Necessity 餘地2013.09.27 Fountain Pen Drawing 鋼筆

This emaciated humpbacked guy couldn't fill the wheelchair. His neck was connected to a shunt catheter for dialysis, and the gauze had turned red from the leaking fluids. "Ewam, he only weighs 38 kg. Be careful when you push him; if he falls, it may cause a fracture."  The nurse warned me again and again. When I pushed him passing the waiting inmates, I faintly heard the whispered conversations ⋯ "He’s skinny enough …" "Oh! Skeletal zombie…" I stared at the speaker.  He probably heard it and felt restless again. This made me break into a cold sweat. I put my hands on his shoulders to comfort him. His anxiety was immediately reduced. I always feel curious and greatly puzzled about such sick drug addicts.  Was he so sick that he used drugs to ease the pain, or did he use too many drugs and this has had caused his illness? Is it necessary to impose a penalty on a patient like this? When the interview of the new inmates was finished, on my way to take the other detainees back to their cells, , one of them asked me doubtfully, "Is there need for a person like this to go through the rehabilitation penalty?" "It can't be helped…." I thought to myself, "Because he is not Wu Shuzhen [the wife of former President Chen Shuibian]."

瘦骨嶙峋又駝背，輪椅上的他竟塞不滿一張輪椅，因為要洗腎，脖子上接了分流導管，那塊紗布因滲出的體液染紅。
「文蔚，他只有38公斤，要小心推，不然跌倒了鐵定骨折。」冠年妹妹再三叮嚀著。 推輪椅經過候診收容人面前，依稀聽到小聲的交談⋯⋯ 

「金駕歐搭散⋯」
「怪老子⋯啊！秘雕才對⋯」

我向發話處瞪了一眼，他大概聽見了，於是躁動了起來，這不令我捏了把冷汗⋯⋯
我把手搭在他肩上，他的不安頓時舒解不少。

對這類重病的藥物成癮者，我總是有分好奇也有難解的困惑，到底是因罹病才施用毒品？還是施用毒品導致罹病？這樣的病人是否真有刑罰的餘地？

新收調查結束，帶其他被告回看守所，一位被告不解的問我：

「都那樣還要來觀察勒戒？」

「沒辦法⋯」我心想：「因為他不是吳淑珍⋯」