《去萨莱路上》（节选二）On the Way to Sailai (Excerpt II)

宫梓铭

“所以说，萨莱是什么地方？”疲惫的旅人问道，他的面前是一张考究的小木桌。

“你为什么问我这个问题呢？”戴着眼镜的长者一边回答，一边用塑料棒搅拌着手中的热咖啡，焦糖放多了，他想，牛奶也放多了。

他们所处的地方是火车站对面的一家咖啡店，自从约书亚意识到那个奇怪的事实后，他就一直待在这家小小的店铺中。也许是在等待什么东西？他想，因为就算是人自己有时也搞不清自己在做什么。

在这从火车到站的那个清晨（真的是清晨吗？按照太阳的位置是的，但他的那个黄铜怀表却显示着当时是正午），一直到现在，之间过去了至少有六七个小时，其间仿佛笼罩全世界的大雾来了又去，去了又来，但太阳一直悬在天空正当中。而这咖啡店仿佛是无尽灰色混沌中的一个小岛，即使是迷雾笼罩天空，这靠窗的座位上依旧有阳光照耀。

这名旅人本来以为站在吧台后面，不停地擦拭一副小小的古董茶杯的年迈的服务生（或是店长？）会赶他走，但似乎老人的全部身心都在那个茶杯上，蘸水，擦拭，端起来仔细地端详，然后也许会叹口气，伸直腰板，或者仅仅是脸上掠过满意的神情，然后再次重复这一套动作。

奇怪地，老人机械的动作却让约书亚感到一种莫名其妙的优雅，有种欧洲贵族一般的气质，就像是托尔斯泰笔下圣彼得堡富丽堂皇的宴会厅中穿着燕尾服翩翩起舞的伯爵们。

而特别的则是里面掺杂着的悲哀，他开始揣测他的故事：也许这茶杯是他和亲人的一个信物，而因为连年战乱，流离失所，最终安定下来的他只能怀着对亲人思念以及内疚，却永远见不到亲人的面孔;也许老人和他的爱人有过约定，但最终发生了什么事，导致了一个伤感的结局，老人只能一遍遍地擦洗这个小小的载体，坐在窗边，凝视着远方，等待着那个永远不会到来的人会突然出现在街边。

这也许就是为什么雾永远无法笼罩这个房间的原因，老人期盼着那个等待的人会从窗外看到店里，最好能与他对视，那一刻该是多么的美好啊，所以阻挡着这使人看不清店内的雾气的，是那刻骨铭心的思念。

脑海里浮想联翩，时间却从身边掠过，带走约书亚的一小片人生。而这迅速地流逝被一个人的到来打断了。

先是挂在门上生锈的铜铃发出沙哑的叮当声传到了店里，使得约书亚与老人都有了一瞬间的失神，只不过站在吧台前的人立即低下头，继续擦拭手中的瓷杯，而坐在桌子后的人则将目光凝聚在来者的身上。

走进来的人是一位高瘦的老者，他的脸上架着一副镶金的圆框眼镜，手中提着一个小皮包，身上裹着一件厚厚的毛皮大衣，里面则是考究的手工羊毛西服和西服裤——从这身打扮上约书亚可以看出他是上流社会的一员。

这位老先生的头发已然斑白，脸颊上爬满皱纹，他有着不算太高的鼻梁，以及线条柔和的嘴唇。

这本是一副无害的面孔，但那双睿智的眼睛却给这张脸带来了威严与傲慢，在上层社会的经历一定让他惯于发号施令。

看到了似乎并不是拥有很高地位的年轻人，老者微微皱了皱眉头，但又迅速恢复原样。他穿过拥挤的桌椅，走到了约书亚的面前。

“你好。”老人用一口纯正的法语说道，以显示自己的博学与高雅，随后又将身体往前倾，不带任何感情色彩地说：“我是国立大学文学教授格里高利，很荣幸见到您。”

“您也是要前往萨莱的吗？”名叫格里高利的老人说道。

从这句话，约书亚判断出教授应该是在这里滞留了很长时间，而且没见到几个人。要不然他不会放下架子问自己这一个穿着老旧灰大衣、面容憔悴、地位低下的年轻人问题的。

“是的，您呢？”先看看这自命清高的家伙要说什么。

“我已经在这个鬼地方住了五天了，您是什么时候来的？”

