Chapter 2 Chapter Two: The Story of Leopard Girl

"She looks young and charming. She is about 25 years old. She has a petite round face. She has a smooth and wide forehead, a small nose, plump cheeks, and a pointed chin, a bit like a cat. She is burying herself in drawing a picture. And from time to time, she raised her head and stared at the 'model' of the painting: a black panther in an iron cage in the zoo. At first, the black panther was still lying quietly in the cage. But when the girl moved the easel and moved the chair, she made a noise. After making a noise, the black panther suddenly found her, and began to walk back and forth restlessly, and then roared at her. With his angry face, he didn't know whether he wanted to tear her into pieces to have a good meal, or he was pregnant. What more evil nature drives it to do something. You know, this is a male leopard!

"It's winter at this time, and the sky is freezing. The trees in the park are bare, there is not a single leaf in sight, and there are few tourists in the park. In front of the giraffe iron cage a little farther away from the black panther, a teacher led several A little boy stood there watching. It was so cold that they couldn't bear the cold and left early. Only the girl didn't care about the weather, sitting alone on the folding chair she brought with her, concentrating on Drawing of a black panther. Her legs are crossed, and her black nail polish toes are exposed at the front of a pair of black high-heeled leather shoes. She wears gloves, but she took off her right glove for the sake of drawing, so The long fingernails were also painted with black nail polish, and the slender fingers were blown purple by the cold wind. She had to stop painting and stuffed her hands into the plush coat. The coat she was wearing Much like the skin of a Persian cat, only thicker.

"Suddenly, she heard a 'crack' sound behind her. Someone struck a match, which really shocked her. She turned around quickly, and there was a young man standing upright behind him. He was not very handsome, But there is a pleasing face. He touched the brim of his hat with his hands casually, as if introducing himself and expressing apology. The girl was relieved, because judging from his face, he was gentle and understanding The other type of person. He said 'I'm sorry'. When the girl replied, she smoothed her hair that was blown by the wind with her hands. Unexpectedly, when she let go, the paper on the clip fell off, and a gust of wind blew her away. The drawing paper was gone. The young man chased after him without saying a word, and picked up the few sheets of paper. He apologized to the girl awkwardly. The girl told him that her name was Elena, a refugee, and she studied in Budapest before the war. Art, fled to New York after the outbreak of the Great War. The young man asked her if she missed her hometown? A layer of dark clouds covered her eyes, and her expression became gloomy. The girl said that she was not from the city, she grew up in a mountain village, and her hometown was far away Carpathians.

"After hearing this, the lad expressed his desire to see her again. The girl told him that she would come to paint again tomorrow afternoon.Recently, as long as there is sunshine, she will come here.This guy is an architect. "The next afternoon, the young man was working on the design with his colleagues and the female assistant. After 8 o'clock, the sun was setting in the west. He couldn't wait to put down the compass and ruler, and prepared to go out to the zoo. The young woman The assistant asked him where he was going? Why was he so excited? It turned out that the female assistant had fallen in love with him deeply. The architect left without saying anything, and the female assistant was a little upset. But she didn't want to let people see her disappointment , I buried myself in my work.

"It was still dark when the architect arrived at the zoo out of breath. Everything in the zoo was so clear: the black iron fence, the white tile walls in the cage, and even the gravel road showed a dazzling white, Those tigers, leopards and ferocious beasts all stared at their blood-red eyes, but he didn't see Elena alone. "Days passed, and the architect couldn't forget her. One day, he happened to pass by a street where celebrities lived, and the window of an art gallery caught his attention. All the windows displayed were leopard paintings. Knowing that it was done by one person. The architect stepped into the door and saw Elena accepting congratulations from the guests. The architect hurried up to greet her. He found that Elena had changed, and her eyes were no longer the same as last time. A gloomy look. The architect invited her to eat at the restaurant, and Elena agreed without hesitation. She left the guests behind and went out with the architect.

It was as if she were walking the streets for the first time, as if she had just been released from prison and was free to walk as she pleased. "The architect stopped in front of a restaurant, a Hungarian or Romanian restaurant, thinking that she must love such a place, looking forward to meeting her fellow countrymen here. But things backfired, Elena's face sank, and the architect hurriedly asked her what happened, but the girl lied to him that she remembered the war.At that time, there was indeed a war going on.The architect suggested a different restaurant.Elena knew that the poor boy would have to go back to the studio in a while, so she restrained herself and reluctantly followed the architect into the restaurant.The place is really nice, clean and spacious.Facing the delicious food, Elena felt the joy of life again.

"The architect was also moved. He told her that he just broke into the art gallery just by chance, and he came out to buy a gift for someone else. Elena smiled and said that she was willing to go with him. "Along the way, Elena talked happily. She said that this afternoon was really strange. Although it was not yet three o'clock, it was almost dark. The architect asked curiously why dusk disturbed her , Are you afraid of the dark? Elena nodded and said, yes. The architect stopped in front of a shop. Elena was a little uncomfortable. It turned out that this was an animal shop specializing in selling birds. From the window Looking around, the store is full of birdcages, and all kinds of birds are happily flying up and down on the perches.

