sî ê lo̍k-thiòng.

[Soah]

--

2. 古早時, 老師是人

Tommy kō͘ 風神 ê 目色看她. "因為彼毋是咱這種學校 lah, 孝呆. 彼是幾若百年前 ê 彼種古早學校." 伊 koh āng 聲 án-ne 講, 詳細念出彼个字詞, "幾若百年前."

Margie 感覺無面子. "好 lah, 我毋知 in tī hiah 久以前有啥款 ê 學校." 她 ùi 伊 ê 肩頭頂讀彼本冊一睏, 然後講, "總講, in 彼時有老師."

"當然, in 有老師, 毋過彼毋是普通 ê 老師. 彼是一个人." "人? 人按怎做老師 ah?" "Hmh, 伊教囡仔代誌, 交代作業, koh 問 in 問題." "人無可能有 hiah 巧." "當然, 伊有. 阮老爸 ê 巧袂較輸阮老師." "無可能. 人無可能像老師捌 hiah 濟." "伊知 ê 差不多平濟, 我 kap 你賭."

Margie 無想欲和伊相諍. 她講, "我無愛生份人 tī 阮兜教我."

Tommy 笑 kah 吱出聲. "你知 ê 誠少, Margie. 彼時 ê 老師無蹛 tī 厝 ni̍h. In 有一个特別 ê 建物, 所有 ê 囡仔 lóng 去 hia." "所有 ê 囡仔 lóng 學仝款 ê 物件?" "當然, 只要 in 是仝年歲."

"毋過阮老母講, 老師著根據所教 ê 囡仔去調整, kō͘ 無仝 ê 方式教每一个囡仔."

"仝款, 彼時 in 無 án-ne 做. 你若無佮意, 你無需要讀這本冊."

"我無講我無佮意 he," Margie 緊 án-ne 講. 她欲愛讀有關 hiah-ê 誠趣味 ê 學校.

In 猶未讀一半, Margie ê 老母 tō 喝聲 ah, "Margie! 上課!" Margie 攑頭看. "猶未 lah, Mamma."

"緊來!" Jones Tt 講. "Tommy ê 時間可能 mā 到 ah."

Margie kā Tommy 講. "上課了, 我會使 koh 和你同齊讀這本冊無?"

"看覓 lah," 伊冷冷 án-ne 應. 伊 ná kho͘ sut-á ná 行開, 彼本 kha̍h 坱埃 ê 舊冊挾 tī 手股下.

Margie 行入上課 ê 房間. He 和她 ê 睏房相隔壁, 機器老師已經開機, teh 等她. 除了拜六和禮拜, 逐工伊總是 tī 仝一个時間開機, 因為姻老母講, 細漢囡仔若 tī 固定時間學習, 效果較好.

螢幕點 to̍h, 頂面寫: "今仔日 ê 算術課是有關真分數 ê 加法. 請 kā 昨昏 ê 作業囥入適當 ê 插槽."

Margie 吐一口氣, 照 án-ne 做. 她 teh 想姻阿公 ê 阿公猶是囡仔彼時 ê 學校. 所有附近 ê 囡仔 lóng 來, tī 校庭滾笑, 喝咻, 做伙坐 tī 教室, 一工結束 ê 時 koh 同齊轉厝. In 學仝款 ê 物件, 所以 in 會當互相幫助作業, koh 互相討論.

老師 lóng 是人...

機器老師 ê 螢幕 teh 爍: "咱來加兩个分數: 1/2 和 1/4..."

Margie teh 想, 古早囡仔定著足佮意 hit-lō 學校. 她 teh 想 in 彼時 ê 樂暢.

[煞]

--

2.

Tommy looked at her with very superior eyes. "Because it's not our kind of school, stupid. This is the old kind of school that they had hundreds and hundreds of years ago." He added loftily, pronouncing the word carefully, "Centuries ago."

Margie was hurt. "Well, I don't know what kind of school they had all that time ago." She read the book over his shoulder for a while, then said, "Anyway, they had a teacher."

"Sure they had a teacher, but it wasn't a regular teacher. It was a man." "A man? How could a man be a teacher?" "Well, he just told the boys and girls things and gave them homework and asked them questions." "A man isn't smart enough." "Sure he is. My father knows as much as my teacher." "He can't. A man can't know as much as a teacher." "He knows almost as much, I betcha."

Margie wasn't prepared to dispute that. She said, "1 wouldn't want a strange man in my house to teach me."

Tommy screamed with laughter. "You don't know much, Margie. The teachers didn't live in the house. They had a special building and all the kids went there." "And all the kids learned the same thing?" "Sure, if they were the same age."

"But my mother says a teacher has to be adjusted to fit the mind of each boy and girl it teaches and that each kid has to be taught differently."

"Just the same they didn't do it that way then. If you don't like it, you don't have to read the book."

"I didn't say I didn't like it," Margie said quickly. She wanted to read about those funny schools.

They weren't even half-finished when Margie's mother called, "Margie! School!" Margie looked up. "Not yet, Mamma."

"Now!" said Mrs. Jones. "And it's probably time for Tommy, too."

Margie said to Tommy, "Can I read the book some more with you after school?"

"Maybe," he said nonchalantly. He walked away whistling, the dusty old book tucked beneath his arm.

Margie went into the schoolroom. It was right next to her bedroom, and the mechanical teacher was on and waiting for her. It was always on at the same time every day except Saturday and Sunday, because her mother said little girls learned better if they learned at regular hours.

The screen was lit up, and it said: "Today's arithmetic lesson is on the addition of proper fractions. Please insert yesterday's homework in the proper slot."

Margie did so with a sigh. She was thinking about the old schools they had when her grandfather's grandfather was a little boy. All the kids from the whole neighborhood came, laughing and shouting in the schoolyard, sitting together in the schoolroom, going home together at the end of the day. They learned the same things, so they could help one another on the homework and talk about it.

And the teachers were people...

The mechanical teacher was flashing on the screen: "When we add the fractions 1/2 and 1/4..."

Margie was thinking about how the kids must have loved it in the old days. She was thinking about the fun they had.

--

//  2022-8-12

Written in 1951 for a syndicated newspaper page, 'The Fun They Had' was later published in Fantasy and Science Fiction Magazine.

C70 In Hit-sî ê Lo̍k-tiòng | In 彼時 ê 樂暢 - a Margie 上討厭彼个插槽

The Fun They Had /by Isaac Asimov

http://visual-memory.co.uk/daniel/funtheyhad.html

In Hit-sî ê Lo̍k-tiòng | In 彼時 ê 樂暢

--

1. Margie siōng thó-ià hit-ê chhah-chô

Hit-mê, Margie sīm-chì kā he siá ji̍p ji̍t-kì. Tī 2157 nî 5 goe̍h 17 hit-ia̍h, yi án-ne siá, "Kin-á-ji̍t, Tommy hoat-hiān chi̍t-pún chin ê chheh!"

He sī chi̍t-pún kó͘-chá chheh. Margie yin akong bat kóng, tī i iáu-sī gín-á ê sî, in akong kā i kóng, ū chi̍t-tōaⁿ sî-kan, só͘-ū ê kò͘-sū lóng ìn tī chóa téng-bīn.

In hian he n̂g koh jiâu ê chheh-ia̍h, si̍t-chāi ū-kàu chhù-bī, he jī tiām-tiām, m̄-sī chhiūⁿ lí só͘ chai ê, jī ē tī êng-bō͘ téng sóa-tāng. Āu-lâi, tán in koh hian tńg-lâi tú-chiah hit-ia̍h, téng-bīn ê jī hām in chi̍t khai-sí só͘ tha̍k ê iáu-sī kāng-khoán.

"Ai-ah," Tommy kóng, "chiâⁿ lōng-hùi. Tán lí tha̍k-oân chit-pún chheh, lí tio̍h kā tàn-tiāu, góa siūⁿ sī án-ne. Lán ê tiān-sī êng-bō͘ téng-bīn tiāⁿ-tio̍h í-keng ū kúi-ā pah-bān pún ê chheh, iáu-koh ē-sái ū koh-khah chē. Góa bē kā he hiat-tiāu."

"Góa ê mā kāng-khoán," Margie kóng. Yi 11 hòe, khòaⁿ ê chheh bô Tommy hiah chē. I 13 hòe. Yi kóng, "Lí tī tó-ūi hoat-hiān che?"

"Tī goán chhù." i kō͘ pí ê, ba̍k-chiu bô khòaⁿ, in-ūi i bô-êng teh tha̍k chheh. "Tī lâu-kông." "Chheh siá siáⁿ?" "Ha̍k-hāu."

Margie khòaⁿ he bô-ba̍k-tē. "Ha̍k-hāu? Ha̍k-hāu ū siáⁿ hó siá ê? Góa thó-ià ha̍k-hāu."

Margie it-hiòng thó-ià ha̍k-hāu, m̄-koh chit-chūn yi koh-khah chheh he. Ke-khì lāu-su chi̍t-pái koh chi̍t-pái kā yi khó tē-lí, yi lú khó lú chha, tì-sú yin lāu-bú siong-sim iô-thâu, tō chhiáⁿ Koān Kiám-cha-oân lâi.

I sī chi̍t-ê sè-hàn koh îⁿ-kùn-kùn ê lâng, bīn âng-âng, chah kui-siuⁿ tàu gî-pió hām tiān-sòaⁿ ê ke-si. I ǹg Margie bî-chhiò, hō͘ yi chi̍t-lia̍p lingò, jiân-āu kā lāu-su thiah-khui. Margie hi-bāng i bô hoat-tō͘ koh kā he tàu hó-sè, m̄-koh i chai-iáⁿ án-chóaⁿ chhòng, chū án-ne, kòe chi̍t tiám-cheng chó-iū, ke-khì lāu-su tńg-lâi ah, tōa koh o͘ koh bái, tōa-tōa ê êng-bō͘ téng, koh hián-sī só͘-ū ê khò-thêng hām būn-tê. Án-ne iáu sǹg bē-bái. Margie siōng thó-ià ê pō͘-hūn sī yi tio̍h khǹg-ji̍p chok-gia̍p hām khó-chhì chóa ê hit-ê chhah-chô. Yi chóng tio̍h kō͘ phah-khang khah-phìⁿ siá, che tī yi 6 hòe ê sî in tō kà yi o̍h kòe, ke-khì lāu-su chin kín tō sǹg chhut yi ê hun-sò͘.

