Chapter 14

Chapter 14 Waiting for a Bus They couldn't find the tepee. If you'd asked Evan yesterday, he would have said, I can find that tepee blindfolded. But here they were, as good as blindfolded because of the darkness, and Evan had no idea where to look. He and Jessie wandered through the woods, flashing their lights in every direction, but either they'd gone too far or not far enough, because the tepee wasn't there. What if they couldn't find it in the dark? Evan knew his grandmother wouldn't survive a night out in the cold like this. Even if the police managed to get together a search party soon— and Evan hadn't seen a single flashlight or heard any voices in the woods yet—it might be too late by the time they found her. His grandmother

第十四章等公共汽车他们找不到帐篷。 如果你昨天问埃文，他会说，我蒙着眼睛都能找到那个帐篷。 但他们就在这里，因为黑暗，他们就像蒙着眼睛一样，埃文不知道该往哪里看。 他和杰西在树林里徘徊，向四面八方闪烁着他们的灯，但他们要么走得太远，要么走得不够远，因为帐篷不在那里。 如果他们在黑暗中找不到呢？ 埃文知道他的祖母在这样的寒冷中熬不过一个晚上。 即使警察很快组织了一支搜索队——埃文还没有看到一个手电筒，也没有听到树林里有任何声音——当他们找到她的时候，可能已经太晚了。 他的祖母

was old, and she had a broken wrist. She got confused. She needed help. He started walking faster, but he had no idea if he was getting closer to the tepee or farther away. "Stop," said Jessie. "We need a system. We can't just keep walking around hoping we're going to find it." So they followed their tracks back to the bell and stared at the edge of the woods they had just come out of. "Where's the Lightning Tree?" asked Evan. They swept their flashlight beams back and forth, but they couldn't see through the thick falling snow. So they split up, each starting at one edge of the woods and working their way to the middle, checking each tree that they came to. Finally, Evan said, "I found it!" And he had. Up close, the tree was unmistakable, burned black and naked without any branches except the single stubby one. The branch pointed their

她年纪大了，手腕也骨折了。 她很困惑。她需要帮助。 他开始走得更快了，但他不知道自己是离帐篷近了还是远了。 “停，”杰西说。“我们需要一个系统。 我们不能只是走来走去，希望我们能找到它。” 于是他们循着他们的足迹回到了钟那儿，盯着他们刚刚走出的树林的边缘。 “闪电树在哪里？”埃文问。 他们用手电来回扫射，但厚厚的积雪使他们看不见东西。 于是他们分头行动，每人从树林的一边出发，一直走到中间，每走到一棵树前都要检查一遍。 最后，埃文说：“我找到了！”他做到了。 走近一看，那棵树毫无疑问，被烧得乌黑，光秃秃的，除了一根粗短的树枝外，没有任何树枝。 树枝指向他们。

way into the woods, and they plunged deeper and deeper in. Evan kept telling himself, We're getting closer, we're getting closer, but it seemed to him that they were taking way too long to find Grandma. "There it is," said Jessie, pointing with her flashlight through the trees. And there it was. Just where it had always been. The tepee they'd built the summer before last. The tepee that was strong enough to survive a hundred winters. Evan broke into an awkward run, his snowshoes flopping and slapping the ground. When he reached the opening, he stopped, suddenly afraid to see what was inside. Jessie caught up behind him, looked at him, then reached out to pull back the tarp. "No!" said Evan, grabbing her hand and pulling it back. He didn't know what they would find inside, but if it was bad, he didn't want Jessie seeing it first. He took a step forward so that his body

走进树林，他们越陷越深。 埃文一直告诉自己，我们越来越近了，越来越近了，但在他看来，他们花了太长时间才找到奶奶。 “在那里，”杰西说，用手电筒指着树林里。 它就在那里。就在它一直在的地方。 他们前年夏天搭的帐篷。 这个帐篷足够坚固，可以挺过一百个冬天。 埃文尴尬地跑了起来，他的雪鞋扑通一声拍打着地面。 当他走到洞口时，他停了下来，突然害怕看到里面是什么。 杰西追上了他，看着他，然后伸手拉开防水布。 “不！”埃文说着，抓住她的手又缩回去。 他不知道他们会在里面发现什么，但如果是坏东西，他不想让杰西先看到。 他向前迈了一步，使他的身体

blocked Jessie's view, then he slowly pulled back the top edge of the tarp, just enough for him to poke his flashlight inside and peer into the circle of light. There was Grandma. Sitting on the ground, cross-legged. Her eyes blinked like an owl's, caught in an unexpected light. How long had she been sitting like that? "Hi," said Evan, afraid to call her Grandma in case that spooked her. It felt to him as though she were standing on the edge of a cliff and any sudden movement could topple her over. He noticed that her hat was crooked and Jessie's scarf dangled from one shoulder. "Is the bus here?" asked Grandma. "I've been waiting for hours." "Grandma!" shouted Jessie from behind Evan. Suddenly he felt Jessie shoving his body out of the way, sliding past him and into the tepee. He wanted to grab her and keep her back, but he

