自我挑战翻译, 欢迎批评、讨论、转载 (请注明译者、出处),绝对严禁任何形式的商业 使用谢谢。 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ALAN?” Wake heard Alice calling to him through his nightmare. He slowly floated up toward the sound of her voice, still drowsy. “Alan, wake up. Come see where we are. It’s so beautiful.” Wake opened his eyes, squinting in the sunlight. Through the car’s open window, he saw Alice beckoning from the nearby railing of the ferry. She wore tight jeans and black boots, her light-brown hair billowing over the upturned collar of her black leather jacket. Whatever she was looking at, it wasn’t nearly as beautiful as what he was seeing. She waved again and he got out of the car and walked across the deck toward her, feeling the low engine vibration through the soles of his feet. “I didn’t want you to miss this,” said Alice, pointing. It took an effort to tear his eyes from her, but he followed her direction, saw an immense forest stretching out on each side of the water, the biggest trees that he had ever seen, so tall and thick he couldn’t see the forest floor. 「艾伦？」 在噩梦中，伟克听到艾莉丝的声音在呼喊他。他感觉到自己的身体开始缓缓地漂浮起来， 往声音的方向移动，但他的脑袋还昏昏沉沉地无法思考。 「艾伦，醒醒。快看我们到哪里了，多麽美丽的地方阿！」 伟克缓缓睁开眼，但被阳光刺的只能眯起眼睛，伟克透过车窗看到艾莉丝正从渡轮的护栏 旁向他招手。她的浅棕色头发卷伏在她黑皮革夹克上翻的领子上，下半身穿了件紧身牛仔 裤加上黑长筒皮靴。伟克心想，不管艾莉丝看到了是什麽样的景色，都不会比他现在看到 的还要美丽。艾莉丝又挥了挥手，伟克起身下车，越过了甲板向艾莉丝走去，他在移动时 透过鞋底，能感觉到渡轮引擎低速运作发出的振动。 「我可不希望你错过这个。」艾莉丝说，伸手指了个方向。 艾伦有些不舍地将视线从艾莉丝身上移开，往她指的方向看。那里有一片森林从湖边无边 无际地延伸进内陆；在其中，有一棵他生平所见最高大的树，它是如此的高壮，伟克根本 无法看到树下的林底层。 “Old-growth timber,” said Alice. “Hundreds of years old, never been cut. Not much of that left anymore.” “Forest primeval, I get it,” said Wake. “Welcome to Sasquatch country.” He looked down at the dark-green water churning around the ferry. He buttoned up his gray tweed coat. Even with the hoodie underneath, he was shivering. The sun seemed to seek Alice out, but he was always cold. Wake’s face was long and angular, with a cleft in his chin and a three-day stubble like a rock star on a bender. His eyes were blue, very alert, volatile even. He told Alice once that if he had a tattoo it would read: Born Pissed Off. She told him he needn’t bother. One look at him and people figured that out fast enough. A fallen tree drifted up ahead, a gnarly elm bobbing gently along on the currents. Its thick trunk and broad leaves made it seem out of place among all the tall timber, and Wake, ever curious, wondered how it ended up here, what had torn it out by the roots. A huge raven perched atop one limb, fluttering its glossy black wings as it pecked at something, peck, peck, peck. Wake leaned forward, straining to see what the raven was so interested in. The raven cocked its head, as though aware of Wake’s gaze, then bent down, pulling up something white and stringy in its beak. 