諾貝爾文學經典:《寵兒》第2章Part 12

Bolt upright in the chair, in themiddle of Sethe's welcome, Beloved had fallen asleep again.
"Miss. Miss." Paul D shook her gently.
"You want to lay down a spell?"
She opened her eyes to slits and stood up on her soft new feet which, barely capable of their job,slowly bore her to the keeping room. Once there, she collapsed on Baby Suggs' bed. Denverremoved her hat and put the quilt with two squares of color over her feet. She was breathing like asteam engine.
"Sounds like croup," said Paul D, closing the door.
"Is she feverish? Denver, could you tell?"
"No. She's cold."
"Then she is. Fever goes from hot to cold."
"Could have the cholera," said Paul D.
"Reckon ?"
"All that water. Sure sign."
"Poor thing. And nothing in this house to give her for it. She'll just have to ride it out. That's ahateful sickness if ever there was one."
"She's not sick!" said Denver, and the passion in her voice made them smile.
Four days she slept, waking and sitting up only for water. Denver tended her, watched her sound sleep, listened to her labored breathing and, out of love and a breakneck possessiveness thatcharged her, hid like a personal blemish Beloved's incontinence.
She rinsed the sheets secretly,after Sethe went to the restaurant and Paul D went scrounging for barges to help unload. Sheboiled the underwear and soaked it in bluing, praying the fever would pass without damage. Sointent was her nursing, she forgot to eat or visit the emerald closet.
"Beloved?" Denver wouldwhisper.
"Beloved?" and when the black eyes opened a slice all she could say was "I'm here. I'mstill here."
Sometimes, when Beloved lay dreamy-eyed for a very long time, saying nothing, licking her lipsand heaving deep sighs, Denver panicked.
"What is it?" she would ask.
"Heavy," murmured Beloved. "This place is heavy."
"Would you like to sit up?"
"No," said the raspy voice.

塞絲正在表示歡迎，寵兒筆直地嵌在椅子裏，又一次進入了夢鄉。
“小姐!小姐!”保羅?D輕輕搖了搖她。
“你想躺一會兒嗎？”
她把眼睛睜開一條縫，站起身來，勉強邁動柔嫩的、不勝重負的雙腳，緩緩地走進起居室。一進屋，她就栽倒在貝比?薩格斯的牀上。丹芙摘下她的帽子，把帶着兩方色塊的被子蓋上她的腳。她像個蒸汽機似的喘起氣來。
“聽着像哮吼。”保羅?D說着關上門。
“她發燒嗎？丹芙，你摸摸她燒嗎？”
“不燒。她冰涼。”
“那麼她在燒。發燒都是從熱到冷。”
“可能是霍亂。”保羅?D說。
“是猜的？”
“那麼多水。明顯的症狀。”
“可憐見的。這房子裏沒有什麼能治她的病。她只能自己挺過去。那種病纔可怕呢。”
“她沒病!”丹芙說道。她聲音裏的激動把他們逗笑了。
她一睡就是四天，只爲了喝水才甦醒和坐起來。丹芙照料着她，看她酣睡，聽她吃力地呼吸，而且，出於愛和一種膨脹的、要命的佔有慾，像隱瞞個人缺陷一樣掩飾寵兒的失禁。
在塞絲去餐館、保羅?D四處找駁船去幫忙卸貨的時候，她偷偷地洗了牀單。她把內衣煮了泡在上藍劑裏，祈求高燒退去，不留下任何損害。她照料得這樣專心致志，竟忘了吃飯，忘了去那間祖母綠密室。
“寵兒？”丹芙會小聲地叫。
“寵兒？”可是當那對黑眼睛張開一條縫時，她能說的也只是：“我在這兒。我還在這兒。”
有時候，如果寵兒睡眼矇矓地躺上很長時間，一言不發，舔舔嘴脣，再深深地嘆着氣，丹芙就慌了。
“怎麼啦？”她會問。
“沉重，”寵兒嘟囔道，“這地方真沉重。”
“你想坐起來嗎？”
“不，”那粗聲粗氣的聲音說。