追风筝的人是真实的吗 残忍而美丽的情谊:The Kite Runner 追风筝的人(37)

残忍而美丽的情谊:The Kite Runner 追风筝的人(37)  

"Really? You'd do that?"
He threw me a puzzled look. "Do what?"
"Eat dirt if I told you to
"I said. I knew I was being cruel
like when I'd taunt him if he didn't know some big word. But there was something fascinating--albeit in a sick way--about teasing Hassan. Kind of like when we used to play insect torture. Except now
he was the ant and I was holding the magnifying glass.
"如果我让你吃泥巴，你会吃吗?"我说。我知道自己这样很残忍，好像以前，我总是拿那些他不懂的字眼来戏弄他，但取笑哈桑有点好玩--虽然是病态的好玩，跟我们折磨昆虫的游戏有点相似。不过现在，他是蚂蚁，而拿着放大镜的人是我。
His eyes searched my face for a long time. We sat there
o boys under a sour cherry tree
suddenly looking
really looking
at each other. That's when it happened again: Hassan's face changed. Maybe not "changed"
not really
but suddenly I had the feeling I was looking at o faces
the one I knew
the one that was my first memory
and another
a second face
this one lurking just beneath the surface. I'd seen it happen before--it always shook me up a little. It just appeared
this other face
for a fraction of a moment
long enough to leave me with the unsettling feeling that maybe I'd seen it someplace before. Then Hassan blinked and it was just him again. Just Hassan.
"If you asked
I would
"he finally said
looking right at me. I dropped my eyes. To this day
I find it hard to gaze directly at people like Hassan
people who mean every word they say.
"But I wonder
"he added. "Would you ever ask me to do such a thing
Amir agha?" And
just like that
he had thrown at me his own little test. If I was going to toy with him and challenge his loyalty
then he'd toy with me
test my integrity.
I wished I hadn't started this conversation. I forced a smile. "Don't be stupid
Hassan. You know I wouldn't."
Hassan returned the smile. Except his didn't look forced. "I know
" he said. And that's the thing about people who mean everything they say. They think everyone else does too.
"Here it es
" Hassan said
pointing to the sky. He rose to his feet and walked a few paces to his left. I looked up
saw the kite plummeting toward us. I heard footfalls
shouts
an approaching melee of kite runners. But they were wasting their time. Because Hassan stood with his arms wide open
smiling
waiting for the kite. And may God--if He exists
that is--strike me blind if the kite didn't just drop into his outstretched arms.
IN THE WINTER OF 1975
I saw Hassan run a kite for the last time.