Luca found the calendar on his third day at the tram depot. It hung behind a pile of signal lamps in the back office. The paper had turned yellow, and the picture showed a stone bridge in spring.
卢卡在有轨电车车库上班的第三天，发现了那本日历。它挂在后面办公室里一堆信号灯后面。纸已经泛黄，图片是春天里的一座石桥。
"March," Luca said to the empty room. "It is still March."
“三月，”卢卡对着空房间说，“还是三月。”
He checked his phone. It was late October. He tried to turn the page, but it did not move. It was not glued down. It felt like thin metal that someone had printed to look like paper.
他看了看手机。现在是十月下旬。他试着翻页，可是纸页纹丝不动。它并没有被粘住。摸上去像是一块薄金属，有人把它印得像纸一样。
Cosmo came in with a heavy toolbox and a tired face. He had worked at the depot for six years, and he mostly worked alone.
科斯莫拎着沉重的工具箱走了进来，一脸疲惫。他在车库干了六年，大多数时候都是一个人干活。
"Are you still hunting for lamps?" Cosmo asked.
“你还在找灯吗？”科斯莫问。
"I am hunting for a reason," Luca said. "Look at this calendar."
“我在找一个理由，”卢卡说，“你看看这本日历。”
Cosmo glanced at it and shrugged. "It was here before I came. Nobody touches it. The last foreman said it was bad luck to throw it away."
科斯莫扫了一眼，耸了耸肩。“我来之前它就在这儿了。没人碰它。上一任领班说把它扔掉会倒霉。”
"Why would it be bad luck? It is only a calendar."
“为什么会倒霉？它不过是本日历。”
"Ask someone who has stayed here longer than me," Cosmo said. He picked up his box and left.
“去问问比我待得更久的人吧，”科斯莫说。他拿起工具箱走了。
Luca lifted the calendar off its nail. It came away easily, and it weighed almost nothing. He turned it over. On the back, a line of faint pencil said, "Give me to the one who needs me."
卢卡把日历从钉子上取下来。它轻易就取了下来，几乎没有分量。他把它翻过来。背面用淡淡的铅笔写着一行字：“把我交给需要我的人。”
He read the line three times. Then he put the calendar under his arm and went to find someone who needed it.
他把这行字读了三遍。然后他把日历夹在腋下，去找需要它的人。
The first person he found was the clerk. She kept the depot records in a room full of grey cabinets. She looked up from a pile of timetables with a patient smile.
他找到的第一个人是文员。她在一间摆满灰色文件柜的屋子里保管车库的记录。她从一堆时刻表上抬起头，耐心地笑了笑。
"Could you hold this for a moment?" Luca asked. "I think it wants an owner."
“你能帮我拿一会儿这个吗？”卢卡问，“我觉得它想要一个主人。”
The clerk laughed, but she took it. She held it in both hands and waited.
文员笑了，不过还是接了过去。她双手捧着，等待着。
For a few seconds, nothing happened. Then the clock above her desk began to tick backward. The second hand slid from twelve to eleven, to ten, to nine. The clerk stared at it with her mouth open.
有几秒钟，什么也没有发生。然后她桌子上方的钟开始倒着走了。秒针从十二滑到十一，滑到十，滑到九。文员张大了嘴盯着它。
"That is not normal," she said.
“这不正常，”她说。
"No," Luca said. "But is the calendar yours?"
“是不正常，”卢卡说，“不过这日历是你的吗？”
The clerk looked at the page. It still said March. It still would not turn. "I have never lost anything in March," she said slowly. "I think it belongs to somebody who has."
文员看了看那一页。上面还是三月。还是翻不动。“我在三月从来没丢过什么东西，”她慢慢地说，“我想它属于某个丢过的人。”
She gave it back, and the clock jumped forward to the correct time. Luca thanked her and walked on.
她把日历还给他，钟立刻跳回了正确的时间。卢卡谢过她，继续往前走。
The second person was the electrician, who was fixing a cable under the old turntable. He was a calm man with a pencil behind his ear. Luca explained everything while the electrician wiped oil from his hands.
第二个人是电工，他正在老转车台下面修一根电缆。他是个沉静的男人，耳朵后面夹着一支铅笔。电工擦着手上的油，卢卡把事情原原本本地讲了一遍。
"Let me see it," the electrician said.