"The architect and Elena walked into the store, and the bird seemed to have seen a devil and flew back and forth in panic, flapping its wings and flapping its wings at the cage grille. The owner of the store was stunned and didn't know what was going on. I saw the little bird screaming like a vulture in fright. Elena took the builder by the arm and dragged him out of the animal store. As soon as they left, the bird immediately quieted down. She asked him if he Minding that she just walked away, he smiled. The two agreed to see each other tomorrow night and broke up. The architect returned to the animal store alone, and the lovely birds were singing as always, as if nothing had happened , looking very peaceful. He bought a canary and planned to give it to the female assistant as a birthday present.

"After that, the architect often dated Elena, and they fell in love with each other like crazy. He felt that Elena was so strange and tender, and she was always watching him silently. , caressing him, hugging him. But whenever he wanted to hug and kiss her tightly, she broke away, only willing to let his lips pass by a little. She begged him not to kiss her, but to let her kiss. She kisses very tenderly, like a baby, her lips are full of sensuality, but they are always tightly closed for some reason. "One evening, the architect and Elena visited the restaurant for the second time. It wasn't a first-class restaurant, but it was very quaint, with checkered tablecloths and dark furniture throughout.

Gas lamps were lit all around, and candles were placed on every table.The architect raised his glass and said affectionately that tonight a man in love is waiting for his sweetheart's reply, and he is ready to get married.Elena's eyes filled with tears, and tears of happiness trickled down slowly.The two clinked their wine glasses, and finished the glass of wine without saying anything, and then the four hands were tightly held together. "Suddenly, she let go of his hand: she saw someone approaching their table. It was a woman, very attractive, but somewhat grotesque, even frightening.

This is a woman's face, but also a cat's face.Her squinting eyes are entirely green except for the central pupil which is black.Her skin was very pale, as if she had applied a lot of white powder. Judging by the style of her clothing, she is clearly European.Wearing a dress that dragged to the floor, she walked gracefully to the architect's dining table.A fox suddenly jumped on her shoulder.She stopped at the table and stared at Elena closely, with a look of hatred and trance in her eyes.She spoke to Elena in an incredibly strange language.As a gentleman, the architect saw the woman approaching and got up politely.But the crazy woman didn't even look at him, and spoke to Elena again.I saw Elena replying in the same dialect, but seemed terrified.What are they talking about?The architect could not understand a word, but he understood what the woman said to Elena at the end: 'I recognized you when I saw you, and you know why. see you……. The woman walked away without turning her eyes. Elena was dazed with fright, her eyes were filled with hot tears, and her tears were black, like dirty water in a puddle.She stood up silently and wrapped a long white scarf around her head.The architect hurriedly threw a few banknotes on the table, and walked out of the restaurant with Elena on his arm.On the way, neither of them spoke, but he could see that Elena was scared out of her wits.Looking towards Central Park, the snow is falling slightly, and the swirling snow drowns out any sound. Cars glide across the street almost silently, and the street lights shine brightly in the slowly falling snow.I don't know where the roar of the beast came, and it turns out that the zoo is not far from here.Elena couldn't seem to move, and she begged the architect to hold her tighter.Although the architect held her tightly in his arms, and the howling in the distance seemed to die down, she was still trembling.She told him, almost in a whisper, that she was afraid to go home, afraid to spend the night alone.A taxi drove by and the architect signaled it to stop.The two got into the car quietly.along the way.No one spoke. "They came to the architect's apartment complex. It was a very well-managed apartment complex, with carpeted floors, high roofs, and hand-carved wooden stairs. At the foot of the stairs was a flower bed with a huge palm plant. It was reflected in the tall mirror on the opposite side. Wen Linna looked at herself in the mirror, and looked at her face carefully, as if she wanted to find something from the facial features. There is an elevator in the building, of course it doesn’t matter, Anyway, the