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| KEPEC | The Dwarf |
| Aimee je motrila nebo, u tišini. | Aimee watched the sky, quietly. |
| Danas je bila jedna od onih nepomičnih vrućih ljetnih noći. Na betonskome molu nije bilo nikoga, a đerdan crvenih, bijelih, žutih žarulja plamtio je kao niz kukaca u zraku nad drvenom prazninom. Gazde raznih vašarskih atrakcija stajali su, poput razmekšalih voštanih figura, slijepo zapiljeni, bez riječi, svi poredani u crtu. | Tonight was one of those motionless hot summer nights. The concrete pier empty, the strong red, white, yellow bulbs like insects in the air above the wooden emptiness. The managers of the various carnival pitches stood, like melting wax dumrnies, eyes staring blindly, not talking, all down the line. |
| Tu su prije dva sata prošle dvije mušterije. Ta su dva samotna bića sad bila na mehaničkom toboganu, koljački vrištala svaki put kad bi se vagonet prevrnuo u ognjenu noć, i jurila oko jedne praznine za drugom. | Two customers had passed through an hour before. Those two lonely people were now in the roller coaster, screaming murderously as it plummeted down the blazing night, around one emptiness after another. |
| Aimee je polako koračala preko žala, a za vlažne joj se ruke lijepilo nekoliko istrošenih kolutova za huplu. Stala je iza blagajne ispred LABIRINTA OGLEDALA. Ugledala je sebe posve izobličenu u tri nabrana zrcala pred Labirintom. U hodniku iza njih rasplinulo se tisuću njezinih umornih replika, vrućih slika usred tolike bistre hladnoće. | Aimee moved slowly across the strand, a few worn wooden hoopla rings sticking to her wet hands. She stopped behind the ticket booth that fronted the MIRROR MAZE. She saw herself grossly misrepresented in three rippled mirrors outside the Maze. A thousand tired replicas of herself dissolved in the corridor beyond, hot images among so much clear coolness. |
| Ušla je u biljetarnicu i dugo ostala stajati, zagledana u tanki vrat Ralpha Bangharta. On je dugim i neravnim žutim zubima stiskao nezapaljenu cigaru i na pult slagao već izmrcvarene karte za pasijans. | She stepped inside the ticket booth and stood looking a long while at Ralph Banghart's thin neck. He clenched an unlit cigar between his long uneven yellow teeth as he laid out a battered game of solitaire on the ticket shelf. |
| Kad je vagonet mehaničkoga tobogana zajaukao i ponovno se stropoštao kao jeziva lavina, Aimee se prisjetila da treba nešto reći. | When the roller coaster wailed and fell in its terrible avalanche again, she was reminded to speak. |
| "Kakvi su to ljudi koji se voze na mehaničkom toboganu?" | "What kind of people go up in roller coasters?" |
| Ralph Banghart je punih trideset sekundi sisao svoju cigaru. "Raja zapravo želi liknuti. A ova je mehanjola kao stvorena za rikavelu." Na trenutak je sjedio tako i osluškivao tihe praskove pušaka u streljani. "Čitav je taj vražji luna-park lud sto gradi. Recimo, taj kepec. Vid'la ga? Svake večeri, calta svojih deset centi, pa bris u Labirint ogledala sve do Sobe munjenoga Louieja. Sigurno mu tamo već vidiš kržljavu glavu. Boga mu njegovog!" | Ralph Banghart worked his cigar a full thirty seconds. "People wanna die. That rollie coaster's the handiest thing to dying there is." He sat listening to the faint sound of rifle shots from the shooting gallery. "This whole damn carny business's crazy. For instance, that dwarf. You seen him? Every night, pays his dime, runs in the Mirror Maze all the way back through to Screwy Louie's Room. You should see this little runt head back there. My God!" |
| "O, da", rekla je Aimee i prisjetila se. "Uvijek sam se pitala kako je to biti kepec. Kad god bih ga vidjela, tako bi mi se smilio." | "Oh, yes," said Aimee, remembering. "I always wonder what it's like to be a dwarf. I always feel sorry when I see him." |
| "Mogao bih na nj svirati kao na harmoniku." | "I could play him like an accordion." |
| "Daj šuti!" | "Don't say that!" |
| "O, bogo." Slobodnom ju je rukom potapšao po bedru. "Ti stalno cmoljiš nad nekim a nisi ga ni vidjela." Zavrtio je glavom i zasmijuljio se. "On i njegova mala tajna. Samo on ne zna da ja znam, kužiš? Kukuc, kukuc, mamice!" | "My Lord." Ralph patted her thigh with a free hand. "The way you carry on about guys you never even met." He shook his head and chuckled. "Him and his secret. Only he don't know I know, see? Boy howdy!" |
| "Što je vruće." Mokrim je prstima nervozno zatrzala velikim drvenim kolutovima. | "It's a hot night." She twitched the large wooden hoops nervously on her damp fingers. |
| "Ne mijenjaj temu. On je tu, i po grdom i po lijepom." | "Don't change the subject. He'll be here, rain or shine." |
| Aimee se prebacila s noge na nogu. | Aimee shifted her weight. |
| "Hej! Daj, daj, nemoj se odmah pigati! Oš vidjet kepeca? Ps!" Ralph se okrenuo. "Evo nam ga!" | Ralph seized her elbow. "Hey! You ain't mad? You wanna see that dwarf, don't you? Sh!" Ralph turned. "Here he comes now!" |
| Kepecova ruka, dlakava i tamna, pojavila se sama samcata, i sa srebrnim se novčićem pružila kroz prozorčić blagajne. Potom se začuo uzvik nevidljivoga stvora, "Jednu!" visokim, dječjim glasom. | The Dwarf's hand, hairy and dark, appeared all by itself reaching up into the booth window with a silver dime. An invisible person called, "One!" in a high, child's voice. |
| Aimee se mahinalno povila prema njemu. | Involuntarily, Aimee bent forward. |
| Kepec je podigao oči i ugledao je, i njoj se učinilo kao da su nekog crnookog, crnodlakog i ružnog čovjeka zatvorili u vinski tijesak, pa ga stali stiskati i tlačiti i tlačiti i tlačiti, okret po okret, bol na bol, sve dok nije ostala samo izblijedjela, odurna masa, s obezobličeno nadutim licem, licem za koje si znao da bi i u dva i u tri i u četiri u noći, dok bi nauznak ležao u postelji, zurilo posve budno, jer bi spavalo samo tijelo. | The Dwarf looked up at her, resembling nothing more than a dark-eyed, dark-haired, ugly man who has been locked in a winepress, squeezed and wadded down and down, fold on fold, agony on agony, until a bleached, outraged mass is left, the face bloated shapelessly, a face you know must stare wide-eyed and awake at two and three and four o'clock in the morning, lying flat in bed, only the body asleep. |