“给我看看，”电工说。
He held the calendar up to the work lamp. The paper began to hum, very softly, like a fridge in a quiet kitchen. A line of tiny numbers appeared along the edge of the page. They counted down from fourteen to one and then stopped.
他把日历举到工作灯前。纸张开始嗡嗡作响，声音很轻，像安静厨房里的冰箱。页面边缘出现了一排小小的数字。它们从十四倒数到一，然后停了。
"That is the number of a tram car," the electrician said. "Car fourteen. It is the one at the back of the yard."
“那是一节电车的编号，”电工说，“十四号车。就是院子最里头的那一节。”
"I checked its wiring last year," he added. "It is not my problem. Try someone who works on the brakes."
“我去年检查过它的线路，”他补充说，“不归我管。去找个修刹车的人吧。”
"Thank you."
“谢谢。”
"One more thing," the electrician said. He lowered his voice. "If the page turns, don't read what is on the other side alone. Take a witness."
“还有一件事，”电工说。他压低了声音。“如果这一页翻开了，别一个人去看背面写着什么。带个见证人。”
Luca nodded, although he did not understand. He tucked the calendar under his arm again and stepped into the yard.
卢卡点点头，尽管他并不明白。他又把日历夹在腋下，走进了院子。
The evening sun lay low across the tracks. At the very back, behind two trams without wheels, car fourteen waited in the long grass. A single bell hung above its front window.
夕阳低低地照在轨道上。在最里面，两节没有轮子的电车后面，十四号车停在长长的草丛里。前窗上方挂着一只铃。
Luca walked around it slowly. The calendar grew warmer under his arm. When he reached the front step, the paper trembled, and he nearly dropped it.
卢卡慢慢地绕着它走。日历在腋下越来越暖。他走到前踏板时，纸页颤抖起来，他差点把它掉在地上。
"You found it," someone said behind him.
“你找到了，”他身后有人说。
Luca turned. Cosmo stood at the gate with his toolbox in one hand and a sandwich in the other. He looked like a man who had not planned to follow anyone.
卢卡转过身。科斯莫站在院门口，一手拎着工具箱，另一手拿着一块三明治。他看上去像个并没打算跟踪谁的人。
"I saw you walk past the window with that thing," Cosmo said. "I thought you might hurt yourself."
“我看见你拿着那东西从窗前走过，”科斯莫说，“怕你伤着自己。”
"The clerk could not use it," Luca said. "The electrician could not use it either. It keeps pointing here."
“文员用不了它，”卢卡说，“电工也用不了。它一直指向这里。”
"Pointing where?"
“指向哪儿？”
"To this tram. Car fourteen." Luca held the calendar out. "I think you should hold it."
“这节电车。十四号车。”卢卡把日历递过去。“我想你该拿着它。”
Cosmo laughed, but the laugh sounded thin. "Why me?"
科斯莫笑了，不过笑声很单薄。“为什么是我？”
"Because I do not know anybody else who has a reason to come out here."
“因为我不认识还有谁有理由到这里来。”
Cosmo said nothing for a while. He put his sandwich on the step. Then, very carefully, he took the calendar from Luca.
科斯莫沉默了好一会儿。他把三明治放在踏板上。然后，非常小心地，从卢卡手里接过日历。
The paper stopped trembling. It lay in his hands like a sleeping animal.
纸页不再颤抖了。它躺在他手里，像一只睡着的动物。
"I worked on this car before I was a full mechanic," Cosmo said at last. "The foreman asked me to check the third bolt on the brake arm. It was a small job. I wrote it on this calendar, and I meant to do it on Thursday."
“我当上正式机修工之前，在这节车上干过活，”科斯莫终于说，“领班让我检查刹车臂上的第三颗螺栓。那是个小活儿。我把它写在这本日历上，打算星期四去做。”
"And did you?" Luca asked.
“你做了吗？”卢卡问。
"I forgot." Cosmo rubbed his forehead. "Nothing happened. The car was already out of service, so nobody was hurt. But I always wondered what I had missed."
