The bus shelter at the top of Windmill Hill has the best signal in the whole village. That is why Eero goes there every afternoon after school. He sits on the wooden bench and pulls out his phone. He pretends he is only checking the football scores.
风车山山顶的公交候车亭，是整个村子里信号最好的地方。所以埃罗每天放学后都会去那里。他坐在木头长凳上，掏出手机，假装只是在看足球比分。
That is also why Rohan goes there. He moved to the village a month ago. His sister lives on the other side of the world. Every afternoon at four, she calls him. He walks up the hill with his phone held high like a torch.
这也是罗翰去那里的原因。他一个月前搬到了这个村子。他的姐姐住在地球的另一边。每天下午四点，她都会打电话给他。他举着手机像举着火把一样，走上山坡。
At first, the two boys just nod at each other. After a week, they start to talk. After two weeks, Eero begins to arrive early.
起初，两个男孩只是互相点点头。过了一个星期，他们开始说话。过了两个星期，埃罗开始提前到了。
On Friday, Rohan is already on the bench when Eero comes up the path. He is looking at his hands, and he looks upset.
星期五，埃罗走上小路时，罗翰已经坐在长凳上了。他低头看着自己的手，一脸不开心的样子。
"What's wrong?" Eero asks.
“怎么了？”埃罗问。
"I lost a glove." Rohan holds up his right hand. It wears a thick blue glove with a silver stripe across the back. His left hand is bare. "My sister sent them to me. She chose them herself."
“我丢了一只手套。”罗翰举起右手，上面戴着一只厚厚的蓝色手套，手背上有一道银色条纹。他的左手光着。“这是我姐姐寄给我的，是她亲自挑的。”
"Maybe you left it at home."
“也许你落在家里了。”
"I checked. It was in my pocket when I came up here yesterday. I rode my bike up the hill path, so it must have fallen out somewhere."
“我查过了。昨天我上来的时候，它还在口袋里。我是骑车沿着山路上来的，所以一定是在哪里掉出去了。”
Eero looks at the path. It is long, and it has a lot of bends. A glove could be anywhere. It could be in the long grass, behind a rock or in the mud by the old gate.
埃罗看着那条小路。路很长，弯也很多。手套可能在任何地方，可能在长长的草丛里，可能在石头后面，也可能在旧大门旁边的泥里。
"I will look for it on the way home," he says.
“回家的路上我帮你找找。”他说。
"You don't have to do that."
“你不用这么做的。”
"I know," Eero says. "I want to."
“我知道，”埃罗说，“我想找。”
Rohan smiles, and then his phone rings. He answers it and walks to the edge of the shelter. He laughs in a language Eero does not know. Eero listens to the happy sound of it and feels his stomach do a small, strange turn.
罗翰笑了，这时他的手机响了。他接起电话，走到候车亭的边上。他用一种埃罗听不懂的语言笑着。埃罗听着那快乐的笑声，感到自己的胃轻轻地、奇怪地翻了一下。
That evening, Eero walks the whole path slowly, looking at every bush. He finds a bottle top, a hair clip and half a pencil. He does not find a glove. When he gets home, his phone shows two messages.
那天傍晚，埃罗慢慢地走完了整条小路，查看了每一丛灌木。他找到了一个瓶盖、一只发夹和半截铅笔，没有找到手套。回到家，他的手机上有两条消息。
The first is from his team captain. "Match tomorrow at nine," it says. "Don't be late. We have no other goalkeeper."
第一条是球队队长发来的。“明天早上九点比赛，”上面写着，“别迟到。我们没有别的守门员。”
The second is from Rohan. "I'm going to search the hill tomorrow at nine. Don't worry about me. I just wanted to tell you."
第二条是罗翰发来的。“我明天九点去山上找。别担心我，我只是想告诉你一声。”
Eero sits on his bed and looks at the two messages for a long time.
埃罗坐在床上，看着这两条消息看了很久。
Both plans are good. The match is important, because the team has not won for three weeks and everyone is nervous. He has trained all month for it. His friends need him, and he likes being needed.
两个计划都很好。比赛很重要，因为球队已经三个星期没赢了，大家都很紧张。他为这场比赛练了整整一个月。朋友们需要他，而他喜欢被人需要。
But the other plan is good too. A lost glove is a small problem, and Rohan can search alone. Still, Eero remembers the way Rohan looked at his bare hand. It was not really about the glove.
但另一个计划也很好。丢了一只手套是件小事，罗翰可以自己去找。可是，埃罗还记得罗翰看着自己光手的样子。那其实不只是为了手套。
He tries to make a list in his head. If he plays the match, he will help his team, and he will see his friends. If he goes up the hill, he will help one person. He will also spend a whole morning with him.
他试着在脑子里列一张清单。如果去比赛，他能帮到球队，还能见到朋友们。如果去山上，他只能帮到一个人，不过他能和这个人一起度过一整个上午。
"That is not even a hard choice," he says to the ceiling. "That is two easy choices."
“这根本不算难选，”他对着天花板说，“这是两个都很容易的选择。”
He waits for the right answer to arrive. It does not come. So he asks himself a different question. Which of these mornings does he want to remember next year?
他等着正确答案出现，可它没有来。于是他换了一个问题问自己：这两个早晨，他想在明年记住哪一个？
He picks up his phone and calls his captain.
他拿起手机，打给队长。
"I can't play tomorrow," he says, before he loses his courage. "I am sorry. I know it is the worst possible time."
“我明天不能踢了，”他趁自己还没丧失勇气，赶紧说，“对不起。我知道现在是最糟糕的时候。”
There is a long silence on the line.
电话那头沉默了很久。
"Is somebody sick?" the captain asks.