architect lived on the ground floor. His room was very spacious, and everything in it was very well arranged, showing the style of the turn of the century. This room used to be occupied by his mother. "What was the architect going to do? He didn't do anything. He knew there must be something tormenting the girl. He poured a glass of wine and a cup of coffee for Elena, and Elena didn't want to drink anything.She asked him to sit down and said she had something to say to him.The architect lit his pipe and looked at her warmly, but she couldn't look him in the face, she just rested her head on his lap.Then she began to tell a terrible legend in the mountains of her homeland, which terrified her even as a child. "That was in the Middle Ages. The mountains were covered by heavy snow, and the village often lost contact with the outside world for several months. The villagers were about to starve to death. All the men went to fight. The hungry tigers, leopards and wolves in the forest all gathered in the villagers. At this time, the devil Satan appeared, and he said that if human beings want to get food from him, they must release a woman. As a result, one of the bravest women in the village came to him. I saw Satan beside him There stood a black panther that was so hungry and greedy. The woman made a deal with him to save her life. I don't know what happened, but the woman gave birth to a daughter with a cat's face. The crusaders came home from the jihad. The woman's husband also returned to his home. When he hugged his wife and kissed, the woman tore him to pieces like a panther tore a human body. The husband died Finally, one of his life and death comrades guessed that his wife must have killed it, so he started to follow her. The woman ran desperately in the snow. The footprints she left on the snow were at first a woman's footprints, but soon reached the forest Suddenly, it turned into the footprints of a black panther. His comrades closely followed the footprints and walked into the depths of the dense forest. It was already dark at this time. Under the night, he saw something lying on the ground, a pair of thieves with bright lights The green eyes were staring at him. The comrade made a cross with the long and short sword in his hand, and the lying thing became a woman again, and she was in a half-sleep, as if under hypnotism. Hearing a roar approaching, it turned out that the beast smelled the smell of the woman and was going to come to have a good meal. The comrade-in-arms was frightened and returned to the village like a dead man. He told the villagers all about it. Since then, the story has been spread Come down. It is said that the race of leopard women has never been cut off, and they still live in the world. Their appearance is the same as that of ordinary women, but if a man kisses any of them, the woman will become a beast. "Elena was terrified by this story since she was a child. She always worried that she was born to this kind of woman. When the architect asked what the woman in the restaurant said to her, she threw herself into his arms and let out a loud voice. She burst into tears. At first she refused to tell the truth, only saying that the woman came to say hello, but then she mustered up the courage to tell the truth. The woman wanted Elena to remember who she was. Of course, just look at the woman’s You can tell that they are sisters because of their faces. She tells Elena to be wary of men. The architect laughs. 'You don't realize,' he said, 'she just sees that you are from the same area. If I saw an American in China, and I would also take the initiative to say hello to him, maybe she is an old-fashioned woman, so she told you to beware of men, don't you understand that?" The architect's words were enough to make Erin Na calmed down. She felt so peaceful that she fell asleep in his arms. The architect carried Di to the sofa, tucked a pillow under her head, and took a blanket from his bed for her. Close it. Seeing that she was already sound asleep, he went back to his room. "At dawn, Elena was awakened by the crowing of the canary in the cage. At first, Elena was afraid to approach it, but the bird's melodious singing made her walk over involuntarily. She watched carefully The bird, with a sigh of relief and content, for the little animals were no longer afraid to see her, went into the kitchen, made buttered toast, cooked porridge, and brought breakfast to the architect's bedside. The architect woke up and was overjoyed to see Elena staying at his house with ease. He asked her if she wanted to live forever and wanted to kiss her, but she wouldn't let him near him. He asked if she was still Willing to marry him. Elena said she would, and