It was late, and everyone had left the café, except for the old man who was still sitting in the shadow of the leaves blocking the light. During the day, the streets were full of dust, and at night the dew crushed the dust, and the old man liked to sit late, for he was deaf, and now it was night, and it was very quiet, and he felt a difference from the day. The two waiters in the café knew that the old man was a little drunk, and although he was a good customer, they knew that if he was too drunk, he would leave without paying, so they kept an eye on him.
"He was contemplating suicide last week," said one waiter.
"Why?"
"He's desperate. ”
"Why are you desperate?"
"For no reason. ”
"How do you know there's no reason?"
"He has a lot of money. ”
They sat together at a table at the base of the wall by the door of the café, and looked out over the terrace, where all the tables were empty, except for the old man sitting in the shadow of the leaves gently fluttering in the wind. A young girl and a GI walked down the street. The streetlight shone on the brass number of his collar badge. The girl was without a hat and hurried beside him.
"The guards will take him away," said one of the attendants.
"If he gets what he's after, what does it matter?"
"He'd better just slip out of the street. The guards will find him. They had only passed through here five minutes earlier. ”
The old man sat in the shadows and tapped the saucer with his cup. The younger waiter walked up to him.
"What do you want?"
The old man looked at him. "Another glass of brandy," he said.
"You're going to get drunk," said the waiter. The old man glanced at him. The waiter walked away.
"He'll stay here all night," he told his colleagues. "I'm sleepy right now. I've never gone to bed before three. He should have killed himself last week. ”
The waiter took a bottle of brandy and a saucer from the counter in the café, strode out of the café, and came to the old man's table. He put down the saucer and filled the cup with brandy.
"You should have killed yourself last week," he said to the deaf man. The old man looked up and gestured. "Add a little bit," he said. The waiter poured brandy into the glass again, causing it to overflow, and trickling down the high feet of the glass into the first of a stack of saucers below. "Thank you," said the old man. The waiter returns to the café with the bottle. He sat down at the table with his colleagues.
"He's drunk right now," he said.
"He was drunk every night. ”
"Why did he kill himself?"
"How do I know. ”
"How did he kill himself last time?"
"He hanged himself with a rope. ”
"Who put him down?"
"His niece. ”
"Why do you want to put him down?"
"Worry about the peace of his soul. ”
"How much money does he have?"
"He has a lot of money. ”
"He must be eighty years old. ”
"Anyway, I'm sure he's eighty years old. ”
"I wish he had gone home. I've never gone to bed before three o'clock. What kind of bedtime is that?"
"He didn't go back because he liked it. ”
"He was alone. I'm not alone. I have a wife waiting for me in bed. ”
"He used to have a wife, too. ”
"It's not good for him to have a wife now. ”
"You can't tell. With a wife, he might be better. ”
"His niece is taking care of him. ”
"I know. You just said she put him down. ”
"I don't want to live this old. The old man can be sloppy. ”
"It doesn't have to be like that. This old man is clean. He doesn't spill his wine when he drinks. Even if you're drunk right now. Look at him. ”
"I don't want to look at him. May he go home. He didn't care at all about the people who had to work. ”
The old man looked up from his glass and looked out into the square, then at the two waiters.
"Another glass of brandy," he said, gesturing to the glass. The waiter, who was in a hurry, ran over.
"It's over," he said, ignoring any syntax, and in short, this is the way a fool would use when speaking to a drunk or a foreigner. "Not tonight. It's closed. ”
"One more drink," said the old man.
"Nope. It's over. The waiter wiped the edge of the table with a towel and shook his head.
The old man stood up, slowly counted the saucers, took out a small leather bag containing coins in his pocket, paid the bill, and put down half a peseta as a tip.
The waiter watched him walk down the street, and saw the old man walking unsteadily, but he was full of spirit.
