Pet Samatary, Part One: The Pet Sematary - Chapter 10 (2)

Part One: The Pet Sematary - Chapter 10 (2)

He undressed to his shorts quietly and set the alarm for six a.m. Then he showered, washed his hair, shaved, and crunched up a Rolaid before brushing his teeth – Norma's iced tea had given him acid indigestion. Or maybe it was coming home and seeing Rachel way over on her side of the bed. Territory is that which defines all else, hadn't he read that in some college history course?

Everything done, the evening put neatly away, he went to bed … but couldn't sleep. There was something else, something that nagged at him. The last two days went around and around in his head as he listened to Rachel and Gage breathing nearly in tandem. GEN. PATTON. HANNAH THE BEST DOG THAT EVER LIVED. MARTA OUR PET RABIT. Ellie, furious. I don't want Church to ever be dead! … He's not God's cat! Let God have his own cat! Rachel equally furious. You as a doctor should know … Norma Crandall saying It just seems like people want to forget it … And Jud, his voice somehow terribly sure, terribly certain, a voice from another age: Sometimes it took supper with you and sometimes you could feel it bite your ass.

And that voice merged with the voice of his mother, who had lied to Louis Creed about sex at four but told him the truth about death at twelve, when his cousin Ruthie had been killed in a stupid car accident. She had been crushed in her father's car by a kid who had found the keys in a Public Works Department payloader and decided to take it for a cruise and then found out he didn't know how to stop it. The kid suffered only minor cuts and contusions; his Uncle Carl's Fairlane was demolished. She can't be dead, he had replied in answer to his mother's bald statement. He had heard the words but he couldn't seem to get the sense of them. What do you mean, she's dead? What are you talking about? And then, as an after-thought: Who's going to bury her? For although Ruthie's father, Louis's uncle, was an undertaker, he couldn't imagine that Uncle Carl would possibly be the one to do it. In his confusion and mounting fear, he had seized upon this as the most important question. It was a genuine conundrum, like who cut the town barber's hair.

I imagine that Donny Donahue will do it, his mother replied. Her eyes were red-rimmed; most of all she had looked tired. His mother had looked almost ill with weariness. He's your Uncle's best pal in the business. Oh, but Louis … sweet little Ruthie … I can't stand to think she suffered … pray with me, will you, Louis? Pray with me for Ruthie. I need you to help me.

So they had gotten down on their knees in the kitchen, he and his mother, and they prayed, and it was the praying that finally brought it home to him; if his mother was praying for Ruthie Hodge's soul, then it meant that her body was gone. Before his closed eyes rose a terrible image of Ruthie coming to his thirteenth birthday party with her decaying eyeballs hanging on her cheeks and blue mould growing in her red hair, and this image provoked not just sickening horror but an awful doomed love.

He cried out in the greatest mental agony of his life, ‘She can't be dead! MOMMA SHE CAN'T BE DEAD I LOVE HER!'

She is, my darling. I'm sorry, but she is. Ruthie is gone.

Louis shuddered, thinking: Dead is dead, what else do you need?

Suddenly Louis knew what it was he had forgotten to do, why he was still awake on this night before the first day of his new job, hashing over old griefs.

He got up, headed for the stairs, and suddenly detoured down the hall to Ellie's room. She was sleeping peacefully, mouth open, wearing her blue baby-doll pajamas that she had really outgrown. My God, Ellie, he thought, you're sprouting like corn. Church lay between her splayed ankles, also dead to the world. You should pardon the pun.

Downstairs there was a bulletin board on the wall by the phone with various messages, memos and bills tacked to it. Written across the top in Rachel's neat caps was THINGS TO PUT OFF AS LONG AS POSSIBLE. Louis got the telephone book, looked up a number, and jotted it on a blank memo sheet. Below the number he wrote: Quentin L. Jolander, DVM – call for appointment re Church – if Jolander doesn't neuter animals, he will refer.

He looked at the note, wondering if it was time, knowing that it was. Something concrete had to come out of all this bad feeling, and he had decided sometime between this morning and tonight – without even knowing he was deciding – that he didn't want Church crossing the road any more if he could help it.

Outside in the dark, a big semi droned by on 15, and that decided him. He tacked the memo up and went to bed.

Part One: The Pet Sematary - Chapter 10 (2) 第一部：『ペット・セマタリー』第10章（2） Часть первая: ЗооСематрия - Глава 10 (2) Частина перша: Семінарія для домашніх тварин - Розділ 10 (2)

He undressed to his shorts quietly and set the alarm for six a.m. Se desnudó hasta quedar en calzoncillos en silencio y puso la alarma a las seis de la mañana. Then he showered, washed his hair, shaved, and crunched up a Rolaid before brushing his teeth – Norma's iced tea had given him acid indigestion. Luego se duchó, se lavó el pelo, se afeitó y masticó un Rolaid antes de cepillarse los dientes: el té helado de Norma le había provocado una indigestión ácida. Or maybe it was coming home and seeing Rachel way over on her side of the bed. O tal vez fue llegar a casa y ver a Rachel en su lado de la cama. Territory is that which defines all else, hadn't he read that in some college history course? El territorio es lo que define todo lo demás, ¿no lo había leído en algún curso de historia de la universidad?