「远古神木」艾莉丝说。「有上百年的历史了，从未被伤害过；现在像这种树木已经不多 见了。」 「原始森林嘛，我了的。」伟克说。「欢迎来到大脚的家乡～」 伟克将上半身越过护栏，看着下方被渡轮搅动的深绿色湖水，看了片刻後他起身将身上的 灰花呢外套的扣子扣上，即使在外套下已经穿了件帽T，他还是冷到发抖；虽然阳光似乎 时常跟着艾莉丝出现，但他总是莫名地会觉得寒冷。 伟克的脸型既长又消瘦，而微带颚裂的下巴加上留着三天份的胡渣让他乍看之下就像个玩 世不恭的摇滚明星；他有一双漂亮的蓝眼睛，眼神相当灵活或者说是轻浮。他以前有一次 跟艾莉丝说如果他要刺青的话会刺：「天生惹人厌」，艾莉丝则回说「没有需要，大家看 你一眼就会知道这件事了。」 在渡轮前方有一截断落在湖面，随着水流漂浮摆动的粗糙榆木，它粗壮的树干和茂盛的枝 叶让人觉得它应该继续跟其他树木待在一起而不是出现在这里；这让伟克相当好奇到底是 什麽原因将这棵树木给弄倒的。有一只巨大的乌鸦停留在漂木上，振翅不停地在啄某样东 西。伟克倾身向前看到底是什麽让乌鸦这麽感兴趣，但乌鸦就像是感觉到伟克的视线停止 了动作竖起了头，在顿了片刻後它突然弯身用它的喙刁出某个白色绳状的东西。 “We should be arriving in Bright Falls in about twenty minutes,” said Alice, basking in the light. The raven’s greedy cawing echoed across the water as the elm drifted closer, and Wake finally saw what the raven was working at, a child’s tennis shoe caught in the branches, the bird tugging at the laces. Alice turned as the raven flapped off. “Wow, that’s one gigantic crow.” “Yeah,” Wake said softly. “Honey, are you okay? You look so…pale.” “Just my imagination messing with me. As usual.” Wake ran a hand through his dark hair. She worried about him, worried about his moods, and especially about his temper. He gave her reason to. In the distance he could make out the outlines of a small town nestled in the bay. Had to be Bright Falls. Alice took her camera from her purse. “Why don’t you stand next to that old guy beside the pickup? I’ll take a picture of you with the woods in the background.” “You know I hate having my picture taken,” said Wake. “Suffering is good for the soul,” Alice said playfully. “Don’t you want to get to heaven?” “Not unless you’re there with me,” teased Wake. “Well, I’m staying here,” said Alice. “You’re the one who’s going over there so I can snap a picture.” Wake walked over to the older man. The bed of the blue pickup had a fresh deer carcass in it. Cute. He looked at the older man. “Hi.” “You picked a good time to come to Bright Falls,” confided the older man, a short, balding fellow, his watery blue eyes crinkling behind round glasses. “Really?” said Wake. Alice waved at him to move closer to the man. “Yup, a very good time.” “Uh-huh,” said Wake. 「我们应该再20几分钟左右就会到亮瀑镇了。」艾莉丝沉醉在温暖的阳光下说。 当那棵榆木离的渡轮更近的时候，那只乌鸦发出了贪婪的叫声，声音传遍了湖面。伟克现 在可以看到那只乌鸦刚刚在忙什麽了，有一只儿童网球鞋卡在树枝上，那只鸟刚扯掉了上 面的鞋带。艾莉丝在乌鸦拍翅飞走後转身跟伟克说：「哇喔，那只鸟真是大呢。」 「……是阿。」伟克缓缓的说。 「宝贝，你还好吗？ 你脸色看起来很……苍白。」 「没事，只是跟往常一样我的胡思乱想又再烦心罢了。」 伟克用手顺了顺头发说。 艾莉丝很担心伟克，担心他的心情，尤其是担心他的坏脾气；她实际上也是有理由要这麽 担心的。假如有一个地方可以给伟克灵感描写出关於一座被湖湾围绕的偏远小镇的作品， 那地方就非亮瀑镇莫属。 「那不如你去站在那辆小货卡旁边的老头的身边，我帮你们用森林作背景拍一张照。」艾 莉丝从手提包取出一台相机後说。 「你知道我厌恶拍照的。」伟克说。 「磨难有益於灵魂。」艾莉丝开玩笑地说。「你不想上天堂吗？」 