Priya’s Story

At three o’clock in the afternoon, Ana crossed Bridge Street. She didn’t go to the front door of Shah’s. She went round the corner to the small back door, and she knocked.

下午三点，Ana穿过了Bridge Street。她没有走Shah’s的前门。她走到了转角的小后门前，然后敲了门。

Priya opened the door at once. “Come in, my dear. Quickly.” Behind the shop there was a small room with a table, two chairs and a kettle. There were boxes of crisps and old newspapers everywhere.

Priya马上打开了门。“快进来，亲爱的。快点。”店后面有一个小房间，里面有一张桌子、两把椅子和一个水壶。到处都是一盒盒薯片和旧报纸。

Priya made tea and put a plate of biscuits on the table. Then she sat down and looked at Ana. “Your trainers were in the window this morning,” she said. “Wet. Where did you go last night?”

Priya泡了茶，在桌上放了一盘饼干。然后她坐下来看着Ana。“今天早上你的运动鞋放在窗台上了，”她说，“湿湿的。昨晚你去哪儿了？”

Ana didn’t want to lie again. “I saw a man,” she said. “At twenty past three. He took the bread from the back step and folded the bag. Then he saw me at my window. I ran after him, to the canal. But I lost him there.”

Ana不想再说谎了。“我看见了一个男人，”她说，“在三点二十分。他拿了后门台阶上的面包，把纸袋折好了。然后他在我的窗前看见了我。我追着他跑到了运河边。但是我把他跟丢了。”

Priya closed her eyes. For a moment she didn’t say anything.

Priya闭上了眼睛。有一会儿她什么都没说。

“Priya, please,” Ana said. “What happened here? Everybody knows, and nobody tells me. Walter doesn’t talk. Jess doesn’t talk. Daniel says it’s a sad story. I want to know.”

“Priya，求求你，”Ana说，“这里发生过什么事？大家全知道，可是没人告诉我。Walter不说话。Jess不说话。Daniel说这是一个难过的故事。我想知道。”

Priya opened her eyes. “All right,” she said. “I’m going to tell you. But it isn’t a happy story, my dear. Drink your tea.”

Priya睁开了眼睛。“好吧，”她说，“我来告诉你。但是这可不是一个开心的故事，亲爱的。喝你的茶吧。”

“Fifteen years ago, the bakery had a different name. Bell & Son. Walter and his son, Michael. Michael was thirty then. He was a wonderful baker, better than his father, people said. He laughed all the time, and he sang when he worked.”

“十五年前，这家面包店的名字不一样。叫Bell & Son。是Walter和他的儿子Michael开的。那时候Michael三十岁。他是一个非常好的面包师，人们都说他比他父亲还要好。他总是笑，工作的时候还会唱歌。”

“Michael had a wife, Karen, and a little girl with red hair. Jess. She was two years old. They all lived above the bakery with Walter. Mary was already dead then, and Walter was very sad and very tired.”

“Michael有一个妻子Karen，还有一个红头发的小女孩Jess。那时候Jess两岁。他们都和Walter一起住在面包店楼上。那时候Mary已经去世了，Walter非常伤心，也觉得非常累。”

“Then one night in January, there was a fire. It started at the back of the bakery, near the oven. I saw it from my window. The fire was very big and very bright. I phoned the fire service, and I ran across the road in my nightdress.”

“后来在一月份的一个晚上，着火了。火是从面包店后面、烤箱附近烧起来的。我从窗户看见了。火非常大，非常亮。我给消防队打了电话，穿着睡衣就跑过了马路。”

“Walter came out of the house first. He was carrying Jess in a blanket. Then Michael and Karen came out. Nobody died, thank God. But the back of the house burned, and the bakery was closed for six months.”

“Walter最先从房子里跑出来。他用一条毯子抱着Jess。然后Michael和Karen也出来了。谢天谢地，没有人死。但是房子的后面烧坏了，面包店关门了六个月。”

Ana remembered Walter’s white face when the rolls burned. Not again, he said that night. Now she understood.

Ana想起了小面包烤焦时Walter发白的脸。‘不能再来了，’那天晚上他说。现在她听懂了。

“The next morning,” Priya said, “Michael stood in the street, in front of my shop. A lot of people were there. And he told everybody: it was my fault. I left the oven on. I went to bed and I forgot it. It was me.”

“第二天早上，”Priya说，“Michael站在街上，就在我的店门前。那里有很多人。他对所有人说：‘是我的错。我没关烤箱。我去睡觉了，然后我忘了。都是我不好。’ ”

“And then?”

“后来呢？”