Hó-sè liáu-āu, kiám-cha-oân chhiò-chhiò phok Margie ê thâu. I kā yin lāu-bú kóng, "Jones Tt, he m̄-sī hit-ê sió ko͘-niû ê m̄-tio̍h. Góa siūⁿ, tē-lí pō͘-hūn kà-liáu sió-khóa siuⁿ kóaⁿ-kín. Ū-sî chit-lō tāi-chì ē hoat-seng. Góa í-keng kā pàng bān kàu 10 hòe gín-á ê thêng-tō͘. Si̍t-chè siōng, yi chéng-thé ê chìn-pō͘ siong-tong hō͘ lâng móa-ì." I koh chi̍t-kái phok Margie ê thâu.

Margie chin sit-bōng. Yi goân-pún hi-bōng in kui-khì kā lāu-su chah cháu. Ū chi̍t-kái, in bat kā Tommy ê lāu-su chah cháu chiong-kīn chi̍t kò goe̍h, in-ūi le̍k-sú pō͘-hūn oân-choân sī khàng-pe̍h.

Tō sī án-ne, yi chiah kā Tommy kóng, "Sī án-chóaⁿ ū lâng boeh siá ha̍k-hāu ê tāi-chì?"

--

1. Margie 上討厭彼个插槽

彼暝, Margie 甚至 kā he 寫入日記. Tī 2157 年 5 月 17 彼頁, 她 án-ne 寫, "今仔日, Tommy 發現一本真 ê 冊!"

彼是一本古早冊. Margie 姻阿公 bat 講, tī 伊猶是囡仔 ê 時, in 阿公 kā 伊講, 有一段時間, 所有 ê 故事 lóng 印 tī 紙頂面.

In 掀 he 黃 koh 皺 ê 冊頁, 實在有夠趣味, he 字恬恬, 毋是像你所知 ê, 字會 tī 螢幕頂徙動. 後來, 等 in koh 掀轉來拄才彼頁, 頂面 ê 字和 in 一開始所讀 ê 猶是仝款.

"Ai-ah," Tommy 講, "誠浪費. 等你讀完這本冊, 你著 kā 擲掉, 我想是 án-ne. 咱 ê 電視螢幕頂面定著已經有幾若百萬本 ê 冊, 猶閣會使有閣較濟. 我袂 kā he 㧒掉."

"我 ê mā 仝款," Margie 講. 她 11 歲, 看 ê 冊無 Tommy hiah 濟. 伊 13 歲. 她講, "你 tī 佗位發現這?"

"Tī 阮厝." 伊 kō͘ 比 ê, 目睭無看, 因為伊無閒 teh 讀冊. "Tī 樓栱." "冊寫啥?" "學校."

Margie 看 he 無目地. "學校? 學校有啥好寫 ê? 我討厭學校."

Margie 一向討厭學校, 毋過這陣她閣較慼 he. 機器老師一擺 koh 一擺 kā 她考地理, 她 lú 考 lú 差, 致使姻老母傷心搖頭, tō 請縣檢查員來.

伊是一个細漢 koh 圓 kùn-kùn ê 人, 面紅紅, 扎規箱鬥儀錶和電線 ê 家私. 伊 ǹg Margie 微笑, 予她一粒 lingò, 然後 kā 老師拆開. Margie 希望伊無法度 koh kā he 鬥好勢, 毋過伊知影按怎創, 自 án-ne, 過一點鐘左右, 機器老師轉來 ah, 大 koh 烏 koh 䆀, 大大 ê 螢幕頂, koh 顯示所有 ê 課程和問題. Án-ne 猶算袂䆀. Margie 上討厭 ê 部份是她著囥入作業和考試紙 ê 彼个插槽. 她總著 kō͘ 拍空卡片寫, 這 tī 她 6 歲 ê 時 in tō 教她學過, 機器老師真緊 tō 算出她 ê 分數.

好勢了後, 檢查員笑笑撲 Margie ê 頭. 伊 kā 姻老母講, "Jones Tt, 彼毋是彼个小姑娘 ê 毋著. 我想, 地理部份教了小可 siuⁿ 趕緊. 有時 chit-lō 代誌會發生. 我已經 kā 放慢到 10 歲囡仔 ê 程度. 實際上, 她整體 ê 進步相當予人滿意." 伊 koh 一改撲 Margie ê 頭.

Margie 真失望. 她原本希望 in 規氣 kā 老師扎走. 有一改, in bat kā Tommy ê 老師扎走將近一個月, 因為歷史部份完全是空白.

就是 án-ne, 她才 kā Tommy 講, "是按怎有人欲寫學校 ê 代誌?"

--

1.

Margie even wrote about it that night in her diary. On the page headed May 17, 2157, she wrote, "Today, Tommy found a real book!"

It was a very old book. Margie's grandfather once said that when he was a little boy his grandfather told him that there was a time when all stories were printed on paper.

They turned the pages, which were yellow and crinkly, and it was awfully funny to read words that stood still instead of moving the way they were supposed to--on a screen, you know. And then, when they turned back to the page before, it had the same words on it that it had had when they read it the first time.

"Gee," said Tommy, "what a waste. When you're through with the book, you just throw it away, I guess. Our television screen must have had a million books on it and it's good for plenty more. I wouldn't throw it away."

"Same with mine," said Margie. She was eleven and hadn't seen as many telebooks as Tommy had. He was thirteen. She said, "Where did you find it?"

"In my house." He pointed without looking, because he was busy reading. "In the attic." "What's it about?" "School."

Margie was scornful. "School? What's there to write about school? I hate school."

Margie always hated school, but now she hated it more than ever. The mechanical teacher had been giving her test after test in geography and she had been doing worse and worse until her mother had shaken her head sorrowfully and sent for the County Inspector.

He was a round little man with a red face and a whole box of tools with dials and wires. He smiled at Margie and gave her an apple, then took the teacher apart. Margie had hoped he wouldn't know how to put it together again, but he knew how all right, and, after an hour or so, there it was again, large and black and ugly, with a big screen on which all the lessons were shown and the questions were asked. That wasn't so bad. The part Margie hated most was the slot where she had to put homework and test papers. She always had to write them out in a punch code they made her learn when she was six years old, and the mechanical teacher calculated the mark in no time.

The Inspector had smiled after he was finished and patted Margie's head. He said to her mother, "It's not the little girl's fault, Mrs. Jones. I think the geography sector was geared a little too quick. Those things happen sometimes. I've slowed it up to an average ten-year level. Actually, the over-all pattern of her progress is quite satisfactory." And he patted Margie's head again.

Margie was disappointed. She had been hoping they would take the teacher away altogether. They had once taken Tommy's teacher away for nearly a month because the history sector had blanked out completely.

So she said to Tommy, "Why would anyone write about school?"

--

C69 Seh | 雪 (Snow /by Julia Alvarez)

Snow /by Julia Alvarez

https://genius.com/Julia-alvarez-snow-annotated

Seh | 雪

--

Tòa New York tē-it nî, goán cho͘ chi̍t-keng sió kong-gū, hū-kīn ū chi̍t-keng Katholik ha̍k-hāu, kà-chheh ê sī Chû-siān Siu-lú, pûi-pûi ê cha-bó͘ chhēng o͘-sek tn̂g-phâu, tì bō-á, khòaⁿ khí-lâi chin te̍k-pia̍t, ná chhiūⁿ sī chhēng song-ho̍k ê pò͘-ang-á. Góa chin kah-ì yin, iû-kî sī goán sì-nî-á pan hit-ê ná amá ê lāu-su Zoe Siu-lú. Yi kóng, góa ū chi̍t-ê khó-ài ê miâ, yi kiò góa kà choân-pan án-chóaⁿ hoat-im. Yo-lan-da. Choân-pan ûi-it ê î-bîn, góa hông an-pâi chē tē-it pâi te̍k-pia̍t ê chē-ūi, óa thang-á piⁿ, hām kî-thaⁿ ê gín-á keh-khui, án-ne Zoe Siu-lú khah hó tan-to̍k hú-tō góa, bián-tit kan-jiáu pa̍t-lâng. Yi bān-bān liām chhut góa tio̍h tòe-liām ê sin jī-sû: laundromat [chū-chō͘ sé-saⁿ tiàm], cornflakes [hoan-be̍h phìⁿ], subway [tē-hā thih-lō͘], snow [seh].

Chin kín, góa o̍h ū-kàu chē ê Eng-gí, liáu-kái tōa tô͘-sat ê khì-hun. Zoe Siu-lú tùi ba̍k-chiu tián tōa-tōa ê pan-kip kái-soeh Cuba tng-teh hoat-seng ê tāi-chì. Rusia ê hóe-chìⁿ tng-teh an-chng, thiaⁿ-kóng sī iōng New York Chhī chò bo̍k-phiau. Kennedy Chóng-thóng, khòaⁿ khí-lâi mā chin hoân-ló, chhut-hiān tī ka-têng tiān-sī-ki, kái-soeh kóng, lán khó-lêng tio̍h hām Kiōng-sán-tóng sio-chiàn. Tī ha̍k-hāu, goán ū hông-khong ián-si̍p: hiong-tiāu ê liang-á siaⁿ hoat-chok, goán tio̍h pâi-tūi ji̍p tōa-thiaⁿ, phak-lo̍h tē-pán, kō͘ gōa-thò am ka-tī ê thâu, ná teh àm-siūⁿ, goán ê thâu-chang lak-lo̍h, goán ê chhiú-kut iûⁿ khì. Tī goán tau, Mami, goán achí hām góa liām mûi-kùi keng (rosary) kî-kiû sè-kài hô-pêng. Góa thiaⁿ tio̍h sin ê jī-sû: he̍k-chú tôaⁿ, hòng-siā-sèng eng-ia, hông-khong tōng. Zoe Siu-lú kái-soeh he sī án-chóaⁿ hoat-seng. Yi tī o͘-pang ōe chi̍t-lúi hiuⁿ-ko͘, koh tiám chē-chē ê hún-pit tiám-á piáu-sī lak-lo̍h ê eng-ia, he ē thâi-sí goán só͘-ū ê lâng.

