Manon had never liked heights. She didn't even feel comfortable on a tall stepladder. So when her friend Sanna invited her to a party at a climbing gym, Manon almost said no.
马农从来不喜欢高处。她连站在高梯子上都不自在。所以当朋友桑娜邀请她去攀岩馆参加派对时，马农差点说了不。
"You can just watch," Sanna said. "But I would really like you to try."
“你可以只在旁边看，”桑娜说，“不过我真的很希望你试一试。”
Manon thought about it all week. She didn't want to ruin her friend's day. She didn't want to be the only one sitting on a bench. On Saturday, she put on rented shoes and a harness that felt too tight around her legs.
马农想了整整一个星期。她不想扫朋友的兴。她也不想成为唯一坐在长椅上的人。星期六，她穿上了租来的鞋，系上了一条勒得腿上发紧的安全带。
The wall was twelve meters tall. The other guests climbed it as if it were a staircase. Manon went up slowly, one hand and one foot at a time. For the first few minutes, it was easier than she had expected.
岩壁有十二米高。其他客人爬上去，就像爬楼梯一样。马农爬得很慢，一次一只手，一只脚。最初的几分钟，比她预想的要容易。
Then she looked down. The floor seemed very far away, and her friends looked tiny. Her fingers began to shake, and her legs stopped working. She was halfway up the wall, and she couldn't move.
然后她低头看了一眼。地面好像很远很远，朋友们看上去那么小。她的手指开始发抖，两条腿不听使唤了。她爬到了岩壁中间，动不了了。
"I want to come down," she called. Her voice sounded thin and strange.
“我想下来，”她喊道。她的声音听起来又细又陌生。
"That's fine," the instructor called back from below. "You can come down whenever you like. But first, tell me something. Can you see the yellow hold above your right hand?"
“没问题，”教练在下面回答，“你想什么时候下来都行。不过先告诉我一件事。你看得到右手上方那个黄色的支点吗？”
"Yes."
“看得到。”
"Good. Forget the rest of the wall. Don't look at the top, and don't look at the floor. Just put your hand on the yellow one."
“很好。别管岩壁的其他地方。别看顶上，也别看地面。只要把手放到那个黄色的上面。”
It sounded too small to matter, but Manon did it. Her hand closed around the plastic, and it felt solid.
这听起来小得不值一提，可马农照做了。她的手握住了塑料支点，感觉很牢靠。
"Great. Now find the next hold. Only the next one."
“太好了。现在找下一个支点。只找下一个。”
She did it again, and then again. Each time, the instructor gave her only one job. She stopped counting how high she was. After a while, she realized that she was breathing normally.
她又做了一次，然后又一次。每一次，教练都只给她一个任务。她不再去数自己爬了多高。过了一会儿，她发现自己的呼吸已经平稳了。
Then her hand touched a big red hold, and there was nowhere left to go. She had reached the top.
接着她的手碰到了一个大大的红色支点，再也没有地方可去了。她爬到了顶。
She hung there for a moment and kept her eyes on the wall in front of her nose. She didn't look down. The rope lowered her slowly, and she kept looking straight ahead until her shoes touched the floor.
她在那里悬了一会儿，眼睛盯着鼻尖前的岩壁。她没有往下看。绳子慢慢把她放下来，她一直直直地看着前方，直到鞋子碰到地面。
Only then did she turn around and look up. The wall was enormous.
直到那时她才转过身，抬头望去。岩壁高大得惊人。
"Did I really climb that?" she asked.
“我真的爬上去了吗？”她问。
"Every single hold," Sanna said, and handed her a slice of cake.
“每一个支点都是你自己抓的，”桑娜说着，递给她一块蛋糕。
