《去薩萊路上》（節選二）On the Way to Sailai (Excerpt II)

宮梓銘

“所以說，薩萊是什么地方？”疲憊的旅人問道，他的面前是一張考究的小木桌。

“你為什么問我這個問題呢？”戴著眼鏡的長者一邊回答，一邊用塑料棒攪拌著手中的熱咖啡，焦糖放多了，他想，牛奶也放多了。

他們所處的地方是火車站對面的一家咖啡店，自從約書亞意識到那個奇怪的事實后，他就一直待在這家小小的店鋪中。也許是在等待什么東西？他想，因為就算是人自己有時也搞不清自己在做什么。

在這從火車到站的那個清晨（真的是清晨嗎？按照太陽的位置是的，但他的那個黃銅懷表卻顯示著當時是正午），一直到現在，之間過去了至少有六七個小時，其間仿佛籠罩全世界的大霧來了又去，去了又來，但太陽一直懸在天空正當中。而這咖啡店仿佛是無盡灰色混沌中的一個小島，即使是迷霧籠罩天空，這靠窗的座位上依舊有陽光照耀。

這名旅人本來以為站在吧臺后面，不停地擦拭一副小小的古董茶杯的年邁的服務生（或是店長？）會趕他走，但似乎老人的全部身心都在那個茶杯上，蘸水，擦拭，端起來仔細地端詳，然后也許會嘆口氣，伸直腰板，或者僅僅是臉上掠過滿意的神情，然后再次重復這一套動作。

奇怪地，老人機械的動作卻讓約書亞感到一種莫名其妙的優雅，有種歐洲貴族一般的氣質，就像是托爾斯泰筆下圣彼得堡富麗堂皇的宴會廳中穿著燕尾服翩翩起舞的伯爵們。

而特別的則是里面摻雜著的悲哀，他開始揣測他的故事：也許這茶杯是他和親人的一個信物，而因為連年戰亂，流離失所，最終安定下來的他只能懷著對親人思念以及內疚，卻永遠見不到親人的面孔;也許老人和他的愛人有過約定，但最終發生了什么事，導致了一個傷感的結局，老人只能一遍遍地擦洗這個小小的載體，坐在窗邊，凝視著遠方，等待著那個永遠不會到來的人會突然出現在街邊。

這也許就是為什么霧永遠無法籠罩這個房間的原因，老人期盼著那個等待的人會從窗外看到店里，最好能與他對視，那一刻該是多么的美好啊，所以阻擋著這使人看不清店內的霧氣的，是那刻骨銘心的思念。

腦海里浮想聯翩，時間卻從身邊掠過，帶走約書亞的一小片人生。而這迅速地流逝被一個人的到來打斷了。

先是掛在門上生銹的銅鈴發出沙啞的叮當聲傳到了店里，使得約書亞與老人都有了一瞬間的失神，只不過站在吧臺前的人立即低下頭，繼續擦拭手中的瓷杯，而坐在桌子后的人則將目光凝聚在來者的身上。

走進來的人是一位高瘦的老者，他的臉上架著一副鑲金的圓框眼鏡，手中提著一個小皮包，身上裹著一件厚厚的毛皮大衣，里面則是考究的手工羊毛西服和西服褲——從這身打扮上約書亞可以看出他是上流社會的一員。

這位老先生的頭發已然斑白，臉頰上爬滿皺紋，他有著不算太高的鼻梁，以及線條柔和的嘴唇。

這本是一副無害的面孔，但那雙睿智的眼睛卻給這張臉帶來了威嚴與傲慢，在上層社會的經歷一定讓他慣于發號施令。

看到了似乎并不是擁有很高地位的年輕人，老者微微皺了皺眉頭，但又迅速恢復原樣。他穿過擁擠的桌椅，走到了約書亞的面前。

“你好。”老人用一口純正的法語說道，以顯示自己的博學與高雅，隨后又將身體往前傾，不帶任何感情色彩地說：“我是國立大學文學教授格里高利，很榮幸見到您。”

“您也是要前往薩萊的嗎？”名叫格里高利的老人說道。

從這句話，約書亞判斷出教授應該是在這里滯留了很長時間，而且沒見到幾個人。要不然他不會放下架子問自己這一個穿著老舊灰大衣、面容憔悴、地位低下的年輕人問題的。

“是的，您呢？”先看看這自命清高的家伙要說什么。

“我已經在這個鬼地方住了五天了，您是什么時候來的？”

