莱贡街荒地的草莓
Written by Seb Whitaker | Illustrated by Emily Wildfyre | Translated by Clairine Chendra
[ English / 英语 ]
2073. Southbank, population: 1.
Every day is the same for Ming. Wake up. Boil water. Scavenge. Sweat. Every day the same quest and every night the same silent refuge.
Ming can’t remember the last time he saw another living human being. He doesn’t mind the solitude though; people complicate things. Ming knows how the story goes when he’s the only one in it. So he wanders about his day that’s like every other day: through the barren wastelands of Lygon Street, over the remnants of the last bridge, and back to Southbank Ming trudges.
Except this time he sees a man.
He analyses him: the long silky grey hair, his tall thin frame, the way the golden sun kisses his brown skin. He looks to be of the same era as Ming, yet he exudes a vitality he hasn’t witnessed in a very long time. The man, noticing Ming, jolts in shock, dropping the handwoven basket he was carrying and spilling a dozen strawberries onto the dirt. Ming scoops them into his calloused palms as the man stands there, paralysed by shock.
“S-strawberries,” Ming croaks, his voice hoarse from having not spoken in days. The man softens as it dawns on him that they’re both survivors.
“Who are you?” The man asks, his voice low and velvety.
“Ming,” he answers, more confidently now.
“My name is Sutan,” the man says.
The two stand in a young, shy silence that is eventually broken when Sutan picks two strawberries from the basket and offers one to Ming. He takes it, the cool sweetness erupting in his mouth, gulping it down in seconds. Ripe red gloss glazes his lips and his fingers show nothing but evidence of his gluttony. He pauses, looking up at Sutan who’s staring at him, uneaten strawberry still in his hand. Ming snickers, as does Sutan, and soon they’re both roaring in unstoppable laughter.
Sutan places his hand on Ming’s arm, his light touch in complete dissonance with the wear embedded into Ming’s skin. Even as the laughter stops, the touch remains. They stay like this, gently soaking in each other’s souls. Ming finds himself lost in the details of Sutan’s face, transfixed by beauty that has long since left this world. It’s not until the sun has already begun to set that Ming notices the dusk that’s enveloping them.
“I need to get back,” Ming says abruptly, moving away from Sutan and looking up at the forewarning of stars in the night sky.
“The sun has set too far, you won’t make it,” Sutan replies as he steps closer and extends his hand. “I can take you to my home; I’ll protect you.”
Every survival instinct Ming has picked up over the last several years tells him to flee and yet despite this, he decides to take Sutan’s hand. The hint of a grin warms up Sutan’s face, and before he knows it the two are dashing through the wastelands of Carlton like two teenagers, alive by the promise of a new beginning.
. . .
[ 汉语 / Simplified Chinese ]
二〇七三年，南岸
人口数 ：1
每天阿明过着重复的生活 -------- 起床、烧水、拾荒、加上满头的汗水。日复一日的挑战还有每个寂静无声避难的夜晚。
阿明已经记不清他最后一次见到活生生的人是什么时候, 但他并不介意这份孤独的感觉，毕竟人都是很复杂。当他是故事里唯一的角色时，他深知这个故事的发展和结局。就这样阿明开始他周而复始的日子，从空荡荡的莱贡街越过遗留的最后一座桥，最终回归到南岸。
可是这一回和平时不一样，这次他瞧见了-------- 一位男子!
阿明仔细地观察了他： 飘动如丝的长银发， 细高挑儿的身材，温暖的阳光照在他黝黑的皮肤上。他们似乎是同一个年代的人，不过他散发着朝气蓬勃的精神是阿明久已不见的。注视着阿明的男子露出了震惊的反应，掉下了他提着的手织篮子，结果把十几个草莓撒落在地上。男子被吓得动弹不得，阿明把掉在地上的草莓都捡了起来，然后把它们放到他那粗糙的手上 。
“……草……草莓，” 阿明用他多日没有发过声而沙哑的声音嘀咕地说。当男子意识到他们俩都是生还者时他放松了。
“你是谁？” 男子开口问道，声音低沉浑厚。
“…阿明” 回答到，此时他更加自信了点儿。
“苏坦…” 男人回应到。
两人腼腆羞怯，肃静无声。当苏坦捡起篮子里的两颗草莓并送一颗给阿明时，凝重的气氛终被打破了。阿明拿起草莓，他一秒钟就吞了下去，清香的甜味儿瞬间爆发在他的嘴里。他嘴唇上樱红的光泽和沾有草莓汁的脏手 都是他贪吃的证据。
他突然停下来，抬头看到正在直勾勾望着他的苏坦，并盯着苏坦手里还没被吃掉的草莓，阿明窃笑了，苏坦也跟着窃笑了，很快他们俩一块儿狂笑不止。
苏坦把手放在阿明的胳膊上轻轻地触摸着其粗糙的手臂，笑声停止了但触摸仍然继续。他俩就这样呆着，慢慢融入到对方的灵魂里。阿明发现自己已经迷失在苏坦帅气的脸，呆呆地盯着这张优美的脸，这张很早以前就已经消失在这个世界人类的面孔。直到太阳下落，阿明才发现他们正笼罩在夕阳中。
“我该回去了” 阿明猛然说到，慢慢地离开苏坦并抬头望着隐隐出现的星星。
“太阳已经下落了，你回不去了” 苏坦一边说一边向阿明迈进一步并伸出他的手。“但我能带你回我家，我会保护你。”
这些年来阿明的生存本能都在呼唤着他赶快跑开，但此时他还是决定牵着苏坦的手。一丝丝的微笑挂在阿明的脸上，他俩不约而同一起奔向空荡的卡尔顿荒地，就像两个少年开始走向美好的新生活。
