【译文】记忆博物馆 The Memory Museum

Torn

Torn, seems to be the main theme of his life, Su thought.

Like dumplings dropped into a pot, a line of boys dive into the river, their ear-splitting noise of fun and frolic stilling ringing in his ears.  His feet found the familiar soil underneath, wet and slimy.  Never ventured to open his eyes underwater, he wasn’t sure if it was moss.  Walking in mud, he sauntered at the bottom of the river as if he were taking a stroll on the cloud in a dream.

Years later, a couple of rural businesses opened in Chouzhou, including a cement factory and a hotspot seasoning factory, turning the green in the river to grey.  Su’s childhood was torn in a flash, his friends quickly disappearing from his life while his memory still clinging to the old poplar tree, entrapped in the euphoria from a slingshot war with cypress tree cones attacking in all directions. 

He bid farewell to classmates in elementary school, a girl named Hua he met at the side of a small bridge, and many girls he played with when he was little.  On that day, he talked with Hua for a long time, their conversation long forgotten.  He can only recall the girl’s plump, bouncy cheeks, her voice crisp as the gurgle of a creek, its stream running down to the bottom of his heart.

To be continued

原文

断。

苏运燮觉得自己的人生总是在“断”。

一队男孩像下饺子一样跃入河中，沸天的打闹声犹在耳畔轰鸣。他的双足熟悉了河底的泥土，湿湿滑滑的感觉，眼睛在水底下从不敢睁开，因此不知道是否为青苔，踩在泥土上，在河里悄悄地彳亍，像踩在梦的云朵上。

后来，常州农村办了几家乡镇企业，包括水泥厂和火锅调料工厂，小河的绿色变成了灰色，他的童年被急速拉扯，小伙伴们都没了影，他的记忆还攀爬在那颗老杨树上，从空中四面八方射来的“柏树子”，陷于那场战争的狂喜之中。

他告别了小学时候的同学。在小桥旁边结识的女同学阿华，还有幼年很多一起玩的女孩。那天，他和阿华聊了很久，说了什么早已忘了，只记得女孩的脸颊圆润可弹，言语像清澈小溪，从他的心头汩汩流向彼此。