| Ralph je žutu kartu razderao na dva dijela. "Jedna!" | Ralph tore a yellow ticket in half. "One!" |
| Kepec, kao da se uplašio dolazeće oluje, čvrsto je povukao ovratnik pod grlo i žurno se zagegao. Trenutak potom, deset tisuća izgubljenih i zalutalih kepeca zamigoljilo je, poput uspaničenih crnih buba, između zrcalnih ploha, i nestalo. | The Dwarf, as if frightened by an approaching storm, pulled his black coatlapels tightly about his throat and waddled swiftly. A moment later, ten thousand lost and wandering dwarfs wriggled between the mirror flats, like frantic dark beetles, and vanished. |
| "Brže!" | "Quick!" |
| Ralp je protisnuo Aimee kroz mračni prolaz iza zrcala. Tapšanjem ju je požurivao kroz tunel, čitavim putem, sve do tanke pregrade sa špijunkom. | Ralph squeezed Aimee along a dark passage behind the mirrors. She felt him pat her all the way back through the tunnel to a thin partition with a peekhole. |
| "Ovo je avion", zasmijuljio se. "Daj - vidi." | "This is rich," he chuckled. "Go on--look." |
| Aimee se na trenutak nećkala, no onda prislonila lice na pregradu. | Aimee hesitated, then put her face to the partition. |
| "Vidiš ga?" prošaptao je Ralph. | "You see him?" Ralph whispered. |
| Aimee je osjetila kucanje vlastitog srca. Prošla je čitava minuta. | Aimee felt her heart beating. A full minute passed. |
| Pred njoj je stajao Kepec, posred modre sobice. Oči su mu bile zatvorene. Još ih nije bio pripravan otvoriti. I onda, onda je digao vjeđe i pogledao u veliko zrcalo pred koje se postavio. I to što je u njemu ugledao natjeralo mu je smiješak na lice. Namignuo je, izveo piruetu, postavio se bočno, mahnuo rukom, naklonio se pa kratko i nespretno zaplesao. | There stood the Dwarf in the middle of the small blue room. His eyes were shut. He wasn't ready to open them yet. Now, now he opened his eyelids and looked at a large mirror set before him. And what he saw in the mirror made him smile. He winked, he pirouetted, he stood sidewise, he waved, he bowed, he did a little clumsy dance. |
| A zrcalo je svaki njegov pokret ponavljalo visokim, tankim rukama, visokim, visokim tijelom, te sve popratilo golemim migom i enormnom replikom plesa, da bi se predstava završila gigantskih naklonom! | And the mirror repeated each motion with long, thin arms, with a tall, tall body, with a huge wink and an enormous repetition of the dance, ending in a gigantic bow! |
| "Svake večeri ista priča", prošaptao joj je Ralph u uho. "Zar nije avion?" | "Every night the same thing," whispered Ralph in Aimee's ear. "Ain't that rich?" |
| Aimee je okrenula glavu pa se nepomična lica nepomično zagledala u Kalpha, i dugo ostala tako, bez ijedne riječi. A onda, kao da si nije mogla pomoći, polako je i vrlo polako vratila glavu, da još jednom zirne kroz rupicu. Zadržala je dah. Osjetila je kako su joj se oči navlažile. | Aimee turned her head and looked at Ralph steadily out of her motionless face, for a long time, and she said nothing. Then, as if she could not help herself, she moved her head slowly and very slowly back to stare once more through the opening. She held her breath. She felt her eyes begin to water. |
| Ralph ju je munuo laktom, i prošaptao: | Ralph nudged her, whispering. |
| "Hej, što nam sad izvodi naš čovuljak?" | "Hey, what's the little gink doin' now?" |
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| Pola sata potom, kad je Kepec izišao iz labirinta, pili su kavu u blagajni i nisu se gledali. Kepec je skinuo šešir i krenuo prema kabini, no onda je ugledao Aimee i žurno se udaljio. | They were drinking coffee and not looking at each other in the ticket booth half an hour later, when the Dwarf came out of the mirrors. He took his hat off and started to approach the booth, when he saw Aimee and hurried away. |
| "Nešto je htio", rekla je Aimee. | "He wanted something," said Aimee. |
| "Je." Ralph je lijeno zgnječio cigaretu. "A kužim i što. Ali nije imao petlje pitati. Jedne mi večeri veli, onako pištavo i sitno: 'Kladim se da su ta zrcala jako skupa.' Ja se samo pravim blesav. Ja velim je kako da ne. On me samo gleda, vidim, čeka, pa kad ne dočeka, ode on lijepo kući, a sutra mi veli: 'Kladim se da ta zrcala stoje po pedeset, po sto baksi.' I ja se kladim, velim ja. I slažem pasijans." | "Yeah." Ralph squashed out his cigarette, idly. "I know what, too. But he hasn't got the nerve to ask. One night in this squeaky little voice he says, 'I bet those mirrors are expensive.' Well, I played dumb. I said yeah they were. He sort of looked at me, waiting, and when I didn't say any more, he went home, but next night he said, 'I bet those mirrors cost fifty, a hundred bucks.' I bet they do, I said. I laid me out a hand of solitaire." |
| "Ralph", rekla je ona. | "Ralph," she said. |
| On je nakratko podigao pogled. "Što me tako gledaš?" | He glanced up. "Why you look at me that way?" |
| "Ralph", rekla je ona, "zašto mu ne prodaš koji od duplikata?" | "Ralph," she said, "why don't you sell him one of your extra ones?" |
| "Vidi, Aimee, jel ja tebi govorim kako da radiš svoje cirkusarije s kolutima?" | "Look, Aimee, do I tell you how to run your hoop circus?" |
| "Koliko dođu ta zrcala?" | "How much do those mirrors cost?" |
| "Dobijem ih iz druge ruke za trideset pet baksi." | "I can get 'em secondhand for thirty-five bucks." |
| "Zašto mu onda ne kažeš gdje ga može kupiti?" | "Why don't you tell him where he can buy one, then?" |
