Ribbon and the Hidden Wheel

Do rodnej dediny som dorazil práve na hody, keď sa námestie ligotal stánkami a dychovka naliehavo volala, aby sa človek aspoň na chvíľu stratil v rušnom prúde.

I arrived in my home village right for the hody festival, when the square glittered with stalls and the brass band insistently called for one to get lost for a moment in the bustling stream.

Najprv som sa, zo zvyku, prechádzal okrajom, kde býva menej tlačenice a človek sa môže nadýchať vôní bez toho, aby mu niekto zavadzal lakťom.

At first, out of habit, I strolled along the edge, where there's less jostling and you can breathe in the smells without someone bumping your elbow.

Za kolotočom, ktorý škrípal ako stará brána, ma upútal stánok s krojmi; stará pani tam pri petrolejke prišívala stužky tak obratne, akoby jej čas stál po boku.

Behind the carousel, which squeaked like an old gate, a stall with folk costumes caught my attention; an old lady there, by a kerosene lamp, was sewing ribbons so deftly as if time stood by her side.

Keď som sa jej opýtal, odkiaľ je tá modrotlač, len sa usmiala, že z dvorov, kde sa doteraz v nedeľu perie s piesňou, a potichu pridala, že hody bez kroja sú ako hody bez srdca.

When I asked her where the blueprint fabric was from, she just smiled, saying from yards where to this day they do the Sunday wash with song, and she quietly added that hody without a costume are like hody without a heart.

Zatiaľ čo som ochutnával makovú lokšu a prsty sa mi lepili od masla, zjavili sa dvaja chlapci, vraj hľadajú zabudnutý jarmočný trik, o ktorom sa šepká medzi stánkarmi.

While I was tasting a poppyseed flatbread and my fingers were sticky with butter, two boys appeared, saying they were looking for a forgotten fairground trick whispered about among the stallholders.

Dal som sa nimi viesť pomedzi háčiky, kde sa lovia kačky, okolo strelnice, čo hlásila zásahy ako bubeník, až sme zrazu stáli pri nenápadnom kolese šťastia skrytom za plachtou.

I let them lead me past the hooks where you fish for ducks, past the shooting gallery that announced hits like a drummer, until we suddenly stood by an inconspicuous wheel of fortune hidden behind a canvas.

Predavač, s obočím hustým ako živý plot, tvrdil, že koleso má pamäť a že kto mu venuje pohľad bez postranných úmyslov, tomu sa odmení, ale nech na to nik nepozerá hltavo.

The vendor, with eyebrows thick as a hedgerow, claimed the wheel had a memory and that whoever gave it a look without ulterior motives would be rewarded, but no one should stare at it greedily.

Keby som bol neveril, ani za svet by som to neskúsil, no chalani hádzali mince s takou vážnosťou, až sa mi nechcelo kaziť im rituál.

Had I not believed, I wouldn't have tried it for anything in the world, but the boys tossed coins with such seriousness that I didn't want to spoil their ritual.

Keď sa koleso rozbehlo, zajasal som nie pre cenu, ktorá nakoniec padla chlapcom, ale pre ten zvláštny okamih, keď sa šum jarmoku zrazu poskladal do jedného dychu, akoby celé námestie spoločne mrklo.

When the wheel started spinning, I cheered not for the prize, which in the end went to the boys, but for that strange moment when the hum of the fair suddenly folded into a single breath, as if the whole square had blinked together.

Namiesto výhry som si vzal od starej pani tenkú modrú stužku a zastrčil ju do vrecka, lebo mi pripomenula, že niekedy sa domov nevracia s plnými rukami, ale s plnším jazykom.

Instead of a prize, I took a thin blue ribbon from the old lady and tucked it into my pocket, because it reminded me that sometimes you don't return home with full hands but with a richer tongue.

Keď večer zatiahli neónové svetlá mokrú tmu a dychovka dohrala posledný valčík, odchádzal som už bez obáv, že sa mi hody rozplynú; skôr som mal pocit, že sa usadili v reči, ktorou si budem zajtra pýtať chlieb.

When neon lights drew a wet darkness over the evening and the brass band played the last waltz, I left no longer afraid the hody would fade away; rather I felt they had settled into the speech with which I would ask for bread tomorrow.