she meant it—she didn't want to leave his house again. She looked around the house, drew back the dark velvet curtains that kept the sun out, and beautifully The furniture was exposed in bright light. Elena asked the architect who had chosen the lovely furniture. The architect told her that it was his mother. She was a kind mother, and if she was alive, she must have She will love Elena as much as she loves her own daughter. Elena stepped forward and kissed him on the forehead reverently. She begged him never to leave her, and she wanted to live with him forever. Her whole life The greatest hope is to wake up in the morning and see him close by. As for being a good wife, I hope to give her a period of time until the fear finally disappears. "The architect said yes, and the two were happily married. On the wedding night, she slept on the bed and he lay on the sofa..." Molina's story can't go on.He wanted to tell Valenti why he liked the film.But Valenti either interrupted or mocked the story, much to the chagrin of Molina. Seeing that he was angry, Valenti felt uncomfortable, and said hastily: "Don't be angry, Molina, I was not born to listen to stories quietly. I'm not used to sitting for hours and listening like a fool. Why don't you listen to stories and discuss them, like, Talk about the architect's mother." Seeing Valenti comforting himself, Molina became happy, and he resumed the conversation: "Valenti, I guess, she must be a clean old lady with a lace turtleneck, like all respectable old ladies. Like the wives, they still have a kind of obsequiousness. Although they are old, they still want to be a real woman, so that people will be happy when they see it." Valenti said disapprovingly: "Huh, that kind of old woman must hire someone to serve her. This is exploitation." Molina felt a little puzzled by Valenti's words.Valenti ignored him and said to herself: "If she is happy with her husband, then the husband will inevitably exploit her. The husband forces her to do everything he wants to do, and binds her like a slave in the At home, waiting for him to come home from work in the law firm or the clinic. This type of mother is all for the social system. Instead of resisting, she raised her son to be like a raccoon dog.Now her son happened to meet a leopard girl, he really deserved it. " Molina opened his mouth and wanted to tell about the mother in the story, but Valenti broke his beautiful fantasy. He really didn't know what Valenti was thinking?He wasn't interested in what Valenti was doing, and he wanted to sleep. The story of Leopard Girl was not able to continue until the second night. "That night, the architect slept on the sofa in the living room. He arranged for Elena to see a psychoanalyst, and Elena agreed to his request. The first time she went to see the doctor, she found that the doctor was very He is very handsome, tall, with a broad forehead, and a distinctive look between his brows. His beard is so clean and beautiful. He belongs to the sexy type of man. However, Elena feels the opposite Suppressing her distaste, she sat on the couch and talked about her agitation and distress. At this point she felt uncomfortable and felt insecure with the doctor. She was afraid. She just said She was worried that she could not be a good wife. As for her dreams, especially the nightmare of turning into a black panther, she never mentioned it. The first consultation ended like this. The time for the second consultation came, but Elena was nowhere to be seen. She lied to her husband that she was there, when in fact she went to the park to see the panther. She stood by the cage, seemingly fascinated. She was still wearing the same black plush coat that day , in the sunlight, the black coat gleamed, and the black panther's fur also shone with black luster. The panther walked back and forth in the cage agitatedly, keeping its eyes on the girl. "The breeder came over and unlocked the door lock on the side of the cage. The door was only opened for a moment. After he threw the meat into the cage, he closed it again. Because he was busy arranging the hook for throwing the meat, he forgot to remove it. The key to the lock. Elena saw everything in her eyes, and she didn't make a sound. The breeder picked up a broom and began to clean the shredded paper and cigarette butts around the leopard cage. Elena quietly approached the iron lock, She pulled out the key and looked at it. It was a large key, covered with rust. She stood for a moment in thought. After a few seconds, she walked up to the keeper and handed the key back to him The old man is very grateful. "Eileenna returned home and waited anxiously for her husband to return, but after not seeing him for a long