| "Aimee, gdje si bila kad je Bog pamet dijelio." Stavio joj je ruku na koljena. Ona ju je odmaknula. "Čak i da sam mu rekao kamo da ide, misliš da bi ga kupio? Ne, tako ti Boga. A zašto? Zato što drži do sebe. Mislim, kad bi doznao da znam kako očijuće s onim zrcalom u Sobi munjenoga Louieja, nikad se tu više ne bi nacrtao. Prodaje foru da ide kroz labirint radi zezanja, kao i svi drugi. Pravi se da mu se friga za specijalnu sobu. Ali uvijek čeka da padne promet, u sitne sate, da je ima samo za se. A čime se zabavlja kad je promet velik, to ne zna ni dragi Bog. Ne, gospodine, ne bi on imao petlje kupiti zrcalo nigdje. Nema on nikoga, a čak i da ima prijatelja, ne bi ga pitao da mu to kupi. Ponos, tako ti Boga, ponos. A meni to veli samo zato što sam ja fakat jedini koji to zna. Osim toga, daj ga pogledaj - otkud mu lova da kupi tako nešto? Može biti da je štogod strpao u čarapu, no gdje to danas na Božjemu svijetu kepec može naći posao? Pet para za deset komada, svuda osim u cirkusu čista pušiona." | "Aimee, you're not smart." He laid his hand on her knee. She moved her knee away. "Even if I told him where to go, you think he'd buy one? Not on your life. And why? He's self-conscious. Why, if he even knew I knew he was flirtin' around in front of that mirror in Screwy Louie's Room, he'd never come back. He plays like he's goin' through the Maze to get lost, like everybody else. Pretends like he don't care about that special room. Always waits for business to turn bad, late nights, so he has that room to himself. What he does for entertainment on nights when business is good, God knows. No, sir, he wouldn't dare go buy a mirror anywhere. He ain't got no friends, and even if he did he couldn't ask them to buy him a thing like that. Pride, by God, pride. Only reason he even mentioned it to me is I'm practically the only guy he knows. Besides, look at him--he ain't got enough to buy a mirror like those. He might be savin' up, but where in hell in the world today can a dwarf work? Dime a dozen, drug on the market, outside of circuses." |
| "Kako mi ga je grozno, grozno žao." Aimee je nastavila zuriti u prazan drveni nogostup. "A gdje on živi?" | "I feel awful. I feel sad." Aimee sat staring at the empty boardwalk. "Where does he live?" |
| "U nekakvoj mišjoj rupi uz obalu. Ganghes Arms. Zašto?" | "Flytrap down on the waterfront. The Ganghes Arms. Why?" |
| "Ludo sam se zaljubila, ako baš moraš znati." | "I'm madly in love with him, if you must know." |
| On se nacerio oko cigare. "Aimee", rekao je. "Ti i tvoji blesavi štosovi." | He grinned around his cigar. "Aimee," he said. "You and your very funny jokes." |
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| Topla noć, vruće jutro i jara u podne. More je bilo ploča od plamenih šljokica i stakla. | A warm night, a hot morning, and a blazing noon. The sea was a sheet of burning tinsel and glass. |
| Aimee je došla pješice, kroz zaključane staze luna-parka što su gledale na toplo more, držeći se hladovine i s pet-šest suncem izblijedjelih revija pod mišicom. Otvorila je vrata, s kojih se već ljuštila boja, i zazvala u vruću tamu. "Ralph?" Pronašla je put kroz crni hodnik iza zrcala, i pete su joj zatuckale po drvenom podu. "Ralph?" | Aimee came walking, in the locked-up carnival alleys out over the warm sea, keeping in the shade, half a dozen sun-bleached magazines under her arm. She opened a flaking door and called into hot darkness. "Ralph?" She picked her way through the black hall behind the mirrors, her heels tacking the wooden floor. "Ralph?" |
| Netko se tromo promeškoljio na platnenom poljskom krevetu. "Aimee?" | Someone stirred sluggishly on the canvas cot. "Aimee?" |
| Uspravio se na postelji i uvrnuo slabašnu žarulju u grlo na toaletnom stoliću. Priškiljio je na nju, napol zaslijepljen. "Hej, izgledaš mi kao mačka što je upravo smazala kanarinca." "Ralf, došla sam zbog onog patuljka!" "Kepeca, Aimee, ljubavi, kepeca. | He sat up and screwed a dim light bulb into the dressing table socket. He squinted at her, half blinded. "Hey, you look like the cat that swallowed a canary." "Ralph, I came about the midget!" |
| Patuljak, to je u ćelijama, takav se rodio. A kepec, to je u žlijezdama..." | "Dwarf, Aimee honey, dwarf. A midget is in the cells, born that way. A dwarf is in the glands..." |
| "Ralph! O njemu sam otkrila nešto zaista prekrasno!" | "Ralph! I just found out the most wonderful thing about him!" |
| "Ma tako ti Boga!" rekao je obraćajući se vlastitim rukama, koje je ispružio da budu svjedoci njegovoj nevjerici. "Da lude ženske! Ma tko daje i dva centa za nekakvog gnusnog žgoljavog..." | "Honest to God," he said to his hands, holding them out as witnesses to his disbelief. "This woman! Who in hell gives two cents for some ugly little --" |
| "Ralph!" Pružila mu je magazine, a oči su joj zablistale. "On je pisac! Daj, zamisli to!" | "Ralph!" She held out the magazines, her eyes shining. "He's a writer! Think of that!" |
| "Danas je prevruće za razmišljanje." Opet je legao i uz lagani se smiješak pažljivo u nju zagledao. | "It's a pretty hot day for thinking." He lay back and examined her, smiling faintly. |
| "Slučajno sam prošla kraj Ganghes Armsa, i susrela gospodina Greeleya, ravnatelja. On veli da se iz sobe gospodina Biga po čitavu noć čuje pisaći stroj!" | "I just happened to pass the Ganghes Arms, and saw Mr. Greeley, the manager. He says the typewriter runs all night in Mr. Big's room!" |
| "A tako se on zove?" Ralph je zaurlao od smijeha. | "Is that his name?" Ralph began to roar with laughter. |
| "Piše krimi šund, toliko da preživi. U antikvarijatu sam među magazinima našla jednu njegovu priču i, Ralph, daj pogodi!" | "Writes just enough pulp detective stories to live. I found one of his stories in the secondhand magazine place, and, Ralph, guess what?" |
| "Umoran sam, Aimee." | "I'm tired, Aimee." |
| "Taj mali ima do neba veliku dušu; i sve to on vadi samo iz glave!" | "This little guy's got a soul as big as all outdoors; he's got every- thing in his head!" |
| "Pa zašto onda ne piše za velike magazine, pitam se, pitam?" | "Why ain't he writin' for the big magazines, then, I ask you?" |
| "Možda se boji - možda ne zna bi li za to bio sposoban. Zna se dogoditi. Ljudi nemaju vjere u sebe. Ali se kladim, kad bi samo pokušao, da bi svoje priče mogao prodati kome mu se svidi." | "Because maybe he's afraid--maybe he doesn't know he can do it. That happens. People don't believe in themselves. But if he only tried, I bet he could sell stories anywhere in the world." |
| "Pa zašto onda, pitam se, pitam, nije pun para?" | "Why ain't he rich, I wonder?" |
| "Možda mu ideje dolaze polako jer je ubijen u pojam. A tko ne bi bio? Biti tako malen? Kladim se da mu je teško misliti i o čemu osim daje tako mali i da živi u jeftinom jednosobnom stanu." | "Maybe because ideas come slow because he's down in the dumps. Who wouldn't be? So small that way? I bet it's hard to think of anything except being so small and living in a one-room cheap apartment." |