Chi̍t kò goe̍h chi̍t kò goe̍h teh piàn kôaⁿ, 11 goe̍h, 12 goe̍h. Chá-sî góa khí-chhn̂g ê sî, thiⁿ iáu o͘-o͘, góa tòe ka-tī ê chhùi-ian khì ha̍k-hāu ê sî léng sng-sng. Chi̍t-kang chá-khí, góa chē tī chheh-toh, khòaⁿ thang-gōa chò pe̍h-ji̍t bāng, tú khai-sí, góa khòaⁿ tio̍h pe̍h tiám tī khong-khì tiong, ná chhiūⁿ Zoe Siu-lú bat sûi-ki ōe kòe, koh lú lâi lú chē. Góa tōa-siaⁿ kiò, "Chà-tôaⁿ! Chà-tôaⁿ!" Zoe Siu-lú oa̍t-sin tiô khí-lâi, kín-sok chông hiòng góa ê sî yi ê o͘ tn̂g-kûn giâ kah phòng sai-sai. Ū-ê cha-bó͘ gín-á khai-sí khàu.

Jiân-āu, Zoe Siu-lú ê tio̍h-kiaⁿ piáu-chêng siau-khì. "Ai-ah, Yolanda koai gín-á, he sī seh lah!" Yi chhiò chhut-lâi. "Seh."

"Seh," góa tòe leh kóng. Góa kiaⁿ-kiaⁿ khòaⁿ thang-á gōa-kháu. Kòe-khì góa kui sì-lâng kan-ta thiaⁿ kóng, Bí-kok thiⁿ-téng tī kôaⁿ-thiⁿ ē lo̍h pe̍h chúi-chiⁿ. Ùi góa ê chheh-toh, góa khòaⁿ he iù-iù ê hún, sám tī ē-bīn ê jîn-hêng-tō hām thêng-tiām ê chhia. Múi chi̍t-ê sió-phìⁿ lóng bô sio-kāng, Zoe Siu-lú bat kóng, ná-chhiūⁿ lán-lâng, bô-tè thè-ōaⁿ koh súi.

--

蹛 New York 第一年, 阮租一間小公寓, 附近有一間 Katholik 學校, 教冊 ê 是慈善修女, 肥肥 ê 查某穿烏色長袍, 戴帽仔, 看起來真特別, ná 像是穿喪服 ê 布尪仔. 我真佮意姻, 尤其是阮四年仔班彼个 ná 阿媽 ê 老師 Zoe 修女. 她講, 我有一个可愛 ê 名, 她叫我教全班按怎發音. Yo-lan-da. 全班唯一 ê 移民, 我 hông 安排坐第一排特別 ê 坐位, 倚窗仔邊, 和其他 ê 囡仔隔開, án-ne Zoe 修女較好單獨輔導我, 免得干擾別人. 她慢慢念出我著綴念 ê 新字詞: laundromat [自助洗衫店], cornflakes [番麥片], subway [地下鐵路], snow [雪].

真緊, 我學有夠濟 ê 英語, 了解大屠殺 ê 氣氛. Zoe 修女對目睭展大大 ê 班級解說 Cuba tng-teh 發生 ê 代誌. Rusia ê 火箭 tng-teh 安裝, 聽講是用 New York 市做目標. Kennedy 總統, 看起來 mā 真煩惱, 出現 tī 家庭電視機, 解說講, 咱可能著和共產黨相戰. Tī 學校, 阮有防空演習: 凶兆 ê 喨仔聲發作, 阮著排隊入大廳, 仆落地板, kō͘ 外套掩家己 ê 頭, ná teh 暗想, 阮 ê 頭鬃 lak 落, 阮 ê 手骨熔去. Tī 阮兜, Mami, 阮阿姊和我念玫瑰經 (rosary) 祈求世界和平. 我聽著新 ê 字詞: 核子彈, 放射性坱埃, 防空洞. Zoe 修女解說彼是按怎發生. 她 tī 烏枋畫一蕊香菇, koh 點濟濟 ê 粉筆點仔表示 lak 落 ê 坱埃, 彼會刣死阮所有 ê 人.

一個月一個月 teh 變寒, 11 月, 12 月. 早時我起床 ê 時, 天猶烏烏, 我綴家己 ê 喙煙去學校 ê 時冷霜霜. 一工早起, 我坐 tī 冊桌, 看窗外做白日夢, 拄開始, 我看著白點 tī 空氣中, ná 像 Zoe 修女 bat 隨機畫過, koh lú 來 lú 濟. 我大聲叫, "炸彈! 炸彈!" Zoe 修女越身趒起來, 緊速傱向我 ê 時她 ê 烏長裙夯 kah 膨 sai-sai. 有 ê 查某囡仔開始哭.

然後, Zoe 修女 ê 著驚表情消去. "Ai-ah, Yolanda 乖囡仔, 彼是雪 lah!" 她笑出來. "雪."

"雪," 我綴 leh 講. 我驚驚看窗仔外口. 過去我規世人干焦聽講, 美國天頂 tī 寒天會落白水晶. Ùi 我 ê 冊桌, 我看 he 幼幼 ê 粉, 糝 tī 下面 ê 人行道和停恬 ê 車. 每一个小片 lóng 無相仝, Zoe 修女 bat 講, ná 像咱人, 無地替換 koh 媠.

--

Our first year in New York we rented a small apartment with a Catholic school nearby, taught by the Sisters of Charity, hefty women in long black gowns and bonnets that made them look peculiar, like dolls in mourning. I liked them a lot, especially my grandmotherly fourth grade teacher, Sister Zoe. I had a lovely name, she said, and she had me teach the whole class how to pronounce it. Yo-lan-da. As the only immigrant in my class, I was put in a special seat in the first row by the window, apart from the other children so that Sister Zoe could tutor me without disturbing them. Slowly, she enunciated the new words I was to repeat: laundromat, cornflakes, subway, snow.

Soon I picked up enough English to understand holocaust was in the air. Sister Zoe explained to a wide eyed classroom what was happening in Cuba. Russian missiles were being assembled, trained supposedly on New York City. President Kennedy, looking worried too, was on the television at home, explaining we might have to go to war against the Communists. At school, we had air raid drills: an ominous bell would go off and we'd file into the hall, fall to the floor, cover our heads with our coats, and imagine our hair falling out, the bones in our arms going soft. At home, Mami and my sisters and I said a rosary for world peace. I heard new vocabulary: nuclear bomb, radioactive fallout, bomb shelter. Sister Zoe explained how it would happen. She drew a picture of a mushroom on the blackboard and dotted a flurry of chalk marks for the dusty fallout that would kill us all.

The months grew cold, November, December. It was dark when I got up in the morning, frosty when I followed my breath to school. One morning as I sat at my desk daydreaming out the window, I saw dots in the air like the ones Sister Zoe had drawn random at first, then lots and lots. I shrieked, "Bomb! Bomb!" Sister Zoe jerked around, her full black skirt ballooning as she hurried to my side. A few girls began to cry.

But then Sister Zoe's shocked look faded. "Why, Yolanda dear, that's snow!" She laughed. "Snow."

"Snow," I repeated. I looked out the window warily. All my life I had heard about the white crystals that fell out of American skies in the winter. From my desk I watched the fine powder dust the sidewalk and parked cars below. Each flake was different, Sister Zoe had said, like a person, irreplaceable and beautiful.

--

// 2022-8-10

Julia Álvarez was born in the Dominican Republic and came to the United States when she was ten years old. In this short excerpt from her acclaimed novel How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents (1991), she captures perfectly the fear and the wonder of a young immigrant girl from the Dominican Republic who has never seen snow before.

C68 O͘-m̂ | 烏莓 (Blackberries /by Ellen Hunnicutt)

Blackberries /by Ellen Hunnicutt

https://sites.google.com/site/vhgskriver/home/fagenes-progressionsplaner/engelsk/engelsk-b-progressionsplan/characterisation

O͘-m̂ | 烏莓

--

Tī tiong-tàu chìn-chêng, ang ùi soaⁿ-phiâⁿ lo̍h-lâi, kō͘ i ê bō-á té móa-móa ê o͘-m̂. "Taⁿ lóng kàu-hun ah. Chit lé-pài," i tùi in bó͘ kóng. "Lán kéng chit lé-pài lâi, tú-hó tio̍h-sî." I lò-kha, ki-kut-á seⁿ, m̄-koh chòe-kīn io lú lâi lú chho͘. I se̍h kòe tent kàu tiàu phâng-pò͘ chúi-tē hia, kā o͘-m̂ tò lo̍h alumih oe, khai-sí khin-khin kā sé.

"Bô chhun gû-leng ah." in bó͘ kóng. Yi kim thâu-mo͘, nâ ba̍k-chiu, sin-châi iù-siù, tī bó͘-chióng kng-sòaⁿ khòaⁿ iáu chin súi, ngó͘-koan an-pâi sì-chiàⁿ. "Lán kā gû-leng lim liáu ah." Yi ùi pho͘ tī thô͘-kha ê thán-á chē khí-lâi, kā tú-chiah teh tha̍k ê chheh khǹg chi̍t-pêng khì. "Albert hām Mae í-keng khì New York ah," yi kóng. "Khì lí-iû. Chi̍t-chōa hì-kio̍k ê lí-iû."

"Lí ū kă kóng-kòe," i ìn. "Lán ē-sái kō͘ poe-á lâi té che. Poe-á té o͘-m̂ chin ha̍h."

"Bô gû-leng ah."

"Góa ū khòaⁿ tio̍h chúi la̍h-chek (cattail)," i kóng. "Lí khó-lêng jīn-ûi, chia tùi in lâi kóng, chhiū-á siuⁿ chē. In su-iàu ji̍t-kng, m̄-koh, in tō sī tī chia. Chúi la̍h-chek ê kin chhiat-phìⁿ ē-sái chhá lâi chia̍h. Kō͘ butter /ba.tah/ iû. Lán ū butter iû. Chin hó-chia̍h." I kā m̂-á pun chò nn̄g-poe, kî-tiong chi̍t-poe khǹg tī thán-á téng in bó͘ sin-piⁿ. I ùi chú-chia̍h ke-si-siuⁿ chhiau chhut chi̍t-ki thng-sî-á, jiân-āu khai-sí bān-bān, ûn-ûn-á chia̍h m̂-á, bián-tit siuⁿ kín chia̍h liáu.

"Hit-ê lí-iû sī pau-pān ê," yi kóng. "Chi̍t-kái hù-chheng. Chi̍t-ê kè-siàu."