Everything done, the evening put neatly away, he went to bed … but couldn't sleep. Todo hecho, la velada ordenada, se fue a la cama... pero no pudo dormir. There was something else, something that nagged at him. Había algo más, algo que lo fastidiaba. The last two days went around and around in his head as he listened to Rachel and Gage breathing nearly in tandem. Los últimos dos días dieron vueltas y vueltas en su cabeza mientras escuchaba a Rachel y Gage respirar casi al mismo tiempo. GEN. GEN. PATTON. HANNAH THE BEST DOG THAT EVER LIVED. MARTA OUR PET RABIT. MARTA NUESTRA MASCOTA CONEJO. Ellie, furious. Ellie, furiosa. I don't want Church to ever be dead! … He's not God's cat! … ¡Él no es el gato de Dios! Let God have his own cat! ¡Que Dios tenga su propio gato! Rachel equally furious. Rachel igualmente furiosa. You as a doctor should know … Norma Crandall saying It just seems like people want to forget it … And Jud, his voice somehow terribly sure, terribly certain, a voice from another age: Sometimes it took supper with you and sometimes you could feel it bite your ass. Usted como médico debe saber... Norma Crandall diciendo Parece que la gente quiere olvidarlo... Y Jud, su voz de alguna manera terriblemente segura, terriblemente segura, una voz de otra época: A veces cenaba contigo y a veces podías sentirlo muerde tu trasero

And that voice merged with the voice of his mother, who had lied to Louis Creed about sex at four but told him the truth about death at twelve, when his cousin Ruthie had been killed in a stupid car accident. Y esa voz se fusionó con la voz de su madre, que le había mentido a Louis Creed sobre el sexo a los cuatro años pero le había dicho la verdad sobre la muerte a los doce, cuando su prima Ruthie había muerto en un estúpido accidente de coche. She had been crushed in her father's car by a kid who had found the keys in a Public Works Department payloader and decided to take it for a cruise and then found out he didn't know how to stop it. La había aplastado en el coche de su padre un niño que había encontrado las llaves en un camión de carga útil del Departamento de Obras Públicas y decidió llevarlo a dar un paseo y luego descubrió que no sabía cómo detenerlo. The kid suffered only minor cuts and contusions; his Uncle Carl's Fairlane was demolished. El niño solo sufrió cortes y contusiones menores; Fairlane de su tío Carl fue demolido. She can't be dead, he had replied in answer to his mother's bald statement. No puede estar muerta, había respondido en respuesta a la escueta declaración de su madre. He had heard the words but he couldn't seem to get the sense of them. Había oído las palabras, pero parecía que no podía captar el sentido de ellas. What do you mean, she's dead? ¿Qué quieres decir con que está muerta? What are you talking about? ¿De qué estás hablando? And then, as an after-thought: Who's going to bury her? Y luego, como una reflexión: ¿Quién la va a enterrar? For although Ruthie's father, Louis's uncle, was an undertaker, he couldn't imagine that Uncle Carl would possibly be the one to do it. Aunque el padre de Ruthie, el tío de Louis, era empresario de pompas fúnebres, no podía imaginar que el tío Carl fuera a ser quien lo hiciera. In his confusion and mounting fear, he had seized upon this as the most important question. En su confusión y temor creciente, se había aferrado a esta como la pregunta más importante. It was a genuine conundrum, like who cut the town barber's hair. Era un auténtico enigma, como quién cortaba el pelo al barbero del pueblo.

I imagine that Donny Donahue will do it, his mother replied. Imagino que lo hará Donny Donahue, respondió su madre. Her eyes were red-rimmed; most of all she had looked tired. Sus ojos estaban enrojecidos; sobre todo, parecía cansada. His mother had looked almost ill with weariness. Su madre parecía casi enferma de cansancio. He's your Uncle's best pal in the business. Es el mejor amigo de tu tío en el negocio. Oh, but Louis … sweet little Ruthie … I can't stand to think she suffered … pray with me, will you, Louis? Oh, pero Louis... la dulce y pequeña Ruthie... No puedo soportar pensar que ella sufrió... ora conmigo, ¿quieres, Louis? Pray with me for Ruthie. Oren conmigo por Ruthie. I need you to help me. Necesito que me ayudes.

