The Hidden Room

The Hidden Room. Written by Russ Bouillac. Illustrated by Thomas Boatwright.

《神秘房间》 拉斯·布亚克 著 托马斯·博特赖特 绘

Sarah sighs. I've never heard her so exhausted. Why do these bizarre things keep happening to us? What's with this key, the lantern, and these scissors? Nothing's making sense. We're sitting in her room. I'm at the computer while she sits cross -legged on the bed. The key, lantern, and scissors are spread before her. We'll figure it out," I say. I'm starting to hear those kids laughing all the time, especially when I'm trying to sleep. You mean you actually hear them as if they're in the house? I ask. Yes. No. I don't know. She shakes her head. Any luck?

萨拉叹了口气。 我从没见过她这么疲惫。 为什么这些怪事总发生在我们身上呀？ 这把钥匙、提灯和剪刀到底是怎么回事？ 一切都莫名其妙。 我们坐在她的房间里。 我在电脑前，她盘腿坐在床上。 钥匙、提灯和剪刀都摊在她面前。 "我们会弄明白的。"我说。 我最近总听到那些孩子笑，尤其是我要睡觉的时候。 "你是说，你真觉得他们就在这房子里？" 我问道。 "对。" "不对。" "我也说不清。" 她摇了摇头。 有找到什么线索了吗？

I've searched everywhere I can think of on the web, but I'm not coming up with anything we didn't learn in school, I say." John Porter found at the mill, and the town grew up downriver. I did uncover something about his wife. She was considered very charitable, taking in children who had nowhere else to go, and caring for them. That's all the information I can find, though.

"我把网上能想得到的地方都搜遍了，除了学校教过的内容，没找到任何新信息。"我说。 约翰·波特在磨坊落脚后，镇子就在下游发展起来了。 我确实查到了一点关于他妻子的事。 大家都说她非常热心，收留无家可归的孩子，还悉心照顾他们。 不过我就只查到这么多了。

Just then, Sarah's aunt Tara opens the door. Children, she begins and stops short. Her smile fades and her eyes grow large as she steps inside, not shifting her intense gaze away from the bed. Where did you get these things? We found them, Sarah says. Nonsense. To get these things, you'd have to seek them out, Aunt Tara says. Her accent is extraordinary. Sarah told me her mom's family immigrated from a village on the border between Nepal and India. It's true, I begin. We haven't been looking for these things at all. We just sort of find them. It's almost as if someone is leading us to them or bringing them to us. Along with some creepy laughing kids, Sarah adds. I didn't think it could happen, but Aunt Tara's eyes intensify as she shuts the door.

就在这时，萨拉的姨妈 塔拉推开了房门。 "孩子们，"她刚开口就顿住了。 她走进房间，笑容渐渐褪去，眼睛越睁越大，目光死死盯着床，挪不开眼。 "这些东西你们从哪儿弄来的？" "我们偶然找到的。"萨拉说。 "胡说。" "想要拿到这些东西，肯定是你们特意去找的。"塔拉姨妈说。 她的口音特别独特。 萨拉跟我说过，她妈妈一家是从尼泊尔和印度边境的村子移民过来的。 "这是真的，"我开口说， "我们根本没去找这些东西。" 它们就是莫名其妙落到我们手里的。 感觉就像有人在引导我们，把这些东西送到我们面前。 还总伴随着诡异的孩子笑声。萨拉补充道。 我没想到会这样，塔拉姨妈关上房门后，眼神变得更加凝重了。

Come, child, she beckons for me to join them on the bed. Tell Auntie everything. Sarah and I exchanged glances, unsure if we should continue, or if Aunt Tara would actually believe us. It started on Halloween. Sarah begins slowly, and soon the story pours out of us. We divulge everything. the strange kid in the hollow, the lantern, scissors, and key, and the disturbing laughter that continues to follow us. When we finish, Aunt Tara runs her fingers over the items on the bed.

"过来吧，孩子，"她招手叫我到床上一起坐， 把一切都告诉姨妈。 我和萨拉对视一眼，不确定该不该说下去，也不知道姨妈会不会真的相信我们。 一切都是从万圣节开始的。 萨拉慢慢开口，很快我们就把整个故事都说了出来。 我们说了所有细节。 山谷里的陌生孩子、提灯、剪刀、钥匙，还有一直跟着我们的诡异笑声。 我们说完后，塔拉姨妈用手指轻轻拂过床上的这些东西。

Children should not speak such tales, Aunt Tara says, picking up the items, and children should not have such toys. We try to protest, but one stern look from Aunt Tara silences us. Now return to your homework and games and think no more on these things. With that, she departs, leaving Sarah and me in stunned silence. What just happened? Sarah says. She believed us, I say. You saw her expression and the way she reacted when we told her about the laughter. She knows something. Aunt Tara has many secrets, and we're not going to learn any of them unless she wants us to.

"小孩子不该讲这种故事，"塔拉姨妈一边说一边拿起这些东西，小孩子也不该碰这些东西。 我们想要辩解，可塔拉姨妈一个严厉的眼神就让我们安静了下来。 现在回去写作业玩去吧，别再想这些事了。 说完她就离开了，留下我和萨拉惊呆了，半天说不出话。 刚才到底发生了什么？ 萨拉说。 她相信我们说的话，我说。 你看到我们提到笑声时她的表情和反应了。 她肯定知道些什么。 塔拉姨妈有很多秘密，除非她想告诉我们，不然我们什么都打听不到。