"Chit só͘-chāi bô hîm," i kóng, "mā bô hûi-hiám ê chôa. Lán nā tī hûi-hiám ê só͘-chāi lo̍k-iâⁿ, tāi-chì tō bô kāng loh. Chia m̄-sī hit-khoán só͘-chāi."

Cha-bó͘ kō͘ sè-sè, sió-sim ê tōng-chok kā yi chē ê thán-á pho͘ pêⁿ, ná chhiūⁿ teh pho͘ bîn-chhn̂g án-ne. "Ē chin joa̍h," yi kóng. "Bô jīm-hô hûn, sīm-chì hûn-si to bô."

"Lán ē-sái khì siû-chúi," i kiàn-gī, ná teh phín-bī i ê m̂-á. "Lí chóng-sī hèng siû-chúi. He lí chin lāi-hâng."

"Bô, góa chiah bô leh," yi kóng. "Góa tùi he kin-pún to bô lāi-hâng."

"Lí chhēng siû-chúi saⁿ chiâⁿ hó khòaⁿ. Lí chóng-sī án-ne. Lán ū gû-leng hún."

"He ū chi̍t-ê koài hiàn."

"Hit-su chheⁿ-sek si-á ê, sī góa tē-it pái khòaⁿ lí chhēng ê siû-chúi saⁿ."

"Lán nā lo̍h-khì bé gû-leng, lán ē-sái sūn-sòa khì chng-ni̍h khòaⁿ tiān-iáⁿ. Sī chi̍t-pō͘ im-ga̍k-kio̍k. Sái-chhia keng-kòe ê sî, góa ū khòaⁿ tio̍h."

"In hoān-sè chiu-boa̍t chiah ū khui." i kóng. "Chit-chióng sió-tìn. Gû-leng hún bô būn-tê."

"Tī lán tau, lí mā bô kah-ì he. Lí bat kă kóng, lí bô kah-ì gû-leng hún."

"Góa m̄-bat án-ne kóng," i ìn. "Lí siūⁿ, góa khì khau kóa chúi-la̍h-chek kin hó bô?"

"He sī margarín," yi kóng. "Lán chah ê sī margarín, m̄-sī butter."

"Góa lâi kā chhá."

"In hoān-sè siū pó-hō͘, chhiūⁿ iân-lêng-chháu (延齡草, trillium)."

"Chúi la̍h-chek ē-sái bán," i kóng. "Chiah bô-lâng teh koán chúi la̍h-chek."

I kiâⁿ khì chhâ-tui, khai-sí phòa-chhâ, khû tio̍h, pó͘-thâu ê tōng-chok liú-lia̍h koh khin-khó. Yi khòaⁿ i phòa. I phòa-chhâ chin lāi-hâng. Chhiú-kut hām keng-thâu hàiⁿ-tāng sòa-phah, kiàn-pái to tùi-tiong. "Joa̍h--lâng boeh kòe ah," yi kóng, ná the̍h chi̍t-lia̍p m̂-á ji̍p chhùi. Yi kō͘ chi̍h kā chiⁿ-phòa, sió pō͘ chi̍t-ē chiah thun-lo̍h. Ji̍t-thâu í-keng kòe chòe koân tiám, yi khòaⁿ tio̍h chi̍t-chōa iáⁿ chhut-hiān tī yin ang sin-piⁿ ê chháu-á téng, ná chi̍t-ê san-thiu siàu-liân-ke ê sin-iáⁿ, chhiūⁿ kì-tî hiah un-jiû. Yi khai-sí chi̍t-kái nn̄g-lia̍p a̍h saⁿ-lia̍p teh chia̍h m̂-á, kō͘ chéng-thâu-á ni, m̄-bián thng-sî-á. "Tit-boeh káu-goe̍h ah." I oa̍t-thâu khòaⁿ yi. "Iáu-bōe, iáu-bōe lah," i kóng. "Iáu bōe lah, kin-pún to iáu-bōe kàu tiong-tàu leh. Lán ê sî-kan iáu chē leh."

--

Tī 中晝進前, 翁 ùi 山坪落來, kō͘ 伊 ê 帽仔貯滿滿 ê 烏莓. "今 lóng 到分 ah. 這禮拜," 伊對 in 某講. "咱揀這禮拜來, 拄好著時." 伊躼跤, 枝骨仔生, 毋過最近腰 lú 來 lú 粗. 伊踅過 tent 到吊帆布水袋 hia, kā 烏莓倒落 alumih 鍋, 開始輕輕 kā 洗.

"無賰牛奶 ah." in 某講. 她金頭毛, 藍目睭, 身材幼秀, tī 某種光線看猶真媠, 五官安排四正. "咱 kā 牛奶啉了 ah." 她 ùi 鋪 tī 塗跤 ê 毯仔坐起來, kā 拄才 teh 讀 ê 冊囥一爿去. "Albert 和 Mae 已經去 New York ah," 她講. "去旅遊. 一逝戲劇 ê 旅遊."

"你有 kă 講過," 伊應. "咱會使 kō͘ 杯仔來貯這. 杯仔貯烏莓真合."

"無牛奶 ah."

"我有看著水蠟燭 (cattail)," 伊講. "你可能認為, 遮對 in 來講, 樹仔 siuⁿ 濟. In 需要日光, 毋過, in tō 是 tī 遮. 水蠟燭 ê 根切片會使炒來食. Kō͘ butter /ba.tah/ 油. 咱有 butter 油. 真好食." 伊 kā 莓仔分做兩杯, 其中一杯囥 tī 毯仔頂 in 某身邊. 伊 ùi 煮食家私箱搜出一支湯匙仔, 然後開始慢慢, 勻勻仔食莓仔, 免得 siuⁿ 緊食了.

"彼个旅遊是包辦 ê," 她講. "一改付清. 一个價數."

"這所在無熊," 伊講, "mā 無危險 ê 蛇. 咱若 tī 危險 ê 所在露營, 代誌 tō 無仝 loh. Chia 毋是彼款所在."

查某 kō͘ 細細, 小心 ê 動作 kā 她坐 ê 毯仔鋪平, ná 像 teh 鋪眠床 án-ne. "會真熱," 她講. "無任何雲, 甚至雲絲 to 無."

"咱會使去泅水," 伊建議, ná teh 品味伊 ê 莓仔. "你總是興泅水. He 你真內行."

"無, 我才無 leh," 她講. "我對 he 根本 to 無內行."

"你穿泅水衫誠好看. 你總是 án-ne. 咱有牛奶粉."

"彼有一个怪羶."

"彼軀青色絲仔 ê, 是我第一擺看你穿 ê 泅水衫."

"咱若落去買牛奶, 咱會使順紲去庄 ni̍h 看電影. 是一部音樂劇. 駛車經過 ê 時, 我有看著."

"In 凡勢週末才有開." 伊講. "這種小鎮. 牛奶粉無問題."

"Tī 咱兜, 你 mā 無佮意 he. 你捌 kă 講, 你無佮意牛奶粉."

"我毋捌 án-ne 講," 伊應. "你想, 我去薅寡水蠟燭根好無?"

"彼是 margarín," 她講. "咱扎 ê 是 margarín, 毋是 butter."

"我來 kā 炒."

"In 凡勢受保護, 像 iân-lêng-chháu (延齡草, trillium)."

"水蠟燭會使挽," 伊講. "才無人 teh 管水蠟燭."

伊行去柴堆, 開始破柴, 跍著, 斧頭 ê 動作扭掠 koh 輕可. 她看伊破. 伊破柴真內行. 手骨和肩頭幌動紲拍, 見擺 to 對中. "熱人欲過 ah," 她講, ná 提一粒莓仔入喙. 她 kō͘ 舌 kā 櫼破, 小哺一下才吞落. 日頭已經過最懸點, 她看著一逝影出現 tī 姻翁身邊 ê 草仔頂, ná 一个瘦抽少年家 ê 身影, 像記持 hiah 溫柔. 她開始一改兩粒 a̍h 三粒 teh 食莓仔, kō͘ 指頭仔拈, 毋免湯匙仔. "得欲九月 ah." 伊越頭看她. "猶未, 猶未 lah," 伊講. "猶未 lah, 根本 to 猶未到中晝 leh. 咱 ê 時間猶濟 leh."

--

Just before noon the husband came down the near slope of the hill carrying his cap filled with blackberries. “They’re ripe now. This week,” he said to his wife. “We chose the right week to come.” He was a tall man, slender-limbed but thickening now through the center of his body. He walked around the tent to where the canvas water bag hung, spilled the berries into an aluminium pan, and began to wash them gently.

“There isn’t any milk left,” his wife said. She was blond and fragile, still pretty in a certain light and with a careful arrangement of her features. “We finished the milk.” She sat up from the blanket spread on the ground and laid aside the book she had been reading. “Albert and Mae went to New York,” she said. “It’s a tour. A theater tour.”

“You told me that,” he replied. “We can put these in cups. Cups will make fine berry bowls.”

“There isn’t any milk.”

“I saw cattails,” he said. “You’d think there would be too much woods for them. They need sun, but they’re there. You can slice up cattail root and fry it. In butter. We have butter. It’s good.” He divided the berries into two cups and set one cup on the blanket beside his wife. He rummaged through the kitchen box and found a spoon, then began to eat his berries slowly and carefully, making them last.

“The tour covers everything,” she said. “You only pay once. You pay one price.”

“There aren’t any bears here,” he said, “nor dangerous snakes. It would be different if we were camped in a dangerous place. It’s not like that here.”

The woman smoothed the blanket she was sitting on with small, careful motions, as if making a bed. “It’s going to be hot,” she said. “There aren’t any clouds, not even small ones.”

“We can swim,” he suggested, savoring his berries. “You always liked swimming. You’re good at it.”

“No, I’m not,” she said. “I’m not good at it at all.”

“You look great in a bathing suit. You always did. We have powdered milk.”

“It has a funny taste.”

“That green, silky bathing suit was the first one I ever saw you in.”

“If we went down for milk we could go to the movie in the village. It’s a musical. I looked when we drove through.”

“They’re probably only open on weekends,” he said. “A little town like that. Powdered milk’s okay.”

“You don’t like it at home. You  told me you don’t like powdered milk.”

“I didn’t say that,” he replied. “Do you want me to go for the cattail root?”

“It’s margarine,” she said. “We have margarine, not butter.”

“I’ll fry them up.”