time, Elena became flustered and felt an uncontrollable restlessness in her heart. When her husband opened the door and came in, she rushed forward and hugged him tightly. Looking at him, almost kissing him, she wanted to kiss his lips so much at this moment. The husband also became agitated, and he thought that maybe the psychoanalysis treatment had worked, and the time to live a real married life had finally come. However, he did One thing went wrong, and he asked her how the afternoon consultation was. This made her uncomfortable again. She broke free from his arms and lied to him that she had been there and everything was fine. The architect stared blankly. Seeing her slip away, he had no choice but to grin bitterly and suppress the unhappiness in his heart. "The next day, the architect and his colleagues were working hard in the design room. The female assistant who still cares about him noticed his troubles and suggested to him to buy him a drink after get off work to refresh himself. The architect refused, and he reasoned, "Maybe I've done too much work these days and I'm too tired." The female assistant said infatuatedly that she would stay and help him. After get off work hours passed, the two worked for several days. Hours. The studio is huge, and each architect has his own workbench. Now that the others have gone home, everything in the room is submerged in darkness, except for a lamp with glass that is lit above his desk. The shadows of him and his female assistant were projected on the wall, making people feel ominous. Whenever he or his female assistant picked up a drawing ruler to draw a line, the shadow of the ruler was like a sword. The figure of another person gestured. The room was quiet, and she glanced at him from time to time. Even though she wanted to know the reason for his inner torment, as long as the architect didn't open his mouth, she would never take the initiative to ask. "At this time, Elena was waiting for the architect at home. She called his office, and the assistant answered the phone. Elena heard a woman's voice, jealous to death, but tried to hide it. The husband told her, He had called home before get off work to tell her he would be back later, but she wasn't home. Apparently, she was still at the zoo at the time. He caught Elena's weakness and made her suffer. Couldn't say anything, had to keep silent. From this day on, the architect started coming home late. Previously, he always returned to his home full of joy, because he knew that Elena would not share his bed with him, but she accepted After the psychoanalytic treatment, he knew it was possible. As long as Elena kept her original childlike innocence, they would stay together every day. Maybe as time went by, they could have a better sex life. Progress. Now he is distressed, married, but nothing happened. The female assistant will not sleep with him, because the wife alone is enough for him to worry about. "One night, Elena prepared dinner, but her husband hadn't come home yet. The dishes were set on the table and candles were lit, but she didn't know that the architect had finished his work early that afternoon and Waiting for her outside the psychiatrist's clinic, because this day was their wedding anniversary. Only then did he realize that Elena hadn't been there for treatment for a long time, and he hurriedly called Elena. Of course she didn't Will be at home, she couldn't help herself every afternoon, and went to the zoo. The architect returned to the office with a face full of frustration. He needed to confess his distress to the female assistant. So the two left the office and walked into a nearby bar Drunkards don't want to drink, what they need is a chance to talk alone for a while. "Besides, Elena saw that the time was getting late, and she began to walk around the room impatiently like a caged animal. She hung up the phone to the office, but no one answered. She wanted to find something to do to pass the time As soon as she approached the cage, the little bird flapped its wings in despair and slammed into the ground. After a while, it broke its wings. Elena couldn't help but opened the cage and stretched her hand in. She As soon as his hand approached, the bird fell to the ground dead, as if struck down by something. Irene was so desperate that all the hallucinations came back in her memory. She ran out of the house to find her husband. , because he is the only one who can help her, the only one who understands her. On the way to the office, she has to pass by a bar, where she finds her husband with a female assistant. She trembled with rage and jealousy. After a while they got up and left, Elena watching them part and kiss goodbye from behind a