「除非你会和我一起去那里。」伟克戏弄地说。 「嗯，不过现在我会待在这里，」艾莉丝说。「而你要走过去那里好让我拍照。」 伟克乖乖地往老人的方向走去，经过小货卡的时候，伟克看到後车厢放了一具新鲜的鹿屍 ，心想：「哼，还真是可爱。」他到了老人身边後跟他打了声招呼。 「你真是挑对了时间来亮瀑镇。」老人用一种像是吐露某种秘密的语气说。 伟克打量下眼前的老人，身材矮小，头也秃了，在圆框眼镜後面有一双皱巴巴又水汪汪的 眼睛。 「是吗？」伟克回答说。艾莉丝在後面挥手示意伟克站靠近老人点。 「没错，一个非常好的时间。」 「是～喔。」伟克有些敷衍地回答。 The man pushed back his glasses with a forefinger. “I mean, lucky you.” Wake took a deep breath. The persistence of geezers was a universal constant as certain as gravity or the speed of light. “Okay, why am I lucky?” The older man showed his dentures in triumph. “Deerfest is just two weeks away.” “Deerfest, huh,” said Wake, having no idea what the man was talking about. “Did you hear that, honey? Deerfest!” “Forgive my bad manners, I’m Pat Maine.” The man stuck out his hand. “I’m Alan—” “Oh, I know who you are, Mr. Wake,” said Maine, pumping away with his damp, pillowy hand. “We read books around here, too.” He smiled at his little joke. “When’s that next novel of yours coming out? Seems like we’ve been waiting—” “Working on it,” snapped Wake. “Of course, can’t rush the creative process, can you?” said Maine. “I hope this isn’t too presumptuous of me, but I’m the night host at the local radio station. Any chance I could get an interview? A best-selling author doesn’t come through these parts very often, and—” “I’m on vacation with my wife,” said Wake. “Trying to keep a low profile. ” “I understand completely,” said Maine, winking. “Still, you change your mind, I’m an easy man to find.” Wake walked back to Alice. “I got some good shots,” said Alice, pushing her hair back. “Nice to see you making friends.” “Yeah, we swapped bundt-cake recipes,” said Wake. Alice lightly punched him in the arm. “Wouldn’t be the worst thing that could happen. You might actually enjoy yourself.” Wake didn’t respond. He stood shoulder to shoulder beside her at the railing, eyes half closed, enjoying the sensation of her wind-blown hair tickling his face. He had lied to Pat Maine about his next book. He hadn’t written a word in two years, and had no idea if he would ever write again, but standing beside Alice, Wake put aside all thoughts of the books he had written, and the books he might never write, put aside the frustration that tore at him night and day. There was just him and Alice. That was enough. For this one perfect moment, that was all he needed. “Oh yuck,” Alice said softly. “What?” said Wake, not wanting to look, wanting to stay where he was, smelling her perfume and forgetting everything else. “There’s the creepiest guy watching us,” said Alice. Wake opened his eyes, the perfect moment gone now, popped like a soap bubble on a summer