“They’re probably protected, like trillium.”

“You can pick cattails,” he said. “Nobody cares about cattails.”

He went to the pile of fire logs and began splitting them, crouching, the hatchet working in clean, economical strokes. She watched him. He was good at splitting wood. The arc of arm and shoulder swung smoothly to aim each blow. “The summer’s almost over,” she said, taking one berry into her mouth. She mashed it with her tongue, chewed and swallowed. The sun passed its zenith and she saw a stripe of shadow appear on the grass beside her husband, a silhouette slim as a boy, tender as memory. She began to eat the berries in twos and threes, picking them out with her fingers, forgoing a spoon. “It’s almost september.” He turned to look at her. “No it’s not,” he said. “It isn’t, and it’s scarcely noon. We have lots of time.”

--

// 2022-8-10

C67 Hó Ba̍k-sek | 好目識 (20/20 /by Linda Brewer)

20/20 /by Linda Brewer

https://metaphorbymetaphor.files.wordpress.com/2016/02/microfiction.pdf

Hó Ba̍k-sek | 好目識

--

In kàu Indiana ê sî, Bill hoat-kak, hām i chò-hóe sái chhia ê Ruthie, bô hoat-tō͘ chò lí-lūn-tek ê piān-lūn. Yi sái-chhia ē-sái, chia̍h-iû kiám pòaⁿ, tt, m̄-koh yi mbē kap lâng sio-chèⁿ. Yi khòaⁿ sī m̄-chai án-chóaⁿ sio-chèⁿ. Bill koàn-sì Tang Hōaⁿ ê cha-bó͘, i kóng ê ta̍k-kù ōe, yin lóng ū ì-kiàn, ta̍k-pō͘ lóng án-ne. Ruthie kan-ta chò kán-tan ê koan-chhat, chhin-chhiūⁿ kóng, "Lí khòaⁿ, ū gû." I kā che kui-in tī, yi lâi-chū Ohio ê chng-kha, kàu tó-ūi lóng ē kám-kak hoaⁿ-hí.

Yi bô kòa-ì bīn hiòng lo̍h-ji̍t sái chhia. Kàu tē-saⁿ àm, Bill ba̍k-chiu kheh-kheh hioh-khùn, hō͘ yi iân-lō͘ sái, tan-tan ū-sî thiaⁿ yi chhut-siaⁿ soan-pò͘ chi̍t-ē:

"Indian ōe-pit chháu. Chi̍t-chiah kim-eng chiáu."

Kòe kúi-ā eng-lí liáu-āu, i ba̍k-thâu kat chi̍t-ē. Chiū i só͘ chai, óa-kīn Chicago ê ūi, pēng bô siáⁿ Indian ōe-pit chháu.

Keh-kang boeh-àm, ná sái chhia, Ruthie ná kóng, "Siūⁿ bē-kàu, góa ē chhin-sin khòaⁿ tio̍h Tōa-kha Koài." Bill oa̍t-thâu, khòaⁿ sūn-sūn hiòng-āu sóa-tāng ê lō͘-piⁿ. Nn̄g-ê âng-tiám teh sih -- tèng tī chhiū-thâu ê hoán-kng-kiàⁿ.

"Ruthie, góa lâi sái," i kóng. Yi kā chhia thêng lo̍h-lâi, tī boeh-àm ê thiⁿ-chheⁿ ē-bīn, in ōaⁿ-ūi.

"Góa chiâⁿ hoaⁿ-hí hām lí tâng-chê," Ruthie kóng. Yi ê ba̍k-chiu tōa koh nâ, ē-tàng khòaⁿ tio̍h kî-miāu ê kéng-tì. Chi̍t-chiah pe̍h chúi-gû óa tī Fargo hia. Chi̍t-ê UFO tī Siang Chúi-chhiâng téng-koân. Tī Bill sin-siōng khòaⁿ-tio̍h chi̍t-ê iân-tâu ê thian-châi. Thōng āu-bīn chit-ê kéng-tì, sī tī Spokane khòaⁿ-tio̍h, chū án-ne Bill koat-tēng boeh kiâⁿ khòaⁿ-māi.

--

In 到 Indiana ê 時, Bill 發覺, 和伊做伙駛車 ê Ruthie, 無法度做理論 tek ê 辯論. 她駛車會使, 食油減半, tt, 毋過她袂 kap 人相諍. 她看是毋知按怎相諍. Bill 慣勢東岸 ê 查某, 伊講 ê 逐句話, 姻 lóng 有意見, 逐步 lóng án-ne. Ruthie 干焦做簡單 ê 觀察, 親像講, "你看, 有牛." 伊 kā 這歸因 tī, 她來自 Ohio ê 庄跤, 到佗位 lóng 會感覺歡喜.

她無掛意面向落日駛車. 到第三暗, Bill 目睭瞌瞌歇睏, hō͘ 她沿路駛, 單單有時聽她出聲宣布一下:

"Indian 畫筆草. 一隻金鷹鳥."

過幾若英里了後, 伊目頭結一下. 就伊所知, 倚近 Chicago ê 位, 並無啥 Indian 畫筆草.

隔工欲暗, ná 駛車, Ruthie ná 講, "想袂到, 我會親身看著大跤怪." Bill 越頭, 看順順向後徙動 ê 路邊. 兩个紅點 teh 爍 -- 釘 tī 樹頭 ê 反光鏡.

"Ruthie, 我來駛," 伊講. 她 kā 車停落來, tī 欲暗 ê 天星下面, in 換位.

"我誠歡喜和你同齊," Ruthie 講. 她 ê 目睭大 koh 藍, 會當看著奇妙 ê 景致. 一隻白水牛倚 tī Fargo 遐. 一个 UFO tī 雙水沖頂懸. Tī Bill 身上看著一个緣投 ê 天才. Thōng 後面這个景致, 是 tī Spokane 看著, 自 án-ne Bill 決定欲行看覓.

--

By the time they reached Indiana, Bill realized that Ruthie, his driving companion, was incapable of theoretical debate. She drove okay, she went halves on gas, etc., but she refused to argue. She didn't seem to know how. Bill was used to East Coast women who disputed everything he said, every step of the way. Ruthie stuck to simple observation, like "Look, cows." He chalked it up to the fact that she was from rural Ohio and thrilled to death to be anywhere else.

She didn't mind driving into the setting sun. The third evening out, Bill rested his eyes while she cruised along making the occasional announcement.

"Indian paintbrush. A golden eagle."

Miles later he frowned. There was no Indian paintbrush, that he knew of, near Chicago.

The next evening, driving, Ruthie said, "I never thought I'd see a Bigfoot in real life." Bill turned and looked at the side of the road streaming innocently out behind them. Two red spots winked back -- reflectors nailed to a tree stump.

"Ruthie, I'll drive," he said. She stopped the car and they changed places in the light of the evening star.

"I'm so glad I got to come with you," Ruthie said. Her eyes were big, blue, and capable of seeing wonderful sights. A white buffalo near Fargo. A UFO above Twin Falls. A handsome genius in the person of Bill himself. This last vision came to her in Spokane and Bill decided to let it ride.

--

// 2022-8-9

Images by Cathie Rupert 
http://kathierupert91.blogspot.com/2014/11/2020.html

C66b 你 ná 一直問我?

2. Lí ná it-ti̍t mn̄g góa?

Carole chia̍h-pá, chhan-pôaⁿ siu cháu, oshibóri sàng lâi ê sî, hit-lâng kóng: "Lí tài-té sī siáⁿ? Goán bó͘ hām góa lóng chiâⁿ hòⁿ-kî."

Carole ba̍k-chiu nih-ah-nih, khòaⁿ hit-lâng thàu-bêng ê nâ ba̍k-chiu, jiân-āu thâu-khak lê loeh.

"Lí ê ì-sù sī siáⁿ?" yi kóng.

"Lí chai lah, lí sī siáⁿ? Siáⁿ-mih chéng-cho̍k?"

Carole ê chhùi bih chi̍t-ē. Chéng-cho̍k? He sī siáⁿ? Yi bē liáu-kái. M̄-koh, yi kám-kak, chit-ê lâng teh mn̄g chi̍t-ê bái būn-tê. He bē-su i sī teh mn̄g a-cha ê tāi-chì, a̍h sī teh kha̍p yi thiàⁿ ê ūi. Yi hi-bāng yin Mă hām Pă ū tī chia. In chai-iáⁿ "chéng-cho̍k" ê ì-sù.

"Lí hit-ê pò͘-ang-á sī o͘-sek ê," Henry Norton kóng. "He sī chi̍t-ê O͘-lâng pò͘-ang-á. He tō sī chéng-cho̍k. O͘-lâng. Lí ê chéng-cho̍k sī siáⁿ?"

Chit-ê būn-tê iáu sī hō͘ yi bē bêng-pe̍k.

"Án-ne kóng lâi," hit-lâng kóng. "Lín lāu-pē sī siáⁿ?"

Chit-ê būn-tê hō͘ yi koh-khah hô͘-tô͘. Yin lāu-pē sī siáⁿ? I sī yin Pă!

I sī yin Pă, ta̍k lé-pài-ji̍t i ūi kui ke-hóe chian phòng-piáⁿ, hō͘ Carole tī téng-bīn thîn sio thn̂g-chiuⁿ, jiân-āu phō yi tī i tōa-thúi, koh kóng kó͘ hō͘ yi thiaⁿ.

Norton Tt àⁿ hiòng Carole. "Ká-sú lí ū chi̍t-pún chhat-sek ê chheh. Lí ē kā lín Pă chhat siáⁿ-mih sek?"

"Góa chiông-lâi iōng put-chí chi̍t-ê sek." "Hó. Lí ē kā i ê bīn chhat siáⁿ sek?"

"Chang-sek."

"Lín lāu-bú neh?"

Carole sim-lāi siūⁿ chi̍t-tiuⁿ pe̍h-chóa. Yi ē tī lāu-bú ê bīn khǹg siáⁿ sek? Yi tio̍h kā chhat chi̍t-ê sek. Yi bē-sái kā khàng-pe̍h.

"Góa m̄-chai neh."

"Tong-jiân lí chai lah," Norton Tt kóng. "Lí ē án-chóaⁿ chhat lín lāu-bú ê bīn?"

"N̂g-sek."

Carloe khòaⁿ tio̍h Norton Ss hām Tt sio tùi-khòaⁿ.

