Henna runs the car wash by the motorway. At eleven at night, the cars come slowly. Each one enters the tunnel like a quiet animal. Foam falls on the glass. The big brushes turn and turn.
海娜经营着高速公路边的洗车店。晚上十一点，车子来得很慢，一辆辆驶进隧道，像安静的动物。泡沫落在玻璃上，巨大的刷子转个不停。
She sits in a small office with a heater and a window. On the desk sits a screen and a cold coffee. The motorway hums beyond the fence. Every few seconds, white lights pass in the dark.
她坐在一间带暖气和窗户的小办公室里。桌上放着一块屏幕和一杯凉了的咖啡。围栏外，高速公路嗡嗡作响，每隔几秒，就有白色的车灯从黑暗中掠过。
The door opens. A man walks in with a box in his arms. He wears a dusty jacket. His van waits outside with its engine off.
门开了。一个男人抱着一只箱子走进来，穿着一件满是灰尘的夹克。他的货车停在外面，发动机已经熄火。
"Sorry," he says. "I do not need a wash. I need a favour."
“抱歉，”他说，“我不洗车，我想请你帮个忙。”
"Everyone needs a favour at eleven," says Henna. "What is it?"
“十一点来的人，个个都想请人帮忙，”海娜说，“什么事？”
"My name is Lev." He puts the box on her desk. "The courier van stops here at midnight. Your sign says so. I need to send this."
“我叫列夫。”他把箱子放在她的桌上。“快递车午夜会在这里停一下，你们的牌子上写着。我要寄这个。”
"That is true. The driver picks up at the side door."
“没错。司机在侧门取件。”
"He checks the weight on every label." Lev shows her a paper sticker. "My label says one kilo. But I think the box is heavier."
“他会核对每张标签上的重量，”列夫给她看一张纸质贴纸，“我的标签上写的是一公斤，可我觉得这箱子比这重。”
Henna lifts the box. It is a plain cardboard box with tape on the lid. She frowns. It feels like a bag of wet sand.
海娜把箱子提起来。那是一只普通的纸箱，盖子上贴着胶带。她皱起了眉。感觉就像提着一袋湿沙子。
"That is not one kilo," she says.
“这可不是一公斤，”她说。
"I know. I printed the label at my hotel. I guessed the weight." Lev rubs his eyes. "The driver will send it back if the weight is wrong. And then it will not arrive tomorrow."
“我知道。标签是我在旅馆打印的，重量是我猜的。”列夫揉了揉眼睛。“重量不对，司机会把它退回来，那就没法明天送到了。”
"What is tomorrow?"
“明天是什么日子？”
"My sister's birthday." He looks down at the box. "She lives far from the sea. This is for her."
“我姐姐的生日。”他低头看着箱子。“她住的地方离海很远。这是给她的。”
Henna does not ask more. She looks at the clock. It is twenty past eleven.
海娜没有再问。她看了看钟，十一点二十分。
"Where can we weigh it?" asks Lev. "Do you have a scale?"
“在哪儿能称一称？”列夫问，“你有秤吗？”
"Only a kitchen scale. It stops at two kilos." Henna taps her chin. "A kitchen scale will not work."
“只有一台厨房秤，最多称两公斤。”海娜用手指敲着下巴。“厨房秤不行。”
"The petrol station?"
“加油站呢？”
"It closed at ten."
“十点就关门了。”
Lev sits down on a plastic chair. He looks very tired. The heater clicks. A car rolls into the tunnel, and the brushes start to hum. Henna presses a green button on the wall. Water sprays, white and heavy, against the glass.
列夫在一把塑料椅上坐下，看上去疲惫极了。暖气发出咔哒声。一辆车缓缓驶进隧道，刷子嗡嗡地转了起来。海娜按下墙上的绿色按钮，水喷出来，又白又重，打在玻璃上。
Then she turns back. Her eyes stop on a door in the corner.
然后她转过身，目光停在角落里的一扇门上。
"Wait here," she says.
“你在这儿等着，”她说。
She walks into the staff room. She returns with a square white scale. It is flat and a little dirty. "This is the bathroom scale," she says. "It goes to a hundred and fifty kilos."
她走进员工休息室，拿回来一台方形的白色秤。它又扁又有点脏。“这是体重秤，”她说，“最多能称一百五十公斤。”
"A bathroom scale is for people," says Lev. "It cannot weigh a small box."
“体重秤是称人的，”列夫说，“称不了这么小的箱子。”
"It can, if we are clever." Henna puts the scale on the floor. "You step on it. Then you step on it again with the box. We take away the first number from the second."
