The pool closed at nine. Anselm liked that hour best. The music stopped and the last children left. The water became flat and quiet.
游泳池九点关门。安塞尔姆最喜欢这个钟点。音乐停了，最后一批孩子也走了，水面变得平静无声。
Anselm was the lifeguard on the late shift. He walked along the edge and checked every lane. He picked up a towel and one blue sock. Then he saw something pale at the bottom of the shallow end.
安塞尔姆是值晚班的救生员。他沿着池边走，检查每一条泳道。他捡起一条毛巾和一只蓝袜子。然后，他看到浅水区的池底有个浅色的东西。
He took the long net and reached down. The thing came up slowly. It was a small brown envelope, closed with tape. It was not soft. It was not wet. It was dry.
他拿起长长的捞网伸下去。那东西慢慢地被捞了上来。是一个棕色的小信封，用胶带封着。它不软，也没有湿，是干的。
"That is strange," Anselm said.
“真奇怪。”安塞尔姆说。
He held the envelope up to the light. Something small and hard moved inside.
他把信封举到灯光下。里面有什么又小又硬的东西在动。
Piet came out of the cleaning room with his mop. Piet cleaned the building every night. He was tall and slow, and he never hurried.
皮特拿着拖把从清洁间里走出来。皮特每天晚上负责打扫这栋楼。他个子高，动作慢，从来不着急。
"What did you catch?" Piet asked.
“你捞到什么了？”皮特问。
"An envelope from the bottom of the pool," said Anselm. "Look at it. It is completely dry."
“从池底捞上来一个信封，”安塞尔姆说，“你看看，完全是干的。”
Piet touched it with one finger. "There is tape on every side," he said. "And a plastic bag inside. Someone wanted it to stay dry."
皮特用一根手指碰了碰它。“四边都贴了胶带，”他说，“里面还有一个塑料袋。有人想让它一直保持干燥。”
On the front, someone wrote two words in blue pen. SAMPLE SEVEN. Under the words was a drawing of a planet with a ring.
信封正面有人用蓝笔写了两个词：七号样本。字的下面画着一颗带环的行星。
Anselm loved science fiction. He read one space book every week. His heart beat fast.
安塞尔姆热爱科幻。他每个星期都要读一本太空题材的书。他的心跳得很快。
"Piet, this is not normal," he said. "Someone left a sample here. Maybe it comes from another world."
“皮特，这不正常，”他说，“有人把一份样本留在这里了。说不定它来自另一个世界。”
Piet looked at him for a long time. "Maybe somebody dropped it," he said.
皮特看了他很久。“也许是有人弄掉了。”他说。
"No, think! Who writes Sample Seven? That means six more samples are out there."
“不，你想想！谁会写‘七号样本’？这说明外面还有另外六份样本。”
"Or it is one very long game," said Piet.
“或者这是一个特别长的游戏。”皮特说。
They carried the envelope to the small office. They put it on the desk. Anselm did not want to open it yet. He found a pen and a notepad.
他们把信封拿到小办公室，放在桌子上。安塞尔姆还不想拆开。他找来一支笔和一本记事本。
"A good detective starts with clues," he said. "We will not open it until we understand it."
“好侦探都是从线索开始的，”他说，“没弄明白之前，我们不拆。”
"I want to go home at ten," said Piet. But he sat down.
“我十点想回家。”皮特说。可他还是坐了下来。
"Clue one," said Anselm. He pointed at the writing. "Look at the letters."
“线索一，”安塞尔姆说。他指着上面的字。“看看这些字。”
The letters were big and round. None of the letters stood in a straight line.
字又大又圆，没有一个字是排在一条直线上的。
"A child wrote this," said Piet. "Or a very bad alien."
“是小孩写的，”皮特说，“或者是一个写得很差的外星人。”
Anselm wrote on his notepad. Clue one: a child, or a bad alien. He underlined the word alien twice.
安塞尔姆在记事本上写道：线索一：小孩，或写得很差的外星人。他把“外星人”几个字划了两道线。
"Clue two," he said. He turned the envelope over. In the corner was a number. It was a small black four with a circle around it.
“线索二，”他说。他把信封翻过来，角落里有一个数字，是一个小小的黑色的四，外面画了一个圈。
"Four," said Piet. "Lane four?"
“四，”皮特说，“四号泳道？”
"What happens in lane four?"
“四号泳道有什么活动？”
"Swimming lessons for the little ones. Every Thursday at five."
“小朋友们的游泳课，每个星期四五点钟。”
"Today is Thursday," said Anselm slowly. He wrote it down. His hand shook a little.
“今天是星期四，”安塞尔姆慢慢地说。他把这点写了下来，手有点发抖。
Piet pulled the envelope toward himself. He looked at the tape. The tape was plain. But at the end there was a small sticker. It showed a green shark with a big smile.
皮特把信封拉到自己面前，看着那条胶带。胶带是普通的，但末端有一个小贴纸，上面是一条咧着大嘴笑的绿色鲨鱼。
Piet did not say anything. He went to his locker in the hall. He came back with his phone and looked at the screen. Then he closed his eyes.
皮特什么也没说。他走到走廊的储物柜那儿，拿着手机回来，看了看屏幕，然后闭上了眼睛。
"What is clue three?" Anselm asked.
“线索三是什么？”安塞尔姆问。
"The shark," said Piet. "I know this shark. It is on our fridge. It is on our front door. It is on my lunch box."
