有些舊戲院的樓上位置,很少人會選。視野很好,但總帶點距離感。那一晚,我只是隨便買了一張樓上票,沒有特別原因,只是想靜一點看完整場電影。
Some seats are rarely chosen—not because they are bad, but because they feel distant. That night, I picked one of those upper seats without thinking, just wanting a quiet place to watch the film.
中文
我那晚買的是樓上座位,進場時燈還未完全暗下來,我第一眼向下望,整個戲院已經坐滿了人,不是零散幾個,而是每一排都有人,頭與頭之間剛好填滿所有位置,那種整齊讓人覺得有點不自然,但我沒有多想,只是沿著樓梯走上去,樓上的位置幾乎是空的,我隨便找了一個中間位置坐下,再向下望了一眼,畫面沒有變,依然滿座,但整個戲院卻出奇地安靜,沒有交談聲,沒有咳嗽聲,甚至連爆谷袋的聲音都沒有,燈光暗下來之後,銀幕亮起,電影開始播放,聲音很清晰,但除了電影聲,整個空間沒有其他任何聲音,那種安靜慢慢變得奇怪,我再一次看向樓下,那些人仍然坐著,但沒有一個人在動,沒有轉頭,沒有調整姿勢,甚至沒有任何細微的動作,就像畫面被停住了一樣,我開始刻意盯著其中一個位置看,前排中間的一個人影,我等了一會,他沒有動,我移開視線,再看回去,他還在,姿勢完全一樣,我再看其他人,每一個人都一樣,頭的位置整齊得不自然,像是複製出來的一樣,電影繼續播放,但我已經開始分不清自己是在看銀幕,還是在看樓下那些人,每隔一段時間,我都會忍不住再看一眼,每一次都一樣,滿座,安靜,完全靜止,直到電影接近結束,我已經不再專心,只是等燈亮起那一刻,畫面慢慢暗下來,音樂停止,燈光一盞一盞亮起,我再一次向下望,所有座位都是空的,一個人都沒有,沒有外套,沒有袋,沒有任何有人坐過的痕跡,就像整場戲從來沒有其他觀眾一樣,但我很清楚記得,電影開始之前,那裡是滿的,而且不是幾個人,而是整個戲院,每一個位置,都有人坐著
English Version
I took a seat in the upper level that night, not for any particular reason, just because it was quieter, when I entered, the lights had not fully dimmed yet, and from above I could see the entire theatre already filled, not scattered seats but every row occupied, every space neatly taken, it looked complete in a way that felt slightly too perfect, I didn’t question it at first, I simply made my way upstairs and sat somewhere in the middle, the upper level was nearly empty, when I looked down again, nothing had changed, it was still full, but something else stood out, there was no sound, no conversations, no coughing, no rustling, not even the faintest movement you would expect from a crowd, when the film began, the sound filled the room, but only the film, nothing else existed beyond it, I looked down again, the audience remained, but they weren’t moving, not turning, not shifting, not even slightly, it was as if the entire crowd had been paused, I focused on one figure near the front, waiting, seconds passed, nothing, I looked away, then back again, the figure was still there, unchanged, I began scanning the rest, and realized they were all the same, aligned in a way that didn’t feel natural, like they had been arranged rather than seated, the film continued, but I was no longer watching it, I was watching them, every time I checked, the same image remained, full seats, absolute stillness, no life within the space, by the time the film reached its end, I was waiting for the lights, when they finally came on, I looked down once more, every seat was empty, completely empty, no belongings, no signs anyone had ever been there, as if the theatre had been empty the entire time, but I remember clearly, before the film started, it was full, not just a few people, but every single seat, occupied
