Chapter 7 Chapter VII
At first, it was a man's rough voice, saying my name in earthy English, and shouted: "Is there anything wrong?"
At two o'clock in the morning I was, of course, soundly asleep.My head is like a paddy field in heavy rain, and I can't tell the edge.The bed sheets still have memories of the afternoon sex, and everything is like a cardigan that is buttoned incorrectly, losing its connection with reality step by step.The man said my name again: "Is there anything wrong?"
"No mistake." I replied.Doesn't sound like my name, but it's my name anyway.After that, the violent noise that seemed to force different types of air to grind together continued for a while.It is estimated that Sumire made an international call from Greece.I took the receiver a little away from my ear and waited for her voice.Unexpectedly, it wasn't Sumire, but Min. "You probably know me from Sumire?"
know, i said.
Her voice over the phone was distant and distorted into an inorganic substance, but the tension in it could still be fully felt. Something hard and sticky, like smoke from dry ice flowing into the room from the receiver, woke me up. Come.I sat up from the bed, straightened my back, and picked up the receiver again.
"I don't have time to talk slowly," Min Kuai said quickly, "I made a call from a Greek island, and the phone here almost couldn't get through to Tokyo, and the connection was cut off immediately. I tried several times but it didn't work, but this time I managed to get through. So. Let’s avoid the small talk and talk about things directly, is that okay?”
It's okay, I said.
"Can you come here?"
"Here—Greece?"
"Yes. Against the clock."
I said the first thing that came to my mind: "What happened to Sumire?"
Min left a gap as long as a breath. "That's not clear. But I think she wanted you here, no doubt about it."
"think?"
"I can't talk on the phone, and I don't know when the line will be disconnected. The problem is very delicate. If possible, I would like to meet and talk. I will pay for the round-trip fee. In short, you just fly, the sooner the better. Whether it's first-class or anything else, buy it. That's the ticket."
The new semester will start in ten days, so I have to rush back before then, and it’s not impossible to go to Greece immediately.During the summer vacation, I have to go to school twice, but there should be a way to accommodate.
"I think I can go," I said. "It's not a big problem. So which way should I go?"
She spoke the name of the island, and I wrote it down on the back of the pillow book.Where have I heard the name before.
"Fly from Athens to Rhodes, and then take a ferry. There are only two flights a day, morning and evening. I'll go to the port at that time. Can you come?"
"I guess I could. It's just that I..." At this point, the phone disconnected, almost as if someone had smashed a cable with an iron hammer, abruptly and violently, and replaced by the original A strong noise.I thought to myself that maybe it would be reconnected, and waited for more than a minute with the earpiece against my ear, but the only thing that came out was a harsh noise.I had no choice but to give up, put down the receiver, turned over and got out of bed, went into the kitchen to drink a cup of cold barley, and leaned against the refrigerator door to clear my mind.
Seriously, I'm about to get on a jet plane and fly to the Greek islands?The answer is yes, there is no other choice.
I pulled a large world map from the bookshelf and looked up the location of the island Min had told me about.Despite the hint that Rhodes is nearby, it is not easy to find it among the islands and islands dotted across the Aegean Sea.Finally, I found the name of the island printed in small type.A small island near the Turkish border.It's too small to see the shape clearly.
I took out my passport from the drawer, confirmed that the validity period had not expired, and stuffed all the cash at home into my wallet.The amount is not much, just withdraw it with a bank card after dawn.There were past deposits in the account, and the summer bonus happened to be almost intact.There are also credit cards, which can afford round-trip air tickets to Greece.I took out the plastic gym bag I used for going to the gym and stuffed it with a change of clothes, my toiletries, and the two Joseph Conrad novels I was about to revisit when I got a chance.I pondered about the swimsuit, and finally decided to bring it on.On the island, it is possible that all problems will be solved, everyone will be safe and sound, the sun will hang firmly in the middle of the sky, and there will be a leisurely swim all the way back - needless to say, this is the most ideal result for everyone.
