Monday, June 30, 2008

La Vie en Rose (下)



(接:La Vie en Rose 上


(五)

春和里23號,是小山坡上一幢五層高的房子;在百多層住宅聳立的城市裡,是幢快要絕跡的建築物。

文曦站在304室門前,按下門鈴,屏息以待。

開門的,是個面相和靄的婦人。他的心涼了一截,木然站在門外,不懂說話。

「你一定是文曦。我是玫的媽媽,請進來。」婦人笑着說。

文曦尷尬地點了點頭,為自己的失儀莞爾,心中卻升起另一個問號:玫?

在廳中坐下,婦人端來一杯咖啡,對他說:

「那孩子不知在弄甚麼,我去催一催促她。」旋即離開了客廳。

文曦拿起杯子,喝一口咖啡。他很久沒喝過這樣香氣撲鼻的咖啡了。咖啡豆產量連年暴跌,街頭巷尾,S店內賣的都是一塌糊塗的化學混合物。

他有點兒納悶。為麼他們不到外面喝酒,聽音樂,或玩一場最新上畫的互動電影,偏要選在家裡見面?他想來想去,也想不出原因。現實內外,她都是個讓人猜不透的女孩。

但此刻文曦最關心的,並不是她的性格。他叫自己別胡亂猜測,卻怎也揮不去腦海裡 Rose 的樣子。

他從沙發起來,在廳中徘徊四顧,藉此打發等待中的焦慮。兩邊牆壁的書架上,密麻麻排滿了各類書籍。他從沒見過這麼多的藏書。他還以為,已經沒有人看書了。

突然,背後傳來一把熟悉的聲音:

「對不起,要你等了這麼久。」

文曦慌忙轉身,視線剛巧落在一頭鮮艷的紅髮上。


(六)

二人相對而坐,感覺就像在 B-612 一樣的安靜。不過,這裡沒有星星,沒有日落,有的只是大廈隙縫中一線灰灰濛濛的天。

玫的容貌和神態,跟 FaceUniverse 裡的 Rose 幾乎一模一樣。但是,和飛天遁地的 Rose 相比,現實中的玫,是蒼白和柔弱得多。

她比平時健談,也比平時有禮,文曦卻不太習慣這樣拘謹的氣氛。他有很多話想說,有很多問題想問,又怕說了不合適的話。畢竟,這是他們第一次的會面。

「Rose 是你的真名嗎?」

「難道你以為我一直在騙你?」聲音一片委屈,臉上卻是他熟悉的,得意洋洋的神色。

「你為甚麼會到星星上去?」

玫不回答,逕自走到書架前,取下一本書,遞給文曦。文曦打開來一看,文字他不懂,但書中的圖畫,他是耳熟能詳的。

「這是初學法語時,爸爸送給我的。」

「那顆星星,像極了書中的世界。我本想把它買下來,卻慢了一步,被你捷足先登。」

「看你一天天建得那麼起勁,一時沉不住氣,便闖進去看看。」

文曦慶幸,當天只隨便安裝了最普通的,不堪一擊的 4096-bit 門鎖。

他把書交回給玫。她搖搖頭說:

「你收下吧,算是給你賠罪。」

「這樣不太好吧。」

「不要緊。反正書中的星星,我已找到了。」

文曦一時聽不懂這句話的意思。他想在玫的表情上找尋線索,但找到的,卻是一臉似曾相識的倦容。虛擬裡活潑的紅髮,現在看來,是那樣格格不入,仿如黑暗裡無力的吶喊。

忽然間,文曦覺得,紅髮,就是她的玻璃罩。


(七)

看見玫放慢了腳步,文曦說:「我有點累,不如回去吧。」

玫不作聲,只是默默地跟着他的步伐。

每個週末,文曦都會到春和里這裡來。在家裡,玫會教他簡單的法文。出外時,他們或在山坡上散步,或到附近的店子吃她最愛的甜品。玫精神好的時候,他們會去遠一點,逛逛城中僅存的數間小書店。

在春和里幽靜的角落裡,文曦暫時忘記了外面那座一千萬人的瘋狂城市。

玫易累,卻總是賴在街上不願回去;因此,文曦永遠先她一步嚷着要回家。慢慢地,這成了二人之間的默契。

從她媽媽口中,他漸漸得知玫身體的情況。這遺傳病,在藥物的幫助下,已是能受控的慢性疾病。Gene Therapy 最新的突破,也為病人帶來完全康復的希望。可惜,DNA 合成的技術還未成熟,把人工基因注射到骨髓後,病人仍要面對身體排斥的危險。

文曦明白,玫很想好起來。她表現得愈若無其事,愈顯得出她心中的無助和失望。

二人沿着馬路,慢慢走上斜坡。傍晚燠熱潮濕的空氣,仿佛在提醒他們,已經是六月了。G企業在H埠的的項目,也快完結了。

路上,文曦和玫都沒有說話,都在心裡揣測着對方想說又未說的話。文曦枯腸搜索,想找個輕鬆一點的話題。他笑問:

