讀書

漫長的冬天過去了。

這是我在巴黎的第一個夏天，也可能是唯一的一個夏天。
為甚麼這個城市會讓我如此傾情？從來到的第一天，我就害怕要離開她。真是前世﹗

【為甚麼，巴黎？﹗】

嗯，書名想好了。

昨天做了一個重大的決定，今天心情特輕鬆愉快。下午帶著圖書館借來的 The Life of Pi (2003) -- Yann Martel，到宿舍對面的大公園 Parc Montsouris 晒書。在這裡住了半年，今天才見識了她的美，而這美，只是她的冰山一角。「沒錯﹗」她以最驕傲地姿態瞄了我一眼。我帶著期待的心情，預感著將要出現的另一種生活模式。

這延綿15公頃 (Hectares是公頃對吧？西九是四十公頃，這個公園已有三分一個西九﹗) 高低起伏的土地，是綠油油的小草和1,400棵老樹的飛氈，一叢叢色彩斑斕的鬱金香在草地最高點招搖，彷如毛氈上一堆脫了軌的線頭，頑固地立正著。草地與草地之間，是一條條彎彎曲曲的小徑。小徑兩旁放著長椅。長椅上坐著白領和老人。白領和老人之間停著一堆堆晒乾了的鳥屎。嘿，大煞風景 ﹗不打緊，讓我們繼續在飛氈上跑步的跑步，放狗的放狗，打滾的打滾，畫畫的畫畫，睡覺的睡覺，學走路的學走路，看書的看書，還有我 -- 晒書的﹗

晚上八時日落，拍下這張照片。在這裡晒書，真好。「等著瞧吧，這個飛氈之旅，將帶給你無比樂趣﹗」 她說。


"I would have liked to say, 'I'm a doctor', to those who asked me what I did, doctors being the current purveyors of magic and miracle. But I'm sure we would have had a bus accident around the next bend, and with all eyes fixed on me I would have to explain, amidst the crying and moaning of victims, that i meant in Law; then, to their appeal to help them sue the government over the mishap, I would have to confess that as a matter of fact it was a Bachelor's in Philosophy; next, to the shouts of what meaning such a bloody tragedy could have, I would have to admit that I had hardly touched Kierkegaard; and so on. I struck to the humble, bruised truth. Along the way, here and there, I got the response, 'A writer? Is that so? I have a story for you.'"

-- Yann Martel