Having made these preparations, I rolled into bed, turned off the light, and sank my head into the pillow.It's just after three o'clock, and I can sleep for a while in the morning.But no sleepiness at all.The violent noise is still in my veins, the man calling my name in the back of my ear.I turned on the light, got out of bed again, went into the kitchen and made an iced tea.After that, I reproduced the conversation with Tong Min word by word from beginning to end.The words were ambiguous and not specific, full of double meanings like a mystery.There are only two things Min said.I actually put it down on paper:
(1) What happened to Sumire.As for what happened, Min didn't know;
(2) I must race against time to get there.Sumire wants me too (Min thinks).
I stared at the paper without moving, and drew a horizontal line under "don't know" and "think" with a ballpoint pen.
(1) What happened to Sumire.As for what happened, Min didn't know;
(2) I must race against time to get there.Sumire wants me too (Min thinks).
What happened to Sumire on that Greek island?I can't figure it out, but it's definitely in the bad category.The question is how bad.Even if it's bad, there's nothing you can do until morning.I sat on a chair with my feet on the table, reading a book and waiting for dawn.The sky is not bright at all.
At dawn, I took the Chuo Line to Shinjuku, where I changed to an express train bound for Narita to go to the airport.At nine o'clock, I turned to the information desks of several airlines, only to learn that there was no direct flight from Narita to Athens.After many twists and turns, I bought a business class ticket from KLM Airlines to Amsterdam.From there you can fly to Athens.After arriving in Athens, transfer to the domestic route of Olympic Air and fly directly to Rhodes. KLM can book tickets on your behalf.As long as there are no problems, the two transfers should be regarded as a smooth meeting, at least in terms of time is the best solution.The date of the return trip is random, any day within three months from the departure date is fine.I paid for the ticket with a credit card.
"Do you have checked luggage?" I said no.
There was still some time before takeoff, so we had breakfast at the airport restaurant.I withdraw cash with my bank card and exchange it for US dollar traveler's checks.After that, I bought a Greek travel guide in the bookstore in the departure hall.The brochure didn't have the name of Min's island, but I needed to know the basics about Greek currency, local conditions, and the climate.Apart from ancient history and a few plays, I know as little about the country of Greece as I do about the geology of Jupiter or the engines of a Ferrari.Before that, I never thought that I would have a trip to Greece, at least not before two o'clock in the morning this day.
Around noon, I called a good colleague and said that a relative of mine had an accident and was leaving Tokyo for a week, and I asked her to help me with school affairs. "Okay," she said.We have taken care of each other like this a few times before, without talking. "Where are we going, then?" she asked. "Shikoku." I said.After all, it's hard to say that I will go to Athens.
"It's far enough. But you have to come back when school starts. If you can, buy some special products." She said.
"Naturally." I said.After this, there is no way to think about it.
I went to the lounge for business class, got into the sofa and slept for a while.Did not sleep well.The world loses its core of reality.The colors are not natural, the details are lifeless, the background is paper paste, the stars are cut out of silver paper, the paste and nail heads are visible.No, the announcer's voice came: "Passengers flying to Paris on Air France Flight 275..." I was thinking about Sumire in this disembodied sleep—or incomplete awakening.The various times and spaces that I experienced with her came to my mind intermittently like old documentaries.But amidst the hustle and bustle of this crowded airport, the world Sumire and I shared seemed bleak, half-dead, and disorganized.Neither of us has decent intelligence, and we have no ability to make up for it, and we have no backing we can count on.We are infinitely close to zero, our existence is insignificant, but being rushed from one "nothing" to the next "nothing".
I opened my eyes from unpleasant sweat, and the soaked shirt was sticky to my chest.Fatigue, swollen legs, and the feeling of swallowing a cloudy sky in one gulp.His face was probably quite ugly.The waitress in the lounge asked me worriedly as she walked by. "It's okay, it's just a bit of heat stroke." I said.She asked if she wanted a cold drink, I thought about it and asked her for a beer.She brought cold towels, Heineken, and a bag of salted and dried peanuts.After wiping off the sweat from his face and drinking half of the beer, his mood somewhat recovered, and he was able to sleep for a while.