| "Ma majku mu!" otfrknuo je Ralph. "Govoriš kao baka od Florence Nightingale." | "Hell!" snorted Ralph. "You talk like Florence Nightingale's grandma." |
| Ona je podigla magazin. "Pročitat ću ti komadić jedne njegove krimi priče. U njoj ima i pištolja i pravih dasa i svega, ali ju je ispričao patuljak. Kladim se da urednici nisu imali ni pojma o čemu on to priča. O, molim te, Ralph, nemoj samo tako sjediti! Poslušaj." | She held up the magazine. "I'll read you part of his crime story. It's got all the guns and tough people, but it's told by a dwarf. I bet the editors never guessed the author knew what he was writing about. Oh, please don't sit there like that, Ralph! Listen." |
| I sad je počela glasno čitati. | And she began to read aloud. |
| "Ja sam kepec i ubojica. Jedno se ne da odvojiti od drugoga. Jer je jedno uzrok drugome. | "I am a dwarf and I am a murderer. The two things cannot be separated. One is the cause of the other. |
| Kad mi je bilo dvadeset godina, čovjek koga sam ubio, zaustavio me na ulici, uzeo u naručje, poljubio u čelo, posprdno mi zapjevušio, zapjevao mi uspavanku, a onda me odvukao u mesnicu, bacio na vagu i povikao: 'Daj mi to izvaži. I bez palca, molim!' | "The man I murdered used to stop me on the street when I was twenty-one, pick me up in his arms, kiss my brow, croon wildly to me, sing Rock-a-bye Baby, haul me into meat markets, toss me on the scales and cry, 'Watch it. Don't weigh your thumb, there, butcher!' |
| Vidite li kako nam drugi upućuju živote prema ubojstvu? Ubojstvu tog idiota, tog mučitelja mog tijela i duše! | "Do you see how our lives moved toward murder? This fool, this persecutor of my flesh and soul! |
| A što se pak tiče djetinjstva: Roditelji su mi bili sitni ljudi, iako ne i patuljci, ili ne baš sasvim. Imetak što ga je otac naslijedio omogućio nam je da živimo u kući lutaka, u nečem čudesnom, sličnom svadbenoj torti s uresima od marcipana - s malim sobicama, malim naslonjačima, minijaturnim slikama, kamejama, jantarom sa zarobljenim kukcima - sve sitno, sitno, sitno! Svijet je Divova bio vani, bili su to ružni glasovi iza vrtnoga zida. | "As for my childhood: my parents were small people, not quite dwarfs, not quite. My father's inheritance kept us in a doll's house, an amazing thing like a white-scrolled wedding cake--little rooms, little chairs, miniature paintings, cameos, ambers with insects caught inside, everything tiny, tiny, tiny! The world of Giants far away, an ugly rumor beyond the garden wall. |
| Uboga mama, siroti tata! Oni su mislili sve najbolje. Čuvali su me, kao porculansku vazu, malu i dobro zaštićenu, samo za sebe, u našem svijetu mrava, u našim izbicama iz košnice, u našoj mikroskopskoj knjižnici, u našoj zemlji s vratima napravljenim po mjeri buba i prozorima po mjeri noćnih leptira. | Poor mama, papa! They meant only the best for me. They kept me, like a porcelain vase, small and treasured, to themselves, in our ant world, our beehive rooms, our microscopic library, our land of beetle-sized doors and moth windows. |
| Tak danas sagledavam strahovite razmjere psihoze svojih roditelja! Zacijelo su sebi zamislili da će živjeti dovijeka, i čuvati me pod staklom kao leptira. Ali je onda najprije umro otac, a poslije je našu kućicu, taj osinjak, proždro požar, a s njom i sva njezina zrcala ne veća od poštanske marke i ormare ne veće od soljenke. A onda je otišla i mama! A ja sam, sam samcat, zagledan u zgarište svog doma, bio izbačen u svijet Čudovišta i Titana, zahvaćen lavinom stvarnosti, i bacan njome, valjan i razbijan o podnožje litice! | Only now do I see the magnificent size of my parents' psychosis! They must have dreamed they would live forever, keeping me like a butterfly under glass. But first father died, and then fire ate up the little house, the wasp's nest, and every postage-stamp mirror and saltcellar closet within. Mama, too, gone! And myself alone, watching the fallen embers, tossed out into a world of Monsters and Titans, caught in a landslide of reality, rushed, rolled, and smashed to the bottom of the cliff! |
| Trebala mi je čitava godina da se na to priviknem. Da postanem cirkuskom atrakcijom, bilo je nezamislivo. Činilo se da za mene nema mjesta na svijetu. A onda, prije mjesec dana, u mom se životu pojavio Progonitelj; nabio mi je žensku kapu na nedužnu glavu i doviknuo prijateljima: 'Da vas upoznam sa svojom ženicom!' " | "It took me a year to adjust. A job with a sideshow was unthinkable. There seemed no place for me in the world. And then, a month ago, the Persecutor came into my life, clapped a bonnet on my unsuspecting head, and cried to friends, 'I want you to meet the little woman!' |
| Aimee je prekinula čitanje. Kad je Ralphu pružila magazin, novine su joj se zatresle u ruci, a pogled joj je bio nesiguran. "Do kraja je pročitaj sam. Ostatak je tipična priča o umorstvu. I sasvim pristojna. Ali zar ne vidiš? Taj mali. Taj mali." | Aimee stopped reading. Her eyes were unsteady and the magazine shook as she handed it to Ralph. "You finish it. The rest is a murder story. It's all right. But don't you see? That little man. That little man." |
| Ralph je bacio magazin i lijeno pripalio cigaretu. "Ja više volim kaubojce." | Ralph tossed the magazine aside and lit a cigarette lazily. "I like Westerns better." |
| "Ralph, to moraš pročitati. On treba nekoga tko će mu govoriti kako je dobar i poticati ga u pisanju." | "Ralph, you got to read it. He needs someone to tell him how good he is and keep him writing." |
| Ralph ju je pogledao, malo nakrivivši glavu. "I pogodi koga će to zapasti? Vidi, vidi, nismo li baš mi Prst Božji?" | Ralph looked at her, his head to one side. "And guess who's going to do it? Well, well, ain't we just the Saviour's right hand?" |
| "Ne želim to slušati!" | "I won't listen!" |
| "Daj misli malo glavom, vrag neka ga nosi! Banut ćeš mu u sobu, i on će misliti da mu daješ milostinju. I vrišteći te zbandžiti van." | "Use your head, damn it! You go busting in on him he'll think you're handing him pity. He'll chase you screamin' outa his room." |
