Gaelic

'S e snaidhpear a bh' ann, ann am Bosnia.

Cha leig sinn a leas ainm a chur air.

Oir bha e ga fhalach fhèin co-dhiù.

Bhiodh e na shuidhe ann an craoibh agus bhiodh e a' cuimseachadh a ghunna air drochaid a bha fodha, ach pìos math air falbh.

Nam faiceadh e saighdear bhon armailt eile bhiodh e a' feuchainn ri mharbhadh.

Chaidh a theaghlach fhèin a mharbhadh, a mhac a bha dà bhliadhna dheug, 's a bhean.

Bhiodh droch nàdar ga lìonadh fad na tìde.

Bha àm ann a bhiodh daoine is boireannaich a' danns' air an drochaid ud ann an Sarajevo.

Bhiodh fear a' cluiche accordion agus bhiodh an dannsa a' dol air adhart air an oidhche 's a' ghealach anns an adhar, gealach ìosal, dhearg.

Air oidhcheannan foghair bhiodh e fhèin 's a bhean a' danns air an drochaid ud nuair a bha iad òg.

Ach a-nis bha fòirneart air feadh na dùthcha.

Bha e a' faireachdainn uabhasach aonaranach a-nis.

Leis an fhìrinn innse cha robh caraidean aige.

Cha robh miann còmhraidh idir air.

Bhiodh e na shuidhe anns a' chraoibh a' bruadarachadh air a mhnaoi 's air a mhac.

Mar a bhiodh e a' toirt a mhic a chluich air ball­coise.

'S mar a bhiodh a bhean a' gàirnealaireachd.

Anns na làithean sin cha b' e saighdear a bh' ann idir.

'S e fear a bh' ann a bhiodh a' peantadh thaighean.

Bhiodh a mhac uaireannan a' tighinn còmhla ris.

Cha robh e ach dà bhliadhna dheug nuair a chaidh a mharbhadh.

Dhùin e a shùilean leis a' phian.

Bha duilleagan nan craobh ùr is uaine.

Air an adhbhar sin chan fhaiceadh duine e.

Uaireannan bhiodh e a' sealltainn suas don adhar far am faiceadh e an-dràsta 's a-rithist plèanaichean NATO.

Abair thusa gun robh iad a' dol luath 's a' fàgail sreath gheal às an dèidh.

Bha na duilleagan cùbhraidh is ùr mun cuairt air.

Chunnaic e balach le peile a' dol tarsainn air an drochaid.

Thog e an gunna gu a ghualainn ach mus d' fhuair e air cuimseachadh air bha am balach air a dhol seachad.

Bhiodh am balach mu aois a mhic fhèin.

Thàinig an droch nàdar air ais a-rithist.

Bha am balach seo beò 's bha a mhac fhèin marbh.

Cha robh sin ceart.

Bha am balach a' dol air tòir uisge anns an tobair le peile buidhe.

Bha geansaidh dearg air.

Chunnaic e e cho soilleir ri càil.

Cha b' urrainn dha crùbadh nuair a thilleadh e, oir bhiodh am peile làn bùirn.

Ach an toiseach bha e na chrùban.

Cha bhiodh e na chrùban nuair a thilleadh e.

Bha na duilleagan ùr.

'S e an t-earrach a bh' ann.

Bha an saoghal ga ùrachadh fhèin.

Ach, air an latha earraich ud, bha e a' cluinntinn nan gunnachan.

Cha robh aon duine anns an armailt a bha cho cinnteach ris le gunna, le raidhfil.

Ge bith dè cho fada air falbh 's a bha an targaid.

Nuair a bha e na pheantair cha robh fhios aige gun robh an tàlant ud aige.

'S ann a bha e ga shamhlachadh fhèin ri clamhan ann an craoibh.

Clamhan searbh, cinnteach.

Chunnaic e a mhac aig àm Nollaige.

Bha e a' tighinn sìos an staidhre 's a shùilean a' leudachadh nuair a chunnaic e na preusantan.

Bha e casruisgte.

Cha robh càil air an t-saoghal coltach ri àgh ann an aodann leanaibh.

Ach a-nis bha e marbh agus thàinig an droch nàdar air ais a-rithist.

Agus anns a' mhionaid thàinig am balach air ais.

Bha e tòrr na bu shlaodaiche a-nis, oir bha am peile aige na làimh.

'S math dh'fhaodte gun robh iad den bheachd nach toireadh an snaidhpear ionnsaigh air balach dà bhliadhna dheug.

 

English

He was a sniper, in Bosnia.

We don't need to name him.

Because he was hiding himself anyway.

He would sit in a tree and he would aim his gun at a bridge that was beneath him, but a good distance away.

If he saw a soldier from the other army he would try to kill him.

His own family had been killed, his son who was twelve years old, and his wife.

He was consumed with bad temper all the time.

There was a time when men and women used to dance on that bridge in Sarajevo.

A man would play an accordion and the dance would go on at night with the moon in the sky, a low, red moon.

On autumn nights he and his wife used to dance on that bridge when they were young.

But now there was violence all over the country.

He felt very lonely now.

To tell the truth he had no friends.

He had no desire to talk.

He would sit in the tree dreaming of his wife and son.

How he used to take his son to play football.

And how his wife used to garden.

In those days he was not a soldier at all.

He was a man who used to paint houses.

His son sometimes came with him.

He was only twelve years old when he was killed.

He closed his eyes with the pain.

The leaves of the trees were fresh and green.

For that reason no one could see him.

Sometimes he would look up at the sky where he would now and again see the NATO planes.

How fast they were going, leaving a white trail behind them.

The leaves were fragrant and fresh around him.

He saw a boy with a pail crossing the bridge.

He raised the gun to his shoulder but before he could aim at him the boy had passed.

The boy would be about his own son's age.

The bad temper returned.

This boy was alive and his own son was dead.

That wasn't right.

The boy was in pursuit of water in the well with a yellow bucket.

He was wearing a red sweater.

He saw him/it as clearly as anything.

He [could not]wouldn’t be able to? crouch down when he returned, because the pail would be full of water.

But at first he was crouching down.

He would not be crouching down when he returned.

The leaves were new/fresh.

It was spring.

The world was renewing itself.

But, on that spring day, he could hear the gunshots.

There was no one in the army who was as sure as he (was) with a gun, with a rifle.

No matter how far away the target was.

When he was a painter he did not know that he had that talent.

He was imagining himself as a buzzard in a tree.

A bitter, self-assured, buzzard.

He saw his son at Christmas time.

He was coming down the stairs and his eyes widened when he saw the presents.

He was barefoot.

There was nothing in the world like happiness in a child's face.

But now he was dead and the bad temper came back again.

And in that moment the boy came back.

He was much slower now, because he had the pail in his hand.

It is quite possible that they thought that the sniper would not attack a twelve-year-old boy.