「還記不記得那首法文歌?再唱一次好嗎?」

玫卻頓然停下了腳步。

文曦回頭,看見她無言望着自己,眼神似在哀求,又像在道別。蒼白的臉龐上,是一行淺淺的淚印。


(八) 

踏出G企業的大門後,文曦預感到,是不會再回去的了。想不到,曾經以為很重要的東西,放手時,竟是如此的輕鬆。

那天回家後,他立刻到維基音樂庫找來那首歌,一遍又一遍地聽。一星期過去,卻是愈聽愈糊塗,愈聽愈不明白玫的眼淚。

畢竟,從 B-612 到春和里,是那麼長的路,而他們才只走了這幾步。他還未了解她,更不了解自己。

可是,歌聲卻如漩渦,一字一句,把文曦捲進深不可測的水底。他不知道會被捲往那裡去。他只清楚知道,怎也不可能回頭了。

他要和她一起出發。第一站,是她喜愛的城市。

一整天,文曦都在計劃着旅程的細節。得趕快預訂低軌道 StratoShuttle 的機票了。行程要輕鬆一點,讓她多些時間休息。噢,別忘了帶該帶的藥。才學會幾句彆腳法語,到時候她一定笑不攏嘴,唉……

不經不覺,便來到了304室門前。他急不及待按下門鈴。

玫的媽媽打開大門。她有點錯愕地望着文曦,臉上是一副欲言又止的表情。

「她真的沒有告訢你。」

文曦如墮霧中,還來不及發問,玫的媽媽已步出大門,拉着他說:

「我們到醫院去看她吧。」

一秒間,她的沉默,她的眼神,她的眼淚,一切都變得明明白白。

原來,在文曦決定留下來的同時,暗地裡,玫也作了一個更勇敢的決擇。


(九)

「Au revoir, à bientôt」

文曦一面穿上外套,一面和店裡的同事們說再見。在巴黎住了近一年,他的法語仍然十分生硬。但如非必要,他也堅持不用 Babel fish 和別人交談。

從咖啡店下班後,文曦如常地穿過異國深夜的街道。他輕觸耳背的按鈕,BioPod Nano 即以看不見的頻率,徐徐振動着他的聽覺神經。

一百年過去了,Piaf 起伏的歌聲,仍然能令人感動。或者,在已經變得真假不分的世界裡,還有些東西,是不會變的。

河上吹來微涼的晚風。文曦停下來,抬頭望向天空寥落的數顆星星。他想起荒廢了的 B-612。不知星上的花兒,冷風中有沒有咳嗽?

星星上的玫瑰,G企業的會議室,春和里悶熱的黃昏,手術室緊閉的門……不過是一年多前的事情,今天想來,卻像上世紀的歌聲一樣遙遠。

音樂停了。暗淡月色下,一抺紅髮的身影,在他眼角曳然掠過。

文曦揉一揉睏倦的眼睛,喃喃自語道:

「回家吧。」

他知道,不遠處,玫在等她。

(完)


註: Edith Piaf 演唱的 La Vie en Rose 全曲

9 comments:

  1. Just thought this clip from Sabrina is a perfect match for your lovely story:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vydmcT9xLPw&feature=related

    Audrey Hepburns sings La Vie en Rose, and Humphrey Bogart says to her:

    "How am I ever going to get along in Paris without someone like you? Who would be there to help me with my French? To turn down the rim of my hat?"

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  2. 「我的生活很單調。我獵取雞,獵人獵取我。所有的雞都是一樣的,所有的人也是一樣。
    於是我感到有些不耐煩。但是,假如你馴養我,我的生活將如充滿了陽光般。
    我將認識一種腳步聲,它將與其他所有的腳步聲不同。其他的腳步聲使我更深地躲進洞裡,你的腳步聲像音樂一樣把我從洞裡叫出來。
    再說,看吧,你看見那邊的麥田嗎?我並不吃麵包,麥子對我一樣也沒有用處。那些麥田並不會使我想起什麼。這倒有點傷心。但是你有金色的頭髮。於是當你馴養了我,這將是很好的一件事!那些金色的黃小麥,將使我想起你。而我將喜歡聽吹過麥田的風聲......」


    今天我看到小王子又回來了
    他的玫,後來如何?...

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  3. snowdrops:Thanks for the clip. I love Audrey! 12 years has passed since I last saw Sabrina, and I had totally forgotten this scene. I wonder if that really is her singing voice. I assume she's fluent in French since she grew up in Belgium.

    slai:我想,玫瑰應該是在星星上等候著,待小王子在地球的旅程結束後,帶著箱子裡的綿羊回去找她吧。

    各位肯花時間看四千多字的故事,實在感激萬分。

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  4. "各位肯花時間看四千多字的故事,實在感激萬分。"

    I can assure you the pleasure is all ours :)

    I saw Sabrina (both the old version with Audrey Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart and the newer version with Julia Ormand and Harrison Ford) not so long ago, and in fact have blogged about it (http://crispapples.blogspot.com/2007/09/remaking-sabrina-spoiler-alert.html), thus my recall of this scene when I read your story.

