殘忍而美麗的情誼:The Kite Runner 追風箏的人(31)

Baba never missed Hassan's birthday. For a while, he used to ask Hassan what he wanted, but he gave up doing that because Hassan was always too modest to actually suggest a present. So every winter Baba picked something out himself. He bought him a Japanese toy truck one year, an electric locomotive and train track set another year. The previous year, Baba had surprised Hassan with a leather cowboy hat just like the one Clint Eastwood wore in "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly"--which had unseated "The Magnificent Seven" as our favorite Western. That whole winter, Hassan and I took turns wearing the hat, and belted out the film's famous music as we climbed mounds of snow and shot each other dead.

爸爸從來不會忘記哈桑的生日。曾經，他經常問哈桑想要什麼，但後來他就不問了，因爲哈桑要的東西太過細微，簡直不能被稱之爲禮物，所以每年冬天爸爸自行挑選些東西。有一年他給買了一套日本的玩具車。上一年，爸爸讓哈桑喜出望外，給他買了一頂毛皮牛仔帽，克林特·伊斯伍德帶着這種帽子演出了《黃金三鏢客》--這部電影取代了《七俠蕩寇志》，成爲我們最喜愛的西部片。整整一個冬天，哈桑和我輪流戴那頂帽子，唱着那首著名的電影主題曲，爬上雪堆，打雪仗。

We took off our gloves and removed our snow-laden boots at the front door. When we stepped into the foyer, we found Baba sitting by the wood-burning cast-iron stove with a short, balding Indian man dressed in a brown suit and red tie.

我們在前門脫掉手套，擦掉靴子上的雪。我們走進門廊，看到爸爸坐在炭火熊熊的鐵爐前面，旁邊坐着一個矮小的禿頭印度人，他穿着棕色西裝，繫着紅領帶。

"Hassan," Baba said, smiling coyly, "meet your birthday present."

"哈桑，"爸爸說，臉上帶着不好意思的微笑，"來見見你的生日禮物。"

Hassan and I traded blank looks. There was no gift-wrapped box in sight. No bag. No toy. Just Ali standing behind us, and Baba with this slight Indian fellow who looked a little like a mathematics teacher.

哈桑和我茫然對視。那兒沒有見到任何包着禮物的盒子，沒有袋子，沒有玩具，只有站在我們後面的阿里，還有爸爸，和那個看上去像數學老師的印度人。

The Indian man in the brown suit smiled and offered Hassan his hand. "I am Dr. Kumar," he said. "It's a pleasure to meet you." He spoke Farsi with a thick, rolling Hindi accent.

身穿棕色西裝的印度人微笑着，朝哈桑伸出手。"我是庫瑪大夫，"他說，"很高興見到你。"他的法爾西語帶着濃厚的印度捲舌音。

"Salaam alaykum," Hassan said uncertainly. He gave a polite tip of the head, but his eyes sought his father behind him. Ali moved closer and set his hand on Hassan's shoulder.

"你好。"哈桑惴惴說。他禮貌地點點頭，但眼睛卻望向站在他後面的父親。阿里上前一步，把手放在哈桑肩膀上。

Baba met Hassan's wary--and puzzled--eyes. "I have summoned Dr. Kumar from New Delhi. Dr. Kumar is a plastic surgeon."

爸爸望着哈桑迷惑不解的眼睛:"我從新德里請來庫瑪大夫，庫瑪大夫是名整容外科醫生。"

"Do you know what that is?" the Indian man--Dr. Kumar-- said.

"你知道那是什麼嗎?"那個印度人--庫瑪大夫說。

Hassan shook his head. He looked to me for help but I shrugged. All I knew was that you went to a surgeon to fix you when you had appendicitis. I knew this because one of my classmates had died of it the year before and the teacher had told us they had waited too long to take him to a surgeon. We both looked to Ali, but of course with him you could never tell. His face was impassive as ever, though something sober had melted into his eyes.

哈桑搖搖頭。他帶着詢問的眼色望向我，但我聳聳肩。我只知道，人們要是得了闌尾炎，就得去找外科醫生醫治。我之所以知道，是因爲此前一年，有個同學死於闌尾炎，我們老師說他拖了太久纔去找外科醫生。我們兩個齊齊望向阿里，但從他那裏當然也得不到答案。跟過去一樣，他仍是木無表情，但眼神變得嚴肅一些。