The flight to Amsterdam left Narita Airport almost on time, crossed the Arctic Ocean, and landed in Amsterdam.During this time, I drank a couple of whiskeys, woke up and ate a little supper in order to sleep again.Since I have almost no appetite, I don't want breakfast.I was too lazy to think about useless things and spent most of my waking hours watching Conrad.
I changed planes, disembarked at Athens Airport, moved to the adjacent terminal, and boarded the Boeing 727 to Rhodes almost without waiting.The cabin is filled with beaming young people from all over the world, all well-tanned and covered in T-shirts, cardigans and half-cut jeans.Most of the men wore beards (or forgot to shave them), and their long, unkempt hair was tied back in a bunch.My attire—beige shorts, white half-sleeved polo shirt, dark blue cloth jacket—was uncomfortable and out of place.I even forgot to bring my sunglasses.But who can blame me?Until just now, I was still struggling with the raw wet garbage left in the kitchen in Kunitachi.
I inquired about the ferry to the island at the information desk at Rhodes airport.Knowing that the pier is not far from the airport, I can go there immediately to catch the evening class. "Won't the ferry be full?" I added for the sake of caution. "It's okay to have one or two more people when it's full." A woman with a pointed nose who couldn't understand her age frowned and waved her hands again and again, "It's not an elevator."
I hailed a taxi and rushed to the pier.I asked the driver to drive as fast as possible, but there seemed to be no communication.There is no air-conditioning in the car, and the hot wind carrying white ash blows through the wide open windows.On the way, the driver kept making long and stinky remarks about the common currency of the European Community in vulgar English that smelled of sweat.I responded with a polite grunt, practically a deaf ear.I squint my eyes and look out the window at the dizzying Rhode Island street scene.There was not a cloud in the sky, and there was no sign of rain.The sun baked the stone walls of every house.Gnarled and dusty trees, people sat in the shade or under protruding awnings, silently surveying the world.As my eyes kept chasing such a scene, I gradually lost confidence and doubted whether I had come to the right place.However, the colorful advertisements for cigarettes and wine written in Greek wrap the sides of the road from the airport to the urban area in a non-mythical way—clearly telling me that this is Greece.
The evening ferry has not yet left the shore.The boat was bigger than expected and there was room for a car at the aft end of the deck, where two mid-size trucks with boxes of food and groceries and an old boxy Pugio were waiting to sail.I bought a ticket to get on the boat, and as soon as I sat down on the deck seat, the cable that fixed the boat to the pier was untied, and the motor let out a heavy roar.I took a deep breath and looked up at the sky.All I have to do is wait for this ship to take me to the island I want to go to.
I took off the cloth coat that had soaked up sweat and dust, folded it and put it in my handbag.It was five o'clock in the evening, the sun was still high in the sky, and the light was overwhelming.However, under the canvas tent, letting the wind blowing from the bow of the ship blow over my body, I can still feel that my mood is calming down a little bit.Gone are the gloomy thoughts that had captured me in the Narita airport lounge, leaving only a somewhat bitter aftertaste in my mouth.
The island I went to seems not very popular as a tourist spot, and there are only a handful of tourists on the deck.Most of the passengers are locals who have gone to Rhode Island to finish their daily chores, and most of them are old people.They put the things they bought carefully under their feet as if they were dealing with vulnerable animals, their faces were invariably grooved, and invariably lacked expression.The scorching sun and the rigors of physical labor had robbed expressions from their faces.
There were also a few young soldiers, with eyes as clear as those of children, and the backs of their khaki military shirts were black with sweat.Two hippie-looking tourists, both skinny, long-legged and aggressive-eyed, slumped on the floor with their backpacks in their arms.There is also a Greek girl in a long skirt in her twenties, with dark and deep eyes, a kind of predestined beauty.She let the wind blow her long hair, and said something to her girlfriend with relish, with a soft smile on the corner of her mouth all the time, as if hinting at the location of beautiful things.The big metal earrings flash brightly against the sun from time to time.The young soldier held on to the railing of the deck, and while smoking with a very deep expression, he sent short glances at the girl from time to time.
