Truyện song ngữ: Heart
Heart!
'Wielding a glimmering machete, an insanely angry Papa Barna pursues an
unashamedly naked Oyigbo the butcher out of his compound. Picture him in
sportswear and the latter would rate high as an Olympic-level sprinter for the effort
he is making. Such is his speed that long after this incident, there would be no
consensus as to the true size of his penis; no one sees that pendulum for more than
a split second. Even the Akpan twins, Paul and Silas, who have the dubious honour
of being knocked out of the way as Oyigbo shoots into their compound, would be
unable to give their classmate, Okoro the Lip, a detailed description when he
demands one. But they would be able to attest to Oyigbo's speed and ability to
swerve, for he pulls a hairpin turn around Papa Barna and doubles back towards
the main road right before their eyes.
Out on the main road, the chase blows on.
Abruptly, Oyigbo decides the road is making it too easy for Papa Barna to gain on
him. So into the bush he veers. He leaps over tree stumps and cuts a swathe
through the tropical rainforest with the sheer force of his momentum.
Papa Barna, a man on a clearly defined mission, resolute in the manner of a well-
paid assassin bent on earning his fee, tears after Oyigbo. He says nothing but runs
with a determination that telegraphs a discomforting message to Oyigbo: this man
will not be stopped, no matter what.
Knowing what he knows, no one can possibly blame Oyigbo for pushing himself
beyond his own imagination. However, a non-person whose opinion matters a lot
is not only heaping blame but is complaining noisily in a most agitated way about
Oyigbo's thoughtlessness; his heart is on the verge of bursting ...
Oyigbo's heart has come close to bursting many times in the past years.
"Oh, don't be so fast," Mama Barna would often say from beneath him at such
times.
"Yes, yes, no, no," Oyigbo would mostly be confused, his eyes rolling crazily.
Yet at such times, his heart, though close to bursting only seconds earlier, would
decelerate to a steady, sated rhythm.
This time, there had been neither deceleration nor satisfaction before Oyigbo had
to dash off. And now his heart is threatening to burst for real.
Being sharply aware that he would have no need for a heart if he stops, Oyigbo
presses on. Papa Barna sails after him, stocky legs, blazing eyes, glimmering
machete and all. Papa Barna –
His return from New Town on this fateful day had begun happily enough. To begin
with, the mechanic worked fast on his motorcycle and the repairs didn't cost half as
much as he had feared. Buying quite a large number of presents for everyone in his
household, including a new bowler hat with a silk band and a red feather stuck in it
for himself, he had set off cheerfully for the return journey, enjoying the new surge
of power delivered by the newly-serviced engine. He made good time and as he
alighted from his motorcycle, the quiet pervading his compound struck him as odd.
The girls may be in the farm, he reasoned, and Baba - his pet name for his son
Barna - would either be frolicking in the stream or still in school, though not on
account of any serious work. But his wife ought to be around. He'd opened his
mouth to call out to her when he saw the cart. His mouth stayed open but no words
came out. Slowly, almost as if he were some external being other than himself, he
went into the house. He heard them before he reached his - their - bedroom door.
The passionate cries of lovemaking were unmistakable. Entranced, he made his
way silently to the store where he kept his tools and things. The machete, usually
very heavy, felt almost weightless as he clutched it and started back towards the
bedroom.
His mind, however, had a lot of weight on it. So his fears had been true! Human
beings being cursed in perpetuity with a selective memory process, Papa Barna
could only recall that he'd always had doubts about Maria, his first daughter. How
could she really be his when she looked so tall and fair when both he and his wife
were short and dark? She had been born ten years before Baba and it had taken five
years after Baba's birth before the twins, Ruth and Esther came along. And that had
been after numerous sacrifices to the gods. He sadly recognised the truth; only
Baba had his blood; Maria, as well as Ruth and Esther - already showing signs of
being every inch as tall and as fair as their elder sister - were ... Oh! How would he
live with the shame?
Mama Barna had a few seconds to scream and utter a plea before the machete
silenced her with one blow. Papa Barna looked at the blood-spurting body without
feeling as he wiped the machete on the bed sheets. In the manner of a
malfunctioning automaton, he now functioned purely on a dispassionate
programme detailed to terminate the fleeing tall and fair Oyigbo ...
It is inevitable that a crowd should follow. This, after all, is just a small village.
However, not even the younger, more agile men can keep up with the two shooting
stars. Oyigbo, on a primordial self-preservation race simply can not be bested.
Papa Barna, on a self-divined, holy-inspired mission of honour-preservation is
ready to pay any price in his bid to exact the ultimate price. In such company,
leisurely folks seeking amusement are in no position to keep up.
"I heard Lazarus telling Tom and Heekee that his Uncle Jonathan said that Oyigbo
did not have a good heart," Okoro the Lip would later whisper to Paul and Silas.
"Could it have been an illness?" Paul would ask.