“今天上午，您有沒有注意到一些……”

“當然，當然。”格里高利教授不耐煩地說道，一邊向吧臺邊的老人示意給他端一杯咖啡，但老人只是抬了抬頭，然后不舍地放下手中的瓷杯，走到后廚去了。

教授面露不快，繼續道：“在這里確實有奇怪的事情發生，但我只關心火車，按理說在這個中轉站客人只需要等待一天左右，而從這里開往薩萊的火車卻遲遲不見蹤影。我并沒有指望您知道些什么，但……您的車票是怎么來的？”

“抽獎。”

格里高利教授露出了一個恍然大悟的表情：“怪不得，我還奇怪您這樣的……呃……這樣的……購買力不足的人士是怎樣得到這張車票的。”

“那您一定是買的嘍，但像您這樣……有足夠購買力的人……應該不會在意區區一次旅行吧，而您又為什么如此重視呢？”

揮了揮手，教授說：“您不用管這個問題，我只關心這火車究竟出了什么事。”

“不不，我必須要問。”

“呃……抱歉，我的咖啡好像有些慢……服務員！”先是面露窘迫之色，然后教授向后廚喊道。

老人慢悠悠地走了出來，端著一杯冒著熱氣的咖啡，將它擺放在橡木桌上：“請慢用。”

“那么，我換一個問題，薩萊是什么地方？”

“您為什么問這個問題呢？”有趣，教授想，這小子在試探我，應該再找找有沒有什么被忽視的點……一會去看看公告牌吧。

“因為我很好奇。”簡潔明了的回答往往會有意想不到的收獲，約書亞內心多了些不安，這老家伙在隱瞞！但……

格里高利教授只是笑了笑，繼續喝杯中的咖啡，然后從杯沿的后方偷偷觀察著約書亞。

“再加上這里有很多……難以名狀的地方，比如……”

“是嗎，值得好奇的事情多了，但只有公告牌上的消息才是真正重要的吧……話說回來，年輕人，你為什么要問這個問題呢？”教授臉上的笑意更盛。

“因為我不知道。”年輕人攤了一下雙手。

驚訝的神情浮現在教授的臉上，他放下手中的白瓷杯：“別開玩笑了，你連薩萊是什么地方都不知道，還來到了這個小鎮？”老人苦惱地摸了摸頭：“看來找你幫忙是無用的，真是浪費時間……我得先走了。”說著他拿起手中的杯子，站起身來。

“喂，你還沒回答我的問題呢，教授。”

“你自己會知道的。”格里高利教授推開門，停下了腳步，嘗試用自己的停頓抓住最后一縷陽光，隨后走進彌漫著霧氣的灰白世界中。? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? □

“So exactly where is Sailai？” asked the exhausted traveler behind an exquisite wooden table.

“Why do you ask？” answered the spectacled old man as he mixed his hot coffee with a stirrer. Way too much brown sugar and milk， he thought to himself.

They were at this coffee shop across from the train station. Joshua had been in this little shop since he realized how weird things were. Perhaps he was waiting for something to happen. Sometimes it’s hard to figure out what you are doing， he thought.

Six to seven hours has passed since the train pulled into the station that morning. But was it really morning then？ The sun showed as such but his bronze pocket watch said it was right about noon. The overwhelming fog came and went， but the sun stayed right in the middle of the sky. This coffee shop seemed like a small island in the middle of the endless grey and dullness; its window seats bathed in sunlight despite the fog.

An old waiter （or was he the owner？） stood behind the bar， giving a set of small antique teacups a rinse. The traveler thought that he might be shown the door but the old man seemed entirely focused on the teacup; dipping them in water， wiping them down and holding them up for close examine. As he repeated the routine， a sigh would at times escape his lips， his back would straighten， or an expression of content would flash across his face.

The man’s robotic routine appeared strangely elegant， with an air of European royalty; as if he were a Count wearing a tuxedo dancing in a grand， majestic ballroom of St. Petersburg， straight out of a Tolstoy novel.