I drank the lemon soda I bought at the canteen, looking at the blue sea and the small islands emerging from it.Almost all the islands are not islands but more like rocks, with no one on them, no water, no plants, and only white seabirds squat on the top to search for fish shadows, and the birds don't even look at them when the boat passes by.Waves lapped against the bottom of the rock mass, splashing and fringing them with dazzling white.From time to time, inhabited islands can be seen, on which there are sparsely grown trees, and white-walled houses are scattered on the slope.In the small bay, there are dark and bright boats floating, with tall masts arcing in the waves.
A wrinkled old man sitting next to me persuaded me to smoke, I gestured no, thank you.He persuaded him with mint gum instead, and I happily took it, chewing and continuing to look at the sea.
It was past seven when the ferry arrived at the island.After all, the intensity of the sun has been reduced, but the summer sky is still bright, or rather, it is getting brighter.The name of the island is written in big black characters on the white wall of the port building, just like a house number.As soon as the ship docked at the pier, passengers carrying things lined up to get off the trestle one by one.In front of the port is an open-air cafe, where the people who pick up the boat wait for those who want to pick up to get off.
When I got off the boat, I searched for Min's figure, but I couldn't find a woman who looked like her.Several private inn operators approached me and asked me if I was looking for a place to live. Every time I shook my head and said no, but they still put their business cards in my hands.
After getting off the boat, people dispersed in their respective directions.People who come back from shopping go back to their homes, and tourists go to a hotel or private inn somewhere.The people who picked up the boat also ran into someone they were going to pick up, and after hugging or shaking hands for a while, they disappeared together.Two trucks and a Pugio box car had disembarked as well, speeding away without the sound of their engines.The cats and dogs who gathered driven by curiosity disappeared without a trace.In the end all that was left was a bunch of tanned old men with nothing to do and me - me with a plastic sports bag that didn't fit the occasion.
I sat down at a cafe table, ordered an iced tea, and began to think about what to do next.But I can't do anything.The night is coming, and I can't touch the east, west, north and south.There's nothing I can do here right now.If no one comes after waiting for a while, we can only stay there first, and come here again at the early boat time tomorrow.I don't think Min's going to let me get away with a moment of inattention.Because according to Sumire, she is a very cautious and well-behaved woman.If you can't come to the pier, there should be some reason.Or maybe Min didn't expect me to come so soon.
The stomach is so hungry, the surging feeling of empty stomach seems to be faintly visible on the other side of the body.Probably only then did the body realize that after going out to sea, it just sucked in the fresh air and nothing was put into the stomach from morning till night.But I didn't want to be wrong about my allergies, so I decided to endure it in this cafe for a while.From time to time, a local person walked past me and glanced at my face with some novelty.
I bought an English booklet about the history and geography of the island at the newsstand next to the cafe, and drank the weird-tasting coffee while flipping through it.The population of the island ranges from 3,000 to 6,000, depending on the season.The population rises somewhat in summer when tourists increase, and falls in winter as people go out to work.There is no decent industry on the island, and the crops are limited. It produces nothing more than olives and several kinds of fruits.The rest is fishing and sponge mining.Therefore, after entering this century, many residents immigrated to the United States, most of whom lived in Florida, because the experience of fishing and sponge picking could come in handy.It is said that there is a town in Florida whose name is taken from the name of their island.There is a military radar facility on the top of the island.Another small port near the civilian port where I am now is used by military guard boats.Because it is close to the Turkish border, it is necessary to prevent the other party from breaking the border and smuggling, so soldiers can be seen on the street.If there is a dispute with Turkey (in fact, there are also small frictions), the ships will come in and out frequently.
