14 Disorientation

Chapter 14 Disorientation disorientation (n) a technique whereby a magician confuses his audience, often with rapid patter and flourishes, so that they don't notice a gimmick or sleight When Evan woke up at dawn, he didn't know where he was. He'd been dreaming of an elephant caught in a trap, and the cry of the elephant howling in pain was still in his ears. But this wasn't his bed. And there was a strange sound—something was rattling. Something was trying to break out or break in. Evan sat up. The room was nothing but shadows. His T-shirt was plastered to his back, and the bedsheets were twisted around his legs. He couldn't figure out where he was. And then something kicked him, and he realized

迷惑（名词）：魔术师用快速的节奏和华丽的表演迷惑观众的技巧，使他们看不出其中的诡计。当埃文在黎明醒来时，他不知道自己身在何处。 他梦见一头大象被困在陷阱里，大象痛苦的嚎叫还在他耳边回响。 但这不是他的床。这时传来一种奇怪的声音——有什么东西在嘎嘎作响。 有什么东西试图破门而入。 埃文坐了起来。房间里只有影子。 他的t恤贴在背上，床单缠在他的腿上。 他不知道自己身在何处。 然后有东西踢了他一下，他才意识到

that Jessie was sleeping next to him, and suddenly he remembered. The howling was the wind, and the rattling sound was the windows of their old, drafty house, shaking and raging against the storm. Evan got out of bed to get a drink of water. The wind was louder than anything he could remember hearing. He could feel the house shake under his feet. The windows were rattling so much he thought they would shatter. Occasionally something thudded against the house, and Evan wondered what it could be. He looked out the window. Through the smudgy daylight he could see the rain blowing sideways against the house. It looked as though someone had turned on the sprayer of a giant garden hose and was aiming it right at the window. There were no streetlights or house lights on. But as his eyes became accustomed to the dim light, he began to see certain shapes. Several large tree limbs were down, and one of them was lying across the road. Part of the fence in front of the house across the street was

杰西就睡在他旁边，突然他想起来了。 嚎叫的声音是风，嘎嘎的声音是他们那幢破旧的、透风的房子的窗户，在暴风雨中颤抖着，狂暴着。 埃文起床去喝水。 风比他记忆中听到的任何声音都要大。 他能感觉到房子在他脚下摇晃。 窗户响得太厉害了，他觉得要震碎了。 偶尔有什么东西砸在房子上，埃文不知道那是什么。 他向窗外望去。透过朦胧的日光，他可以看到雨斜着吹在房子上。 看起来好像有人打开了一根巨大的花园软管的喷雾器，正对着窗户喷水。 没有路灯，也没有房子的灯。 但当他的眼睛适应了昏暗的光线后，他开始看到某些形状。 几根大树枝倒在地上，其中一根横在马路对面。 街对面房子前的部分篱笆

knocked flat, and the gate had blown up against the mailbox on the corner. Strangest of all, something was stuck high up in the tree right in front of their house. At first Evan couldn't figure out what it was: some big, round object with polka dots painted on it. Finally he realized it was one of those plastic kiddie pools, wedged in the branches of the tree, thirty feet off the ground. As he turned away from the window, he saw two lawn chairs chasing each other down the middle of the street. Evan climbed back into bed. Jessie was snoring loudly, but he could hardly hear her over the roar of the storm. Something banged outside. The house creaked like a ship tossed on open water. It's going to fall apart, he thought. It's too old and broken- down. What would they do then? He struggled to settle his mind, and after what felt like hours, he fell asleep. It was a sound like an explosion that yanked Evan back awake. At first he thought he hadn't slept at all,

门被撞平了，撞在拐角处的邮筒上。 最奇怪的是，有个东西高高地挂在他们屋前的树上。 起初，埃文不明白那是什么：一个画着圆点的大圆物体。 最后，他意识到那是一个塑料儿童泳池，卡在树枝上，离地面30英尺。 当他从窗口转过身来时，他看到两把草坪椅在街道中央互相追逐。 埃文爬回床上。 杰西鼾声大作，但在暴风雨的咆哮声中他几乎听不见她的声音。 外面有什么东西砰的一声。房子吱吱作响，就像一艘船在开阔的水面上颠簸。 它要散架了，他想。 它太旧了，又坏了。 他们会怎么做呢？他努力让自己平静下来，过了几个小时后，他睡着了。 那是一种类似爆炸的声音，把埃文惊醒了。 起初他以为自己根本没睡，

but then he saw that there was daylight outside—a dark murkiness, but daylight nonetheless. The sound was so loud, it even woke Jessie, who could sleep through an army invasion. "What was that?" she shouted, looking at Evan with wild eyes. The sound of the outside storm seemed even louder than before, as if it was rushing into the house through a gaping hole. Evan and Jessie hurried out of their mother's room and followed the noise of the storm. When they looked in Jessie's bedroom, they couldn't believe their eyes. A large tree limb was sticking right through the wall and lay across Jessie's bed. There was a hole about the size of a car door, and rain was pouring through it, soaking the bed and the floor. Chunks of plaster from the ceiling had fallen on top of the mess. Evan looked at Jessie, expecting her to flip out, but the expression on her face was very still. Jessie didn't like anything to mess up her room, not even one tiny bit. What was she thinking now?