The only difference is a hint of sadness in his movements. Joshua started guessing his story. Maybe the teacups were a keepsake from his family who was displaced in decades of war. He settled down eventually， forever guilt ridden and missing his loved ones， but can never see their faces again. Or maybe he made a promise to someone he loved. But something unexpected happened， leading to a woeful ending. All he could do was clean these small tokens of love over and over again sitting by the window; his gaze wanders afar as he waits for that special someone to show up. But she never will.

Maybe that was why there was no fog in here; it was so that the person he was waiting for could look in from outside the window and right into his eyes. What a beautiful moment that would be！ His heart-wrenching longing was what protected the shop from the blurring fog.

Time flew by as Joshua was deep in thought， taking away tiny piece of his life. However， this was interrupted by someone who walked in.

The rusty doorbell gave a raspy ring， and the sound travelled into the shop， making both Joshua and the old man lose their focus for a second. The person behind the bar looked back down immediately， continuing to wipe the china， while the person behind the table fixed his eyes to the newcomer.

An elderly gentleman walked in. He was tall and thin， with a pair of round gold-rimmed glasses on his nose. He had a small leather bag in his hand and wore a heavy fur coat over a well-tailored wool suit. Joshua could tell that he was upper class by the way he dressed.

He had grey hair and wrinkles all over his face. His nose was not too tall and his mouth had soft curves.

It could have been a gentle face but his wise eyes made him look authoritative and arrogant. He must have been used to giving orders in his ranks.

Looking at this young man who seemed clearly beneath him， the elder man frowned a little， but quickly gathered himself and walked towards Joshua through the tightly arranged tables.

“Bonjour，” the man said with perfect Parisian accent， showing off his learnedness and sophistication. He leaned forward， “I’m Gregory， literature professor from the National University，” he said without showing any emotion， “Pleasure to meet you.”

“Are you heading to Sailai as well？” the man named Gregory asked.

He must have been stuck here for a long time and hadn’t met a lot of people， Joshua thought. Otherwise why would he have condescended to ask a fragile looking young man with a worn-out grey coat？ He never would have talked to someone with such low social standings.

“Yes， how about you？” Joshua wanted to see what this conceited guy had to say first.

“I’ve been living in this god forsaken town for five days. When did you get here？”

“This morning. Did you notice…”

“Of course. Of course.” Professor Gregory said impatiently， gesturing to the old man by the bar for a cup of coffee. The old man looked up slightly and reluctantly put down his teacup， then walked back to the kitchen.

The professor seemed displeased， but went on， “There were indeed weird things here， but all I care about is the train. The passengers at this transfer station were supposed to wait only about one day， but the train to Sailai is yet to arrive after such a long time. I didn’t expect you to understand everything， but… where did you get your train ticket？”

“Raffle.”

Professor Gregory seemed to understand suddenly. “Of course！ I was wondering how people like you who…em…who don’t have much purchasing power got the ticket.”

“You must have bought yours then. People like you， who have enough purchasing power， don’t typically care about one single little trip. Why do you care so much？”

The professor waved his hand， “You don’t have to care about that. I’m only interested in what happened to the train.”

“No， I must.”

“Hm…Sorry， what’s taking so long with my coffee… Gar?on！” the embarrassed professor yelled at the back kitchen.

The old man walked out idly， carrying a cup of steaming hot coffee and put it down on the oak table. “Enjoy.”

“Let’s try a different question： what kind of place is Sailai？”

“Why do you ask？” Interesting， the professor thought， he’s testing me， maybe I overlooked something， I should find out. I will go look at the bulletin board later.

“Because I’m curious.” A simple answer might bring surprising rewards. Joshua was getting a bit antsy， This old guy’s hiding something！

But Professor Gregory only smiled and kept sipping his coffee， observing Joshua from behind the rim of the cup.

“Also there are many things that’re hard to describe， like...”

“Yea？ There are many curious things but the only important one might be what’s on the bulletin board. Well， young man， why do you ask？” Professor said with a wider smile.

“Because I don’t know the answer.” He threw up both his hands in the air.

The professor looked shocked. He put down the white china coffee cup， “Don’t mess with me， you don’t even know where Sailai is and yet you are here？” He scratched his head bitterly. “It’s no use asking for your help then. What a waste of time！ I have to leave.” He took the cup from the table and stood up.

“Hey， you haven’t answered my question， professor.”

“You will find out for yourself.” Professor Gregory pushed the door open and stopped， trying to catch the last ray of sunshine， then he walked into the world of thick grey fog.? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?■