| Ona je sjela i zamislila se nad time, vrlo polako, okrećući to u glavi i pokušavajući to sagledati sa svih strana. "Ne znam. Možda si u pravu. Ali, Ralph, zaista, to nije samo samilost. Ali bi njemu možda zaista izgledalo tako. Moram strašno paziti." | She sat down, thinking about it slowly, trying to turn it over and see it from every side. "I don't know. Maybe you're right. Oh, it's not just pity, Ralph, honest. But maybe it'd look like it to him. I've got to be awful careful." |
| On ju je prodrmao za rame, lagano je štipajući prstima. "Dođavola, dođavola, skini mu se, samo te to molim; za svoje ćeš pare samo dobiti po glavi. Daj bogati, Aimee, nikad još nisam vidio da te nešto tako ćopilo. Vidi, ti i ja, daj da se malo provedemo, nešto žvaknemo, natankamo benzina, pa niz obalu dokle nas kotači nose; malo se kupnemo, večeramo, negdje usput odemo u kino - i nek vrag nosi i luna-park i sve. Čekam tvoj odgovor. Dan kao san i bez jedne brige u životu. Stavio sam na stranu nekoliko baksi." | He shook her shoulder back and forth, pinching softly, with his fingers. "Hell, hell, lay off him, is all I ask; you'll get nothing but trouble for your dough. God, Aimee, I never seen you so hepped on anything. Look, you and me, let's make it a day, take a lunch, get us some gas, and just drive on down the coast as far as we can drive; swim, have supper, see a good show in some little town--to hell with the carnival, how about it? A damn nice day and no worries. I been savin' a coupla bucks." |
| "To je zato što znam da je on drukčiji", rekla je Aimee i skrenula pogled u tamu. "To je zato što je on nešto što mi nikad ne možemo biti - ti i ja i svi ostali na ovome molu. To je nešto čudno, nešto tako čudno. Život ga je udesio da bude dobar samo za cirkuske predstave, pa ipak on živi s čvrstim tlom pod nogama. A nas je opet život stvorio takvima da ne bismo morali raditi cirkuske predstave, a evo nas tu na moru, na molu. Pokatkad se čini da nas od obale dijeli milijun milja. Kako to, Ralph, da mi imamo tijela, no on ima mozak koji može misliti i o stvarima o kojima mi ni ne slutimo da postoje?" | "It's because I know he's different," she said, looking off into darkness. "It's because he's something we can never be--you and me and all the rest of us here on the pier. It's so funny, so funny. Life fixed him so he's good for nothing but carny shows, yet there he is on the land. And life made us so we wouldn't have to work in the camy shows, but here we are, anyway, way out here at sea on the pier. Sometimes it seems a million miles to shore. How come, Ralph, that we got the bodies, but he's got the brains and can think things we'll never even guess?" |
| "Ti kao nisi ni čula što sam ti rekao!" uzviknuo je on. | "You haven't even been listening to me!" said Ralph. |
| Ona je sjedila, a on stajao nad njom, i glas mu je bio dalek. Oči su joj bile napol zatvorene, a ruke u krilu; trzale su se. | She sat with him standing over her, his voice far away. Her eyes were half shut and her hands were in her lap, twitching. |
| "Ne sviđa mi se taj tvoj lukav izraz na licu", rekao je napokon. | "I don't like that shrewd look you're getting on," he said, finally. |
| Ona je polako otvorila torbicu pa izvadila svežnjić novčanica i počela odbrojavati. "Trideset pet, četrdeset dolara. Evo. Nazvat ću Billieja Finea i reći mu da jedno od onih svojih visokih zrcala pošalje gospodinu Bigelowu u Ganghes Armsu. I hoću!" | She opened her purse slowly and took out a small roll of bills and started counting. "Thirty-five, forty dollars. There. I'm going to phone Billie Fine and have him send out one of those tall-type mirrors to Mr. Bigelow at the Ganghes Arms. Yes, I am!" |
| "Kako!" | "What!" |
| "Zamisli, Ralph, kako bi se veselio da ga, kad god zaželi, ima u svojoj sobi. Mogu telefonirati?" | "Think how wonderful for him, Ralph, having one in his own room any time he wants it. Can I use your phone?" |
| "Samo izvoli, kad si luda." | "Go ahead, be nutty." |
| Ralph se brzo okrenuo i otkoračao tunelom. Začulo se kako su tresnula vrata. | Ralph turned quickly and walked off down the tunnel. A door slammed. |
| Aimee je počekala, a onda je, nakon nekog vremena, primakla ruku aparatu i zavrtjela brojeve, ali nekako upravo bolno sporo. Zastajala je između brojeva, zadržavala dah, zatvarala oči, razmišljala o tome kako je to kad si tako malen na svijetu, a onda ti jednoga dana netko pošalje specijalno zrcalo. Zrcalo za tvoju sobu, u koju se možeš sakriti sam sa svojim odrazima, velikim i blistavim, i pisati priče i priče, a da nikad, ako to ne želiš, ne moraš izaći u svijet. Kako to mora biti kad si sam, s čudesnom iluzijom, svom iz jednoga komada, u svojoj sobi. Hoće li te ona razveseliti ili rastužiti, hoće li ti pomoći u pisanju ili te povrijediti? Zaklimala je glavom naprijed-natrag, naprijed-natrag. Ali tako te bar nitko neće gledati s visine. Iz noći u noć, možda budeš ustajao u tri sata u studeno jutro, da samome sebi namiguješ, smiješiš se, mašeš i plešeš, sebi tako visokom, tako visokom, tako prelijepom i visokom u sjajnom ogledalu. | Aimee waited, then after a while put her hands to the phone and began to dial, with painful slowness. She paused between numbers, holding her breath, shutting her eyes, thinking how it might seem to he small in the world, and then one day someone sends a special mirror by. A mirror for your room where you can hide away with the big reflection of yourself, shining, and write stories and stories, never going out into the world unless you had to. How might it he then, alone, with the wonderful illusion all in one piece in the room. Would it make you happy or sad, would it help your writing or hurt it? She shook her head back and forth, back and forth. At least this way there would be no one to look down at you. Night after night, perhaps rising secretly at three in the cold morning, you could wink and dance around and smile and wave at yourself, so tall, so tall, so very fine and tall in the bright looking-glass. |
| Telefonski je glas rekao: "Billie Fine's." | A telephone voice said, "Billie Fine's." |
| "O, Billie!" uskliknula je ona. | "Oh, Billie!" she cried. |
| | |