So they had gotten down on their knees in the kitchen, he and his mother, and they prayed, and it was the praying that finally brought it home to him; if his mother was praying for Ruthie Hodge's soul, then it meant that her body was gone. Así que se arrodillaron en la cocina, él y su madre, y oraron, y fue la oración lo que finalmente lo hizo comprender; si su madre rezaba por el alma de Ruthie Hodge, significaba que su cuerpo se había ido. Before his closed eyes rose a terrible image of Ruthie coming to his thirteenth birthday party with her decaying eyeballs hanging on her cheeks and blue mould growing in her red hair, and this image provoked not just sickening horror but an awful doomed love. Ante sus ojos cerrados apareció una terrible imagen de Ruthie viniendo a su fiesta de cumpleaños número trece con los globos oculares en descomposición colgando de sus mejillas y un moho azul creciendo en su cabello rojo, y esta imagen provocó no solo un horror enfermizo sino un amor terrible condenado.

He cried out in the greatest mental agony of his life, ‘She can't be dead! Gritó en la mayor agonía mental de su vida: '¡Ella no puede estar muerta! MOMMA SHE CAN'T BE DEAD I LOVE HER!' MAMA NO PUEDE ESTAR MUERTA LA AMO!'

And his mother's reply, like a tomb door swinging shut for ever on gritty, rusted hinges, her voice flat and yet full of images: dead fields under a November wind, scattered rosepetals brown and turning up at the edges, empty pools scummed with algae, rot, decomposition, dust: Y la respuesta de su madre, como la puerta de una tumba que se cierra para siempre sobre unos goznes arenosos y oxidados, su voz monótona y, sin embargo, llena de imágenes: campos muertos bajo un viento de noviembre, pétalos de rosa dispersos, marrones y saliendo por los bordes, estanques vacíos llenos de algas. , podredumbre, descomposición, polvo:

She is, my darling. Ella es, mi amor. I'm sorry, but she is. Lo siento, pero ella es. Ruthie is gone. Ruthie se ha ido.

Louis shuddered, thinking: Dead is dead, what else do you need? Louis se estremeció, pensando: Muerto está muerto, ¿qué más necesitas?

Suddenly Louis knew what it was he had forgotten to do, why he was still awake on this night before the first day of his new job, hashing over old griefs. De repente, Louis supo qué era lo que había olvidado hacer, por qué todavía estaba despierto esa noche antes del primer día de su nuevo trabajo, discutiendo viejas penas.

He got up, headed for the stairs, and suddenly detoured down the hall to Ellie's room. Se levantó, se dirigió a las escaleras y de repente se desvió por el pasillo hasta la habitación de Ellie. She was sleeping peacefully, mouth open, wearing her blue baby-doll pajamas that she had really outgrown. Dormía plácidamente, con la boca abierta, vestida con su pijama azul de muñeca que realmente se le había quedado pequeña. My God, Ellie, he thought, you're sprouting like corn. Dios mío, Ellie, pensó, estás brotando como el maíz. Church lay between her splayed ankles, also dead to the world. Church yacía entre sus tobillos abiertos, también muerta para el mundo. You should pardon the pun. Deberías perdonar el juego de palabras.

Downstairs there was a bulletin board on the wall by the phone with various messages, memos and bills tacked to it. Abajo había un tablón de anuncios en la pared junto al teléfono con varios mensajes, memorandos y facturas pegados. Written across the top in Rachel's neat caps was THINGS TO PUT OFF AS LONG AS POSSIBLE. Escrito en la parte superior con las pulcras gorras de Rachel decía COSAS QUE DEBEN PONERSE LO MAS POSIBLE. Louis got the telephone book, looked up a number, and jotted it on a blank memo sheet. Louis tomó la guía telefónica, buscó un número y lo anotó en una hoja de notas en blanco. Below the number he wrote: Quentin L. Jolander, DVM – call for appointment re Church – if Jolander doesn't neuter animals, he will refer. Debajo del número, escribió: Quentin L. Jolander, DVM: llame para una cita sobre la Iglesia: si Jolander no esteriliza a los animales, lo referirá.

He looked at the note, wondering if it was time, knowing that it was. Miró la nota, preguntándose si era hora, sabiendo que lo era. Something concrete had to come out of all this bad feeling, and he had decided sometime between this morning and tonight – without even knowing he was deciding – that he didn't want Church crossing the road any more if he could help it. Algo concreto tenía que salir de todo este mal presentimiento, y había decidido en algún momento entre esta mañana y esta noche, sin siquiera saber que estaba decidiendo, que no quería que Church cruzara más la calle si podía evitarlo.

His old feelings on the subject rose up in him, the idea that it would lessen the cat, turn him into a fat old tom before his time, content to just sleep on the radiator until someone put something into his dish. Sus viejos sentimientos sobre el tema surgieron en él, la idea de que rebajaría al gato, lo convertiría en un viejo gordo antes de tiempo, contento con dormir en el radiador hasta que alguien le pusiera algo en el plato. He didn't want Church like that. Él no quería una Iglesia así. He liked Church the way he was, lean and mean. Le gustaba Church tal como era, delgado y mezquino.

Outside in the dark, a big semi droned by on 15, and that decided him. Afuera, en la oscuridad, pasó un gran semirremolque por el 15, y eso lo decidió. He tacked the memo up and went to bed. Clavó el memorándum y se fue a la cama.