tree. "Eileen followed the female assistant closely. The female assistant went straight through the shortcut in Central Park to go home. At this moment, she was both happy and worried. The happy thing was that the architect just told her that his wife She doesn't want to share the bed with him, and keeps having nightmares of becoming a leopard girl. Unknowingly, the fantasy of love that she had given up on has been revived again. But she is also worried that this is just self-deception, and the result may be a bamboo basket The water fetching was in vain. Thinking of this, she couldn't help speeding up her pace. The weather was extremely cold, and there was no one around, only the sound of the wind and rustling leaves. The female assistant clearly heard footsteps behind her, and she could tell that it was a woman's high-heeled shoes. Dudu tapped on the road. She turned around suddenly, and found a dark figure in the distance. The light was very dim, and she couldn't see who it was for a while. The sound of Dudu accelerated, and the female assistant began to panic. She couldn't help but think about Leopard Girl and all the scary things. She wanted to walk faster, but she was only halfway, and she had to walk about four blocks before she could walk out of the park and see the building on the side of the street. She started Running desperately, but the result was even worse, the sound of tuk-tuk leather shoes was replaced by the light steps of a cat. The female assistant turned around quickly, and what she saw was not a woman, but a strange shadow, which passed quickly, and then came into sight At the same time she heard the sound of footsteps on the bushes in the park, and an animal was approaching her with a noise." "What happened next?" Valenti couldn't help asking. "We'll talk tomorrow. Goodbye. Let's spit on your nerves." Molina paid off, and at a critical moment, stopped the car.Valenti gritted her teeth angrily and threatened that Molina would pay for it.Molina ignored him, said good night to him, and fell asleep. The next morning, Valenti had a delicious breakfast that Molina had cooked for him.After eating, he couldn't help but worry, fearing that he would develop bad habits from now on.He could not accept Molina's idea of ​​"drunk today" because his life was devoted to political struggle.He can fully bear all the tortures in prison, and there are meanings behind prison and suffering.Social revolution was of the utmost importance to him, and sensual gratification was of secondary importance. His greatest satisfaction is knowing that he is serving a truly noble cause.This kind of cause is an ideology and his ideal. If he wants to sum it up in one word, it is called "Marxism".For this, he can get pleasure from anything, even in this cell, even under torture.This is the source of his true strength. Molina responded vaguely.Valenti saw that he was not very convinced by what he said, so he was a little disappointed.But Molina advised Valenti not to worry anymore, all Molina wanted to do now was sleep.He said that the most difficult thing for him to understand was that in order to change the unpalatable food in the prison, he took out the food he stored to cook breakfast for Valenti and gave him half of his favorite avocado, but in the end Valenti But Lenti kept saying to his face that he had taught him bad habits.After hearing this, Valenti quickly advised him not to think so. He felt that Molina was too sensitive, like a woman.However, Molina believes that it is not a bad thing to be gentle like a woman. If men are like women, there will be no such thing as torture in the world.Valenti pondered carefully, and felt that although Molina's words were not credible, they were quite reasonable.Molina couldn't help being happy when he heard the words of praise. He not only forgave Valenti, but also told the story again as if nothing had happened. "At this moment, the female assistant began to tremble with fright, and she didn't know what to do for a while. She didn't dare to turn around anymore, for fear of seeing Leopard Girl. She stopped in her tracks, wanting to hear the sound of anyone's footsteps But in the dead of night, only the rustling of the wind blowing the leaves... and the sound of something touching the leaves, a long, desperate wail came from the throat of the female assistant. Coincidentally, a bus stopped at the In front of her, the harsh sound of the automatic door switch of the car drowned out her wailing just now. The driver saw her standing there and opened the door for her. Seeing that she looked strange, the driver asked what happened, but the female assistant Just replied that it's nothing, I'm just not feeling well. She jumped into