| Na molo se spustila noć. Pod daskama je ležao ocean, mračan i bučan. Ralph je sjedio, studen i voštan u svom staklenom lijesu, i slagao karte, zapiljena pogleda, stisnutih usta. Kraj njegova lakta izrastala je piramida čikova. Kad je Aimee prošla ispod usijano-crvenih i plavih žarulja, pa mu se nasmiješila i mahnula, on nije prestao slagati karte, sporo i sve sporije. "Bok, Ralph!" rekla je ona. | Night came in over the pier. The ocean lay dark and loud under the planks. Ralph sat cold and waxen in his glass coffin, laying out the cards, his eyes fixed, his mouth stiff. At his elbow, a growing pyramid of burnt cigarette butts grew larger. When Aimee walked along under the hot red and blue bulbs, smiling, waving, he did not stop setting the cards down slow and very slow. "Hi, Ralph!" she said. |
| "Kako ljubav?" upitao je pa iz prljave čaše otpio malo ledene vode. "Kako Charlie Boyer, ili je možda Cary Grant?" | "How's the love affair?" he asked, drinking from a dirty glass of iced water. "How's Charlie Boyer, or is it Gary Grant?" |
| "Samo sam pošla kupiti novi šešir", rekla je i nasmiješila se. "Bože, tako se dobro osjećam. A znaš zašto? Billie Fine sutra šalje zrcalo! Možeš li samo malom zamisliti facu?" | "I just went and bought me a new hat," she said, smiling. "Gosh, I feel good! You know why? Billie Fine's sending a mirror out tomorrow! Can't you just see the nice little guy's face?" |
| "Nisam baš lud za zamišljanjem." | "I'm not so hot at imagining." |
| "O, Bože, još ćeš pomisliti da se hoću za nj udati ili što ja znam." | "Oh, Lord, you'd think I was going to marry him or something." |
| "A zašto ne? Nosiš ga okolo u koferu. Ljudi pitaju: Gdje vam je muž? A ti otvoriš torbu, i vikneš: Evo ga! Kao srebrni kornet. Vadiš ga iz torbe kad ti se spuhne, odsviraš svoje, i opet ga spremiš. A na stražnjoj mu verandi ostaviš kutiju s pijeskom." | "Why not? Carry him around in a suitcase. People say, Where's your husband? All you do is open your bag, yell, Here he is! Like a silver cornet. Take him outa his case any old hour, play a tune, stash him away. Keep a little sandbox for him on the back porch." |
| "Tako mi je lijepo", odgovorila je ona. | "I was feeling so good," she said. |
| "Osjećaš se velikodušno, to je prava riječ." Ralph je nije pogledao, samo je skupio usta. "Ve-li-ko-duš-no. Pretpostavljam da je sve to samo zato što sam ga gledao kroz rupu u dasci, koji mi je bog bio? I zašto mu šalješ to zrcalo? Ljudi poput tebe trčkaraju svijetom s tamburinima, i ubijaju mi svu radost u životu." | "Benevolent is the word." Ralph did not look at her, his mouth tight. "Ben-ev-o-lent. I suppose this all comes from me watching him through that knothole, getting my kicks? That why you sent the mirror? People like you run around with tambourines, taking the joy out of my life." |
| "Podsjeti me da ti više ne dolazim na piće. Bolje mi je i da sam sama, nego s takvim." | "Remind me not to come to your place for drinks any more. I'd rather go with no people at all than mean people." |
| Ralph je duboko izdahnuo. "Aimee, Aimee. Tebi nije jasno da mu ne možeš pomoći? On je skrenuo. A ta tvoja gluparija, kao da mu govori: Samo izvoli, budi lud, ja ću ti u tome još i pomoći, stari moj." | Ralph exhaled a deep breath. "Aimee, Aimee. Don't you know you can't help that guy? He's bats. And this crazy thing of yours is like saying, Go ahead, be batty, I'll help you, pal." |
| "Možda je dobro, makar jednom u životu, pogriješiti u najboljom vjeri da ćeš time nekome učiniti dobro", odgovorila je Aimee. | "Once in a lifetime anyway, it's nice to make a mistake if you think it'll do somebody some good," she said. |
| "Kuge, gladi i dobročinitelja, oslobodi me, Gospodine." | "God deliver me from do-gooders, Aimee." |
| "Dosta! Dosta!" kriknula je ona, pa ušutjela. | "Shut up, shut up!" she cried, and then said nothing more. |
| On je pričekao da tišina malo odleži, pa ustao i odgurnuo otiscima prekrivenu čašu. "Hoćeš mi malo pričuvati blagajnu?" | He let the silence lie a while, and then got up, putting his fingerprinted glass aside. "Mind the booth for me?" |
| "Naravno. Zašto?" | "Sure. Why?" |
| Ugledala je deset tisuća hladnih i bijelih njegovih likova kako oštro koračaju staklenim hodnikom, između zrcala, uzdignute brade i živih prstiju. | She saw ten thousand cold white images of him stalking down the glassy corridors, between mirrors, his mouth straight and his fingers working themselves. |
| Sjedila je tako u kabini punu minutu, a onda se stresla. Kuckao je mali sat i ona je, čekajući, preokrenula špil karata, sve jednu po jednu. Začula je lupu, pa kucanje, pa opet lupu čekića, duboko negdje u labirintu; potom je bila tišina, pa opet čekanje, a onda deset tisuća odraza što se svijaju i previjaju i izvijaju i rastaču, odraza Ralpha u hodu, kako gleda u deset tisuća njenih odraza dok sjedi u kabini. Kad je silazio rampom, začula mu je tihi smijeh. | She sat in the booth for a full minute and then suddenly shivered. A small clock ticked in the booth and she turned the deck of cards over, one by one, waiting. She heard a hammer pounding and knocking and pounding again, far away inside the Maze; a silence, more waiting, and then ten thousand images folding and refolding and dissolving, Ralph striding, looking out at ten thousand images of her in the booth. She heard his quiet laughter as he came down the ramp. |
| "I onda, što te je tako oraspoložilo?" upitala ga je sumnjičavo. | "Well, what's put you in such a good mood?" she asked, suspiciously. |
| "Aimee", rekao je nehajno, "nemojmo se svađati. Veliš da će Billie sutra poslati zrcalo gospodinu Bigu?" | "Aimee," he said, carelessly, "we shouldn't quarrel. You say tomorrow Billie's sending that mirror to Mr. Big's?" |
| "Ne misliš, nadam se, napraviti nekakvu duhovitost?!" | "You're not going to try anything funny?" |