In BC, Greek civilization was surrounded by historical glory-in that era, the island prospered as a trade transit port, because it was located on the main road of Asian trade, and at that time the mountains were lush with trees, so the shipbuilding industry also flourished .However, with the decline of Greek civilization and the subsequent removal of all the trees on the mountain (Run Lu never returned to the island after that), the island quickly eclipsed.Soon the Turks came, and their rule was cruel and thorough. If it was a little unsatisfactory, the Turks would cut off people's noses and ears like pruning trees in the yard-so it was written in the book.At the end of the nineteenth century, after several bloody battles with the Turkish army, the island finally gained independence, and the port began to roll over the blue and white flag of Greece.Soon Hitler's army came, and they set up a radar station on the top of the mountain to monitor the sea, because this area has the widest view.British planes had flown in from Malta to drop bombs in an attempt to blow it up.Not only the hilltop base, but also the port was bombed, sinking innocent fishing boats and killing several fishermen.More Greeks than Germans died in this bombing, and some in the village still hold a grudge against it.
Like most of the islands of Greece, this island has few flat lands, and the steep and unforgiving mountains occupy almost all areas, and the settlement of people is limited to the southern coast near the harbour.Although there are quiet and beautiful beaches in places far away from human settlements, there are no pleasant beaches in places with convenient transportation.This is probably one of the reasons why it is difficult for tourists to increase.There are several Greek Orthodox monasteries scattered in the mountains, but the monks strictly abide by the rules and regulations, and do not receive visitors who want to come.
Judging from the guidebook only, this small Greek island is really ordinary, with no special features at all.I don’t know why, but some British people seem to have a special liking for this island (the British are always eccentric). They built summer villas on the high platform near the port with extraordinary enthusiasm.Especially in the late 1960s, several British writers wrote novels here looking at the blue sea and white clouds, and several of their works received quite high literary evaluations.For this reason the island has acquired a certain romantic reputation in English literature.However, the Greeks living on the island seem to be almost indifferent to such a glorious cultural aspect of their island.
I read these accounts like this, to dilute my hunger.After reading, close the book and look around again.The old people in the cafe seem to be taking a long-term vision test, and they are still looking at the sea endlessly.The hour hand has passed eight o'clock, and the hunger is almost painful at this time.The smell of roasted meat and grilled fish came from nowhere, tightly strangling my internal organs like a torturer.I couldn't bear it anymore, leaned over and left my seat, and just as I was about to find a restaurant with my bag in hand, a woman quietly appeared.
Facing the sun that finally slanted down on the west sea, the woman swayed her knee-length white skirt and walked down the stone steps quickly.A pair of tennis shoes on the feet, the steps are not big, but very energetic.He was wearing a light green sleeveless shirt, a narrow-brimmed hat on his head, and a small cloth satchel on his shoulder.Because the footwork is very conventional and natural, and it blends in with the surrounding scenery, I thought it was a local woman at first.But she came straight towards me, and when she got closer, she could see that she was from the East.Almost reflexively, I sat back in my chair and stood up again.The woman took off her sunglasses and said my name.
"I'm sorry for being late," she said. "I went to the police station here. The procedures are really troublesome. I didn't expect you to arrive today. I thought it would be noon tomorrow at the earliest."
"The transfer went smoothly," I said.police station?
Min looked straight at me and smiled. "Talk while you eat, if you can. I've had breakfast early, till now. How are you, hungry?"
Hungry, I say.
She took me to the first restaurant behind the port.There is a large charcoal grill next to the door, and you can see fresh fish and shellfish just out of the sea when they are grilled on the wire net.She asked me if I like fish, I said yes.Min took her order from the waiter in a few fragments of Greek.Large glasses of white wine, bread and olives are placed on the table first.We didn't exchange many greetings, and we didn't say cheers, we just poured the white wine into our glasses and drank it.To ease the pangs of the empty stomach, I popped coarse bread and olives into my mouth first.Min is beautiful.This was the plain and simple fact that I first accepted.Maybe it's not so clear and simple in fact, it may be my big illusion, or it's just that I was swallowed up by the river of other people's dreams that cannot be changed for some reason.Looking at it now, I think that possibility cannot be denied at all.At that time, all I could conclude was that I accepted her as a beautiful woman.
