6. La Abuela

6 La Abuela Stanley had seen Olympic divers on television: their bodies perfectly straight, their hands like arrows piercing the water. Stanley made himself as flat as he could. The wind rushed around his ears. The side of the cliff blurred before his eyes. He barely made a splash. Stanley shot toward the bottom of the water like a bullet. Suddenly, he noticed an underwater cave to his left, swarming with fish. He went for it. Inside, Stanley knew he couldn't hold his breath much longer. His hands broke the surface and hit the cave's rocky ceiling. There wasn't nearly enough space for his head. How am I going to breathe?! he thought in a panic.

La Abuela Stanley在电视上看过奥运会跳水运动员:他们的身体笔直，双手像箭一样刺入水中。 斯坦利尽量把自己压平。 风在他耳边呼啸。 悬崖的侧面在他眼前模糊了。 他几乎没有溅起水花。斯坦利像子弹一样冲向水底。 突然，他注意到左边有一个水下洞穴，里面满是鱼。 他去了。在心里，斯坦利知道他不能再屏住呼吸了。 他的手打破了表面，碰到了洞穴的岩石天花板。 几乎没有足够的空间放得下他的头。 我要怎么呼吸?!他惊慌地想。

Then he remembered Carmen's voice: What are you going to do with what you have? Stanley swung himself into a back float. His flat body barely rose above the surface. The ceiling of the cave was inches from his nose.

这时，他想起了卡门的声音:你打算用你拥有的东西做什么? 斯坦利跳上了后面的浮标。 他扁平的身体勉强露出水面。 山洞的天花板离他的鼻子只有几英寸。

He gulped the air hungrily. A current began pulling him along. It started gently and then got faster. Soon, Stanley felt like he was riding a water slide—except it was pitch-dark, and all the sides were covered with sharp rocks. The current rose to a roar. He swung into the wall and scraped his leg. Stanley cried out. Vroosh. He shot out of the cave. Stanley found himself in a calm, clear pool of water shallow enough that he could stand. Around the pool was a small field of herbs, planted in rows. And at the edge of the field was a tiny cottage. Stanley walked ashore, careful not to step on any of the plants. He was about to knock on the door when it opened.

他如饥似渴地大口吸气。 一股水流开始把他往前拉。 它开始缓慢，然后变得更快。 很快，斯坦利就觉得自己像是在坐滑梯——除了四周漆黑一片，而且所有的边都被尖锐的岩石覆盖着。 激流怒吼起来。 他猛地撞在墙上，刮伤了腿。 斯坦利叫道。Vroosh。 他冲出了山洞。斯坦利发现自己置身于一个平静、清澈、浅得足以站立的水池中。 池塘的周围是一小块草药地，一排排地种着。 在田野的边缘有一间小茅屋。 斯坦利走上岸，小心翼翼地不踩到任何植物。 他正要敲门，门开了。

A very small, very old woman stood before him. Stanley swallowed hard. "La Abuela?" She was smaller than Stanley was, with big cheeks and short gray hair. She wore a colorful dress and a patterned scarf around her neck. She looked at him curiously. Stanley reached into his pocket for Carlos's letter, but all he found was a few soggy bits of paper. "I'm not a spy," Stanley said quickly. Without responding, La Abuela reached for his hand. She raised his arm before her eyes and turned it this way and that, examining its shape.

一个非常瘦小、非常老的女人站在他面前。 斯坦利使劲咽了口气。“La祖母吗?”她比斯坦利个子小，双颊宽大，灰白的短发。 她穿着一件色彩鲜艳的连衣裙，脖子上围着一条有图案的围巾。 她好奇地看着他。 斯坦利把手伸进口袋拿卡洛斯的信，但他只找到了几张湿透的纸。 “我不是间谍，”斯坦利很快地说。 拉阿布拉没有回答，而是伸手去拉他的手。 她把他的胳膊举到眼前，左右转动着，审视着它的形状。

Then she turned her gaze to Stanley's face. Stanley held his head high so she could look. When he looked down again, La Abuela's eyes were moist, as if she were about to cry. Her lips quivered. "Estaba esperándole," she said. "I have been waiting for someone like you." Stanley was about to ask what she meant when he heard a series of splashes—one, two, three! "Oui!" a familiar voice said triumphantly. "We have arrived at last!"

然后她把目光转向斯坦利的脸。 斯坦利把头抬得高高的，好让她看看。 当他再次低下头时，奶奶的眼睛湿润了，好像快要哭出来似的。 她的嘴唇颤抖着。“建立esperándole，”她说。 “我一直在等待像你这样的人。” 斯坦利正要问她是什么意思，这时他听到一连串的水花声——一、二、三!“是啊!”一个熟悉的声音得意地说。 “我们终于到了!”