殘忍而美麗的情誼:The Kite Runner 追風箏的人(50)

Assef waved a dismissive hand. "Bakhshida. Forgiven. It's done.?His voice dropped a little. "Of course, nothing is free in this world, and my pardon comes with a small price."

阿塞夫做了個解散的手勢。"原諒你，就這樣。"他聲音放低一些，"當然，這個世界沒有什麼是免費的，我的原諒需要一點小小的代價。"

"That's fair," Kamal said.

"很公平。"卡莫說。

"Nothing is free," Wali added.

"沒有什麼是免費的。"瓦里加上一句。

"You're a lucky Hazara," Assef said, taking a step toward Hassan. "Because today, it's only going to cost you that blue kite. A fair deal, boys, isn't it?"

"你真是個幸運的哈扎拉人。"阿塞夫說，朝哈桑邁上一步。"因爲今天，你所有付出的代價只是這個藍風箏。公平的交易，小子們，是不是啊?"

"More than fair," Kamal said.

"不止公平呢。"卡莫說。

Even from where I was standing, I could see the fear creeping into Hassan's eyes, but he shook his head. "Amir agha won the tournament and I ran this kite for him. I ran it fairly. This is his kite."

即使從我站的地方，我也能看到哈桑眼裏流露的恐懼，可是他搖搖頭。"阿米爾少爺贏得巡迴賽，我替他追這隻風箏。我公平地追到它，這是他的風箏。"

"A loyal Hazara. Loyal as a dog," Assef said. Kamal's laugh was a shrill, nervous sound.

"忠心的哈扎拉人，像狗一樣忠心。"阿塞夫說。卡莫發出一陣戰慄、緊張的笑聲。

"But before you sacrifice yourself for him, think about this:

"但在你爲他獻身之前，你想過嗎?

Would he do the same for you? Have you ever wondered why he never includes you in games when he has guests? Why he only plays with you when no one else is around? I'll tell you why, Hazara. Because to him, you're nothing but an ugly pet. Something he can play with when he's bored, something he can kick when he's angry. Don't ever fool yourself and think you're something more."

他會爲你獻身嗎?難道你沒有覺得奇怪，爲什麼他跟客人玩總不喊上你?爲什麼他總是在沒有人的時候才理睬你?我告訴你爲什麼，哈扎拉人。因爲對他來說，你什麼都不是，只是一隻醜陋的寵物。一種他無聊的時候可以玩的東西，一種他發怒的時候可以踢開的東西。別欺騙自己了，別以爲你意味着更多。"

"Amir agha and I are friends," Hassan said. He looked flushed.

"阿米爾少爺跟我是朋友。"哈桑紅着臉說。

"Friends?" Assef said, laughing. "You pathetic fool! Someday you'll wake up from your little fantasy and learn just how good of a friend he is. Now, bas! Enough of this. Give us that kite."

"朋友?"阿塞夫大笑說，"你這個可憐的白癡!總有一天你會從這小小的幻想中醒來，發現他是個多麼好的朋友。聽着，夠了，把風箏給我們。"

Hassan stooped and picked up a rock.

哈桑彎腰撿起一塊石頭。

Assef flinched. He began to take a step back, stopped. "Last chance, Hazara."

阿塞夫一愣，他開始退後一步，"最後的機會了，哈扎拉人。"

Hassan's answer was to cock the arm that held the rock.

哈桑的回答是高舉那隻抓着石頭的手。

"Whatever you wish." Assef unbuttoned his winter coat, took it off, folded it slowly and deliberately. He placed it against the wall.

"不管你想幹嗎，"阿塞夫解開外套的鈕釦，將其脫下，慢條斯理地摺疊好，將它放在牆邊。

I opened my mouth, almost said something. Almost. The rest of my life might have turned out differently if I had. But I didn't. I just watched. Paralyzed.

我張開嘴，幾乎喊出來。如果我喊出來，我生命中剩下的光陰將會全然改觀。但我沒有，我只是看着，渾身麻木。