the car and finally got to safety. "When Elena came home, her clothes were disheveled, and her shoes were covered with dust. The architect was at a loss for a while, not knowing what to say, or how to treat this strange woman. She walked into the house, After giving him a strange look, he went straight to the bathroom to change his dirty shoes. The architect finally had the guts to talk to her.He said he had been to the clinic in the afternoon and knew she hadn't seen a doctor for a long time.She began to cry and kept saying that it was all over.The architect comforted her again, took her in his arms like a baby, and could not help feeling a renewed sense of affection for her at the sight of her so defenseless and bewildered.He let her rest her head on his shoulder and stroked her hair, told her to have faith and everything would be all right, and persuaded her to go back to the doctor again.Elena said that she didn't like the doctor very much, and she was afraid of lewd people like him. But the architect convinced him anyway. "So she went to the doctor's office again and confessed her feelings to him sincerely. But the doctor did something wrong. In order to allay her fears, he chose a dubious method of diagnosis and treatment, and his Lust got the better of him, trying to really kiss her. However, Elena had the exact opposite reaction.It seemed that the doctor was right, she was a perfectly normal woman.Elena left the clinic contented and went straight to her husband.She wanted to tell her husband that, tonight, she had decided to dedicate herself to him.She ran happily all the way, and when she arrived at her husband's office, she was out of breath. "She stopped suddenly at the door of the office, and she was paralyzed all at once. It was late at this time, everyone in the office had gone home, only her husband and the female assistant were inside. They seemed to be talking, holding each other's hands Elena couldn't tell if it was a gesture of friendliness or something more intimate. The husband looked at the floor as he spoke, and the female assistant listened knowingly. Their expressions were so focused that they were unaware that someone would intrude. Come in. Suddenly, they stopped talking because they both heard the door creak and looked up, but saw no one. The studio was dark except for the lamp above their desk, which was shining from under the shade. There was a blinding, ominous light. They heard the footsteps of animals, and the trampling of a wastebasket in a dark corner. The assistant screamed and hid behind the architect. 'Who's there?' Who is that? ' he shouted.They heard the characteristic heavy breathing of wild animals.The architect didn't know how to defend himself, he instinctively grabbed the drawing ruler on the stage.At this time, he remembered what Elena had said to him: the shape of the cross can frighten the devil and leopard girl.So he held up the cross made of a ruler.Suddenly, with a terrible howl, the terrified beast fled into the darkness. "That night, the female assistant returned to the women's hotel where she was staying. After experiencing the shock just now, she was so nervous that she couldn't sleep. She thought that maybe swimming could relax her mind, so she came to the swimming pool in the basement of the hotel. At this time It was late at night, and the pool was empty, so she changed into a bathing suit and bathrobe in the changing room. "At the same time, the door of the hotel opened, and Elena walked in. She asked the person on duty sitting by the service desk where the female assistant was. The person on duty didn't notice anything unusual about her, so he told her , the female assistant just went to the swimming pool downstairs. Since Elena is also a woman, she was not hindered by anything. At this moment, the female assistant walked out of the locker room and turned on the lights in the swimming pool. She was about to stuff her hair into a swimming cap, Suddenly, footsteps were heard. She panicked and asked: 'Is it the person on duty? 'No one answered.She became frightened, took off her bathrobe and dived into the water.In the middle of the swimming pool, she slowly emerged from the water, peeking at the edge of the pool, and saw a shadow moving, creeping towards the edge of the pool. She heard the low growl of the beast clenched its teeth again, and a pair of green eyes fixed on the female assistant in the middle of the pool.The female assistant screamed frantically, and the man on duty heard the scream and hurried down the stairs.She turned on all the lights and asked the assistant what happened. 