Chapter 11 8 of Spades...like a whirlwind from a foreign country...

Albert raised his glass and took a sip of wine. Looking at his old face, it was really hard to imagine that this person was the little boy who lost his mother and had no one to rely on.I was also puzzled by the unique friendship that developed between him and Hans the baker. When I first arrived in the village of Dulf, I was as lonely and helpless as Albert in my boyhood. Maybe that's why he took me in.Albert put down his wine glass, picked up an iron rod, poked the fire in the fireplace, and continued: "Everyone in the village knows that the baker Hansi lives in a ten-wooden house on the hill near the village of Dulf. .There were many rumors about this cabin, but as far as I know, no one has ever entered it. So, when I walked to Hans' cabin that night through the snow on the road, I was excited and afraid. I After all, he was the first person to visit the mysterious baker.

"A round of bright moon rises from the mountains in the east, and the sky is full of stars. "When I walked up the hill in front of the wooden house, I suddenly remembered that after the fight that day, Hans bought me a soda, and then told me that one day he would buy me a drink that was a thousand times better than soda. Does this drink have something to do with the big secret he said? "I finally came to the cabin on the ridge.As you probably know, Ludwig, we are sitting in this room right now. "I nodded vigorously to show that I knew. Albert continued: "I walked past the water pump, walked through the snow-covered courtyard, and knocked on the door of the wooden house.Hans answered from the house: 'Come in, my boy!'"

"When I heard it, I thought it was weird, because I was only twelve years old at the time, and my biological father was still alive, living with me on the farm. It's always not appropriate to be treated as a son by others. "I walked into the house and it felt like I had suddenly entered another world. Hans was sitting in a deep rocking chair. Around him, there were glass tanks with goldfish all around the house. Every one in the house There seems to be a small rainbow jumping around the corner. "Besides the goldfish, there were all kinds of weird things in the house that left me dumbfounded. It took me years to figure out what those things were.

"Now let me tell you one by one: model ships in bottles, conch shells, Buddha statues, gems, Australian Aboriginal hunting boomerangs, puppets, ancient short and long swords, various knives and Pistols, Persian mattresses, rugs woven from vicuña hair. What attracted me the most was a monster made of glass. It had a pointed head and six feet. It felt like it was blown from a foreign country—: A whirlwind. Some of these things I had heard people say, but only seen pictures of them years later; "The atmosphere in the room was completely different from what I had imagined.I felt that I was not a guest at the house of Hans the baker, but an old sailor.Oil lamps were lit around the room, but these lamps were not the same as the paraffin oil lamps we usually use.I guess they were brought back from the boat by the owner.

"Hans told me to sit in a chair by the fire. Ludwig, that's the chair you're sitting in. Do you know that?" I nodded again. "Before I sat down, I walked around the cozy hut and looked at the goldfish. Some were red, yellow, and orange; others were green, blue, and purple. The goldfish I I've only seen it once before. It was on the little table in the back room of Hans' bakery. While Hans was kneading the bread, I always stood in front of the glass and watched the goldfish swim in the water, having fun. "After viewing the goldfish in the house, I went up to Hans and said to him: 'You have a lot of goldfish at home! Can you tell me where you caught them?'" Hans giggled Get up: 'Child, don't worry, I will tell you when the time is right.Tell me, do you want to be a baker in the village of Dürf when I am gone?" "I was only a boy, but I made up my mind that I would be a baker.

I have nothing in this world to depend on but Hans and his bakery. My mother has passed away, my father only knows how to drink all day long and ignores my life and death at all, and my brothers and sisters have all moved to live in other places. "So I formally stated my will to Hans: 'I decided to engage in the bread business.'" Hans nodded: "I also agree.Well... after I pass away, you have to help me take care of these goldfish.You still have a task - as the guardian of the rainbow soda, must not let this secret leak out! '"'What is rainbow soda?'" Hans raised his gray eyebrows and whispered, "Son, you'll know once you taste it. '"'How does it taste like?'" Hans kept shaking his white-haired head: "Ordinary soda has only one flavor, either orange, pear or strawberry.But, Albert, rainbow soda is something else entirely.This soda contains a variety of flavors, and you can taste all the fruits in the world with just one sip, even fruits you have never eaten before and various strawberries at the same time. '" I swallowed hard and said, 'That must be delicious.

"Hans snorted and sneered: 'Ha! It's more than delicious! When you drink ordinary soda, you can only taste it with your mouth—first with your tongue and palate, then with your throat, that's all. Drink rainbow Soda is different. You can taste it with your nose and your head, and then let the taste travel down your limbs, into your whole body.'" I shook my head: 'You must be kidding me, aren't you? Hans was stunned, not knowing how to answer for a while. "'What color is rainbow soda?'" Hans laughed: "My child, you have so many questions! It is a good habit to ask questions, but some questions are really difficult to answer.I'd better pull out the rainbow soda and let you see for yourself. '" Hans got up from the rocking chair, walked to a door leading to the small bedroom, and pushed it open. There was a glass tank in the room, and there was a goldfish in it. Hans drew a ladder from under the bed. I found a small door in the ceiling, which was locked with a heavy padlock. Hans climbed up the ladder, then took the key from his shirt pocket, and opened the small door in the attic.