There were several rings on Min's slender fingers.One was a simple gold wedding ring.While I was quickly summarizing the first impression she gave me in my head, Min lifted the wine glass to her lips from time to time and looked at me with pleasant eyes. "It doesn't feel like we're meeting each other for the first time," Min said, "I'm afraid it's because I hear about you often."
"I often hear about you from Sumire."
Min smiled.The fine lines around the eyes appear only when you smile. "Then, I don't need to introduce myself here."
I nod.
What I like most about Min is that she has no intention of hiding her age.Sumire said she should be thirty-eight or thirty-nine, but she actually looked thirty-eight or thirty-nine.Because of her beautiful skin and her well-proportioned and slender figure, if she put on proper makeup, some people would believe that she was in her twenties, but she didn't deliberately do that.It seemed that Min honestly accepted age as a natural fringe and skillfully synchronized herself with it.
She put an olive into her mouth, pinched the olive pit with her fingers, and threw it into the ashtray gracefully, like a poet counting punctuation marks.
"I'm sorry for calling suddenly in the middle of the night." Min said, "It would be nice if I could explain it more clearly, but I couldn't figure it out at the time, and I didn't know where to start. I still can't figure it out now, but at least the confusion has come to an end. I think."
"What the hell happened?" I asked.
Min crossed her fingers on the table, released them, and crossed them again.
"Sumire is missing."
"disappeared?"
"Like smoke." Min took a sip of the wine and continued: "It's a long story, but I think it's better to start from the beginning. Otherwise, it's difficult to convey the subtle meaning, because the matter itself is very subtle. But let's finish the meal first. It's not an urgent moment where every second counts, and your brain won't work well if you're hungry. Besides, the conversation in this place is too noisy."
The restaurant was packed with local guests, and people were gesticulating and shouting loudly.To avoid yelling, Min and I had to lean over the table and talk forehead to ear to hear each other.Grecian salad was served in large bowls and a large fish was grilled.Min sprinkled salt on the fish, squeezed half a lemon and drizzled it with olive oil.I did the same.As she suggested, it is necessary to fill the belly first.
She asked me how long I could stay here, and I replied that school would start in a week, and I had to rush back before school started, otherwise it would be somewhat troublesome.Min nodded in a businesslike manner, then pursed her lips, thinking about something in her head, neither saying "it doesn't matter, I can go back before then", nor "I'm afraid it will be difficult to settle".She made her own judgment on this issue, stuffed the conclusion into a drawer, and continued to eat silently.
After eating and drinking coffee, Min brought up the plane ticket money and asked if I would like to have a traveler's check in US dollars for that part of the money, or transfer it to my bank account after returning to Tokyo, and asked which method was suitable.I said that I am not short of money right now, and the fee is still affordable.Min insisted that she pay. "I begged you to come," she said.
I shook my head and said, "It's not that I'm being polite. If the time is delayed, maybe I will come here on my own initiative. That's what I want to say."
Min pondered for a moment, then nodded. "Thank you so much, thank you for being here - it's hard for me to put into words."
Walking out of the hotel, the bright twilight like dye poured over the surroundings.The color is so blue that it seems that every breath in the lungs will be dyed blue.Stars began to flicker slightly in the sky.After dinner, the locals walked out of their homes and wandered around the port as if they had finally mentioned the staggering summer sun.There are families, couples, and close friends.The fragrance of the sea tide at the end of the day envelops the street.Min and I walked together.The right side of the road was lined with shops, taverns, and sidewalk restaurants with wooden shuttered windows lit with soft yellow lights and Greek music streaming from the radio.The sea water on the left side of the road stretches away, and the waves under the night are steadily beating against the pier.
"It's going uphill after a while," Min said. "The slope is steep and gentle. The stone steps are closer. Which way to go?"
