Along the River

For one second, Ana and the man looked at each other. Then he turned and walked away fast, along the river path, to the left.

安娜和那个男人互相看了一秒钟。然后他转身走开了，沿着河边的小路飞快地往左走。

“No, no, no,” Ana said. She didn’t think. She ran out of her room and down the stairs in her jumper and her old trainers. She didn’t take a coat.

“不，不，不，”安娜说。她没有多想。她穿着毛衣和旧运动鞋，跑出房间，下了楼梯。她没有带外套。

In the bakery, the radio was on and Walter was at the oven with his back to her. He didn’t hear her. Crumb looked up from the floor, but he didn’t bark. Ana opened the back door very quietly and went out.

在面包店里，收音机开着，沃尔特背对着她站在烤箱旁。他没有听到她。克拉姆（Crumb）从地上抬头看，但是它没有叫。安娜非常轻地打开后门出去了。

It was very cold outside. The folded paper square was on the step. Ana didn’t stop for it. She ran along the river path, to the left, the same way as the man.

外面非常冷。折好的正方形纸片就在台阶上。安娜没有停下来拿它。她沿着河边的小路向左跑，和那个男人走同一个方向。

The path was dark. There were no lights there, only the moon. Ana could hear the river, and her own feet on the stones. She couldn’t see the man.

小路上很黑。那里没有灯光，只有月亮。安娜能听到河水的声音，还有自己踩在石头上的脚步声。她看不见那个男人了。

“Hello?” she called. “Wait! Please! I only want to talk!”

“喂？”她喊道，“等等！请等一下！我只想谈谈！”

Nobody answered. She ran on. After five minutes, the path went left, away from the river. Now there was water on both sides. It was the canal.

没有人回答。她继续往前跑。过了五分钟，小路向左转，离开了河边。现在两边都是水了。这是一条运河。

There were narrowboats along the canal, one after the other. Ana remembered them from her walk with Jess: the red boat with the flowers, the blue boat with the bicycle. In the night, they all looked black.

沿着运河停着一条条狭长船，一条接着一条。安娜想起了之前和杰斯散步时看到的情景：那条带花朵的红船，那条放着自行车的蓝船。在夜里，它们看起来都是黑色的。

She stopped. She listened. A dog barked far away. Water moved against a boat. But there were no steps on the path. The man was gone.

她停了下来。她听了听。很远的地方有一只狗在叫。水拍打着一条船。但是小路上没有脚步声。那个男人不见了。

Ana walked slowly along the boats. Most of them were dark. On one boat, a small light was on, and she could hear music. On another boat, somebody was snoring.

安娜沿着这些船慢慢地走着。大多数船上都是黑的。在一条船上，亮着一盏小灯，她还能听到音乐。在另一条船上，有人正在打呼噜。

Then she saw the quiet dark green boat. She remembered it too. She stopped in front of it.

然后，她看到了那条安静的墨绿色船。她也记得这条船。她停在了船前。

On the roof, there wasn’t only one paper square now. There were five or six, in a neat line, under a stone. They were wet from the rain. Brown paper squares, all the same.

在船顶上，现在不只有一张正方形纸片了。在一块石头下面，整整齐齐地排着五六张。它们被雨淋湿了。都是一样的棕色正方形纸片。

There was no light in the boat. The curtains were closed. Ana stood there for a long time. Was he inside? Was he looking at her now, from behind the curtains?

船里没有灯光。窗帘拉上了。安娜在那里站了很久。他在里面吗？他现在正从窗帘后面看着她吗？

She wanted to knock on the door. She lifted her hand. Then she stopped. It was half past three in the morning. She was alone, in her jumper, at a stranger’s door.

她想去敲门。她抬起了手。然后她停住了。现在是凌晨三点半。她一个人穿着毛衣，站在一个陌生人的门前。