    Would you consider translating your story into English, lengthening it a bit and submit it to The New Yorker? I thought the story started out really well and really like your description of a not-too-distant future dystopic world, and the premise of a future citizen creating a Petit-Prince-like planet for his own escape is really an excellent premise that I was hoping you could have made more of... and really this could even be the start of an excellent sci-fi love story type novel with echos of V for Vendetta like morals. I'd strongly recommend David Mitchell's "Number9dream" if you haven't read it before?

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  5. Snowdrops: I always think that a translator must possess superior command of the target language. We can look up the meaning of a word in a dictionary, but we cannot look up the words to describe an image, an atmosphere, an emotion, etc. So, honestly, translation is far beyond the reach of my inadequate English.

    Your mentioning of The New Yorker gives me a good chuckle! I believe The New Yorker is still regarded as the epitome of literary fame. I am certainly not deluded enough to see my writing, in any language, at that caliber.

    (Back to our favorite topic…) A recent issue of The New Yorker has a short journal by Murakami (I am sure I read it before in Chinese, but can’t remember in which book). He talks about how he became a novelist and a marathon runner. I read all his stuff in Chinese, and am surprised to find the piece very fluid and readable, with a distinct tinge of his trademarked individualism (some may say narcissism).

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  6. Oh that would be such a pity... Please do understand that I really don't just make suggestion about submitting a story to TNY lightly, but I really thought this particular story of yours had potential (especially all the cultural references and the story setup, Western readers would love them!). And I didn't mean simply to translate it word for word, I meant really translate it properly (and I agree with you that literary translation is an art in and of itself) AND lengthen the story a bit - if you don't mind my totally amateur literary criticism, I was actually expecting this story to go on for another 2 instalments, and have what my old Chinese teacher called "Up, Down, Twist, End", rather than be done in just 2 parts (and it reads to me as though you're in too much hurry to tidy up everything in Part 2)... I've read short stories from The New Yorker for some years now, and I have to say not all of the stories published in there are necessarily all that, and I really did think this short story of yours had the making of something great...

    In any case, precisely because you're describing a futuristic world in your short story, I really wouldn't worry about having "perfect English" as your narrative medium. In fact, if you do have the time and read David Mitchell's Number9Dream, you will see that the majority of the novel was narrated through his "invented" English that deliberately combines Asian ICQ speak with normal English, which is REALLY COOL and gave the story another layer of future realism.

    I've read Norwegian Wood in both Chinese and English - I read the Chinese version when I was 16 and spending a summer in HK; and the English version a few years later when I was an undergrad here in Ireland. I've read most of his work in both languages, with the exception of The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle (which I only read in English) and Kafka by the Shore (which I only read in Chinese).

    I have to say that generally the English translation reads much better than the Chinese translation (especially in the case of Norwegian Wood), if only because all the Western pop culture/ philosophical references fit naturally into the narrative, rather than having stilted Chinese translations that one (or at least I) had to pause and translate them back into English to know what the term means before I could read on... But that maybe just because of my poor Chinese literacy level rather than anything else!

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  7. Snowdrops: thanks for all your kind words and suggestions. This imagery of an “artificial le petit prince world” has been one of my childhood fantasies, I think it will be fun to spice it up and develop into a real novel. If one day I have the epiphany (and audacity) to become a novelist, I will certainly do it. For now, however, it is just me with my notebook computer, killing some idle time while sipping Macchiato in Starbucks!

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  9. I really wasn't going to write another long-winded comment on here, but then I saw this:

    "If one day I have the epiphany (and audacity) to become a novelist..."

    I think this scene from Vikram Seth's "A Suitable Boy" might help you: An old highly-respected retired barrister was mauling over whether to accept an offer to be a Supreme Court Justice. His old servant, when he realised that his master was still trying to make up his mind, sounded extremely surprised and asked, "But sir, don't you want to do justice?" Suddenly, the old barrister's clouded mind became clear - while he might indeed have hangups about becoming a "judge" and all the grandiosity that came with the title, in his heart he did want to do the humble job of serving justice, and consider himself capable of maintaining objectivity without losing humanity. And he made up his mind then to accept the offer.

    If you want to write, and you clearly do, then just write. There's no need to be overwhelmed by the grandiloquent title of a "novelist". Be a mere writer, if you will, but write.

    Finally, a correction: I've read all David Mitchell novels and my mind is playing tricks on me, where I combined some plot elements of Number9Dream with those of Cloud Atlas. When I wrote in my last comment that the language of number9dream being a mix of ICQ speak and normal English, I should actually be referring to Cloud Atlas instead. Please forgive me. (But any David Mitchell novel would be worth your while, and his influence and indeed his literary hero included Murakami).

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