I said it doesn't matter.
Narrow stone steps go up the slope, long and steep.But Min, who was wearing tennis shoes, was never tired, and her rhythm was not chaotic at all. The skirt swayed comfortably in front of my eyes, and her tanned and well-shaped calf shone in the light of the almost full moon.I was so tired that I couldn't breathe, and I stopped from time to time, gasping for breath.As we climbed higher, the lights of the port became farther and farther away and smaller.The various livelihoods of the men and women who were around us just now have been sucked into the nameless chain of light.The side night scene is so impressive that I really want to cut it out with scissors and press it on the wall of memory with a thumbtack.
They lived in a small villa with a balcony facing the sea.White walls and red tiles, window frames painted dark green.On the low stone fence around the house, red bougainvilleas were in full bloom.She opened the locked door and let me in.The coolness in the house makes people feel comfortable.There is a living room, a small dining room and a kitchen.The walls are white lime walls, with abstract paintings hanging everywhere.The living room has a set of sofas, bookcases and a small stereo.Two questions about the bedroom.Although the bathroom is not big, it is tiled and clean.None of the furniture is particularly eye-catching, giving people a natural sense of intimacy.
Min took off her hat, took her satchel off her shoulders, put it on the kitchen table, and asked me if I would like a drink or take a shower first.I said I wanted to shower first.I wash my hair, shave with a razor, blow dry my hair, and change into a new T-shirt and shorts.So the mood is somewhat back to normal.When washing your face, there are two toothbrushes under the mirror, one with a blue handle and one with a red handle.Which one is Viola?Turning back to the living room, I saw Min sitting in an easy chair with a brandy glass in his hand.She tried to persuade me with the same thing, but I wanted a cold beer.I opened the refrigerator myself, took out the Amsterdam beer, and poured it into a tall glass.Min sank into the easy chair and remained silent for a long time.Compared with the words to search for, she seems to be immersed in a personal memory that has no beginning and no end.
"How long have you been here?" I broke the silence.
"Eight days until today, I think." Min Yue said after thinking for a while.
"So, Sumire disappeared from here?"
"Yes. As I said just now, it disappeared like smoke."
"When?"
"Four nights ago." She looked around the room as if groping for something to grab, "Where should I start?"
I said: "From Milan to Paris, and then to Burgundy by train - I know the previous situation from Sumire's letter. Sumire and you live in a village the size of your friend's estate in Burgundy. .”
"Well, let's start there," Min said.
"I used to be very good friends with the winemakers near that village, and I can say that I am very familiar with the wines they make. Including what kind of wine is produced from the grapes on which slope in which field, and the climate of that year What is the influence of the smell of alcohol, which person is honest and serious, which son is eager to help his father, who owes a lot of debts, who bought a Citroen car, etc. The wine room is the same as the British thoroughbred racehorse, If you don’t know the lineage and the latest information, you can’t do business. You can’t do business just knowing the taste is good or bad.”
Min stopped there, adjusted her breathing, and seemed to be hesitating whether to continue.But she continued on.
"I have several purchasing points in Europe, but the village in Burgundy is the most important. So I try to stay there for as long as possible every year to catch up with old friends and get new information. I used to go alone, but this year due to I want to go to Italy first. It’s hard enough to travel alone for a long time. In addition, I let Sumire learn Italian, so I decided to take her with me. If I think it’s better to go alone, I plan to make a clever move before going to France. Find a reason to send her back. I was used to traveling alone when I was young, and no matter how good the relationship is, it is still enough to meet people from morning to night every day, isn't it?
"But Sumire was more capable than I expected, and took the initiative to undertake chores - buying tickets, booking hotels, negotiating prices, keeping accounts, finding local restaurants with good reviews, etc. Her Italian has improved considerably, and it is even more valuable. It is full of healthy curiosity, this and that made me experience a lot of things that I can't experience when I travel alone. I didn't expect to be so happy with other people. Maybe Sumire and I have some kind of special and spiritual connection let's go."