“我忘了。”科斯莫揉着额头。“什么也没发生。这节车当时已经停运了，所以没人受伤。可我总是想知道，我到底漏掉了什么。”
"Then maybe the calendar has been waiting for you to finish it."
“那也许日历一直在等你把它做完。”
Cosmo looked at the page. He put one finger on the corner. This time the paper lifted at once, as lightly as a leaf.
科斯莫看着那一页。他用一根手指按住了页角。这一次，纸页立刻掀了起来，轻得像一片叶子。
"Wait," Luca said. "The electrician said we should not look alone. So I am here."
“等等，”卢卡说，“电工说我们不能一个人看。所以我在这儿。”
"Good," Cosmo said. "Stay."
“好，”科斯莫说，“留下。”
Underneath was the month of April. The picture showed a small tram crossing the same stone bridge, with tiny people at the windows. Across the top, someone had written a message in blue pencil.
下面是四月。图片是一节小电车正驶过同一座石桥，车窗里有小小的人影。页面顶端，有人用蓝铅笔写了一条留言。
Cosmo read it out loud. His voice was careful and low.
科斯莫大声念了出来。他的声音小心而低沉。
"Third bolt, brake arm, car fourteen. Check it before you turn the page."
“十四号车，刹车臂，第三颗螺栓。翻页之前先检查它。”
"That is your job," Luca said. "Is it your handwriting?"
“这是你的活儿，”卢卡说，“是你的笔迹吗？”
"No." Cosmo frowned. "It looks like the foreman's. But he left years ago."
“不是。”科斯莫皱起眉头。“看着像领班的。可他好多年前就走了。”
They climbed onto the step together. Cosmo opened his toolbox and chose a short spanner. He crawled under the front of the car while Luca held the work lamp. The metal was cold and gritty, and the third bolt had a thin crack across its head.
他们一起爬上踏板。科斯莫打开工具箱，挑了一把短扳手。卢卡举着工作灯，他爬到车头下面。金属又冷又粗糙，第三颗螺栓的头上有一道细细的裂缝。
"It is loose," Cosmo called from below. "It has been loose for years. If anybody had moved this car, the arm could have slipped."
“松了，”科斯莫在下面喊道，“已经松了好多年了。要是有人开过这节车，刹车臂可能就滑脱了。”
"So the calendar was warning you."
“所以日历是在警告你。”
"Or reminding me." Cosmo tightened the bolt with a slow, steady turn. It made a satisfying click, like a key in a lock. Then he slid out from under the car with dust on his sleeves.
“或者是提醒我。”科斯莫缓慢而稳定地拧紧了螺栓。它发出令人满足的一声咔嗒，像钥匙转进了锁里。然后他从车底下滑了出来，袖子上沾满灰尘。
High above the front window, the small brass bell gave one clear note, although nobody had touched it.
在前窗高处，那只小小的黄铜铃发出了一声清亮的音，尽管没有人碰过它。
"Did you hear that?" Luca whispered.
“你听到了吗？”卢卡小声说。
"I heard it," Cosmo said.
“我听到了，”科斯莫说。
Luca picked up the calendar from the step. The page for April had slid back by itself, and a new sheet lay on top. It showed a different bridge, with a wide river under it. The paper felt like ordinary paper now.
卢卡从踏板上拿起日历。四月那一页自己滑了回去，上面盖着一张新页。它显示的是另一座桥，桥下是一条宽阔的河。纸摸上去现在就是普通的纸了。
"May," Luca said. "It finally moved."
“五月，”卢卡说，“它终于动了。”
"Then my job is done."
“那我的任务完成了。”
"Is it?" Luca held up the calendar so the lamp shone through the page. A circle of pencil had appeared around one date in May. Next to it, in handwriting that looked exactly like Cosmo's own, a single word was written.
“是吗？”卢卡举起日历，让灯光透过纸页。五月的一个日期周围出现了一圈铅笔印。旁边是一个词，笔迹和科斯莫自己的一模一样。
"Again?" Cosmo read, and his shoulders sank. "What does that mean?"
“再来一次？”科斯莫念道，肩膀垮了下来。“这是什么意思？”
Luca did not answer. Behind them, in the dark yard, another tram bell began to ring.
卢卡没有回答。在他们身后，黑暗的院子里，另一只电车铃响了起来。