'There's no one here, why are you screaming? The female assistant was suddenly embarrassed, not knowing how to explain the fright she had just received.If she said that a leopard girl had come here, it would be unimaginable what panic would happen.All she could say was that she saw someone there, or an animal prowling about for food.The woman on duty looked at her and said, "A woman, who seems to be your friend, came in to see you just now."You don't have to tremble with fright, at most, you just heard some footsteps. '正在这时，她们注意到地板上的浴袍已被撕成碎布条，看到了动物留下的足迹。 ..." 讲到这里，莫利纳突然发现瓦伦蒂有些心不在焉，原来瓦伦蒂正在思念女朋友。女助手被豹女跟踪的情节使他恐慌不已。他想象如果那是自己的女朋友处于危险之中，而他关在这里却一筹莫展，没法去告诫她要小心些。 莫利纳也感到一筹莫展。然而他思念的是自己母亲。她与姑母住在一起，但病得很重，血压很高，心脏又很微弱，如今还要为儿子蹲监狱感到耻辱。想到这里，莫利纳伤心起来。 瓦伦蒂安慰他说，“这没什么，你母亲不象我的女朋友时时处在危险中，她还有等待的希望。她知道八年后，儿子就可以出狱了。这样一想，她就有期待的力量了。” 莫利纳耐住了眼泪，哀求道：“讲讲你的女朋友吧。” 瓦伦蒂摇摇头，说：“我还得想一想。我还不太了解她。如果人们想要理解什么事时，那他们就走到了解结的关头。如果一上来就理解一切的话，人们就会从此失去一切。” 听他这么一说，莫利纳也就不再追问了。当他想到明天就要讲完《豹女》的故事，他不免有些惋惜和感伤，因为这故事使他忘却了监牢里难捱的时光。 瓦伦蒂说：“别犯傻了，莫利纳。我也可以讲个故事。我记得好多非常非常精彩的电影。” “那么，我们轮流讲下去。谁也不允许中断。” 莫利纳总算高兴了起来，他接着讲起《豹女》的最后故事来。 “我已不大记得影片的结尾部分了。反正就在旅馆事发的当夜，艾琳娜的丈夫打电话叫来了精神分析医生，两个男人一齐在家里等候着艾琳娜回家。他们已经等得不耐烦了，还始终不见她的人影。就在这时，电话铃响了。电话是女助手打来的，她要建筑师到她的旅馆去，然后再去警察局去报警。建筑师只好撂下医生，自己先走了。他刚走一会儿，艾琳娜就回来了。她发现精神分析医生坐在自己面前，这显然是一场恶梦，屋里很暗，只有台灯亮着。精神分析医生正在看书，见艾琳娜来了，他忙取下眼镜，仔细打量起她来。艾琳娜看到他，仍有一种厌恶和欲望交杂的感觉，因为他长得一表人材，极富有性感。这时，奇怪的事情发生了：艾琳娜扑上去，投入了他的怀抱。她感到自己已彻底被人遗弃，没人要她，连她的丈夫也抛弃了她。而精神分析医生却把她的举动看作是性的表示，如果吻她一下，或许能帮助她消除那种变成豹女的幻觉。就这样，医生亲吻起她来，他俩紧贴在一起，拥抱、亲吻，直到她突然挣脱了他的手臂，眯着眼睛注视着他，绿眼珠里迸发出欲望和仇恨之光。她挣脱了他，走到房间的另一头，台灯的光线射不到那儿。她一下子卧倒在地板上，精神分析医生突然醒悟了，他想自卫，但已为时太晚。在阴暗角落里，所有的东西都一时显得模糊不清，还没等医生完全意识到是怎么回事时，她已变成了一头黑豹。医生只来得及从壁炉里抓到一把火钳作防卫，可是黑豹早已向他猛扑过来。他正想用火钳猛击，但她已用爪子撕开了他的喉咙，他沉重地倒在地板上，大股的鲜血喷涌而出。黑豹咆哮着，露出一副雪白的尖牙，她的脚爪又抓了下去，伸向医生的脸部，把几分钟前她吻过的那张脸颊连同嘴唇一起撕得粉碎。 “这时，女助手早已在旅馆和艾琳娜的丈夫碰头了。他们在旅馆的服务台上打电话，设法与精神分析医生联系，要他提防危险。但电话铃响了一次又一次，就是没人接。于是他们和叫来的警察都往家中赶去。他们小心翼翼地走上台阶，只见房门洞开，医生的血已流尽，他死了。艾琳娜不在，只有丈夫知道能在哪儿找到她——那是她唯一的去处。虽然已是午夜时分，这一行人却径直朝公园走去，说得更确切些，是到动物园去。 “再说当天下午，艾琳娜曾一如既往地去看那头使她着迷的黑豹。她刚到不久正逢饲养员又来开锁，喂肉给野兽吃。饲养员是个注意力涣散的老头，艾琳娜与他保持一定的距离，密切地注意着他的一举一动。饲养员开了锁，扔进了两大块肉，随后他就关上门闩，可又象上回一样，忘了取下锁上的钥匙。艾琳娜趁他没看见，走近了豹笼，藏起了钥匙。这一切都发生在下午，而等丈夫、女助手和警察赶到动物园时，夜己深了。他们远远地看到艾琳娜象夜游神似地走近了豹笼。 她身上的气味唤醒了已经熟睡的黑豹。艾琳娜透过栏栅望着它，随后她慢慢地走到门前，把钥匙塞进了锁孔，打开了锁。就在同一时刻，追踪而来的人们都赶到了。警车驰来，警笛声越来越近。艾琳娜拉下门闩，打开门，想放走黑豹。她象是进入了另一个世界，她的表情变得很奇怪，很悲哀，但有些激动，视线朦胧起来。黑豹一跃便从笼里逃了出来。一刹那之间，它悬空扑来，前面毫无阻挡，只有艾琳娜呆呆地站着不动，它跃起的力量足以将艾琳娜击倒在地。警车赶来了，开足马力撞倒了黑豹。建筑师走到笼前，发现艾琳娜四肢摊开，平躺倒在大鹅卵石上，这里正是他们初次见面的地方。豹的爪子把艾琳娜的容貌毁得血肉模糊，难以辨认，她已经死了。年轻的女助手走到了他的身旁，他们竭力想忘却他们刚才目睹的可怕景象。好吧，我的故事讲完了。 " “多可惜，故事没了。”瓦伦蒂说。 “这算什么？我再给你讲个就是了。” “不，我不是这意思。我要是说出我的想法来，你会笑话我的。” “说吧。”莫利纳催促他。 “我感到难过，因为我对影片中的人物已经有了感情。而现在故事讲完了，就好象他们死了一样。” “这个故事里也有某种缺点……我的意思是有些不足之处。” “听着，那不是什么'不足之处'。” “那么你根本不想念你的女朋友罗？” “我好象没法不想她……任何事情，只要能使我联想起她来，都能叫我动情。” “告诉我，她长得怎么样？” “我不说她的长相如何，只要能拥抱她，我愿付出一切代价……不管是什么。” “终会有这么一天的。” “有时候我想，这一天也许不会再来了。” “你又没被判无期徒刑！” “但是她随时可能出事。” “那就写信给她，叫她别去冒险，说你需要她。” “这绝对不行。如果你这样想的话，你在这个世界上就别想去改造什么了。” “你不可能照这个样子去改造世界，因为你无法单枪匹马地去改变世界。” “说得对，我不是单枪匹马干的。就连此时此刻，我也决不是单枪匹马。我和她、和每一个象她或象我一样的人并肩战斗——我不能让自己忘却这一点。有时候我竟然也忘记了，就好象一根线从手指上轻易地滑脱了一样。但幸运的是，我现在抓牢了这根线。我不准备再放手了……我与任何一个同志都相隔不远，我和他们心连心。 即使在此时此刻，我看不见他们的人影，但这没关系。 " “假如一谈到你的女友就会使你不安，那就别……” “不会的，只要不把她的名字告诉你就行了。” “我记得《豹女》中扮演女助手的那个女演员的名字。” "what is it call?" “简·伦道夫。” “从来没听说过这个人。” “大约她是40年代的演员。我们谈起你女朋友的时候，可以代称她为'简·伦道夫'。” “你想叫我谈什么呢？” “随便你谈什么。这姑娘怎么样？” “听着，莫利纳，她二十四岁，比我小两岁。” “比我小13岁。” “她一向是个革命者。好吧，跟你直说了吧，她起先主张的是性革命。” “接着谈吧。” “她出身于一个资产阶级家庭，这个阶层的人也并不太富裕。但你知道，他们的生活却相当舒适。她家在卡巴利托有一幢两层楼的房子。然而她在童年时代就亲眼看见父母相互摧残。父亲欺骗母亲，你懂我的意思吗？” “不，我一点也不明白。” “他欺骗了她，他有了外室。而她的母亲则一辈子都在女儿面前指责他。人们都成了婚姻的殉葬品，我不相信婚姻——说得明确些，我不相信一夫一妻制。” “要是一对情人能相互恩爱一辈子，那该多好！” “你真的这样主张？” “连做梦都这样想。” “那你为什么喜欢男人？” “这两者之间有什么相干？……我愿与一个男子结成终生良缘。” “莫利纳，原来你骨子里是个规规矩矩的资产阶级绅士？” “谢谢。不过应该说是个资产阶级淑女。” “可是你为什么没有想到，所有这一切只不过都是欺骗？假如你是妇女，你是不会要那种婚姻制度的。” “我爱上了一个了不起的男人，我所要求的只是能在下半辈子里与他一道生活。” “那是不可能的事。因为他是个男人，他想要的是一个女人，所以你不应该自欺欺人。” “还是谈谈你的女朋友吧，我不想谈自己的事。” “好吧。正象我刚才对你说的那样，他们把她……你说她代称名字叫什么来着？” “简·伦道夫。” “他们把简·伦道夫培养成一个符合传统要求的淑女。让她学钢琴、学法语和绘画，读完大学预科后，又进了天主教大学。” “学的是建筑学吧！怪不得你把那个女助手同她联系起来。” “不，她学的是社会学。也正是从这时候起，家里乱套了。她想上国立大学，但是父亲和母亲都逼她到天主教大学去注册。在大学里，她与一个男同学相爱了，并且发生了关系。男友原先同父母住在一起，后来他离开了家，在电话总机间找到了一份值夜班的活儿，租了一小套公寓房间，他俩白天就呆在那儿。” “他们不上学了？” “那年他们很少上学。不过她后来读书更勤奋了。” “而他呢？放弃了学业？” “对了，因为他在工作。一年之后，简搬来与他同居。她家里起初不赞成，但是他们慢慢地也接受了事实，认为既然孩子们如此相爱，他们最后总会结婚成家的。男友当真想娶她，然而简不愿意走别人的老路。” “流产了？” “有过一次。可是这只促使她下定了决心。 她清楚地意识到，如果有了孩子，她自己就永远不会再成熟，永远不会再有自我发展了，他的自由将受到限制。于是她在一家杂志社找了一份记者工作。在那里，她结识了一位属于某个政治派别的小伙子。她立即被他吸引住了，于是她中止了同原来的男友之间的关系。 " “为什么中止了？” “他们所能给予对方的一切早已给予了。他们确实非常爱恋，但他们太年轻了，甚至还不知道自己究竟想要什么。简向大学生提议结束关系，大学生同意了。她开始和杂志社的男友频频约会。” “她还睡在大学生的公寓里？” “是的，但有时不。直到最后，她与记者决定永远同居了。” “记者的政治立场是什么？” “左派。” “他把左派的思想教给了她吗？” “主要是她自己一直觉得自己的思想有必要变一变。噢，现在什么时间了？” “凌晨两点。” “莫利纳，我明天再讲吧！” “你这是对我报复？” “不，小丑。我累了。” “我可不，我一点也不想睡。” "Good night." "Good night." 莫利纳辗转反侧，难以入寐。 “你怎么还不睡，莫利纳？” “瓦伦蒂，我不知道为什么。” “我有个办法叫你睡着。” "any solution?" “考虑一下你准备给我讲的第二个电影故事。” “好主意。” “最好是象《豹女》那样精采的故事。莫利纳，仔细选选。” “那么你要多讲讲简的情况。” “只要是我觉得能对你谈的，我都会谈，而且会很乐意的。公平交易，怎么样？” “行，公平交易。”