但是，他看到外面有了阳光——一片漆黑，但毕竟是阳光。 声音太大了，甚至把杰西吵醒了，她可以在军队入侵时睡觉。 “那是什么？”她喊道，用狂野的目光看着埃文。 外面暴风雨的声音似乎比以前更大了，好像它从一个裂开的洞冲进了房子。 埃文和杰西赶紧走出妈妈的房间，跟着暴风雨的声音走。 当他们走进杰西的卧室时，简直不敢相信自己的眼睛。 一根大树枝正好穿过墙，横在杰西的床上。 有一个车门大小的洞，雨水从洞里倾泻而下，浸湿了床和地板。 大块的灰泥从天花板上掉下来，落在一团乱麻上。 埃文看着杰西，以为她会发疯，但她脸上的表情很平静。 杰西不喜欢任何东西把她的房间弄乱，哪怕是一点点。 她现在在想什么呢？

Jessie pointed at her bed. "If I'd slept there, I'd be dead," she announced, like a reporter stating a fact. "Nah," said Evan, who didn't even want to think about that. But what if Jessie had been in her bed? What would he have done then? To shake the thought loose, he asked, "What tree is it?" They carefully crossed the room to the hole in the house and peered out. "Oh, Evan! It's the Climbing Tree!" It was true. The Climbing Tree had snapped in half, and the top of it had crashed into their house. Evan felt a stab of pain—it was almost as if someone had died. The Climbing Tree was more than just a place to hang out. There were times when it had felt like Evan's only friend in the world. Times when he'd needed to get away—from the house, from Jessie, from the fighting between his mom and his dad, from his own impatience or frustration or confusion. And the Climbing Tree had always welcomed him, held a place for him, and let him just be, without asking one single thing in return.

杰西指着她的床。 “如果我睡在那里，我就死了，”她宣布，就像一个记者在陈述事实一样。 “不，”埃文说，他甚至不想去想这个问题。 但如果杰西在她的床上呢？ 那他会怎么做呢？ 为了打消这个念头，他问：“这是什么树？”他们小心翼翼地穿过房间，走到房子的洞前，向外张望。 “哦,艾凡!是爬树！”这是真的。 那棵爬山树断成了两截，树顶撞在了他们的房子上。 埃文感到一阵刺痛——就好像有人死了一样。 攀爬树不仅仅是一个闲逛的地方。 有时候，它感觉像是埃文在这个世界上唯一的朋友。 当他需要离开的时候——离开房子，离开杰西，离开爸爸妈妈的争吵，离开他自己的不耐烦、沮丧或困惑。 而爬树总是欢迎他，为他留了一个位置，让他待在那里，不要求任何回报。

Evan felt like raising his head to the sky and howling. But he couldn't. Jessie was here, and she was looking at him. Waiting. "Look," he said. "We should probably... um, do something..." He pointed to the open gash in the house. He just wanted to go into his own room and close the door and bury himself under the covers on his bed. He wanted someone—anyone—to take charge. And once again, that old fury rose up in him. His father should be here. But he wasn't. He'd left. Disappeared when they needed him most. And there was no point in getting mad about that now. There were things that needed to get done. Things that couldn't wait. He thought about Pete and the repairs they'd made to Grandma's house after the fire. He remembered Pete's words. Instructions, strong and clear. "We need to stop the rain that's coming in," Evan said. "It's going to wreck the house." "Wreck the house?" shouted Jessie, waving at the tree in her bed.

埃文真想仰天嚎叫。 但他做不到。杰西在这里，她看着他。 等待。“看，”他说。“我们也许应该…… 嗯，做点什么……”他指着房子上裂开的口子。 他只想走进自己的房间，关上门，把自己埋在床上的被子里。 他希望有人——任何人——来负责。 往日的愤怒又一次在他心中升起。 他父亲应该在这里。 但他不是。他离开了。在他们最需要他的时候消失了。 现在为这件事生气已经没有意义了。 有些事情需要完成。 不能等的事情。 他想起了皮特，想起了火灾后他们对奶奶的房子所做的修缮。 他想起了皮特的话。 说明，有力而清晰。 “我们需要阻止即将到来的雨，”埃文说。 “它会把房子弄坏的。” “毁了房子？”杰西喊道，朝床上的树挥手。