Chi-du Market / 七堵市場

阿嬤走了之後，我突然開始想要拼湊她的人生，越發現自己知道的少得可憐，就越想要挖掘。

After Granny passed away, I started to be curious about her life. As I ask more and more questions, I realize I know very little about her. And that just makes me more eager to piece the puzzle. 

        美麗說阿嬤最喜歡逛菜市場，我居然對七堵市場完全沒有回憶，所以我在一個陰雨天裡，又特地搭了火車去七堵菜市場。雨滴答滴答落，但菜市場充滿生氣，在市場逛一圈效果不輸喝蠻牛。

     Meili said Granny loved to shop in the market, which I didn't remember at all. So I take a train on a rainy day to visit Chi-du Market. Despite the rain, the market is throbbing with life. Taking a walk there works as well as drinking a bottle of Red Bull. 

        市場裡有各種顏色、各種味道和各種吆喝聲，我的眼光卻總是停留在老婦人身上。美麗說這陣子不敢去市場，因為大家都認識阿嬤，一定會問阿嬤怎麼沒有來，也許我看到的這些人物都是阿嬤的朋友。

     The market is brimming with all sorts of colors, all kinds of smells and all types of sounds. However, I can't take my eyes off old ladies. Meili has avoided going to the market recently because everyone knows Granny. They are bound to ask her how come Granny doesn't come if she shows up. Maybe these people I see are Granny's friends. 

        「阿嬤喜歡吃什麼菜？」每次回七堵受阿嬤招待，很少看他和我們一同歡樂地吃飯，她總是忙進忙出招呼大家，等我們都吃飽了，她才坐下來吃她專屬的稀飯。「阿嬤不是喜歡吃的人，她的快樂在於每週六為大家準備飯菜，所以大部分去菜市場都只是看看而已。」

     "What did Granny love to eat?" Every time when we went back to Chi-du, I hardly saw Granny eat. She was a busy hostess, and she didn't sit down to eat her porridge until we were all fed. "Granny isn't the kind of person that takes delight in eating. Her joy lies in seeing everybody and preparing the meal. Most of the time when she went to the market, she just looked around." Meili said. 

        媽媽和阿姨卻說：阿嬤這幾年很喜歡吃甜食。臨走前的幾個月，阿嬤特別喜歡喝甜甜的木瓜牛奶，去年十一月底居然也像孩子開始吃餅乾類的零食。

     Mom and Auntie said, "Granny had had a sweet tooth in the past few years." She was especially fond of papaya milk before passing away. At the end of last year, she also began to nibble cookies like a child. 

        「如果我有我們一起來的回憶就好了。」回頭看才知道錯過太多珍貴的畫面，而我們總是活得那麼漫不經心。

     "I wish we had shared moments of shopping in the market together." It's always when we look back that we realize we have missed too many precious moments, but most of us live our lives so absent-minded.