I went one-day tour for tourists with my wife’s friend and her sons living in Dublin during staying there. The destination of the tour is The Cliffs of Moher. At the departure point of the tour, many tourists from all over the world gathered. I sat next to russian family in the bus. We arrived on the cliffs at about eleven o’clock while we had passed through some small villages and the wide sweep of the meadows. When I walked along the edge of the cliffs, her one son Sam found a sharp rock facing the Atlantic by itself, and he said to me. “You know, a witch is living in that rock.” “Oh really? Where is her room? At the top?” “No, at the bottom!” “About the hollow part?” “Yes.” Night had come. A sailer found a lighthouse sparkling radial pattern of purple light. He had to change his direction in preparation for stormy seas, but he couldn’t do it. All affection which he had received in his life surged over his mind, and he struggled and shouted for help in the midst of sea. Then, when he recovered his senses, waves were very calm, moon was shining in the night sky, and he had stood on the deck as always. He found the light again, but he couldn’t do ever again. One of the good point of the tour for tourists is strict schedule. A bus driver gave us the signal for departure, a bell for ending rang in a story of the witch, I got on the bus again.

 

ダブリンに暮らす妻の知人家族と、滞在中、日帰り旅行に出かけた。目的は、モーハの断崖。集合場所の中心地に向かうと、さまざまな国からやってきた観光客が集まっていた。ぼくは家族と離れて、ロシアはモスクワから来た一家と相席。途中、小さな村や牧草地帯と走り抜けて、断崖に到着したのは11時頃。崖っぷちの道を歩いていると、知人家族の子ども・サムが、大陸からひとり離れて大西洋に立ち向かうとんがり岩を見つけて言う。あそこはね、魔女が住んでいるんだよ。へえ、部屋はどのあたりかね、上かな。ううん、下のほうだよ。へえ、下かあ、あああの凹みのところね。うん、そうだよ。夜になり、船乗りは遠洋から陸地を見つめ、放射線状に紫色の目映い光を放つ灯りを見つける。もうすぐやってくる時化に備えて針路を変えなければならないのに、光が瞳を吸いつけてもうどうにも動けない。そのうち、これまでの人生で人々から受けたすべての慈しみが、大波になって彼の心に押し寄せる。あっという間に波に飲まれた船乗りは波間を藻掻いて大声で叫ぶ。ふと気づくと、波は静かで、月は穏やかに夜空に浮かび、船乗りは甲板に立っていた。陸地にあの光は、ない。ツアーのいいところは、タイムスケジュールが恐ろしく細切れなことだ。魔女の誘う物語にもチンとタイムアップの合図がなり、ぼくはふたたびバスに乗った。