Chapter 19

CHAPTER 19 "Doing okay, sweetie?" Mom asked, taking his hand. Josh slid his hand away and managed to nod. Don't cry, he told himself. He knew if he started crying it would be hard to stop. "Why don't you open Holly's present?" Mom said.

第十九章“还好吧，亲爱的？”妈妈握住他的手问道。 乔希把手抽开，勉强点了点头。 别哭，他告诉自己。 他知道，如果他开始哭，就很难停下来。 “你为什么不打开霍莉的礼物？”母亲说。

Josh took a deep breath, then turned and lifted the box from the back seat. He'd figured it was a nature book or something. But the box was very light. He untied the ribbon, took off the lid, and stared in shock at the long, dried-out… thing… lying on a bed of tissue. "Is that a dirty sock?" Mom asked, glancing over but quickly turning her focus back to the road. "It's King's snake skin," Josh said with a little laugh. He shook his head as he pictured his cousin putting it in this box, tying it with a bow. Only Holly would give him such a… different kind of present. "Oh my," Mom said, making a face. Josh put the lid back on and set the box on the floor. He'd figure out some nice way to give it back to Holly when she came for Thanksgiving. But as they drove slowly along that endless road, Josh thought of how hard it had been for

乔希深吸了一口气，然后转身把盒子从后座拿了起来。 他以为这是本自然书什么的。 但是盒子很轻。 他解开丝带，取下盖子，震惊地盯着那个长长的、干枯的……东西……躺在一张纸床上。 “那是一只脏袜子吗？”妈妈问，瞥了一眼，但很快又把注意力转回到路上。 “这是金的蛇皮。”乔希笑着说。 他摇了摇头，想象着他的表弟把它放在这个盒子里，打了一个蝴蝶结。 只有霍莉会给他这样一份……与众不同的礼物。 “哦，天哪，”妈妈说，做了个鬼脸。 乔希盖上盖子，把盒子放在地板上。 他会想个好办法在霍莉来过感恩节的时候还给她。 但当他们慢慢地沿着这条无尽的道路行驶时，乔希想到这是多么艰难

King Kong to shed that skin. He pictured King's new skin, green and gold and glistening. And it slowly came to Josh, why Holly had given him the present. What it meant. He thought back to the morning of the fire, when Holly had found him sitting alone in the woods. She'd told him about losing her dad, and how much she'd hated having to move. How tough it had been to start over. She'd said it was like shedding her skin. And now Josh would have to shed his. Maybe he and Holly weren't so different after all. Josh sat for a while longer, thinking. And then Mom's purse started to buzz. "Your phone!" Mom said. "I forgot I charged it for you. We must have service now." Josh fished his phone out—it was going crazy with texts! From Greg. From Dad. From his coach and the guys on his team.

金刚去剥皮。 他想象着金的新皮肤，又绿又金，闪闪发光。 乔希慢慢明白了，为什么霍莉要送他礼物。 这意味着什么。他回想起起火的那个早晨，霍莉发现他独自坐在树林里。 她告诉他失去父亲的事，以及她多么讨厌搬家。 重新开始是多么艰难。 她说那感觉就像蜕皮。 现在乔什也得甩掉他的了。 也许他和霍莉并没有什么不同。 乔希又坐了一会儿，思考着。 然后妈妈的钱包开始嗡嗡作响。 “你的电话!”母亲说。“我忘了我帮你收过钱了。 我们现在必须有服务。” 乔希把他的手机捞了出来——短信太多了！从格雷格。 从爸爸。从他的教练和队友那里。

When are you coming back? We miss you! Get well! Josh's heart rose up. He answered Greg first. Coming home tonight! Then Dad. Can't wait to see you. Josh sent a few more texts and put his phone into his pocket. He picked up the shoebox and opened it again. He looked at the snake skin and smiled to himself. Greg was going to freak when he saw it! And Dad would think it was pretty cool, too, especially after Josh explained why Holly had given it to him. Josh put the snake skin away and grabbed a muffin, then a brownie, then a cookie. He looked out the window, more intently now. They weren't out of the fire area yet. The forest was still burned. But for the first time, Josh noticed that there were

你什么时候回来？我们想念你！恢复健康!乔希的心猛地一跳。 他先回答了格雷格。今晚回家！然后爸爸。 等不及想见你了。乔希又发了几条短信，把手机放进口袋里。 他拿起鞋盒，又打开了。 他看着那张蛇皮，暗自笑了。 格雷格看到它会发疯的！爸爸也会觉得这很酷，尤其是在乔什解释了为什么霍莉会把它给他之后。 乔希把蛇皮拿开，抓起一块松饼，然后是一块布朗尼，然后是一块饼干。 他望着窗外，现在更专心了。 他们还没离开火区。 森林仍在燃烧。 但乔希第一次注意到，确实有

some trees still standing. Strong trees that had somehow made it through the fire. He put his hand on Mom's and looked at the long and curving road ahead. He leaned back in his seat. They still had a ways to go, he knew. But they'd make it.

有些树还在。 在大火中幸存下来的强壮的树木。 他把手放在妈妈的手上，看着前面那条又长又弯的路。 他向后靠在座位上。 他知道，他们还有很长的路要走。 但他们会成功的。