殘忍而美麗的情誼:The Kite Runner 追風箏的人(161)

“No,” I said. I had never in my life wanted to be away from a place as badly as I did now. “But we have to stay.”
Two Talibs with Kalashnikovs slung across their shoulders helped the blindfolded man from the first truck and two others helped the burqa-clad woman. The woman’s knees buckled under her and she slumped to the ground. The soldiers pulled her up and she slumped again. When they tried to lift her again, she screamed and kicked. I will never, as long as I draw breath, forget the sound of that scream. It was the cry of a wild animal trying to pry its mangled leg free from the bear trap. Two more Talibs joined in and helped force her into one of the chest-deep holes. The blindfolded man, on the other hand, quietly allowed them to lower him into the hole dug for him. Now only the accused pair’s torsos protruded from the ground.
A chubby, white-bearded cleric dressed in gray garments stood near the goalposts and cleared his throat into a handheld microphone. Behind him the woman in the hole was still screaming. He recited a lengthy prayer from the Koran, his nasal voice undulating through the sudden hush of the stadium’s crowd. I remem bered something Baba had said to me a long time ago: Piss on the beards of all those self-righteous monkeys. They do nothing but thumb their rosaries and recite a book written in a tongue they don’t even understand. God help us all if Afghanistan ever falls into their hands.
When the prayer was done, the cleric cleared his throat. “Brothers and sisters!” he called, speaking in Farsi, his voice booming through the stadium. “We are here today to carry out Shari’a. We are here today to carry out justice. We are here today because the will of Allah and the word of the Prophet Muham mad, peace be upon him, are alive and well here in Afghanistan, our beloved homeland. We listen to what God says and we obey because we are nothing but humble, powerless creatures before God’s greatness. And what does God say? I ask you! WHAT DOES GOD SAY? God says that every sinner must be punished in a manner befitting his sin. Those are not my words, nor the words of my brothers. Those are the words of GOD!” He pointed with his free hand to the sky. My head was pounding and the sun felt much too hot.
“Every sinner must be punished in a manner befitting his sin!” the cleric repeated into the mike, lowering his voice, enunciating each word slowly, dramatically. “And what manner of punishment, brothers and sisters, befits the adulterer? How shall we punish those who dishonor the sanctity of marriage? How shall we deal with those who spit in the face of God? How shall we answer those who throw stones at the windows of God’s house? WE SHALL THROW THE STONES BACK!” He shut off the microphone. A low-pitched murmur spread through the crowd. Next to me, Farid was shaking his head. “And they call themselves Muslims,” he a tall, broad-shouldered man stepped out of the pickup truck. The sight of him drew cheers from a few spectators. This time, no one was struck with a whip for cheering too loudly. The tall man’s sparkling white garment glimmered in the afternoon sun. The hem of his loose shirt fluttered in the breeze, his arms spread like those of Jesus on the cross. He greeted the crowd by turning slowly in a full circle. When he faced our section, I saw he was wearing dark round sunglasses like the ones John Lennon wore.
“That must be our man,” Farid said.

“不。”我說，有生以來，我從未有過如此強烈地想離開一個地方的渴望，“但我們必須留下來。”
兩個塔利班肩頭扛着俄製步槍，將第一輛車上蒙着眼的男子揪下來，另外兩個去揪穿着長袍的婦女。那個女人雙膝一軟，跌倒在地。士兵將她拉起來，她又跌倒。他們試圖擡起她，她又叫又踢。只要我還有一口氣在，就永遠不會忘記那聲慘叫。那是跌進陷阱的動物試圖把被夾住的腳掙脫出來的慘叫。又來兩個塔利班，幫着將她塞進深沒胸口的洞。另外一邊，蒙着眼的男子安靜地讓他們將他放進那個爲他而掘的洞裏。現在，地面上只有那對被指控的軀體突出來。
有個矮胖的男人站在球門附近，他鬍子花白，穿着灰色教袍，對着麥克風清清喉嚨。他身後那個埋在洞裏的女人仍不停慘叫。他背誦了《可蘭經》上某段長長的經文，體育館裏面的人羣突然鴉雀無聲，只有他鼻音甚重的聲音抑揚頓挫。我記得很久以前，爸爸對我說過一段話：那些自以爲是的猴子，應該在他們的鬍子上撒尿。除了用拇指數念珠，背誦那本根本就看不懂的經書，他們什麼也不會。要是阿富汗落在他們手裏，我們全部人就得求真主保佑了。
當禱告結束，教士清清喉嚨。“各位兄弟姐妹！”他用法爾西語說，聲音響徹整個體育館，“今天，我們在這裏執行伊斯蘭教法。今天，我們在這裏秉持正義。今天，我們在這裏，是出於安拉的意願，也是因爲先知穆罕默德的指示，願他安息，在阿富汗，我們深愛的家園，依然存在，得到弘揚。我們傾聽真主的意旨，我們服從他，因爲我們什麼也不是，在偉大的真主面前，我們只是卑微的、無力的造物。而真主說過什麼？我問你們！真主說過什麼？真主說，對每種罪行，都應量刑，給予恰如其分的懲罰。這不是我說的，也不是我的兄弟說的。這是真主說的！”他那空出來的手指向天空。
我腦裏嗡嗡響，覺得陽光太過毒辣了。“對每種罪行，都應量刑，給予恰如其分的懲罰！”教士對着麥克風，放低聲音，慢慢地、一字一句地、緊張地重複了一遍。“各位兄弟姐妹，對於通姦，應該處以什麼樣的刑罰？對於這些褻瀆了婚姻的神聖的人，我們應該怎麼處置？我們該怎麼對待這些在真主臉上吐口水的人？若有人朝真主房間的窗丟石頭，我們應該有什麼反應？我們應該把石頭丟回去！”他關掉麥克風。低沉的議論聲在人羣中迅速傳開。我身邊的法裏德搖搖頭，“他們也配稱穆斯林。”他低聲說。接着，有個肩膀寬大的高個子男人從皮卡車走出來。他的出現在圍觀人羣中引起了幾聲歡呼。這一次，沒有人會用鞭子抽打喊得太大聲的人。高個子男人穿着光鮮的白色服裝，在午後的陽光下閃閃發光。他的襯衣露在外面，下襬在和風中飄動。他像耶穌那樣張開雙臂，慢慢轉身一圈，向人羣致意。他的臉轉向我們這邊時，我看見他戴着黑色的太陽鏡，很像約翰?列農戴的那副。
“他一定就是我們要找的人。”