"Lín lāu-bú sī China lâng bô? Norton Tt mn̄g.

"M̄-sī."

"Lí khak-tēng lí ē kā chhat n̂g-sek?"

"Bô."

"Lí ū khó-lêng koh án-chóaⁿ kā chhat?"

Koh án-chóaⁿ chhat? Carole kiàn-siàu ka-tī chiah gōng. Chi̍t-tih ba̍k-sái lâu kàu yi chhùi-phé. "Âng-sek," chòe-āu yi án-ne kóng.

"Âng-sek! Lí bē-sái kā bīn chhat âng-sek ê! Lín lāu-bú sī pe̍h ê bô? Yi ê bīn! He sī-m̄-sī hām góa ê kāng-sek?"

"Sī."

"Iá lín lāu-pē sī chang-sek ê?"

Carole tìm-thâu.

"Lí kóng chang-sek, lí ê ì-sù sī kóng, i sī O͘-lâng?"

"Sī." Yin lāu-pē tong-jiân sī O͘-lâng. Norton Tt chi̍t-lō͘ siūⁿ boeh chai yin lāu-pē sī-m̄-sī O͘-lâng, yi ná m̄ ti̍t-chiap án-ne mn̄g?

"Nā án-ne, lí sī lām-hoeh ê?" Norton Tt kóng. "Lí sī chi̍t-ê mulatto*!" [*o͘-lâng hām pe̍h-lâng lām-hoeh ê gín-á]

Carloe ê chhùi-tûn teh chùn. Siáⁿ sī mulatto? In ná it-ti̍t mn̄g yi sī siáⁿ? Yi siáⁿ mā m̄-sī!

"Án-ne tio̍h bô? Lí sī chi̍t-ê mulatto? Lí chai siáⁿ sī mulatto, kám m̄-sī? Lín pē-bú kám bô kà lí hit-ê sû?"

Sak chi̍t-chhia kó-chiap kòe-lâi, khong-chiá khòaⁿ ǹg Carloe, tùi yi bî-chhiò. Che hō͘ yi tōa-tōa ê ióng-khì.

"Mài tîⁿ góa!" yi tùi Norton Tt tōa-siaⁿ kiò.

Sêng-kheh kim-kim khòaⁿ. Khong-chiá lòng tó chi̍t-poe kó-chiap. Norton Tt tōa-la̍t chē hó tī yi ê í-á, yi ê chhiú gia̍h khí-lâi, chéng-thâu-á tián-khui. Carole khòaⁿ tio̍h lâng-lâng teh khòaⁿ.

"Lí ná it-ti̍t mn̄g góa, goán Pă sī O͘-lâng bô? Sī, i sī O͘-lâng! Oke? OKE? O͘-lâng O͘-lâng O͘-lâng!"

"Léng-chēng," Norton Tt kóng, ná chhun-chhiú kòe.

"Mài kha̍p yi," khong-chiá kóng.

"Chiah-ê lâng sī siáng ah?" keh kòe-tō hit-pêng ū-lâng kóng. "Siūⁿ khòaⁿ-māi, án-ne tùi gín-á kóng-ōe, koh sī tī 1970 nî!"

Chē tī Carole thâu-chêng ê chi̍t-ê cha-bó͘ khiā khí-lâi, oa̍t-sin.

"Lí boeh lâi hām góa chò-hóe chē bô, sió ko͘-niû?"

"Boaih!" Carole hoah. "Góa bô-ài it-chhè chiah-ê būn-tê. Yi it-ti̍t mn̄g, tī chhat-sek chheh góa ē án-chóaⁿ kā goán pē-bú chhat-sek! Lí ná it-ti̍t mn̄g góa he?"

Norton Tt khún-kiû Carole thêng lo̍h-lâi.

"He nā hoat-seng tī lí, lí ē án-chóaⁿ siūⁿ?" Carole kóng.

"Só͘-í, lí tàu-té sī siáⁿ? Lín pē-bú sī siáⁿ? Lí ē án-chóaⁿ kā in chhat-sek? Hmh, góa bē kòa-ì! Góa liân kòa-ì to bē!"

"Lí kám boeh lâi hām góa chē chò-hóe?" khong-chiá chhiò-chhiò kóng. "Góa ē khoán chi̍t-poe te̍k-pia̍t ê ím-liāu hō͘ lí. Lí kám bat lim kòe Shirley Temple*?" [* Chi̍t-chióng bô chiú-cheng ê ke-bóe-chiú]

Carole liân-sòa tìm-thâu. Yi í-keng kám-kak khah hó ah. Lia̍h tiâu Amy, yi sóa kòe Norton ang-á-bó͘, in kiu-kha niū yi kòe.

"Thiⁿ-kong ah," Carole thiaⁿ tio̍h Norton Tt kā yin ang kóng, "kóng tio̍h bín-kám ê ōe-tê."

--

2. 你 ná 一直問我?

Carole 食飽, 餐盤收走, oshibóri 送來 ê 時, 彼人講: "你到底是啥? 阮某和我 lóng 誠好奇."

Carole 目睭 nih-ah-nih, 看彼人透明 ê 藍目睭, 然後頭殼犁 loeh.

"你 ê 意思是啥?" 她講.

"你知 lah, 你是啥? 啥物種族?"

Carole ê 喙 bih 一下. 種族? 彼是啥? 她袂了解. 毋過, 她感覺, 這个人 teh 問一个䆀問題. 彼袂輸伊是 teh 問 a-cha ê 代誌, a̍h 是 teh 磕她疼 ê 位. 她希望姻 Mă 和 Pă 有 tī chia. In 知影 "種族" ê 意思.

"你彼个布尪仔是烏色 ê," Henry Norton 講. "彼是一个烏人布尪仔. 彼 tō 是種族. 烏人. 你 ê 種族是啥?"

這个問題猶是 hō͘ 她袂明白.

"Án-ne 講來," 彼人講. "恁老爸是啥?"

這个問題 hō͘ 她閣較糊塗. 姻老爸是啥? 伊是姻 Pă!

伊是姻 Pă, 逐禮拜日伊為規家伙煎膨餅, hō͘ Carole tī 頂面斟燒糖漿, 然後抱她 tī 伊大腿, koh 講古 hō͘ 她聽.

Norton Tt àⁿ 向 Carole. "假使你有一本擦色 ê 冊. 你會 kā 恁 Pă 擦啥物色?"

"我從來用不只一个色." "好. 你會 kā 伊 ê 面擦啥色?"

"棕色."

"恁老母 neh?"

Carole 心內想一張白紙. 她會 tī 老母 ê 面囥啥色? 她著 kā 擦一个色. 她袂使 kā 空白.

"我毋知 neh."

"當然你知 lah," Norton Tt 講. "你會按怎擦恁老母 ê 面?"

"黃色."

Carloe 看著 Norton Ss 和 Tt 相對看.

"恁老母是 China 人無? Norton Tt 問.

"毋是."

"你確定你會 kā 擦黃色?"

"無."

"你有可能 koh 按怎 kā 擦?"

Koh 按怎擦? Carole 見笑家己 chiah 戇. 一滴目屎流到她喙䫌. "紅色," 最後她 án-ne 講.

"紅色! 你袂使 kā 面擦紅色 ê! 恁老母是白 ê 無? 她 ê 面! 彼是毋是和我 ê 仝色?"

"Sī."

"Iá 恁老爸是棕色 ê?"

Carole 頕頭.

"你講棕色, 你 ê 意思是講, 伊是烏人?"

"是." 姻老爸當然是烏人. Norton Tt 一路想欲知姻老爸是毋是烏人, 她那毋直接 án-ne 問?

"若 án-ne, 你是濫血 ê?" Norton Tt 講. "你是一个 mulatto*!" [* 烏人和白人濫血 ê 囡仔]

Carloe ê 喙唇 teh 顫. 啥是 mulatto? In ná 一直問她是啥? 她啥 mā 毋是!

"Án-ne 著無? 你是一个 mulatto? 你知啥是 mulatto, 敢毋是? 恁爸母敢無教你彼个詞?"

捒一車果汁過來, 空姐看 ǹg Carloe, tùi 她微笑. 這 hō͘ 她大大 ê 勇氣.

"莫纏我!" 她 tùi Norton Tt 大聲叫.

乘客金金看. 空姐挵倒一杯果汁. Norton Tt 大力坐好 tī 她 ê 椅仔, 她 ê 手攑起來, 指頭仔展開. Carole 看著人人 teh 看.

"你 ná 一直問我, 阮 Pă 是烏人無? 是, 伊是烏人! Oke? OKE? 烏人烏人烏人!"

"冷靜," Norton Tt 講, ná 伸手過.

"莫磕她," 空姐講.

"Chiah-ê 人是 siáng ah?" 隔過道彼爿有人講. "想看覓, án-ne tùi 囡仔講話, koh 是 tī 1970 年!"

坐 tī Carole 頭前 ê 一个查某徛起來, 越身.

"你欲來和我做伙坐無, 小姑娘?"

"Boaih!" Carole 喝. "我無愛一切 chiah-ê 問題. 她一直問, tī 擦色冊我會按怎 kā 阮爸母擦色! 你 ná 一直問我 he?"

Norton Tt 懇求 Carole 停落來.

"彼若發生 tī 你, 你會按怎想?" Carole 講.

"所以, 你到底是啥? 恁爸母是啥? 你會按怎 kā in 擦色? Hmh, 我袂掛意! 我連掛意 to 袂!"

"你敢欲來和我坐做伙?" 空姐笑笑講. "我會款一杯特別 ê 飲料 hō͘ 你. 你敢 bat 啉過 Shirley Temple*?" [* 一種無酒精 ê 雞尾酒]

Carole 連紲頕頭. 她已經感覺較好 ah. 掠牢 Amy, 她徙過 Norton 翁仔某, in 勼跤讓她過.

"天公 ah," Carole 聽著 Norton Tt kā 姻翁講, "講著敏感 ê 話題."

--

2.

After Carole has eaten and had her tray taken and had been served a hot face towel, the man says: “What are you, anyway? My wife and I were wondering.”

Carole blinks, sees the man’s clear blue eyes and drops her head.

“What do you mean?” she says.

“You know, what are you? What race?”

Carole’s mouth drops. Race? What is that? She doesn’t understand. Yet she senses that the man is asking a bad question. It is as if he is asking her something dirty, or touching her in a bad place. She wishes her Mom and Dad were there. They could tell what “race” meant.