“只要聪明点，就称得了。”海娜把秤放在地上。“你先自己站上去，再抱着箱子站一次。用第二个数减掉第一个数就行了。”
Lev stares at her. Then he smiles for the first time. "That is a very good idea."
列夫盯着她，然后第一次露出了笑容。“这主意太好了。”
"It is not a big idea. It is a small trick."
“不算什么大主意，只是个小窍门。”
He takes off his heavy boots and puts them by the door. His socks have a hole at the toe. He steps on the scale. Both of them watch the number.
他脱下沉重的靴子，放在门边。袜子的脚趾处破了个洞。他站上秤，两人一起看着数字。
"Eighty-one," says Henna.
“八十一，”海娜说。
"Eighty-one," Lev says. "Now the box."
“八十一，”列夫说，“现在称箱子。”
He lifts the box and holds it against his chest. He steps on the scale again. The number jumps, shakes, and stops.
他把箱子抱在胸前，又站上了秤。数字跳了一下，抖了抖，停住了。
"Eighty-six," says Henna.
“八十六，”海娜说。
They look at each other.
他们互相看了一眼。
"Five kilos," says Lev. "It is not one kilo. It is five."
“五公斤，”列夫说，“不是一公斤，是五公斤。”
"Five kilos exactly. Your label was wrong by four."
“正好五公斤。你的标签差了四公斤。”
"My sister's present is heavy." He laughs and shakes his head. "I carried it from the beach for three days. I did not feel it."
“我姐姐的礼物真重啊，”他笑着摇了摇头。“我从海滩一路扛了三天，竟然一点也没觉得。”
"What is in it?"
“里面是什么？”
Lev lifts the tape and opens the top flap a little. Inside lies a flat grey stone, wrapped in a blue cloth. It has a hole through the middle. A thin line of salt shines on its edge. The room suddenly smells of the sea.
列夫揭开胶带，把箱盖上面的一片翻开一点。里面躺着一块扁平的灰色石头，裹在一块蓝布里。石头中间有一个洞，边缘闪着一道细细的盐渍。房间里忽然有了大海的气味。
"I found it on the shore," he says. "When we were small, she looked for stones like this. She always wanted one with a hole."
“我是在海边捡到的，”他说，“我们小时候，她总爱找这样的石头。她一直想要一块带洞的。”
Henna puts out one finger and touches the cold stone. For a second she says nothing. The brushes hum in the tunnel behind the wall.
海娜伸出一根手指，碰了碰冰凉的石头。有那么一瞬间，她什么也没说。隧道里的刷子隔着墙嗡嗡作响。
"I will print a new label," she says. "My printer is old, but it works."
“我来打一张新标签，”她说，“我的打印机很旧，不过还能用。”
Lev takes out his phone. He opens the shipping page and changes the weight. Henna sends the label to the printer. It groans and pushes the paper out. She peels the old sticker off the box. She presses the new one down. Lev closes the flap, and she presses the tape down again.
列夫拿出手机，打开快递页面，改掉了重量。海娜把标签发送到打印机。打印机呻吟着吐出了纸。她把旧贴纸从箱子上撕下来，把新的按上去。列夫合上箱盖，她又把胶带按紧。
The clock says eleven fifty-four. Outside, white lights slide along the fence. A van turns off the motorway. It stops at the side door.
钟指向十一点五十四分。外面，白色的车灯沿着围栏滑过。一辆货车驶下高速公路，停在了侧门口。
"Just in time," says Henna.
“正好赶上，”海娜说。
The courier knocks once. Henna opens the door and gives him the box. He reads the label, lifts the box and nods. A moment later, the van is gone.
快递员敲了一下门。海娜打开门，把箱子交给他。他看了看标签，提起箱子，点了点头。片刻之后，货车就开走了。
Lev stands in the office with one boot in his hand. The car in the tunnel comes out clean and shining. Henna presses the green button and the water stops.
列夫站在办公室里，手里还拎着一只靴子。隧道里的那辆车开了出来，干净又闪亮。海娜按下绿色按钮，水声停了。
"Thank you," he says. "I do not know how to pay you."
“谢谢你，”他说，“我不知道该怎么报答你。”
"Pay with a wash. Your van is very dusty." She sits back in her chair. "And tell her something from me."
“洗个车吧。你的货车脏得很。”她往椅背上一靠。“再替我给她带句话。”
"What should I tell her?"
“带什么话？”
"Tell her the stone is heavier than it looks."
“告诉她，这块石头比看上去更重。”
Lev puts on his boot. At the door, he turns around.
列夫穿上靴子。走到门口，他转过身来。
"She will say it was always heavier," he says.
“她会说，它一直都比看上去更重，”他说。
"Most good things are," says Henna.
“好东西大多如此，”海娜说。