| "Ja?" Maknuo joj je iz kabine i uzeo karte, raspjevušen i sjajnoga oka. "Ne ja, zaboga, svi da, samo ne ja." Nije je ni pogledao, ali je žurno zapljeskao kartama. Ona mu je stajala za leđima. Desno joj se oko lagano zatrzalo. Prekrižila je ruke, pa ih opustila. Kraj njih je prokucala čitava minuta. Jedini su zvukovi bili glasanje noćnog oceana pod molom, Ralphovo teško disanje u sparini, tiho šuškanje karata. Nebo je nad molom bilo vruće i zgusnuto oblacima. Daleko na pučini pojavili su se prvi slabašni odbljesci munja. | "Me?" He moved her out of the booth and took over the cards, humming, his eyes bright. "Not me, oh no, not me." He did not look at her, but started quickly to slap out the cards. She stood behind him. Her right eye began to twitch a little. She folded and unfolded her arms. A minute ticked by. The only sound was the ocean under the night pier, Ralph breathing in the heat, the soft ruffle of the cards. The sky over the pier was hot and thick with clouds. Out at sea, faint glows of lightning were beginning to show. |
| "Ralph", rekla je ona napokon. | "Ralph," she said at last. |
| "Opusti se, Aimee", odgovorio je on. | "Relax, Aimee," he said. |
| "Mislim, taj izlet niz obalu, o kojem si govorio..." | "About that trip you wanted to take down the coast--" |
| "Sutra", rekao je Ralph. "Možda sljedeći mjesec. Možda dogodine. Stari Ralph Banghart je strpljivo momče. I ništa me ne brine, Aimee. Vidi." Podigao je dlan. "Sasvim sam miran." | "Tomorrow," he said. "Maybe next month. Maybe next year. Old Ralph Banghart's a patient guy. I'm not worried, Aimee. Look." He held up a hand. "I'm calm." |
| Pričekala je da zamre grmljavina s mora. | She waited for a roll of thunder at sea to fade away. |
| "Samo neću da se ljutiš, to je sve. I neću da se dogodi zlo, na časnu riječ." | "I just don't want you mad, is all. I just don't want anything bad to happen, promise me." |
| Molom je zapuhao vjetar, čas topao, čas hladan. Sa sobom je donio miris kiše. Sat je tik-takao. Aimee se počela jako znojiti, dok je tako gledala beskrajno pomicanje karata. Iz daljine su se čuli pogodci u mete na streljani. | The wind, now warm, now cool, blew along the pier. There was a smell of rain in the wind. The clock ticked. Aimee began to perspire heavily, watching the cards move and move. Distantly, you could hear targets being hit and the sound of the pistols at the shooting gallery. |
| Kad tada, evo ti i njega. | And then, there he was. |
| Gegao se samotnim nizom štandova, a pod žaruljama nalik rta nizove svijetlećih kukaca, lice mu je bilo iskrivljeno i mračno, a svaki pokret muka. I s duga je puta tako niz mol pošao, a Aimee ga je gledala. Poželjela mu je kazati: Ovo je tvoje zadnje veče, posljednji put da se moraš dovoditi u nezgodu svojim dolaskom ovamo, posljednji put da, makar i ne znajući, moraš trpjeti Ralphov pogled. Poželjela je kriknuti i nasmijati se i sve to izreći pred Ralphom. Ali nije rekla ništa. | Waddling along the lonely concourse, under the insect bulbs, his face twisted and dark, every movement an effort. From a long way down the pier he came, with Aimee watching. She wanted to say to him, This is your last night, the last time you'll have to embarrass yourself by coming here, the last time you'll have to put up with being watched by Ralph, even in secret. She wished she could cry out and laugh and say it right in front of Ralph. But she said nothing. |
| "Bok, bok!" viknuo je Ralph. "Večeras je besplatno, kuća časti! Specijalno za stare mušterije!" | "Hello, hello!" shouted Ralph. "It's free, on the house, tonight! Special for old customers!" |
| Kepec se prenuo i podigao pogled, a crne su mu očice zaskakutale i zaplivale od zbunjenosti. Usta su mu oblikovala riječ "hvala" i onda se okrenuo, pa prinio ruku vratu i čvrsto stisnuo revere oko zgrčenoga grla, dok je drugom rukom potajno stiskao srebrenu deseticu. Okrenuo je glavu, pa lagano kimnuo, a onda su u staklene hodnike zalutali deseci tuceta zgnječenih i usukanih lica, opaljeni svjetlima u čudnu tamnu boju. | The Dwarf looked up, startled, his little black eyes darting and swimming in confusion. His mouth formed the word thanks and he turned, one hand to his neck, pulling his tiny lapels tight up about his convulsing throat, the other hand clenching the silver dime secretly. Looking back, he gave a little nod, and then scores of dozens of compressed and tortured faces, burnt a strange dark color by the lights, wandered in the glass corridors. |
| "Ralph", rekla je Aimee i uhvatila ga za lakat. "Što se to zbiva?" | "Ralph." Aimee took his elbow. "What's going on?" |
| On se nacerio. | He grinned. |
| "Ja sam dobra srca, Aimee, ja sam jedno veliko srce." "Ralph", rekla je ona. | "I'm being benevolent, Aimee, benevolent." "Ralph," she said. |
| "Pst", rekao je on. "Slušaj." | "Sh," he said. "Listen." |
| Čekali su u blagajni u dugoj, toploj tišini. | They waited in the booth in the long warm silence. |
| A onda se, iz velike daljine, začuo prigušen krik. | Then, a long way off, muffled, there was a scream. |
| "Ralph!" rekla je Aimee. | "Ralph!" said Aimee. |
| "Slušaj, slušaj!" rekao je on. | "Listen, listen!" he said. |
| Začuo je još jedan krik, pa još jedan i još jedan, i mlatnjava i lupa i lom, i jurnjava kroz zavijutke Labirinta i preko njih. I evo, evo, divlje se sudarajući i rikošetirajući, od zrcala do zrcala, histerično vrišteći i jecajući, sa suzama na licu, usta razjapljenih, iz Labirinta izlazi gospodin Bigelow. Ispao je na usijani noćni zrak, divlje se osvrnuo, zajaukao, pa otrčao niz molo. | There was another scream, and another and still another, and a threshing and a pounding and a breaking, a rushing around and through the maze. There, there, wildly colliding and ricocheting, from mirror to mirror, shrieking hysterically and sobbing, tears on his face, mouth gasped open, came Mr. Bigelow. He fell out in the blazing night air, glanced about wildly, wailed, and ran off down the pier. |
| "Ralph, što se dogodilo?" | "Ralph, what happened?" |
| Ralp je sjedio, smijao se i pljeskao po bedrima. | Ralph sat laughing and slapping at his thighs. |
| Ona ga je pljusnula. "Što si učinio?" | She slapped his face. "What'd you do?" |
| Ali se on nije prestao smijati. | He didn't quite stop laughing. "Come on. I'll show you!" |
| "Daj dođi. Sad ću ti pokazati." I već je bila u Labirintu, i jurila od jednog do drugog, do bijelog usijanog ogledala, i gledala svoj ruž, kao crvenu vatru, ponovljen tisuću puta niz srebrenu kavernu u kojoj je neka čudna, njoj vrlo slična, histerična žena, slijedila hitrog, nasmiješenog muškarca. "Idemo!" viknuo je on. I najednom su upali u sobicu što je zaudarala na prašinu. | And then she was in the maze, rushed from white-hot mirror to mirror, seeing her lipstick all red fire a thousand times repeated on down a burning silver cavern where strange hysterical women much like herself followed a quick-moving, smiling man. "Come on!" he cried. And they broke free into a dust-smelling tiny room. |
