Mika held the wall with both hands. Her skates slid sideways, and she stopped breathing.
米卡双手扶着围墙。她的冰鞋向旁边滑去，她屏住了呼吸。
She was thirty-one years old. This was her first night on the ice.
她三十一岁了。这是她第一次上冰。
Her sister gave her the ticket as a birthday gift. "You always say you want to try something new," the card said. Now Mika wanted to throw the card in a bin.
姐姐把票当作生日礼物送给了她。“你总说想尝试点新鲜的，”卡片上这样写。现在，米卡想把那张卡片扔进垃圾桶。
All around her, children flew past. A small boy skated backwards and waved at her. She did not wave back. She needed both hands.
在她周围，孩子们一个个飞驰而过。一个小男孩倒着滑，还朝她挥手。她没有挥手回应。她两只手都要用。
Then a loud bell rang.
这时，一个响亮的铃声响了。
Everyone stopped. Skaters turned and looked at the door. Many of them began to leave the ice.
所有人都停了下来。滑冰的人转过身，看着门口。许多人开始离开冰面。
"Wait! Please stay!" a young man shouted. He wore a yellow jacket with the word STAFF on the back. "It is not the end! I am sorry!"
“等等！请留下！”一个年轻男人喊道。他穿着一件黄色夹克，背后写着“工作人员”几个字。“还没结束！对不起！”
Nobody listened. The skaters were already at the gate. In two minutes, the rink was almost empty.
没有人听。滑冰的人已经到了闸门口。两分钟后，冰场几乎空了。
Mika stayed where she was. She did not trust her legs to go anywhere.
米卡留在原地。她不相信自己的腿能带她去任何地方。
The young man crossed the ice in his boots. He walked like someone crossing a river. He stopped near her and looked at the ceiling.
年轻男人穿着靴子走过冰面。他走路的样子像在过河。他在她附近停下来，抬头看着天花板。
"This is my first night," he said. "My name is Gaspar. The bell rang at the wrong time again."
“今晚是我第一天上班，”他说，“我叫加斯帕。铃又在不对的时候响了。”
"Again?" Mika asked.
“又？”米卡问。
"It rang two times before. Once in the middle of a game. Once in the middle of a song." He held his head. "The boss is away. I cannot call him."
“以前响过两次。一次在比赛中间。一次在一首歌中间。”他抱着头，“老板不在。我没法给他打电话。”
Mika looked at the small brass bell by the door. A rope hung from it. The rope went up to a hook on the wall.
米卡望着门边那只小小的黄铜铃。一根绳子从它上面垂下来。绳子往上连到墙上的一个钩子。
"Who pulls the rope?" she asked.
“谁拉绳子？”她问。
"Nobody. That is the strange part." Gaspar shook his head. "I watched it. Nobody was near it."
“没人。奇怪就奇怪在这儿。”加斯帕摇摇头，“我盯着看过。附近没人。”
Mika did not answer. She thought hard. When you cannot move, you notice things.
米卡没有回答。她使劲地想。人动不了的时候，反而会注意到很多东西。
For ten minutes she stood at the wall. The music was very loud. Every time the big drum played, the wall shook under her hands. She felt it in her arms.
她在墙边站了十分钟。音乐声非常大。每次大鼓响起，墙就在她的手下震动。她能从手臂上感觉到。
"Gaspar, can you start the music again?" she said.
“加斯帕，你能把音乐再放一遍吗？”她说。
"But the rink is empty."
“可是冰场是空的。”
"I know. Please try."
“我知道。请试试。”
Gaspar walked to the desk and pressed a button. A loud song began. He came back to Mika and stood next to her.
加斯帕走到服务台前按下一个按钮。一首响亮的歌曲开始了。他回到米卡身边，站在她旁边。
The drum played. The wall shook. Mika counted under her breath. "One, two, three, four."
鼓声响起。墙壁震动。米卡低声数着。“一，二，三，四。”
On the fourth beat, the bell rang.
第四拍时，铃响了。
Gaspar's mouth opened. "It is the music?"
加斯帕张大了嘴。“是音乐？”
"The bell hangs on the same wall as the speaker," Mika said. "The drum shakes the wall. The wall shakes the rope."
“铃挂在和音箱同一面墙上，”米卡说，“鼓声震动墙，墙震动绳子。”
"But it did not ring in the first hour."
“可是第一个小时它没响。”
"In the first hour, the music was quiet." Mika pointed with one finger, then grabbed the wall again. "Look. Somebody turned the sound up."
“第一个小时，音乐很轻。”米卡伸出一根手指指着，然后又抓住墙，“你看。有人把音量调大了。”
Gaspar looked at the desk. He made a small, sad noise. "That was me. I wanted the skaters to feel happy."
加斯帕看向服务台。他发出一声小小的、难过的声音。“是我。我想让滑冰的人开心一点。”
Mika laughed. It was her first laugh of the night, and it felt good. Her hands shook less.
米卡笑了。这是她今晚的第一次笑，感觉很好。她的手抖得没那么厉害了。
"So how do we fix it?" Gaspar asked.
“那怎么修呢？”加斯帕问。
"Move the rope," Mika said. "Put the bell on a wall that does not shake."
“把绳子挪开，”米卡说，“把铃挂在不会震动的墙上。”
Gaspar looked around the rink. There was one quiet wall by the clock, far from the speakers. It was a plain wall with a single hook.