“今天上午，您有没有注意到一些……”

“当然，当然。”格里高利教授不耐烦地说道，一边向吧台边的老人示意给他端一杯咖啡，但老人只是抬了抬头，然后不舍地放下手中的瓷杯，走到后厨去了。

教授面露不快，继续道：“在这里确实有奇怪的事情发生，但我只关心火车，按理说在这个中转站客人只需要等待一天左右，而从这里开往萨莱的火车却迟迟不见踪影。我并没有指望您知道些什么，但……您的车票是怎么来的？”

“抽奖。”

格里高利教授露出了一个恍然大悟的表情：“怪不得，我还奇怪您这样的……呃……这样的……购买力不足的人士是怎样得到这张车票的。”

“那您一定是买的喽，但像您这样……有足够购买力的人……应该不会在意区区一次旅行吧，而您又为什么如此重视呢？”

挥了挥手，教授说：“您不用管这个问题，我只关心这火车究竟出了什么事。”

“不不，我必须要问。”

“呃……抱歉，我的咖啡好像有些慢……服务员！”先是面露窘迫之色，然后教授向后厨喊道。

老人慢悠悠地走了出来，端着一杯冒着热气的咖啡，将它摆放在橡木桌上：“请慢用。”

“那么，我换一个问题，萨莱是什么地方？”

“您为什么问这个问题呢？”有趣，教授想，这小子在试探我，应该再找找有没有什么被忽视的点……一会去看看公告牌吧。

“因为我很好奇。”简洁明了的回答往往会有意想不到的收获，约书亚内心多了些不安，这老家伙在隐瞒！但……

格里高利教授只是笑了笑，继续喝杯中的咖啡，然后从杯沿的后方偷偷观察着约书亚。

“再加上这里有很多……难以名状的地方，比如……”

“是吗，值得好奇的事情多了，但只有公告牌上的消息才是真正重要的吧……话说回来，年轻人，你为什么要问这个问题呢？”教授脸上的笑意更盛。

“因為我不知道。”年轻人摊了一下双手。

惊讶的神情浮现在教授的脸上，他放下手中的白瓷杯：“别开玩笑了，你连萨莱是什么地方都不知道，还来到了这个小镇？”老人苦恼地摸了摸头：“看来找你帮忙是无用的，真是浪费时间……我得先走了。”说着他拿起手中的杯子，站起身来。

“喂，你還没回答我的问题呢，教授。”

“你自己会知道的。”格里高利教授推开门，停下了脚步，尝试用自己的停顿抓住最后一缕阳光，随后走进弥漫着雾气的灰白世界中。                      □

“So exactly where is Sailai？” asked the exhausted traveler behind an exquisite wooden table.

“Why do you ask？” answered the spectacled old man as he mixed his hot coffee with a stirrer. Way too much brown sugar and milk， he thought to himself.

They were at this coffee shop across from the train station. Joshua had been in this little shop since he realized how weird things were. Perhaps he was waiting for something to happen. Sometimes it’s hard to figure out what you are doing， he thought.

Six to seven hours has passed since the train pulled into the station that morning. But was it really morning then？ The sun showed as such but his bronze pocket watch said it was right about noon. The overwhelming fog came and went， but the sun stayed right in the middle of the sky. This coffee shop seemed like a small island in the middle of the endless grey and dullness; its window seats bathed in sunlight despite the fog.

An old waiter （or was he the owner？） stood behind the bar， giving a set of small antique teacups a rinse. The traveler thought that he might be shown the door but the old man seemed entirely focused on the teacup; dipping them in water， wiping them down and holding them up for close examine. As he repeated the routine， a sigh would at times escape his lips， his back would straighten， or an expression of content would flash across his face.

The man’s robotic routine appeared strangely elegant， with an air of European royalty; as if he were a Count wearing a tuxedo dancing in a grand， majestic ballroom of St. Petersburg， straight out of a Tolstoy novel.

The only difference is a hint of sadness in his movements. Joshua started guessing his story. Maybe the teacups were a keepsake from his family who was displaced in decades of war. He settled down eventually， forever guilt ridden and missing his loved ones， but can never see their faces again. Or maybe he made a promise to someone he loved. But something unexpected happened， leading to a woeful ending. All he could do was clean these small tokens of love over and over again sitting by the window; his gaze wanders afar as he waits for that special someone to show up. But she never will.