afternoon. He saw a grubby man in his forties staring at them from the far end of the ferry, an insolent grin on his face. The man wore camouflage pants and a hunting vest, a stained ball cap and scuffed work boots. A cigarette dangled from his lower lip. He started walking slowly toward the man. “Do you have a problem?” Wake challenged, raising his voice to be heard over the rumbling engines. The man didn’t react, just took a long, slow drag on his cigarette, and kept staring. “Alan, don’t,” said Alice. “Stay here. This is no way to start a vacation. ” Wake allowed Alice to steer him back to their car, neither of them saying a word until they were both inside. “You…you scare me sometimes,” said Alice. Wake watched the vein at the base of her throat pulse, angry at himself for upsetting her. “I’m sorry.” “Men like that…they’re not worth worrying about,” said Alice. She squeezed his hand. “You just have to learn to back away.” “I can’t do that,” said Wake. “The world will eat you alive if you let it. ” “That’s not true,” said Alice. “Most people are good.” Wake snorted. 「我是说真的，你很走运。」老人用食指推推眼镜说。伟克无奈地做了个深呼吸，心想「 顽固的老人可以跟重力、光速这些物理单位算一样东西了－都是些必然的存在。」 「好吧，那怎麽说我走运呢？」伟克问。 老人露出一排假牙笑说：「因为再两个礼拜就是猎鹿节了喔」" 「喔～是猎鹿节阿」伟克回答，心里却完全不知道老人说的节庆是什麽。「嘿！甜心，你 听到了吗？有猎鹿节耶！」 「恕我冒昧，我是派特．缅因。」老人向伟克伸出了手。 「我是艾伦．ㄨ……」伟克边回握边说。 「喔，我知道您是谁，伟克先生，」缅因打断伟克说，收回他又湿又软的手。「我们这些 乡下人也是会读点书的。」说完对自己说的小笑话笑了笑；接着又问「您的下部作品何时 会推出呢？ 我们感觉等了……」 「在进行中了。」伟克有些不高兴地打断老人的话。 「当然当然，创作的过程是不能急的，是吧？」缅因说。「阿！对了，希望突然提这个不 会太唐突，不过我是这个地方的广播电台的夜间时段主持人，不知道能不能邀请您做个访 谈？一个最畅销的作家在这里可是不常见的，而且……」 「我和我妻子只是来这里度假的，」伟克打断老人说。「我们希望能低调点。」 「当然，我完全理解。」缅因说，还对伟克眨了下眼。「不过假如您改变心意的话，我这 个人很好找的，随时欢迎。」 伟克走回到艾莉丝的身边。 「我拍到了几个很不错的镜头，」艾莉丝说，边将头发往後梳整理。「而且看来你也认识 了新朋友。」 「是阿，我们刚才还互相交换了蛋糕食谱呢」伟克说。 艾莉丝笑闹着在伟克的手臂上轻打了一下。「事情没那麽糟啦，接下来的假期还是有机会 不被别人认出来安稳的度过啦。」 伟克没回答。他静静地与艾莉丝肩并肩地站在护栏边，眼睛半闭，享受艾莉丝的发丝被微 风吹拂到脸颊的触感。 关於下部作品的事，伟克对派特-缅因撒了谎。他在这两年间连一个字都写不出来，而且 也完全不知道以後有没有办法写出来。不过现在站在艾莉丝身旁能让伟克暂时忘了所有有 关小说的事，不管是他曾写过的，或是他可能再也写不出来的；也能让他暂时远离那日夜 折磨他的挫折感。像现在完美的片刻，只有他与艾莉丝，这样就足够了；这也就是他全部 所需要的而已。 「唉！真讨厌！」艾莉丝突然小声地吐出一句。 「怎麽了？」伟克问说，心理却不太想知道。他只希望继续待在艾莉丝身边，轻嗅她身上 传来的香味，并抛下其他所有事物不管。 「那边有个很古怪的男人站在那猛盯着我们看。」艾莉丝说。 伟克倏地睁开眼睛。美梦结束了，就像夏日午後的肥皂泡般地破裂。 他转头看到一名样貌粗鄙的人站在渡轮甲板的另一头盯着他们，脸上带着一抹无礼的微笑 ；嘴里还刁了一根香菸。那男的身穿打猎背心加一条迷彩裤，头戴一顶脏兮兮的棒球帽而 脚下踩了一双破旧不堪的工作靴。 伟克缓步走向那向那名男子。「你有什麽问题吗？」伟克带着挑衅的语气问，并为了压过 引擎声而提高了音量。 那男的没做声，只是装模作样地缓缓抽了一口菸，然後继续盯着伟克夫妇瞧。 「艾伦，算了！」艾莉丝说。「别过去，跟人起冲突可不是一个假期好的开始。」 伟克跟着艾莉丝走回车上，一路上两人都没讲话直到坐进车里。 「你……你有时候真的让我很害怕。」艾莉丝说。 「对不起……」伟克说，却不对着艾莉丝的眼睛，而是看着她喉咙底下血管的脉动。伟克 很气自己让艾莉丝感到紧张害怕。 「像刚刚那种男人……不值得去跟他们计较，」艾莉丝说，边握紧伟克的手。「你需要学 着做点忍让才行。」 「我才做不到，」伟克说。「你一忍让，这个社会就会把你给生吞活剥了。」 「才不会勒！」艾莉丝说。「大部分的人都还是很友善的。」 伟克只是哼了一声。 “Alan Wake, they most certainly are.” “What about the ones who aren’t good?” said Wake, looking past her as the town came clearly into view, a collection of bright storefronts and a few small houses scattered across the surrounding hills. People and cars waited at the ferry dock. He turned back to her. “What about the ones who want to hurt us?” “Why would anyone want to hurt us?” Wake reached over and kissed her. “Envy. Who wouldn’t want what we have?” Alice kissed him back, her lips warm and pouting. “Well, they can’t have it. ” Alice drove the car off the ferry and onto the dock, past the fishermen lining the railing and people waiting to board. There was a chill in the air now, clouds building up on the horizon. Locals in quilted jackets clomped down the sidewalk, eating ice cream cones, enjoying the sunshine. No seagulls, which was odd, since they usually hovered around the waterfront, looking for scraps and leftovers. No seagulls. Just ravens watching from the roofs and power lines. Wake shivered. “It’s nice, isn’t it?” said Alice. “Quaint. No one seems to be in a hurry.” “Wait until Deerfest,” said Wake, “the place will be throbbing with activity.” “See, I knew you were going to like it here,” said Alice. “Don’t get carried away,” said Wake. “I was just kidding.” “That’s what I mean,” said Alice. “Your sense of humor…it’s coming back. I’m so happy. These last couple of years you got so serious.” “Well, these last couple years, things were serious,” said Wake. “Not today, though. Today, we’re going to pick up the key to our cabin and officially start the vacation, and if you’re good, very, very good, I’ll take you to Deerfest and let you pet Bambi.” “You need to take a look around and see where you are, city boy,” teased Alice. “Around here, they don’t pet Bambi, they eat him.” 「艾伦．伟克！肯定有些人们是友善的」艾莉丝说。 「是阿，刚刚遇到的那个人就挺好的。」伟克说完转头观看已经接近到可以一览全貌的小 镇；有许多聚集在一起有着明亮店铺的商店，也有着散落在各处山丘上的小屋。在渡轮码 头上，有许多人车正等着上渡轮。他回头向艾莉丝问说「你对刚刚那个想伤害我们的男人 怎麽想？」 「为什麽会有人想伤害我们？」 伟克倾身向艾莉丝，然後吻了她一下说：「因为忌妒，谁不想像我们这般恩爱呢？」 艾莉丝吻了回去，她的嘴唇又温暖又丰厚。「这个嘛，他们是没办法像我们这样啦。」 艾莉丝将车开下渡轮来到了码头上，开过在护栏边排成一列的钓客和一群准备登船的人们 。空气中已开始带有寒意，远处天边的云层也逐渐变厚；不过小镇的居民仍穿着衍缝棉衣 在大街上晃，嘴里吃着冰淇淋卷，享受仍残留着的阳光。伟克突然觉得有些不对劲，平常 应该在岸边四处盘旋找寻食物渣吃的海鸥居然一只都没看见，有的只是聚集停留在屋顶和 电线杆上的乌鸦，这使得伟克不由得感到一股寒颤。 「这小镇很不错吧？」艾莉丝说。「有种纯朴的气氛，每个人看起来都不急不徐的。」 「等到了猎鹿节就不一样了，」伟克说。「到时这个地方就会开始疯狂起来。」 「看吧，我就知道你会喜欢上这地方。」艾莉丝说。 「话别说的那麽早，」伟克说。「我刚刚只是说笑吧了。」 「那就是我的意思，」艾莉丝说。「我真的很高兴你的幽默感又回来。最近几年你整个人 都变得好严肃。」 「这个嘛，那是因为最近几年生活也变得很严酷的关系，」伟克说。「不过今天不一样。 今天，我们在拿了小屋的钥匙後就要正式开始我们的假期；而且如果你表现的很乖，真的 非常的乖话，我就带你参加猎鹿节，并让你养一只小鹿斑比。」 「你需要好好看看你现在在哪里，都市佬，」艾莉丝嘲弄地说。「在这里可不把班比当宠 物，而是食物。」 --

※ 发信站: 批踢踢实业坊(ptt.cc) ◆ From: 114.45.34.106 ※ 编辑: justicedead 来自: 114.45.34.106 (06/09 23:06) ※ 编辑: justicedead 来自: 114.45.33.112 (06/12 19:36)