加斯帕环顾冰场。钟旁边有一面安静的墙，离音箱很远。那是一面普通的墙，上面只有一个钩子。
"I need to carry the bell there," he said. "But I cannot leave you alone. You will fall."
“我得把铃拿到那儿去，”他说，“可我不能把你一个人丢下。你会摔倒的。”
"I will not fall," Mika said. A second later, her feet slid forward. She held the wall with a great effort and stayed up. "Maybe I will fall. Go. I am a wall expert now."
“我不会摔倒的，”米卡说。一秒钟后，她的脚向前滑了出去。她费了很大的劲抓住墙，才没有倒下。“也许我会摔倒。去吧。我现在是扶墙专家了。”
Gaspar ran to the door. He took the bell down. He walked across the ice slowly, with the bell in both hands. Mika watched him. Without her hands on the wall, she felt strangely alone.
加斯帕跑向门口。他把铃摘了下来。他双手捧着铃，慢慢地走过冰面。米卡看着他。没有手扶着墙，她感到一种奇怪的孤单。
The music played. Gaspar stood on a chair. He hung the bell on the hook near the clock. He pulled the rope once to test it. The bell gave a clear, bright sound.
音乐还在放。加斯帕站到一把椅子上。他把铃挂在了钟旁边的钩子上。他拉了一下绳子试试。铃发出了清脆明亮的声音。
"That is the right sound," he said. "But now it is too quiet."
“这才是对的声音，”他说，“可是现在又太安静了。”
"What do you mean?"
“什么意思？”
"Now it rings only when I pull it. I forget to pull it. Last week, I forgot to feed the cat."
“现在只有我拉它才会响。我会忘记去拉。上个星期，我就忘了喂猫。”
Mika smiled. "Then ask the clock to remind you."
米卡笑了笑。“那就让钟来提醒你。”
Gaspar looked at the clock. Then he looked at the rope. "At nine, I pull. At nine, the session ends." He wrote a big note on his hand with a pen. NINE.
加斯帕看了看钟，又看了看绳子。“九点，我拉。九点，这一场结束。”他用笔在手上写了一个大大的提醒：九点。
Now the music was loud. The wall by the door shook, but nothing rang. The skaters waited at the gate. Some of them looked in through the glass. A girl pointed at Mika.
现在音乐很响。门边的墙在震动，但什么也没响。滑冰的人在闸门口等着。有些人隔着玻璃往里看。一个女孩指着米卡。
"Please come back," Gaspar called to them. "The bell is fixed! A woman fixed it!"
“请回来吧，”加斯帕对他们喊道，“铃修好了！是一位女士修好的！”
A few people came back first. Then more. Soon the ice was full again.
先是几个人回来了。然后更多的人。很快，冰面上又满了。
The small boy skated up to Mika. "Why are you holding the wall?" he asked.
那个小男孩滑到米卡面前。“你为什么抓着墙？”他问。
"I am a beginner," Mika said.
“我是初学者。”米卡说。
"I can teach you," the boy said. "It is easy. Just go."
“我可以教你，”男孩说，“很容易的。你走就是了。”
"That is what I am afraid of," said Mika.
“我就是怕这个。”米卡说。
Gaspar came back to her. His boots were still wet from the ice. "Let me thank you properly. I will walk with you. Tonight, for free."
加斯帕回到她身边。他的靴子还因为冰湿着。“让我好好谢谢你。我陪你走。今晚免费。”
"You can barely walk on the ice."
“你在冰上都走不稳。”
"True. We can fall together." He gave her his arm. "Let go of the wall. Hold me instead."
“确实。那我们一起摔吧。”他伸出手臂递给她，“放开墙。抓着我。”
Mika took a deep breath. She let go of the wall. She took his arm, and she took one slow, tiny step. Then another. The ice felt wide and cold under her feet. For the first time that night, she did not look down.
米卡深吸一口气。她松开了墙。她挽住他的胳膊，迈出缓慢而微小的一步。然后又一步。冰面在她脚下显得又宽又冷。这天晚上，她第一次没有低头看。
Ten minutes later, she could move across the whole rink. She was slow, but she moved. Gaspar walked next to her in his boots. Sometimes he grabbed her sleeve to stay up.
十分钟后，她能在整个冰场上移动了。她很慢，但她在动。加斯帕穿着靴子走在她旁边。有时他抓住她的袖子才能站稳。
"You are a natural," he lied.
“你是天生的好手。”他撒谎道。
"I am not," Mika said. "But thank you."
“我不是，”米卡说，“不过谢谢你。”
They passed the clock. It was one minute to nine. Gaspar looked up and gasped.
他们经过了钟。还差一分钟九点。加斯帕抬头一看，倒吸一口冷气。
"The bell!" he said. "I must pull the rope!"
“铃！”他说，“我得去拉绳子！”
He let go of her arm and ran for the wall. Mika wobbled alone for two seconds. Her skates went one way. Her body went the other.
他松开她的胳膊，朝墙跑去。米卡一个人晃了两秒。她的冰鞋往一个方向去，身体却往另一个方向去。
At the same moment, the bell rang, loud and clear. Mika sat down on the ice with a bump.
就在同一时刻，铃响了，响亮而清晰。米卡扑通一声坐在了冰上。
Gaspar checked the clock. He looked at Mika. "Good news," he said. "The bell is on time. And so are you."
加斯帕查看了钟。他看看米卡。“好消息，”他说，“铃准时了。你也一样。”