Maybe that was why there was no fog in here; it was so that the person he was waiting for could look in from outside the window and right into his eyes. What a beautiful moment that would be！ His heart-wrenching longing was what protected the shop from the blurring fog.

Time flew by as Joshua was deep in thought， taking away tiny piece of his life. However， this was interrupted by someone who walked in.

The rusty doorbell gave a raspy ring， and the sound travelled into the shop， making both Joshua and the old man lose their focus for a second. The person behind the bar looked back down immediately， continuing to wipe the china， while the person behind the table fixed his eyes to the newcomer.

An elderly gentleman walked in. He was tall and thin， with a pair of round gold-rimmed glasses on his nose. He had a small leather bag in his hand and wore a heavy fur coat over a well-tailored wool suit. Joshua could tell that he was upper class by the way he dressed.

He had grey hair and wrinkles all over his face. His nose was not too tall and his mouth had soft curves.

It could have been a gentle face but his wise eyes made him look authoritative and arrogant. He must have been used to giving orders in his ranks.

Looking at this young man who seemed clearly beneath him， the elder man frowned a little， but quickly gathered himself and walked towards Joshua through the tightly arranged tables.

“Bonjour，” the man said with perfect Parisian accent， showing off his learnedness and sophistication. He leaned forward， “I’m Gregory， literature professor from the National University，” he said without showing any emotion， “Pleasure to meet you.”

“Are you heading to Sailai as well？” the man named Gregory asked.

He must have been stuck here for a long time and hadn’t met a lot of people， Joshua thought. Otherwise why would he have condescended to ask a fragile looking young man with a worn-out grey coat？ He never would have talked to someone with such low social standings.

“Yes， how about you？” Joshua wanted to see what this conceited guy had to say first.

“I’ve been living in this god forsaken town for five days. When did you get here？”

“This morning. Did you notice…”

“Of course. Of course.” Professor Gregory said impatiently， gesturing to the old man by the bar for a cup of coffee. The old man looked up slightly and reluctantly put down his teacup， then walked back to the kitchen.

The professor seemed displeased， but went on， “There were indeed weird things here， but all I care about is the train. The passengers at this transfer station were supposed to wait only about one day， but the train to Sailai is yet to arrive after such a long time. I didn’t expect you to understand everything， but… where did you get your train ticket？”

“Raffle.”

Professor Gregory seemed to understand suddenly. “Of course！ I was wondering how people like you who…em…who don’t have much purchasing power got the ticket.”

“You must have bought yours then. People like you， who have enough purchasing power， don’t typically care about one single little trip. Why do you care so much？”

The professor waved his hand， “You don’t have to care about that. I’m only interested in what happened to the train.”

“No， I must.”

“Hm…Sorry， what’s taking so long with my coffee… Garçon！” the embarrassed professor yelled at the back kitchen.

The old man walked out idly， carrying a cup of steaming hot coffee and put it down on the oak table. “Enjoy.”

“Let’s try a different question： what kind of place is Sailai？”

“Why do you ask？” Interesting， the professor thought， he’s testing me， maybe I overlooked something， I should find out. I will go look at the bulletin board later.

“Because I’m curious.” A simple answer might bring surprising rewards. Joshua was getting a bit antsy， This old guy’s hiding something！

But Professor Gregory only smiled and kept sipping his coffee， observing Joshua from behind the rim of the cup.

“Also there are many things that’re hard to describe， like...”

“Yea？ There are many curious things but the only important one might be what’s on the bulletin board. Well， young man， why do you ask？” Professor said with a wider smile.

“Because I don’t know the answer.” He threw up both his hands in the air.

The professor looked shocked. He put down the white china coffee cup， “Don’t mess with me， you don’t even know where Sailai is and yet you are here？” He scratched his head bitterly. “It’s no use asking for your help then. What a waste of time！ I have to leave.” He took the cup from the table and stood up.

“Hey， you haven’t answered my question， professor.”

“You will find out for yourself.” Professor Gregory pushed the door open and stopped， trying to catch the last ray of sunshine， then he walked into the world of thick grey fog.                             ■