"Why don't you let him stay and drink?" asked the waiter, who was not in a hurry. They're laying the plank. "It's not half past two. ”
"I'm going home and going to bed. ”
"What's an hour late?"
"He doesn't care, I care. ”
"It's an hour anyway. ”
"You tone like you're an old man yourself. He can buy a bottle of wine and go home and drink it. ”
"It's different. ”
"Yes, it's different. The waiter, who had a wife, agreed. He didn't want to do it unjustly. He was just anxious.
"What about you? Aren't you afraid that you'll go home at your usual time?"
"Do you want to insult me?"
"No, man, just kidding. ”
"No," said the anxious waiter, pulling down the metal door panels and standing up. "I'm confident. I'm completely confident. ”
"You have youth, you have faith, and you have a job," said the older waiter, "and you have everything." ”
"So, what are you missing?"
"Except for work, I lack everything. ”
"Whatever I have, you have. ”
"Nope. I never had faith, and I'm not young anymore. ”
"Come on. Stop talking nonsense and lock the door. ”
"I'm one of those people who likes to stay late at cafes," said the older waiter. "I sympathize with everyone who doesn't want to go to bed. Sympathize with all those who want a light in the night. ”
"I'm going home and going to bed. ”
"We're different," said the older waiter. At this point, he got dressed and was going home. "It's not just a question of youth and faith, but it's wonderful. I'm very reluctant to close every night because someone might need a café. ”
"Dude, there are hotels that are open all night. ”
"You don't understand. It's a clean and pleasant café. Very bright. The lighting is wonderful, and there are shadows of the leaves here. ”
"Goodbye," said the young waiter.
"Goodbye," said the other waiter. He turned off the lights and continued to talk to himself. Lighting is important, but the place has to be clean and pleasant. You don't need music. You certainly don't need music. You can't stand at the bar with dignity, even though it's so late, and that's all you have to offer. What was he afraid of? It wasn't fear, it wasn't panic. It was a feeling of emptiness that he deeply felt. It's all empty, and a man is only empty. It's just that this one is empty, and all that is indispensable is the lights, and it has to be a little clean and orderly. There are people who live in it and never feel it, but they know that everything is nada [2] and therefore nada, nada, and therefore nada. We are in Nada in Nada, may all men honor your name Nada, may thy kingdom nada, may thy will, nada be in nada, as you are in nada. Our daily nada, now nada, give us nada, our nada, like the nadas of our nada, not nada, we meet nada, save us from nada; Cheer an emptiness, a void, an emptiness with you. He smiled and stood in front of a bar with a gleaming pneumatic coffee machine.
"What do you want?" asked the bartender.
"Nothing。 "
"It's another neurotic," said the bartender, turning his head away.
"Have a small glass," said the waiter.
The bartender poured him a glass.
"The lights are bright and pleasant, but it's a pity that the bar isn't polished," the waiter said.
The bartender looked at him, but didn't answer. It's late at night, don't talk about it.
"Would you like another drink?" asked the bartender.
"No, thank you," said the waiter, and walked out. He doesn't like bars and hotels. A clean and bright café is a world away. Now he doesn't think about anything anymore, he wants to go home, to his house. He's going to lie in bed, and when it's dawn, he'll finally fall asleep. At the end of the day, he said to himself, maybe it was just insomnia. A lot of people are immune to this problem.
Translated by Cao Yong
(First published in the March 1933 issue of Scribner's Magazine)
* * *
[1] The original text of "a void" is nothing.
[2] Nada, the Spanish equivalent of nothing, is in the old waiter's inner monologue, in which Hemingway inserts a series of nada, and starting with the next line, "Our nada in nada", he replaces some of the real words in the Christian Lord's Prayer (known as the Catholic name "The Book of God"). The Lord's Prayer is from Luke 11:2-4: "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name." Let thy kingdom come, and thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. Forgive our debts as we forgive our debtors. and not let us meet the detectives, but deliver us from evil. ......”
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