"He said to me: 'Children come on up!For more than fifty years, only I have ever come up. I followed him up to the attic. "Moonlight streamed in through a small window in the roof, and fell on the dusty and cobweb-covered old box and the ship's bell. It wasn't just the moonlight that illuminated the attic. In addition to the pale blue moonlight, there was a twinkle in the attic." With a bright light, like a brilliant rainbow. ——"After entering the attic, Hans immediately walked to a corner, stretched out his hand and pointed. Under the sloping roof, an ancient bottle stood on the floor. The bottle emitted an incomparably gorgeous light, which made me feel dizzy for a while. , and hastily closed his eyes. It was just a transparent glass bottle, but the things inside were colorful and very magnificent.

"Hans picked up the bottle. The contents inside flickered like liquid diamonds. "I lowered my voice and asked timidly: 'What is this thing?'" Hans' face became very serious.He said: 'Boy, this is Rainbow Soda.This is the only bottle left in the world. '" I held out my hand, pointed to a small wooden box and asked, 'What's this again?' The box contained a stack of dusty old playing cards. The top card was 'Spades 8'. I have to look carefully to see the word '8' in the upper left corner. "Hans put his finger to his lips and whispered: 'That's Frode's card.' "Who is Frode?" said Hans: "I'll tell you later.Now we take this bottle downstairs to the living room. '"Hans held the bottle, walked through the attic, and walked to the small door in the ceiling. At first glance, he looked like an old monster with a lantern in his hand, but the light emitted by the lantern was not A circle of light, but thousands of colorful, jumping rays of light.

"We went down to the living room. Hans set the bottle on a table in front of the fireplace. In the light of the bottle, all the strange things in the room were dyed a bright color. The Buddha turned green, The old revolvers glowed blue, the boomerang was red like blood. "I asked again: 'Is this a rainbow' soda?" Hans replied: 'Yes, the last bottle.It's gone after drinking it.That's fine, anyway, such a good thing is not suitable for public sale in the store. '" He took a small cup, uncapped it, and poured only two drops of water into the cup. The two drops of water lay at the bottom of the cup, shining like two snowflakes. Hans said: "Two drops are enough." "I was a little surprised: 'Can't I drink more?'" The old man Hans just shook his head: "A small sip is enough. The taste of a drop of rainbow soda can last for many hours." "I still Not giving up: 'Okay, I'll drink one drop today and another drop tomorrow morning. ’” Hans shook his head even harder: “No, no! After drinking this drop today, you must never drink it again. This kind of soda is so delicious. After you drink the first drop, you may want to drink it Stolen the whole bottle. After you leave, I have to put this soda back in the attic and lock it up.

I'll tell you the story of Floyd's Solitaire another day.After you know what happened to him, you will understand my painstaking efforts.You really can't drink too much of this kind of thing!' "I asked curiously: 'Have you ever drank it yourself?' "'I drank it once, and that was more than 50 years ago. ’” Hans got up from his chair by the fireplace, took the bottle of soda that looked like liquid diamonds into the cubicle, and put it away. "He went back into the living room, put his hands on my shoulders and said, 'Drink it boy, this moment is going to be the biggest turning point in your life. You'll never forget it in your life, but this moment will never Come back again.'" I picked up the little cup and drank two glistening drops from the bottom.The moment the first drop of soda touched the tip of my tongue, a strong desire swept through my body.At first, I tasted all the good things I've tasted before; then a thousand other things came flooding me in like a tidal wave. , "Hans was right—the taste begins on the tip of the tongue. But my feet and arms also taste strawberry, caneberry, apple, and banana. Through the tip of my little finger I can taste honey; Through my toes, I can taste pickled pears. My lower back tastes the custard jellies sold in candy stores. I can smell my mother's body odor all over my body. I have forgotten the smell, although , since my mother passed away, I have been missing her deodorant. "After the first scent storm subsided, it felt like my body contained the whole world—yes, I seemed to be the whole world. Suddenly, I felt that all the forests, lakes, mountains and fields on the earth had become my body Even though my mother passed away many years ago, it felt like she was standing outside the house..." I looked at the green Buddha statue, and it seemed to be laughing.I looked at the two swords hanging crossed on the wall, they seemed to be fighting.The ship in a bottle that I saw as soon as I stepped into the cabin was on top of a large cupboard.In a trance, I felt that I was standing on the deck of that ancient sailing ship, riding the wind and waves, sailing to a verdant island in the distance. "I heard a voice in my ear say, 'Is it delicious?' It was Hans the baker. He leaned down and reached out to stroke my hair. 'Hmmm...' was all I could say because I didn't know what to say. "To this day, I still don't know how to put it. I can't really describe what Rainbow Soda tastes like; it tastes like everything. I just know that every time I think back to how amazing it tasted, I can't hold back my tears It bursts out of my eyes."