La Ronde

Here's your hat, I think.

After the parade that day, Kurt took them to the legendary tavern as promised.Unfortunately, that too was closed and the tavern sign was crumbling.Kurt swears that the store was still open yesterday. Seeing Conrad's sullen look, he comforted him again: This means that the owner of the store is also on the street!We have another comrade in arms!

But Conrad wanted wine more than his ethereal comrades.He made up his mind that he would never take part in such activities again.Although it feels comfortable to be pushed in the crowd without thinking about anything, I am afraid that there will be more and more policemen in the future. The thick and long batons in the hands of the policemen and the paving stones dug out by the students do not have eyes.

He got up early the next morning, but the gate of the factory was completely closed.He had no intention of attending "secret" meetings of the workers, at least in France as a worker was much more profitable than in Germany.He also doesn't care about Lefebvre and Guy de Pou that people are talking about, students say that the society of the spectacle is a society of terrorism, is this society where people throw stones at each other and shout instead of dialogue is a better society Yet?De Gaulle suppressed parliament and interfered in legislation, but what does this have to do with him as a car factory worker?

As he walked towards the shared house, he thought about these things endlessly.The sycamore leaves on the street fluttered affectionately and strangely, but he had no time to enjoy the rare quiet moments in the past few days——before he reached the door of the house, he saw a tall man from a distance, and that man seemed to be looking at him too. with him.

He became vigilant, thinking about the terrain in this area.As he approached slowly, he realized that the face was somewhat familiar.

A handsome man in a wool vertical-stripe suit raised his brown fedora to him. "I think this is your hat."

He speaks fluent German.

"Yes... oh, yes..." Conrad didn't react, he said something in French, and then repeated it in German. He hadn't heard his native language for a long time.

The hat was clean, perhaps because it had been gilded by the sun, and it made him feel newer than when it was around him.Conrad thought of the chaotic parade last night, and he didn't think there was any self-cleaning magic attached to the hat.And, how did he find it?

He looked at the man suspiciously.It was still early at this time, and there were not many people on the street, so this well-dressed man was particularly conspicuous: his dark brown hair was neatly combed behind his head, showing the toughness of his facial features, his brown eyes were quiet and deep, and he even looked Strict, people dare not show frivolity in front of him.Is such a person looking for him just to pay back his hat?He had so many questions that he didn't know where to start.

Conrad scratched the blond hair at the back of his head indiscriminately, then took the hat, and choked out a sentence in French: "Thank you, kind sir."

The man looked into his bright eyes, and suddenly showed a faint smile: "You're welcome, you can speak German with me."

Conrad's doubts deepened, and he tilted his head: "Your German is very good, but you don't seem to be German? Also, how did you find this place? No, how did you pick up that hat ..." He realized that he had asked too much, and closed his mouth awkwardly.

The magic that had made him relaxed and fearless last night was gone, and he realized that standing in front of him was someone very different from himself: an intellectual, still affluent—that brooch and cufflinks It didn't look cheap, probably costing him months of salary, not to mention the wool suit.

All he has is an old woolen sweater that his mother wove from a mix of other materials.

"You're right. My name is Valentino, I'm Italian, but I studied in Germany for a few years. I picked up your hat after the end of last night, asked a few students, and there was a girl who knew where you lived. Here." The man answered his questions one by one, without initiating a new topic, nor did he intend to leave.

female student?Is it little Nina?Tall Maria?Or busty Ursula?While thinking wildly, he looked at the man and said, "Oh, Mr. Valentino, please come here. Actually, this hat is very old, and it won't last long, but I do have some feelings for it. Since I I got the hat too, so I won't waste your time."

Valentino still had no intention of leaving. He looked at the dilapidated rental house behind Conrad and asked politely: "If you are free, maybe we can go for a walk or have a cup of coffee together. I I haven't spoken German for a long time, and I'm looking for someone to practice."

Conrad's eyes widened.

Leaving aside what an intellectual wants to talk to him, does he want him to teach him Bavarian dialect?He was so handsome, how could no one want to speak German with him, at least Nina could speak German.Or is this Mr. Valentino also a member of the Situationist International, preaching?Either way, Conrad wasn't interested.Besides, where did he get the spare money to drink coffee, and where can he drink coffee now?

"Sir, I'm sorry, but I'm afraid it won't work. The foreman will call a meeting of the workers later, and I'm just coming back to get some things." Conrad lied without changing his face, and hung up the sweet smile.

Valentino talked him out of it again, but Conrad smiled apologetically.Seeing this, the former did not continue to force it. The two chatted casually about the weather in Paris and clichés about the latest situation, and then said goodbye to each other.