“That doll of yours is black,” Henry Norton says. “That’s a Negro doll. That’s race. Negro. What’s your race?”

The question still confuses her.

“Put it this way,” the man says. “What is your father?”

The question baffles her. What is her father? He is her Dad!

He is her Dad and every Sunday morning he makes pancakes for the whole family and lets Carole pour hot syrup on them and afterwards he sits her on his lap and tells stories.

Mrs. Norton leans towards Carole. “Say you had a colouring book. What colour would you make your Dad?”

“I never use just one colour.” “Okay. What colour would you make his face?”

“Brown.”

“And your mother?”

Carole imagines a blank page. What would she put in her mother’s face? She has to put something in there. She can’t leave it blank.

“I don’t know.”

“Sure you do,” Mrs. Norton says. "How would you colour your mother’s face?”

“Yellow.”

Carole sees Mr. and Mrs. Norton look at each other.

“Is your mother Chinese?” Mrs. Norton asks.

“No.”

“Are you sure you’d colour her yellow?”

“No.”

“What else might you colour her?”

What else? Carole feels ashamed at her stupidity. A tear races down her cheek. “Red,” she says finally.

“Red! You can’t colour a face red! Is your mother white? Is she like me? Her face! Is it the same colour as mine?”

“Yes.”

“And your father’s brown?”

Carole nods.

“When you say brown, do you mean he is a Negro?”

“Yes.” Of course her father is a Negro. If Mrs. Norton wanted to know all along if her Dad was a Negro, why didn’t she just ask?

“So you’re mixed?” Mrs. Norton says. “You’re a mulatto!”

Carole’s lip quivers. What is a mulatto? Why do they keep asking her what she is? She isn’t anything!

“So is that it? You’re a mulatto? You know what a mulatto is, don’t you? Haven’t your parents taught you that word?”

Approaching with a cart of juice, the stewardess looks up and smiles at Carole. That gives her a rush of courage.

“Leave me alone!” she screams at Mrs. Norton.

Passengers stare. The stewardess spills a drink. Mrs. Norton sits back hard in her seat, her hands raised, fingers spread. Carole sees people watching.

“Why do you keep asking me if my Dad is Negro? Yes, he’s Negro! Okay? OKAY? Negro Negro Negro!”

“Calm down,” Mrs. Norton says, reaching over.

“Don’t touch her,” the stewardess says.

“Who are these people?” someone says from across the aisle. “Imagine, talking to a child like that, and in 1970!”

One woman sitting in front of Carole stands up and turns around.

“Would you like to come and sit with me, little girl?”

“No!” Carole shouts. “I don’t like all these questions. She keeps asking me how I would colour my parents in a colouring book! Why do you keep asking me that?”

Mrs. Norton pleads with Carole to stop.

“How would you like it if that happened to you?” Carole says.

“So what are you, anyway? What are your parents? How would you colour them? Well, I don’t care! I don’t even care!”

“How would you like to come and sit with me?” the stewardess says smiling. “I’ll make you a special drink. Have you ever had a Shirley Temple?”

Carole nods enthusiastically. Already she feels better. Clutching Amy, she passes by the Nortons, who swing their legs to let her out.

“My God,” Carole hears Mrs. Norton tell her husband, “talk about sensitive.”

--

// 2022-8-7

C66 Lí Tàu-té Sī Siáⁿ? | 你到底是啥 - a 爸母放你孤人旅行?

So What Are You, Anyway? /by Lawrence Hill

http://edge-integrity.weebly.com/uploads/6/8/9/0/6890635/so_what_are_you_anyway_short_story.pdf

Lí Tàu-té Sī Siáⁿ? | 你到底是啥

--

1. Pē-bú pàng lí ko͘-lâng lí-hêng?

Carole chē lo̍h tī 12A chē-ūi, óa thang-á piⁿ, kā yi ê pò͘-ang-á khǹg tī chi̍t-ê khang-ūi, jiân-āu tiak-khui yi ê chhiú-thê-pau. Yi the̍h chhut chi̍t-ê kiàⁿ. Yi khòaⁿ ka-tī ê o͘-sek ba̍k-chiu. Yi koan-chhat ka-tī hit kúi-lia̍p chhiok-pan, hun-pò͘ tī chhùi-phé ê sió o͘-tiám. Yi kiám-cha thiāu-á-chí, m̄-koh bô khòaⁿ tio̍h. Kan-ta khòaⁿ tio̍h chheng-iu ê bīn-phôe, in lāu-pē teh chim yi ām-kún ê sî, ū-sî ē kóng he sek sī "gû-leng gû-leng gû-leng gû-leng chokolet."

"Góa siūⁿ, che sī lí ê." Chi̍t-ê bīn hō͘ ji̍t pha̍k o͘ ê tōa-hàn cha-po͘-lâng tò-tiàu the̍h yi ê pò͘-ang-á.

"Chhiáⁿ kau hō͘ góa, hó bô?" Carole kóng.

I kā pò͘-ang-á se̍h chiàⁿ. "O͘-sek ê pò͘-ang-á! Góa m̄-bat khòaⁿ kòe chit-lō mi̍h!"

"Yi hō-chò Amy. Chhiáⁿ hêng góa hó bô?"

"Henry Norton!" hit-lâng in bó͘ hoah-siaⁿ. "Kín kā pò͘-ang-á hêng yi!"

Carole kā pò͘-ang-á that tī thang-á piⁿ.

Hit-lâng chē tī Carole sin-piⁿ. Cha-bó͘ chē óa kòe-tō ê ūi.

"Mài kòa-ì i," cha-bó͘ kóng, àⁿ hiòng Carole. "Tio̍h, góa sī Betty Norton, iá i sī goán ang, Henry."

Carole piⁿ-á hit-ê lâng pà-chiàm hû-chhiú. I ê kha chhun kàu yi hit-pêng lâi. I iū-koh tiu-tiu khòaⁿ yi.

Khong-chiá kiâⁿ kòe, kiám-cha an-choân tòa. "Ū būn-tê bô?"

"Góa ē-sái khì piān-só͘ chi̍t-ē bô?" Carole mn̄g.

"Lí ē-sái sió jím chi̍t-ē bô? Lán tō boeh khí-poe ah."

"Ē-sái."

Carole khòaⁿ thang-á gōa, khòaⁿ tio̍h Toronto ki-tiûⁿ ê tōa-lâu hiòng āu-bīn tò-thè, m̄-chai yin pē-bú kám ū teh khòaⁿ. Kóng chài-hōe, yi kà Amy, ná iô pò͘-ang-á ê chhiú, kā Mă hām Pă kóng chài-hōe.

Enjín khí-pōng. Yi ê chē-ūi chhut hiⁿ siaⁿ. In tī pháu-tō chhu-kiâⁿ. Tán in seng kàu khong-tiong ê sî, yi kám-kak ūi khang-khang. Yi ê hīⁿ-á āng-āng, it-ti̍t kàu hoe-lêng-ki lia̍h pêⁿ, poe tī chi̍t-thoân chi̍t-thoân ê mî-hoe téng-koân. In siám-sih kah ná ji̍t-thâu hiah mé. He tō sī hûn iáu chi̍t-pêng khòaⁿ khí-lâi ê khoán-iūⁿ.

"Pháiⁿ-sè. Pháiⁿ-sè!" hit-lâng teh tùi yi kóng-ōe. "Lí taⁿ ē-sái khì piān-só͘ ah, lí chai lah hoⁿh."

"Bián, bô tāi-chì ah," Carole kóng.

"Lí chi̍t-lâng lí-hêng, sī bô?"

Carole chia̍h-la̍t thun chi̍t-ē chhùi-nōa.

"Lí tòa tó-ūi?" i mn̄g.

"Don Mills."

"Oh, chin ê?" i kóng. "Lí tī hia chhut-sì hioh?"

"Sī ah."

"Lín pē-bú neh?"

"Goán lāu-bú chhut-sì tī Chicago, iá goán lāu-pē chhut-sì tī Tuscan."

"Lí sī boeh khì thàm lín a-kong hām a-má?"

Yi tìm-thâu.

"Lín pē-bú pàng lí ko͘-lâng lí-hêng?"

"Che kan-ta sī chi̍t-chōa hoe-lêng-ki! Góa í-keng sī chi̍t-ê tōa ko͘-niû ah."

Hit-lâng kā í-pōe pàng khah kē, ná ko̍k-ko̍k chhiò. I sè-siaⁿ hām in bó͘ kóng-ōe.

"M̄-chai!" Carole thiaⁿ tio̍h yi khin-siaⁿ ìn, "Lí mn̄g yi!"

Carole peh-hah, khan Amy ê chhiú, chū án-ne khùn khì. Gîn-khì ê khin-khiang siaⁿ hō͘ yi chhéⁿ lâi, m̄-koh yi thiaⁿ tio̍h hit-tùi ang-bó͘ teh kóng yi, só͘-í yi ba̍k-chiu pó-chhî kheh-kheh.

"Góa m̄-chai lah, Henry," cha-bó͘ kóng. "Mài mn̄g góa. Mn̄g yi."

"Góa chí-sī hòⁿ-kî," i kóng. "Lí kám bē?"

Carole thiaⁿ bē-chin cha-bó͘ ê hôe-tap. M̄-koh, āu-lâi yi thiaⁿ tio̍h yi kóng:

"Góa khòaⁿ bē chhut. Án-ne tùi gín-á bô kong-pêng. Góa bô kòa-ì in ê lām-hoeh, m̄-koh chit-ê sè-kài iáu-bōe chún-pī hó-sè. In m̄-sī che, mā m̄-sī he, Henry, kiò chhéⁿ hit-ê gín-á, khòaⁿ yi boeh chia̍h bô."

Tán hit-lâng phok yi ê keng-thâu ê sî, Carole ba̍k-chiu peh-kim. "Góa tio̍h khì piān-só͘," yi kóng.

"M̄-koh, in boeh sàng chhài-pn̄g lâi ah." hit-lâng kóng.

"Henry, yi nā boeh chhut-lâi, pàng yi chhut-lâi. Yi iáu-sī chi̍t-ê gín-á."

Carole kek chi̍t-ê koài-bīn. Yi tong-jiân m̄-sī gín-á. Yi sī chi̍t-ê siàu-lú! Kō͘ phīⁿ ê, yi ū hoat-tō͘ hun-pia̍t Drambuie, Kahloa, hām Grand Marnier [* 3-chióng kāu-chiú]!