“鲨鱼，”皮特说，“我认得这条鲨鱼。它在我们家冰箱上，在我们家的前门上，在我的饭盒上。”
"Why is it on your lunch box?"
“它为什么在你的饭盒上？”
"Because my daughter puts it everywhere." Piet held up the phone. "My wife sent six messages. I left my phone in the locker."
“因为我女儿把它贴得到处都是。”皮特举起手机。“我妻子发了六条消息。我把手机落在储物柜里了。”
Anselm read the last message over his shoulder. "Did you find her envelope? She lost it at swimming. She will not sleep."
安塞尔姆从他肩后读了最后一条消息。“你找到她的信封了吗？她在游泳课上弄丢了。她今晚会睡不着的。”
"Your daughter is the alien?" Anselm asked.
“你女儿就是那个外星人？”安塞尔姆问。
"My daughter is eight," said Piet. "She swims in lane four. At school this week, the teacher gave her a game. A visitor from space comes to Earth. The class must collect eight samples to show the visitor."
“我女儿八岁，”皮特说，“她在四号泳道游泳。这个星期在学校，老师给了她们一个游戏：一位来自太空的访客来到地球，全班必须收集八份样本给访客看。”
"What are the samples?"
“样本都是什么？”
"Sand. A leaf. A drop of lake water. She told me about it all week." Piet rubbed his forehead. "I did not listen well. I was tired."
“沙子，一片树叶，一滴湖水。她整个星期都在跟我说这件事。”皮特揉了揉额头。“我没好好听。我太累了。”
Anselm looked at the envelope again. Now the planet with the ring looked like a child's drawing. Of course it did.
安塞尔姆又看了看信封。现在，那颗带环的行星看起来就像是小孩子画的。当然是了。
"Sample seven," he said.
“七号样本。”他说。
"Let us open it," said Piet.
“拆开吧。”皮特说。
Anselm cut the tape with great care. Inside the envelope was a small plastic bag, the kind for sandwiches. Inside the bag was a folded note. Next to the note was a tiny white tooth.
安塞尔姆非常小心地割开了胶带。信封里是一个小塑料袋，就是装三明治用的那种。袋子里有一张折起来的字条，字条旁边是一颗小小的白色牙齿。
Piet took out the note and read it aloud. "Sample seven. Baby tooth. It fell out on Monday. Please do not lose it. From Earth."
皮特拿出字条，大声念道：“七号样本。乳牙。星期一掉的。请不要弄丢。来自地球。”
Anselm laughed so hard that he had to sit on the floor. Piet laughed too. The laugh was loud in the empty building.
安塞尔姆笑得太厉害，只好坐到地上。皮特也笑了。笑声在空荡荡的大楼里显得很响。
"I thought it was a message from another world," said Anselm. He wiped his eyes.
“我还以为是来自另一个世界的消息呢。”安塞尔姆擦着眼睛说。
"It is," said Piet. "From my daughter's world. It is almost the same thing."
“确实是，”皮特说，“来自我女儿的世界。差不多是一回事。”
"Why was it at the bottom of the pool?"
“它怎么会在池底？”
"She took it to show her friends. Then it fell out of her swim bag. She wraps everything in tape so it stays dry. She does that with all her treasures." Piet shook his head. "Her mother says she cried for an hour."
“她带去给朋友们看的，后来从游泳包里掉了出来。她把什么东西都用胶带裹起来，这样就能保持干燥。她所有的宝贝都是这样。”皮特摇着头。“她妈妈说她哭了一个小时。”
Anselm stood up and looked at the tooth. It was so small. It looked like a grain of rice.
安塞尔姆站起来，看着那颗牙。它那么小，像一粒米。
"There is one more thing," Piet said. "She also wants it for the other visitor."
“还有一件事，”皮特说，“她还想把它留给另一位访客。”
"Which other visitor?"
“哪位访客？”
"The one who brings a coin for a tooth," said Piet.
“拿牙换硬币的那位。”皮特说。
Anselm smiled. He understood now. For her, the space game and the tooth game were one game. In her head, both visitors came at night.
安塞尔姆笑了。他现在明白了。对她来说，太空游戏和牙齿游戏是同一个游戏。在她的脑子里，两位访客都在夜里到来。
He gave the envelope back to Piet. Piet closed it with new tape. He put it in his shirt pocket. He patted the pocket twice.
他把信封还给了皮特。皮特用新胶带把它封好，放进衬衫口袋里，在口袋上拍了两下。
"Go home," said Anselm. "I will turn off the lights and lock the door."
“回家吧，”安塞尔姆说，“我来关灯锁门。”
"Thank you, Anselm. I owe you a coffee."
“谢谢你，安塞尔姆。我欠你一杯咖啡。”
"You owe me a story. About your daughter and the alien."
“你欠我一个故事，关于你女儿和外星人的。”
Piet laughed again and left with his mop and his bucket. His steps went down the hall and then the door closed.
皮特又笑了，带着拖把和水桶离开了。他的脚步声沿着走廊远去，然后门关上了。
Anselm walked to the edge of the pool for the last time. He turned off the big lights one by one. The deep end was dark now. The water looked like black glass.
安塞尔姆最后一次走到池边。他把大灯一盏一盏地关掉。深水区现在黑了，水面看起来像黑色的玻璃。
He stood there for a moment and listened. The pump hummed. Then, from somewhere under the surface, came one small sound.
他站在那里，听了一会儿。水泵在嗡嗡作响。然后，从水面下的某个地方，传来了一声轻轻的响动。
Blup.
咕噜。