“有人生病了吗？”队长问。
"No. A friend lost something important, and I promised to help him look."
“没有。一个朋友丢了很重要的东西，我答应过要帮他一起找。”
"A friend," the captain repeats. Eero can hear him thinking. "Is it the new boy from the hill?"
“一个朋友，”队长重复了一遍。埃罗能听出他在思考。“是山上那个新来的男孩吗？”
"How do you know that?"
“你怎么知道？”
"Everyone knows. You smile like a lamp whenever his name comes up." The captain laughs, but he sounds kind. "Fine. The younger boy can play in goal. He is terrible, but he is brave. You owe us a big save next time."
“大家都知道。每次一提到他的名字，你就笑得像盏灯一样。”队长笑了，但语气很和善。“行吧，让那个小一点的男孩去守门。他很糟糕，不过很勇敢。下次你得给我们来个漂亮的扑救作为补偿。”
"I promise," Eero says. He hangs up, and his hands shake a little. He feels lighter than he expected.
“我保证。”埃罗说。他挂了电话，手有点发抖。他觉得比预想的要轻松得多。
The next morning, Eero is at the shelter at ten to nine. Rohan arrives two minutes later, pushing his bike. He stops when he sees Eero.
第二天早上，埃罗八点五十分就到了候车亭。两分钟后，罗翰推着自行车来了。他看见埃罗，停了下来。
"You're supposed to be at the match," he says.
“你应该去比赛的。”他说。
"The match will manage without me."
“没有我，比赛也能进行。”
"But you're the goalkeeper. You told me it was the big one."
“可你是守门员啊。你跟我说过这是最重要的一场。”
"It is," Eero says. "I decided this is bigger."
“是的，”埃罗说，“但我觉得这件事更重要。”
Rohan looks at him for a moment, and then he looks at his shoes. "That is a very strange thing to say about a glove."
罗翰看了他一会儿，然后低头看着自己的鞋。“为了一只手套说这种话，真是奇怪。”
"It's a very good glove."
“这是只非常好的手套。”
They start at the top and work their way down the path, one on each side. They search the long grass and look under every bush. Rohan checks the places where he rode fast, and Eero checks the places where the path turns. They talk the whole time, about their families and the village. They talk about the odd habits of the geese. Eero learns that Rohan hates getting up early and is afraid of cows. Rohan learns that Eero plays the drums, badly, in his garage.
他们从山顶开始，沿着小路往下找，一人守一边。他们搜遍了长草丛，看了每一丛灌木下面。罗翰查看自己骑得很快的地方，埃罗查看小路拐弯的地方。他们一路说个不停，聊家人，聊村子，聊那些鹅的古怪习惯。埃罗了解到，罗翰讨厌早起，还怕牛。罗翰了解到，埃罗在自家车库里打鼓，打得很糟。
Halfway down, they reach the old gate. Nothing is in the mud. Nothing is behind the rock. Rohan sits on a stone and sighs.
走到半山腰，他们来到那扇旧大门前。泥里什么也没有，石头后面什么也没有。罗翰坐在一块石头上，叹了口气。
"Maybe it is gone," he says. "Maybe a fox took it."
“也许它没了，”他说，“也许被狐狸叼走了。”
"Foxes do not like gloves."
“狐狸不喜欢手套。”
"How do you know?"
“你怎么知道？”
"I have lived here my whole life. I would have heard about it."
“我一辈子都住在这里，要是有这种事，我早就听说了。”
Rohan laughs, and Eero decides that he will do whatever it takes to hear that sound again.
罗翰笑了，埃罗心想，为了再听到这笑声，他什么都愿意做。
They keep walking. At the bottom of the hill, where the path meets the road, there is a long wooden fence. On the top of one post, someone has put a blue glove with a silver stripe. It stands upright, with its fingers open, like a hand saying hello.
他们继续往下走。在山脚下，小路与公路相接的地方，有一道长长的木栅栏。其中一根柱子的顶上，有人放了一只带银色条纹的蓝手套。它直直地立着，手指张开，像一只正在打招呼的手。
"There," Eero says, and he points.
“在那儿。”埃罗说着，指了过去。
Rohan runs. He grabs the glove, turns it over and presses it against his chest. Then he looks at Eero with wide eyes.
罗翰跑了过去。他抓起手套，翻过来看了看，把它按在胸口。然后他睁大眼睛看着埃罗。
"Somebody found it," he says. "Somebody found it and put it where I could see it."
“有人找到了它，”他说，“有人找到了，还把它放在我能看见的地方。”
"People are kind around here," Eero says. "It is the geese. They keep everybody honest."
“这里的人都很善良，”埃罗说，“这都是鹅的功劳，它们让每个人都保持诚实。”
They stand there for a minute, not saying anything. The morning is quiet, and the road is empty. Rohan looks at the glove, and then at Eero, and then at the glove again. He pulls it onto his left hand and flexes his fingers. Then he takes off the right one and holds it out.
他们站在那里，一分钟没有说话。清晨很安静，公路上空荡荡的。罗翰看看手套，又看看埃罗，再看看手套。他把它戴到左手上，活动了一下手指。然后他摘下右手的那只，递了过去。
"Here," he says. "You searched that whole path for an hour. You earned it."
“给你，”他说，“你在那条路上找了整整一个小时，这是你应得的。”
Eero takes the glove. It is warm, and it fits him almost perfectly. Rohan lifts his own hand, now in a blue glove, and waits.
埃罗接过手套。它是暖的，戴在他手上几乎正合适。罗翰举起自己那只戴着蓝手套的手，等着。
"One for you, one for me," he says quietly. "Is that what people call a pair?"
“你一只，我一只，”他轻声说，“人们是不是管这个叫一副？”