"I still clearly remember talking about Sputnik when we met for the first time. She talked about writers in the beat generation, and I misunderstood Sputnik. We laughed, and the formality of the first meeting disappeared. Flying with wings. Do you know what Sputnik means in Russian? It means "traveling companion" in English - "traveling companion". I only found out when I checked the dictionary occasionally recently. It is really an inexplicable coincidence when I think about it. But then again Well, why did the Russians give artificial satellites such a weird name? It's just a poor iron lump that goes around the earth endlessly."
Min stops here.Think about something for a moment.
"So, I took Sumire directly to Burgundy. During the time when I was talking about business with old friends in the village, Sumire, who could not speak French, borrowed a car to go for a drive nearby. In a town, I happened to meet a rich Spanish man. The old lady got better all of a sudden while chatting in Spanish. The old lady introduced Sumire to an English man who lived in the same hotel. He was in his fifties. What writing. Probably gay, I think, because he walks around with a boyfriend-looking secretary.
"I was also introduced to them and had dinner together. They are all nice people who make people feel happy. In addition, when we talked, we learned that we had a few mutual friends, which made us hit it off even more.
"The British gp mentioned to us that he has a small villa on an island in Greece. If you are interested, you can use it. He said that in previous summers, he would stay for about a month, but this year, the trip to Greece is difficult. And it’s not good for a house to be inhabited, and the management staff will make omissions.’ So, if it doesn’t cause trouble. Just use it’——this is the villa now.”
Min scanned the room.
"I went to Greece once when I was a student. Although I took a yacht and went around the island in a hurry, I was still completely fascinated by this country. Therefore, it is really tempting to borrow a house on an island in Greece. Suggestion, of course Sumire also wants to go. I suggested that since I rented a villa, I should pay the rent, but the other party refused to agree, saying, "I'm not in the villa rental business." After several rounds of discussion, it was finally decided to go to his The family in London sent a dozen red wines as a thank you.
"Life on the island is like a dream. I was able to put aside my schedule and enjoy a pure vacation - I haven't had this in a long time. Coincidentally, the communication is like this, and the phone, fax and Internet are not available. I don't go back home on schedule, maybe some It caused a little trouble for Tokyo, but once here, it doesn't matter.
"We got up early, packed our bags with towels, water, and sunscreen, and headed to the beach on the other side of the mountain. The coast was breathtakingly beautiful. The sand was white and white, with no variegation, and almost no waves. But Due to the inconvenient location, there are very few people here, especially in the morning. There, both men and women swim naked indifferently. We also imitate others, naked in the blue and clear water in the morning as if we were just born游泳，痛快得真是无法形容，就像阴差阳错到了另一世界。
“游累了，堇和我就倒在沙滩晒太阳。互看裸体这点一开始不好意思，但习惯了也就没什么了。肯定是场合的关系。两人互相往后背涂防晒油，躺在太阳下看书打盹，或者天南海北地闲聊。没想到自由这东西竟是这样悠然自得。
“从海滩翻山回来，淋浴完毕，简单吃口饭，一起走下石阶上街。在港口咖啡馆喝茶，买英文报纸看，在商店采购食品，然后回家。再往下就分别在阳台看书，或在客厅听音乐，如此直到傍晚。堇有时像是在自己房间写东西，因为便携式电脑开着，她在啪嗒啪嗒晤地敲键盘。黄昏时分常出去看渡轮靠岸的情景。我们—边喝冷饮，一边乐此不疲地打量下船的男男女女。”
“感觉上就好像自己漂泊在天涯海角，静静地坐在那里，任何人都看不见我。这里只我和堇两人，别的一律不用考虑。我再也不想从这里离开，哪里也不想去，只想永远如此。当然我也清楚这是不可能的。这里的生活不过是一时的幻想，现实迟早要来抓我们，我们必须返回原来的世界，对吧？但我至少要在那个时候到来之前尽情享受每一天。实际上我也在纯粹享受这里的生活。当然我说的是四天之前。”
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Notes: