Chapter 13

CHAPTER 13 TWO AND A HALF YEARS LATER JANUARY 1947 ABOARD THE ANNA MARINE THE ATLANTIO OCEAN Max stood with Zena at the ship's railing, shivering in the cold. Papa sat on a chair behind them, his head bent over the book of English words they'd all been studying. Suddenly, he looked up and called out to them. "See anything yet?" "No, Papa," said Zena. "Keep looking," Papa said with a smile. "Any minute now you'll see land."

第十三章两年半以后，1947年1月，在安娜海军号上，大西洋号的马克斯和泽娜站在船的栏杆旁，冻得瑟瑟发抖。 爸爸坐在他们后面的椅子上，他的头低在他们一直在学的英语单词书上。 突然，他抬起头来，向他们喊道。 “看到什么了吗?”“不，爸爸。”泽娜说。 “继续找，”爸爸笑着说。 “现在你随时都可以看到陆地。”

This is what Papa had been saying all day. They'd been at sea for an entire week, and they were supposed to be arriving in New York soon. But as Max stared ahead, squinting into the bright sun, all he could see was the endless ocean. Would they ever get to America? It had been nearly two years since the end of the war, and even longer since they'd left Loda Forest. Hitler was dead. Thousands of Nazis were locked up. Much of Europe was in ruins. Germany had been practically destroyed by bombers from America and England. Everything was different now, and still changing. Hannah and Lev were married and living in Palestine. Martin had gone with them. They were all helping build a new Jewish nation — Israel. Thousands of Jewish people were already there. And Aunt Hannah had almost convinced Papa that he and Max and Zena should go to Palestine with them. But Papa knew how hard life would be for

这就是爸爸说了一整天的话。 他们已经在海上航行了整整一个星期，应该很快就会到达纽约。 但当马克斯盯着前方，眯着眼睛望向明亮的阳光时，他所能看到的只有无边无际的海洋。 他们会到达美国吗? 战争结束已经快两年了，他们离开洛达森林的时间甚至更长。 希特勒死了。成千上万的纳粹分子被关了起来。 欧洲大部分地区都成了废墟。 德国实际上已经被美国和英国的轰炸机摧毁了。 现在一切都不同了，而且还在变化。 汉娜和利弗结婚了，住在巴勒斯坦。 马丁跟他们一起去了。 他们都在帮助建立一个新的犹太国家——以色列。 成千上万的犹太人已经在那里了。 汉娜姨妈几乎说服了爸爸，让他和马克斯、泽娜和他们一起去巴勒斯坦。 但是爸爸知道生活会有多艰难

the settlers of that new nation. He'd decided America was the place for him and Max and Zena. Max would never forget the sadness of saying good-bye to Aunt Hannah and Lev and Martin. "We will see each other soon!" Aunt Hannah had promised, in her bright and certain voice. But her glittering eyes were overflowing with tears as they hugged good-bye, and they all knew it could be a very long time before they were together again. Papa, Max, and Zena stayed with Mr. Jablonski, but there was nothing left for them in Esties. Almost every Jewish person was gone forever, their lives stolen by the Nazis. There seemed to be ghosts everywhere, stains of the terrible things that had happened. Max was sad to say good-bye to Mr. Jablonski. But he was happy to leave Esties. He never wanted to go back. They wandered for months, from city to city, crowded train after crowded train. They were part of a sea of Jewish survivors, hundreds of

那个新国家的移民。 他决定美国是他、马克斯和泽娜的归宿。 马克斯永远不会忘记和汉娜姨妈、列弗和马丁告别时的悲伤。 “我们很快就会见面的!”汉娜姨妈用她那明快而坚定的声音答应过。 但当他们拥抱告别时，她闪亮的眼睛里满是泪水，他们都知道，要想再次相聚，可能要等很长一段时间。 爸爸、马克斯和泽娜和雅布隆斯基先生住在一起，但埃斯蒂没有什么留给他们的了。 几乎每个犹太人都永远消失了，他们的生命被纳粹偷走了。 似乎到处都是鬼魂，都是发生过的可怕事情的痕迹。 麦克斯和雅布伦斯基先生告别时很难过。 但他很高兴离开埃斯蒂斯。 他再也不想回去了。 他们徘徊了好几个月，从一个城市到另一个城市，挤了一列又一列拥挤的火车。 他们是数以百计的犹太幸存者的一部分

thousands of people with no homes, no money, and nowhere to go. Finally they made their way to Rome, Italy. They stayed at small camp with hundreds of other Jews like them. The people working at the camp were volunteers who came from all over the world. A kind woman from America helped Papa write a letter to his cousin Saul, who lived in New York. The only way to get to America was if you had the help of a family member who already lived there. It had taken months for the letter to reach Saul, and several more for his response to get back to Papa. "I will do anything and everything to help you, my dear cousin," he wrote. Saul had a wife named Jennie, three grown children, and six grandchildren who were around Max and Zena's age. "We will all be waiting for your ship," Saul wrote in his last letter. "Your entire family is here for you. We will help you start your new life."

成千上万的人没有家，没有钱，无处可去。 最后，他们来到了意大利的罗马。 他们和其他数百名像他们一样的犹太人住在一个小营地里。 在营地工作的人都是来自世界各地的志愿者。 一位来自美国的善良的妇女帮爸爸给他住在纽约的表弟索尔写了一封信。 要想去美国，唯一的办法就是得到已经住在那里的家人的帮助。 这封信花了好几个月才送到索尔那里，他的回信又花了好几个月才回到爸爸那里。 “我愿意做任何事、任何事来帮助你，我亲爱的表妹，”他写道。 索尔有一个名叫珍妮的妻子，三个成年子女和六个与马克斯和泽娜年龄相仿的孙子孙女。 “我们都在等你的船，”扫罗在最后一封信中写道。 “你的整个家庭都在这里支持你。 我们会帮助你开始新的生活。”

New life. New life. Max had said those words over and over to himself, not sure what they meant. He wanted to forget all of the bad things that had happened, the fear and the sadness that he'd worn like a second skin, the evil of the Nazis, the suffering of those all around him, people who had lived through far worse than what he had experienced. But could he really forget? Was it right to forget? Could Max really start a new and happy life after all that had happened? For months before this voyage, he'd wrestled with these questions. But then, just a few days before they boarded the ship, Max had been getting dressed. His eyes lingered on his scar. He'd almost forgotten about it. Sometimes the wound ached a little, but it had

新的生活。新的生活。马克斯一遍又一遍地对自己说着这些话，不知道它们是什么意思。 他想忘掉所有发生过的糟糕的事情，忘掉他像披在身上的第二层皮肤一样的恐惧和悲伤，忘掉纳粹的邪恶，忘掉他周围人的痛苦，忘掉那些经历过比他更糟糕经历的人。 但他真的会忘记吗? 忘记是对的吗?发生了这一切之后，麦克斯真的能开始新的幸福生活吗? 在这次航行之前的几个月里，他一直在纠结这些问题。 但是，就在他们上船的前几天，马克斯一直在穿衣服。 他的目光停留在伤疤上。 他几乎忘了这件事。 有时伤口有点疼，但还是疼了

healed. Max ran his fingers across the puckered skin. And it came to him — that the Nazis had wounded him in other places, too, places he couldn't see. In his heart. In his mind. He had scars there, too. And he would carry those scars with him for his whole life. They would remind him of all of the terrible things that had happened, the sadness and the pain, the evil and the suffering he had witnessed. But he would also remember the kindness of people like Mr. Jablonski, who risked his life to help them. He'd remember the incredible luck of finding Aunt Hannah — and then being reunited with Papa. He'd remember the bravery of the partisans, and how he and Zena never left each other's side. And he'd feel the strength inside him — and the hope — that had gotten him through these impossible years.

医治。马克斯用手指抚摸着皱巴巴的皮肤。 他突然意识到，纳粹也在其他地方伤害了他，那些他看不见的地方。 在他心里。在他心里。 他那里也有伤疤。这些伤疤会伴随他一生。 它们会让他想起发生过的所有可怕的事情，他亲眼目睹的悲伤和痛苦，邪恶和苦难。 但他也会记住像雅布隆斯基这样的人的善良，他们冒着生命危险帮助他们。 他会记得找到汉娜姨妈的难以置信的幸运，然后和爸爸团聚。 他会记得游击队员的勇敢，以及他和泽娜从未离开过对方的身边。 他会感受到自己内心的力量和希望，正是这种力量让他度过了这些不可能的岁月。