| "Ralph!" uskliknula je. | "Ralph!" she said. |
| Oboje su stajali na pragu sobice u koju je Kepec svakodnevno dolazio već čitavu godinu. Stajali su oboje na mjestu gdje je Kepec stajao svake večeri, prije nego što će otvoriti oči da pred sobom ugleda čudesni lik. | They both stood on the threshold of the little room where the Dwarf had come every night for a year. They both stood where the Dwarf had stood each night, before opening his eyes to see the miraculous image in front of him. |
| Polako vukući noge, ispružene ruke, Aimee je ušla u sumračnu sobicu. | Aimee shuffled slowly, one hand out, into the dim room. |
| Zrcalo se promijenilo. | The mirror had been changed. |
| U tom novom zrcalu čak su i normalni ljudi bili mali, mali, mali; čak su i visoki ljudi bili niski i crni, i što bi se više primicali, bivali bi sve manji. | This new mirror made even normal people small, small, small; it made even tall people little and dark and twisted smaller as you moved forward. |
| I Aimee je stajala pred njim i razmišljala i razmišljala, o Bože, ako ono i krupne ljude, dok stoje ovdje, čini malenima, što će onda učiniti s kepecom, sićušnim kepecom, crnim kepecom, zgromljenim i samim na svijetu? | And Aimee stood before it thinking and thinking that if it made big people small, standing here, God, what would it do to a dwarf, a tiny dwarf, a dark dwarf, a startled and lonely dwarf? |
| Okrenula se i zamalo srušila. Ralph je stajao i gledao je. "Ralph", rekla je ona. "Bože, zašto si to učinio?" | She turned and almost fell. Ralph stood looking at her. "Ralph," she said. "God, why did you do it?" |
| "Aimee, vrati se!" | "Aimee, come back!" |
| Istrčala je između zrcala, sva u suzama. Onako zamagljenih očiju, teško je nalazila put, ali ga je našla. Zastala je i zažmirkala na prazni molo, pa potrčala u jednom smjeru, pa drugom, pa stala. Iza nje se pojavio Ralph, i nešto je govorio, no njegov je glas bio glas što dolazi iza zida, kasno u noći, dalek i stran. | She ran out through the mirrors, crying. Staring with blurred eyes, it was hard to find the way, but she found it. She stood blinking at the empty pier, started to run one way, then another, then still another, then stopped. Ralph came up behind her, talking, but it was like a voice heard behind a wall late at night, remote and foreign. |
| "Ništa mi ne govori", rekla je Aimee. | "Don't talk to me," she said. |
| Netko je trčao molom prema njima. Bio je to gospodin Kelly iz streljane. "Hej, je li tko vidio onog malog? Mali mi je prdonja zdipio pištolj, nabijen, i dok sam se snašao, petama vjetra! Hoćete mi pomoći da ga nađem?" | Someone came running up the pier. It was Mr. Kelly from the shooting gallery. "Hey, any you see a little guy just now? Little stiff swiped a pistol from my place, loaded, run off before I'd get a hand on him! You help me find him?" |
| A onda je Kelly otišao, u sprintu, okrećući glavu u pokušaju da ga nađe među svim platnenim nadstrešnicama, nestajući pod vrelim modrim i crvenim i žutim nanizanim žaruljama. | And Kelly was gone, sprinting, turning his head to search between all the canvas sheds, on away under the hot blue and red and yellow strung bulbs. |
| Aimee se zanjihala naprijed-natrag i zakoračila. | Aimee rocked back and forth and took a step. |
| "Aimee, kamo ćeš?" | "Aimee, where you going?" |
| Pogledala je Ralpha kao da su stranci koji su se najednom sudarili na uglu. "Mislim", rekla je, "da ću im pomoći da ga nađu." | She looked at Ralph as if they had just turned a corner, strangers passing, and bumped into each other. "I guess," she said, "I'm going to help search." |
| "Ti tu ne možeš ništa." | "You won't be able to do nothing." |
| "Ali ću ipak pokušati. O, Bože, Ralph, za sve sam ovo samo ja kriva! Nisam smjela telefonirati Billieju Fineu! Nisam smjela naručiti ogledalo i naljutiti te toliko da to učiniš! Gospodinu sam Bigu trebala poći ja, a ne ta kupljena ludorija! I ja ću ga naći, pa makar mi to bilo zadnje u životu." | "I got to try, anyway. Oh God, Ralph, this is all my fault! I shouldn't have phoned Billie Fine! I shouldn't've ordered a mirror and got you so mad you did this! It's me should've gone to Mr. Big, not a crazy thing like I bought! I'm going to find him if it's the last thing I ever do in my life." |
| Polako teturajući, mokrih obraza, ugledala je drhtava zrcala što su stajala pred Labirintom, i u jednom je od njih bio Ralphov odraz. Od te slike nije mogla odijeliti oči; držala ju je ona u stanju hladne i drhtave fascinacije, otvorenih usta. | Swinging about slowly, her cheeks wet, she saw the quivery mirrors that stood in front of the Maze, Ralph's reflection was in one of them. She could not take her eyes away from the image; it held her in a cool and trembling fascination, with her mouth open. |
| "Aimee, što nije u redu? Što ti..." | "Aimee, what's wrong? What're you--" |
| Osjetio je kamo gleda, pa se okrenuo da vidi što se zbiva. Oči su mu se razrogačile. | He sensed where she was looking and twisted about to see what was going on. His eyes widened. |
| Namrštio se u blještavo ogledalo. | He scowled at the blazing mirror. |
| A iz njega mu je mrštenjem odgovorio užasan, ružan čovječuljak, s blijedim, drempavim licem pod prastarim slamnatim šeširom. Ralph je stajao tako i oštro zurio u samoga sebe, s rukama na bokovima. | A horrid, ugly little man, two feet high, with a pale, squashed face under an ancient straw hat, scowled back at him. Ralph stood there glaring at himself, his hands at his sides. |
| Aimee je pošla polako, pa ubrzala korak, pa potrčala. Potrčala je niz prazni molo i vjetar je puhao toplinom i na nju pirio krupne kapi vrele kiše iz neba svo vrijeme dok je trčala. | Aimee walked slowly and then began to walk fast and then began to run. She ran down the empty pier and the wind blew warm and it blew large drops of hot rain out of the sky on her all the time she was running. |