***

Conrad quickly put the hat incident behind him.The whole city is almost at a standstill, who has time to care about a stranger?

The students built the barricades at night, and the police pulled them down during the day.The world people are familiar with has collapsed and been rebuilt again and again, and people with different standpoints are doing the same thing—they are all trying in vain.

The trade union, which was hesitant at first, finally chose to join, and Conrad participated in another collective demonstration of workers under the mobilization of the factory.Standing in the ranks of workers, he saw the bloodied students being dragged away by the police from a distance, and he heard those young people around his age raise their arms and shout angrily: "You have been poisoned!"*1, " We are all German Jews!"

He wondered if he and the students spoke the same language.Workers also marched, but their demands and slogans were much more practical - less working hours, higher average wages.He is not completely ignorant of the student's anger, but he refuses to understand deeply because of a fear of lofty emotions, which are often so powerful that people will be crushed to dust by them if they are not careful.He faintly felt that that anger contained the power to devour every "self".

After the strike, Conrad had to worry about his livelihood.Most of his salary is sent home and bought alcohol, and the rest may not last long.You can ask the workers to borrow it, but it is not easy for anyone in these days.Fortunately, there are sporadic old customers who contact him privately and ask him to repair their cars-there is a shortage of gasoline and the chaos outside, customers can't drive here by themselves.He needs to calculate the time and take the few subways to the client's residence.Sometimes it is bad luck, and all subways stop working, so we can only let it go.

He was traveling to the other side of Paris that day, via Saint-Germain-des-Prés.Everyone in the car was in tears, and he was surprised by the sight.But the surprise didn't last long, his eyes also started to sore, his mucous membranes tingled, and then he couldn't help sneezing.He tried his best to take a closer look, and there was a faint white smoke in the air.From the chatter of the passengers around him, he tearfully pieced together the current situation with difficulty——

The police were throwing tear gas on the students in the street, and two accidentally slipped into the tunnel and rolled down the subway.

God knows how much he envies those near-sighted people now, there are at least two pieces of glass blocking them, and he can only cry uncontrollably.

Just when he was feeling uncomfortable and didn't know what to do, someone behind him patted him.He turned his head to look with red eyes, but it was the Italian who had met twice a while ago.At this sight, his eyes became redder because of jealousy——Valentino still looked like a decent intellectual, wearing a gray windbreaker, a woolen scarf, and neat hair.The point is, he wears a pair of goggles on his clean face.Everyone in the subway was in a panic, but he was the only one who was still so relaxed and decent.

Conrad wanted to say hello to him, but he was too uncomfortable to speak.Valentino looked into his tearful eyes, lost for a moment.It was like a sapphire soaked in the silent pond at midnight, shining with sparkling light.But he reacted quickly, took off his goggles, and motioned Conrad to put them on.

Conrad shook his head, embarrassed to ask.Valentino didn't take back his hand, but directly helped him put it on, and his fingers accidentally brushed against his small earlobe.He was startled, but forgot to continue to refuse.Before he recovered, Valentino took off his scarf and tied it around his mouth and nose.

After putting on the equipment, Conrad was finally able to speak, looked at Valentino worriedly, and mumbled in his scarf, "This is not going to work, what can you do?" He remembered speaking German, but Forgot to say "you" and used "you" as if talking to a close friend. *2

Valentino didn't correct him, he just said: "It's okay, the smoke has cleared a lot now, it will be fine soon."

Conrad looked at Valentino's eyes that were starting to turn red. He couldn't help feeling a little ashamed when he remembered his deception last time. He couldn't help saying, "You helped me get my hat back, and now you've done me a favor again. I should treat you to a drink...but in Paris right now, I'm afraid there are no pubs to go to." Speaking of this, he himself felt really sad, hanging his head like a puppy, his blond hair limply buried in the snow-white in the scarf.

Valentino, with his usual demeanor except for his red eyes, looked at Conrad's limp blond hair and said, "I know a place where you can drink."

Conrad raised his head immediately, and asked in surprise: "Where?", the goggles couldn't block the light in his eyes, but soon he became embarrassed again, "It's too expensive, I can't afford it..."

Valentino refrained from rubbing his hair, although there was nothing wrong with doing so given their age difference: "I'm staying at the Hotel du Cap, which also serves wine, and you can come to me when you're free. .”

＊1 One of the slogans of the May storm, referring to the people in the spectacle society who are deeply victimized by media such as television and radio. The original text: OnVousIntoxique!

＊2 There is a big difference between "calling you" (Siezen) and "calling you" (Duzen) in German.Generally, you (Sie) should be addressed when you meet unfamiliar people, elders, and superiors.