One day, Etcetera came up to me and put her sweet face down on my lap. “Dad, tell me about Mommy.” I said, “Honey, I wish I could, but since you were never born, and thus do not exist, I wouldn’t know how.” Then, seeing the tenacity in her eyes — so much like herContinue reading “Lil Miss Etcetera”
Category Archives: récits
Y si un día
The other day, Manuel Huamán, lying there quiet in the dark of his grave, saw brown little children dancing, moviéndose bonito, and a scruffy yellow dog running around trying to bite at the girls’ skirts. Looked like they were from his pueblo… or maybe from up in those Peruvian or Bolivian mountains, could be MexicoContinue reading “Y si un día”
Axia Yiruo
1 Ah, once upon a time — 从前, autrefois — many years ago — 有一回, il y a bien des années, un jour, in the early summer, I was coming back to Kunming from the geological training school of the Bureau down in Lunan. I stood by a dusty country road waiting for the long-distanceContinue reading “Axia Yiruo”
阿霞·依婼
哎，从前，autrefois，多年以前，many years ago，有一回， il y a bien des années, un jour，初夏时节，我从地质局在路南的地质干校回昆明，站在尘土飞扬的村路边等长途公共车。背直直的站着，手里捏着一本已经读了好几个月的书，身上穿着已经穿了好几天的衣服，皮鞋后跟上的钉子马掌，还是上次回城，让街边的浙江女鞋匠敲上的。头发不知道是什么样子，恐怕也有好几个月没有理过了。二十刚出头的男生，已经不是少年，然而又不是大人，一天的大部分时间，人生活在彩云端，满脑子的遐想，天上人间，中国外国。数不清的思想，没有几样有逻辑性，无数的图画，没有几样跟我面前的现实有关系。回头没有历史，因为人生刚开始，往前瞻望，没有未来，因为是个只会专注当下此时的人。唉，如此而已。
彼方的神庙
1
旅馆前台左侧的墙上挂着一张酒店外观照片。头次住这家酒店，也是第一次看到这张照片。网上订房时心里有事，房间都是随便选的，没在旅店网站上看它的图片。可现在墙上这张照片却让我感到一丝诡异的熟悉，好像曾在哪儿见过。心底虽感觉那大概是错觉，可还是不能于心释然。
Temple on the Farside
1 On the side wall of the reception desk hung a framed photo of the hotel’s exterior. I was sure it was the first time I had seen it; I had booked the room without much browsing on the site. Yet something about the image rang with an eerie familiarity, as if I had encounteredContinue reading “Temple on the Farside”
Dina in the Rain
1 In the evening Dina Papádopoulou came. She wore a simple wrap dress, a pair of barely-there heels, and carried a small foldable umbrella in her hand. Earlier in the day we had talked about going for a walk — to the small shopping area near the college campus, maybe grab something casual to eat,Continue reading “Dina in the Rain”
They Called Me Sleeping Beauty
1 I woke up groggy and a little confused. I’d heard a chime, followed by what sounded like a recorded voice apologizing for waking me, while a robotic arm gently poked me in the ribs. Still dazed, I sat up on the edge of the bed, hands on my knees. The floor was cool beneathContinue reading “They Called Me Sleeping Beauty”
A Walk Down Eudaemonia Station
“μέχρι τέλους μὴ προσαγορεύειν μακάριον· πρὸς γὰρ τὸ τέλος σκοπεῖν δεῖ τὸν βίον.” “Call no man happy until he is dead; for only then can the story of his life be judged complete.” —Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics 1 About ten years ago, in 2040—back when people said I had been long dead—memories of a conference onContinue reading “A Walk Down Eudaemonia Station”
代号“玫瑰”
序言
以下资料摘自1953年越南谅山教会记录：
“Bà Lý Thục Chân, cựu y tá Bệnh viện Pháp tại Côn Minh, đến định cư tại Lạng Sơn cùng chồng là dược sĩ Nguyễn Văn Hải.”
译文：
“Lý Thục Chân女士，前昆明法国医院护士，定居谅山。其夫阮文海，药剂师，越籍。”
1. 费努伊神父
丽迪亚的博士论文是个我完全不熟悉的题材， 单是题目就有些令人望而生畏：《重估殖民时期法国在昆明的医疗体系的性质和影响》，再加上我是在手机上读，就有些费劲。还好她论文中时不时提及一些和昆明有关的历史轶事，我看着有趣。至于这些轶事的学术意义，我就评论不了啦。
她的草稿中有一章提到一位名叫让·若瑟·费努伊（Jean-Joseph Fenouil）的法国传教士，巴黎外方传教会（M.E.P.）成员，
Yego’s Chronicles 