"I don't know," would be Okoro's reply. "Lazarus said that his Uncle Jonathan said
that Mama Barna has been marrying Oyigbo the butcher. He knew but he didn't tell
anybody. Then that day Oyigbo went and stayed inside Papa Barna's house because
he thought Papa Barna will spend the whole day in New Town to repair his
motorcycle."
"So what does his heart have to do with it?" Silas would want to know, but Okoro's
open palms would be his answer.
"They say the Long-Nosed One in New Town has given the order for them to hang
Papa Barna," Paul would reveal.
"I heard that too," Okoro would add. "Some people are saying that it is not fair.
Baba Soja who killed more than ten people is still in prison. Papa Barna killed only
two and they are going to hang him."
"It must be because of his heart," Silas would sum up. "Maybe they don't want
whatever happened to his heart to spread."
"But what really happened to his heart?" Paul would query.
"I don't know," Okoro would pronounce. "I only know that they said he didn't have
a good heart."
As Oyigbo shoots on to the main pathway to the village stream, a sharp, stabbing
pain in his chest draws an agonised scream from him. His steps falter and
simultaneously Papa Barna's machete descends on him. Oyigbo goes down still
screaming.
"Papa Barna, Please!" he coughs, spurting blood. "I did it only once. PLEA--"
Papa Barna's second slash to the neck misses and cuts deep into Oyigbo's shoulder,
sending the latter into another ear-piercing scream. The third slash connects
precisely as intended. And so do the subsequent ones. Oyigbo the butcher chokes
in mid-scream and screams no more.
“Trái tim”
Crispin Oduobuk (Ni-giê-ri-a) - 03-05-2012 09:07:46 AM
Cầm cái rựa sáng quắc, điên cuồng giận dữ bố Barna truy đuổi gã Oyigbo đồ tể vô
liêm sỉ mình trần như nhộng đang thoát khỏi lều của gã. Cảnh gã mặc áo thun thể
thao và người đuổi sau sẽ được đánh giá cao cỡ vận động viên nước rút Olympic
bởi các nỗ lực mà gã đang thể hiện. Với một tốc độ nhanh đến vậy nên rất lâu sau
vụ việc đó vẫn không có sự nhất trí nào về kích thước thực của cái của quí của gã
cả; không ai thấy được khúc lủng lẳng trong hơn một phần của giây. Ngay cả cặp
song sinh nhà Akpan - Paul và Silas, nhữg người mà có thanh danh đáng ngờ vì bị
tống văng ra đường khi Oyigbo đâm bổ vào lều của họ - cũng không thể cung cấp
cho thằng bạn học, Okoro Lip, sự mô tả chi tiết khi nó yêu cầu. Nhưng chúng sẽ có
thể làm chứng cho tốc độ và khả năng lách nhanh của Oyigbo: gã đã giật phắt cái
kẹp tóc quấn quanh đầu bố Barna rồi đột ngột quay ngược lại đường chính ngay
trước mắt của họ.
Trên đường chính, cuộc rượt đuổi tiếp tục.
Đột nhiên, Oyigbo nhận ra đường chạy này quá dễ dàng để bố Barna bám sát gã.
Vì vậy gã chuyển hướng vào nơi lùm bụi gai góc. Gã nhảy qua những gốc cây, rẽ
lối xuyên qua rừng với tối đa sức lực.
Bố Barna, cái ông có một nhiệm vụ xác định rõ ràng, kiên định như cách một sát
thủ được trả hậu chăm bẵm vào nhiệm vụ kiếm tiền, cắm đầu lao sau Oyigbo. Ông
cứ chạy, không một lời, với quyết tâm báo Oyigbo một thông điệp: người đàn ông
này sẽ không được dừng lại, bất kể lí do gì.
Nếu rõ những chuyện gã biết, không ai có thể chê trách Oyigbo về việc đẩy mình
vào hoàn cảnh ngoài sức tưởng tượng thế này. Tuy nhiên, người không bao giờ đưa
ra chính kiến thì không những chăm chăm đổ lỗi, mà còn to miệng than phiền quá
lối về thói ích kỷ, ăn tạp, ngu ngơ và vô cảm của Oyigbo; trái tim gã sắp tan nát ...
Trái tim Oyigbo đã héo úa nhiều lần trong những năm dài.
“Ôi, đừng gấp gáp quá chứ,” mẹ Barna thường rên thế bên dưới gã vào những thời
điểm như vậy.
“Được, được, không, không,” Oyigbo thường bị líu lưỡi, cặp mắt đảo điên ngây
dại.
Tuy nhiên, vào những lúc như thế, trái tim gã, dẫu gần nổ tung mới vài giây trước,
sẽ dần chậm lại với nhịp điệu ổn định, thỏa mãn.
Lần này, đã không có chuyện chậm lại hay thỏa mãn trước khi Oyigbo phải cuống
cuồng. Và bây giờ gã thực sự là sắp vỡ tim.
Nhận rõ gã sẽ chẳng cần đến trái tim nữa nếu mà gã dừng lại, Oyigbo hối hả vắt
kiệt sức mình. Bố Barna lừng lững cuộn ngay sau gã, cặp giò ngắn chắc nịch, mắt