Chi̍t-ē kàu kòe-tō, Carole hoat-kak yi bē-kì-tit Amy.

Henry Norton kā pò͘-ang-á kau hō͘ yi. "Tī chia. Taⁿ, m̄-thang poa̍h-lo̍h hoe-lêng-ki. Piān-só͘ ū chi̍t-ê tōa khang."

"Chiah bô leh!" Carole kóng. "Chiah bô hit-lō tāi-chì!" M̄-koh, iân kòe-tō kiâⁿ, yi iáu sī chù-ì khòaⁿ, bián-tit chin-chiàⁿ ū khang.

Ùi piān-só͘ chhut-lâi, Carole khì chhōe khong-chiá. "Sió-chiá, pháiⁿ-sè, góa ē-sái chē pa̍t-ūi bô?"

Hit-ê cha-bó͘ kat ba̍k-thâu, "Sī án-chóaⁿ?"

"Góa bô kah-ì thang-á."

"Sī án-ne? Kan-ta chit-ê goân-in?"

"Hmh... sī lah."

"Chin put-chū, m̄-koh taⁿ goán bô sî-kan kā lí ōaⁿ-ūi. Goán tng-teh chhut chhài-pn̄g. Lí nā boeh, khah-thêng leh chiah mn̄g góa."

--

1. 爸母放你孤人旅行?

Carole 坐落 tī 12A 坐位, 倚窗仔邊, kā 她 ê 布尪仔囥 tī 一个空位, 然後 tiak 開她 ê 手提包. 她提出一个鏡. 她看家己 ê 烏色目睭. 她觀察家己 hit 幾粒雀斑, 分布 tī 喙䫌 ê 小烏點. 她檢查柱仔子, 毋過無看著. 干焦看著清幽 ê 面皮, in 老爸 teh 唚她頷頸 ê 時, 有時會講 he 色是 "牛奶牛奶牛奶牛奶 chokolet."

"我想, 這是你 ê." 一个面 hō͘ 日曝烏 ê 大漢查埔人倒吊提她 ê 布尪仔.

"請交 hō͘ 我, 好無?" Carole 講.

伊 kā 布尪仔踅正. "烏色 ê 布尪仔! 我 m̄-bat 看過這號物!"

"她號做 Amy. 請還我好無?"

"Henry Norton!" 彼人 in 某喝聲. "緊 kā 布尪仔還她!"

Carole kā 布尪仔窒 tī 窗仔邊.

彼人坐 tī Carole 身邊. 查某坐倚過道 ê 位.

"莫掛意伊," 查某講, àⁿ 向 Carole. "著, 我是 Betty Norton, iá 伊是阮翁, Henry."

Carole 邊仔彼个人霸佔扶手. 伊 ê 跤伸到她彼爿來. 伊又閣 tiu-tiu 看她.

空姐行過, 檢查安全帶. "有問題無?"

"我會使去便所一下無?" Carole 問.

"你會使小忍一下無? 咱 tō 欲起飛 ah."

"會使."

Carole 看窗仔外, 看著 Toronto 機場 ê 大樓向後面倒退, 毋知姻爸母敢有 teh 看. 講再會, 她教 Amy, ná 搖布尪仔 ê 手, kā Mă 和 Pă 講再會.

Enjín 起磅. 她 ê 坐位出 hiⁿ 聲. In tī 跑道趨行. 等 in 升到空中 ê 時, 她感覺胃空空. 她 ê 耳仔 āng-āng, 一直到飛行機掠平, 飛 tī 一團一團 ê 棉花頂懸. In 閃爍 kah ná 日頭 hiah 猛. 彼 tō 是雲猶一爿看起來 ê 款樣.

"歹勢. 歹勢!" 彼人 teh tùi 她講話. "你今會使去便所 ah, 你知 lah hoⁿh."

"免, 無代誌 ah," Carole 講.

"你一人旅行, 是無?"

Carole 食力吞一下喙瀾.

"你蹛佗位?" 伊問.

"Don Mills."

"Oh, 真 ê?" 伊講. "你 tī hia 出世 hioh?"

"是 ah."

"恁爸母 neh?"

"阮老母出世 tī Chicago, iá 阮老爸出世 tī Tuscan."

"你是欲去探恁阿公和阿媽?"

她頕頭.

"恁爸母放你孤人旅行?"

"這干焦是一逝飛行機! 我已經是一个大姑娘 ah."

彼人 kā 椅背放較低, ná ko̍k-ko̍k 笑. 伊細聲和 in 某講話.

"毋知!" Carole 聽著她輕聲應, "你問她!"

Carole peh-hah, 牽 Amy ê 手, 自 án-ne 睏去. 銀器 ê khin-khiang 聲 hō͘ 她醒來, 毋過她聽著彼對翁某 teh 講她, 所以她目睭保持瞌瞌.

"我毋知 lah, Henry," 查某講. "莫問我. 問她."

"我只是好奇," 伊講. "你敢袂?"

Carole 聽袂真查某 ê 回答. 毋過, 後來她聽著她講:

"我看袂出. Án-ne 對囡仔無公平. 我無掛意 in ê 濫血, 毋過這个世界猶未準備好勢. In 毋是這, mā 毋是彼, Henry, 叫醒彼个囡仔, 看她欲食無."

等彼人撲她 ê 肩頭 ê 時, Carole 目睭擘金. "我著去便所," 她講.

"毋過, in 欲送菜飯來 ah." 彼人講.

"Henry, 她若欲出來, 放她出來. 她猶是一个囡仔."

Carole 激一个怪面. 她當然毋是囡仔. 她是一个少女! Kō͘ 鼻 ê, 她有法度分別 Drambuie, Kahloa, hām Grand Marnier [* 3 種厚酒]!

一下到過道, Carole 發覺她袂記得 Amy.

Henry Norton kā 布尪仔交 hō͘ 她. "Tī chia. 今, 毋通跋落飛行機. 便所有一个大空."

"才無 leh!" Carole 講. "才無彼號代誌!" 毋過, 沿過道行, 她猶是注意看, 免得真正有空.

Ùi 便所出來, Carole 去揣空姐. "小姐, 歹勢, 我會使坐別位無?"

彼个查某結目頭, "是按怎?"

"我無佮意窗仔."

"是 án-ne? 干焦這个原因?"

"Hmh... 是 lah."

"真不住, 毋過今阮無時間 kā 你換位. 阮 tng-teh 出菜飯. 你若欲, khah 停 leh 才問我."

--

1.

Carole settles in Seat 12A, beside the window, puts her doll on a vacant seat and snaps open her purse. She holds up a mirror. She looks into her own dark eyes. She examines her handful of freckles, which are tiny ink spots dotting her cheeks. She checks for pimples, but finds none. Only the clear complexion that her father sometimes calls “milk milk milk milk chocolate” as he burrows into her neck with kisses.

“This is yours, I believe.” A big man with a sunburnt face is holding her doll upside down.

“May I have her please?” Carole says.

He turns the doll right side up. “A black doll! I never saw such a thing!”

“Her name’s Amy. May I have her please?”

“Henry Norton!” cries the man’s wife. “Give that doll back this instant!”

Carole tucks the doll close to the window.

The man sits beside Carole. The woman takes the aisles seat.

“Don’t mind him,” the woman says, leaning towards Carole. “By the way, I’m Betty Norton, and he’s my husband, Henry.”

The man next to Carole hogs the armrest. His feet sprawl onto her side. And he keeps looking at her.

The stewardess passes by, checking seat belts. “Everything okay?”

“May I go to the bathroom?” Carole asks.

“Do you think you could wait? We’re about to take off.”

“Okay.”

Carole looks out the window, sees the Toronto airport buildings fall behind and wonders if her parents are watching. Say goodbye, she instructs Amy, waving the doll’s hand, say goodbye to Mom and Dad.

The engines charge to life. Her seat hums. They taxi down the runway. She feels a hollowness in her stomach when they lift into the air. Her ears plug and stay that way until the plane levels out over pillows of cotton. They burn as bright as the sun. So that is what the other side of the clouds look like!

“Excuse me. Excuse me!” The man is talking to her. “You can go to the bathroom now, you know.”

“No, that’s all right,” Carole says.

“Traveling all alone, are you?”

Carole swallows with difficulty.

“Where do you live?” he asks.

“Don Mills.”

“Oh, really?” he says. “Were you born there?”

“Yes.”

“And your parents?”

“My mother was born in Chicago and my father was born in Tuscan.”

“And you’re going to visit your grandparents?”

She nods.

“And your parents let you travel alone!”

“It’s only an airplane ride! And I’m a big girl.”

The man lowers the back of his seat, chuckling. He whispers to his wife. “No!” Carole hears her whisper back, “You ask her!”

Carole yawns, holds Amy’s hand and goes to sleep. The clinking of silverware wakens her, but she hears the man and woman talking about her, so she keeps her eyes shut.

“I don’t know, Henry,” says the woman. “Don’t ask me. Ask her.”

“I’m kind of curious,” he says. “Aren’t you?”

Carole can’t make out the woman’s answer. But then she hears her say:

“I just can’t see. It’s not fair to children. I don’t mind them mixed, but the world isn’t ready for it. They’re neither one thing nor the other, Henry, wake that child and see if she wants to eat.”

When the man taps her shoulder, Carole opens her eyes. “I have to go to the bathroom,” she says.

“But they’re going to serve the meal,” the man says.

“Henry! If she wants out, let her out. She’s only a child.”

Carole grimaces. She is definitely not a child. She is a young lady! She can identify Drambuie, Kahlua, and Grand Marnier by smell!

Once in the aisle, Carole realizes she has forgotten Amy.

Henry Norton hands her the doll. “There you go. And don’t fall out of the plane, now. There’s a big hole down by the toilet.”

“There is not!” Carole says. “There isn’t any such thing!” She heads down the aisle with an eye out just in case there is a hole, after all.

Coming out of the toilet, Carole finds the stewardess. “Excuse me, miss. Could I sit somewhere else?”

The woman frowns, “Why?”

“I don’t like the window.”

“Is that it? Is that the only reason?”

“Well…yes.”

“I’m sorry, but we don’t have time to move you now. We’re serving a meal. Ask me later, if you like.”

--