挡住了杰西的视线，然后他慢慢地把篷布的上边缘拉开，刚好够他把手电筒伸进去，看一看那圈光。 奶奶在那儿。盘腿坐在地上。 她的眼睛像猫头鹰一样眨着，被一种意想不到的光线吸引住了。 她那样坐了多久了？ “嗨，”埃文说，他不敢叫她奶奶，怕吓着她。 他觉得她好像站在悬崖边上，任何突然的动作都可能把她打翻。 他注意到她的帽子歪了，杰西的围巾在一个肩膀上晃来晃去。 “公共汽车在这儿吗？”奶奶问。 “我已经等了几个小时了。” “奶奶！”杰西在埃文身后喊道。 突然，他感到杰西把他的身体推开，从他身边滑进了帐篷。 他想抓住她，不让她走，但他

was holding the flashlight and the tarp, and she slipped by before he could stop her. "Why are you here, Grandma?" Jessie was practically shouting, or at least it seemed that way to Evan. "Why didn't you come home?" Grandma looked bewildered. "I'm waiting for the bus. It's been hours. What's the delay?" "What are you talking about Grandma? There's no bus!" "No bus! What do you mean? Of course, there's a bus. I take this bus three times a week." "Grandma," said Jessie, sounding like she was about to cry. "Stop it. Stop pretending. It isn't funny!" Grandma gave Jessie a disapproving stare. "Who are you? Why are you yelling at me? Where's the bus?" "Evan!" yelled Jessie, and now she was crying. Evan could see the first few tears pooling up in her eyes, and he knew if she really got going, there would be no stopping her. She hardly ever

拿着手电筒和防水布，他还没来得及阻止她，她就溜走了。 “你为什么在这里，奶奶？”杰西几乎是在大喊大叫，至少在埃文看来是这样。 “你为什么不回家？”奶奶看起来很困惑。 “我在等公共汽车。已经好几个小时了。 为什么耽搁了？”“你在说什么呀，奶奶？” 没有公共汽车！”“没有公共汽车!你是什么意思？ 当然，有公共汽车。我一周坐三次公交车。” “奶奶，”杰西说，听起来像是要哭了。 “停止它。停止假装。 这一点也不好笑！”奶奶不以为然地瞪了杰西一眼。 “你是谁？”你为什么对我大喊大叫？ 公共汽车在哪儿？”“埃文！”杰西喊道，现在她哭了。 埃文可以看到她眼中最初的几滴泪水，他知道如果她真的开始了，没有什么能阻止她。 她几乎从不

cried, but when she did, it was a thunderstorm. "Jess, it's okay," said Evan, pulling on her arm. She tried to shake her arm free, but he got a good firm hold of her. "C'mon. Come out here." She let him pull her out of the tepee, where they stood side by side in the falling snow. "She's tired," he said. "And she's old. This is how it is now. We have to get used to it." "No! No, no, no!" said Jessie, shaking her head. "I won't get used to it. I'll never get used to it! She doesn't even know me!" "Yeah, she does," said Evan. "Somewhere in her brain she knows exactly who you are. She just can't reach it right now. It's like my bedroom at Grandma's house. It's still there. We just can't get to it for a while. It's off-limits. But she'll remember you again. When she's not so cold and tired." "I hate this," whispered Jessie. He bent his head closer to hers. "I know. But look, we've got to get her home. Can you go in

哭了，但当她哭的时候，天已经雷雨了。 “杰茜，没事的，”埃文拉着她的胳膊说。 她试图挣脱她的手臂，但他牢牢地抓住了她。 “来吧。出来吧。”她让他把她从帐篷里拉出来，他们并肩站在那里，在飘落的雪中。 “她累了，”他说。“而且她老了。 这就是现在的情况。我们必须习惯它。” “不!不，不，不！”杰西摇着头说。 “我不会习惯的。我永远也适应不了！她根本不认识我！”“是的，她喜欢，”埃文说。 “在她大脑的某个地方，她知道你是谁。 她只是现在够不着。 就像我奶奶家的卧室。 它还在那里。我们只是一时半会儿还不能说。 这是禁区。但她会再次想起你的。 当她不那么冷和累的时候。” “我讨厌这样，”杰西小声说。 他把头向她靠得更近了。 “我知道。听着，我们得带她回家。 你能进去吗？