The ferry leaves the harbor with a low horn. Elan stands at the rail on the top deck. Behind him, the town gets smaller.
渡轮发出一声低沉的汽笛，驶离了港口。埃兰站在顶层甲板的栏杆旁。在他身后，小镇越来越小。
The crossing takes twenty-five minutes. Elan wants to enjoy every minute. He is fifteen. It is his first trip to the island.
航程要二十五分钟。埃兰想好好享受每一分钟。他十五岁。这是他第一次去那座岛。
Samir comes up the stairs with two paper cups of juice. He is also fifteen, and he is the reason for the trip.
萨米尔拿着两只装果汁的纸杯走上楼梯。他也是十五岁，这趟旅行就是因他而起的。
"Here," Samir says. He gives Elan a cup. "Did you bring the map?"
“给，”萨米尔说着，递给埃兰一杯。“你带地图了吗？”
"Of course." Elan opens his jacket and takes out a folded sheet of paper. "It is not wet."
“当然。”埃兰敞开夹克，拿出一张折起来的纸。“没湿。”
The map is not a normal one. Samir's little cousin drew it with crayons. She lives on the island. She wants the boys to visit her favorite place. Her drawing shows a blue sea and a green hill. It shows a yellow house too. A very tall tree stands by it, with a bird on top.
这张地图不是普通的地图。是萨米尔的小表妹用蜡笔画的。她住在岛上。她想让两个男孩去看看她最喜欢的地方。她的画上有蓝色的大海和绿色的山丘，还有一座黄色的房子。旁边有一棵很高很高的树，树顶上停着一只鸟。
At the bottom, there is a thick black line. Next to it she wrote, in large letters, COME HERE.
纸的底部有一条粗粗的黑线。旁边她用大大的字写着：到这里来。
"It is a great map," Samir says. "But I have a question. Where is the black line?"
“这张地图太棒了，”萨米尔说，“不过我有个问题。那条黑线是什么？”
"A road?"
“一条路？”
"Maybe a dock."
“也许是个码头。”
Elan looks closer. The line could be a road, a dock, or a snake. The little girl is a better artist than a mapmaker.
埃兰凑近仔细看。那条线可能是路，可能是码头，也可能是一条蛇。这个小姑娘是个比制图员更出色的画家。
"The ferry stops at two docks," Elan says. He reads the sign on the wall. "North Landing and South Landing. We must choose the right one."
“渡轮会停靠两个码头，”埃兰说。他读着墙上的告示牌。“北码头和南码头。我们得选对。”
"What does the ticket say?"
“船票上怎么写的？”
"It says both. We choose when we get off." Elan checks his watch. "We have about fifteen minutes before the first stop."
“两个都可以。下船的时候再选。”埃兰看了看手表。“离第一站还有大约十五分钟。”
They sit on a bench and spread the map on their knees. Samir turns it one way, then the other. A seagull lands on the rail and watches them.
他们在长椅上坐下，把地图摊在膝盖上。萨米尔一会儿把它转到这边，一会儿转到那边。一只海鸥落在栏杆上看着他们。
"Look," Samir says. "The sea is on the left. The hill is on the right. So we must come from the bottom of the paper."
“你看，”萨米尔说，“海在左边，山在右边。所以我们一定是从纸的下方过来的。”
"Then the black line is where we start. That means it is a dock. But which one?"
“那么黑线就是我们的起点。也就是说，它是个码头。可是是哪一个呢？”
"I don't know." Samir rubs his neck. "Her letter says she can see the ferry from her house. She has no phone, so we cannot ask her."
“我不知道。”萨米尔揉了揉脖子。“她在信里说，从她家能看见渡轮。她没有手机，所以没法问她。”
Elan thinks. Some things in a child's drawing are easy to find. He taps the picture of the tree.
埃兰想了想。孩子画里有些东西是很容易找到的。他点了点画着那棵树的地方。
"This is the clue," he says. "A tall tree with a bird. We can look for it from the water."
“线索在这儿，”他说，“一棵带着鸟的高树。我们可以从海上去找它。”
Samir stands up. "The deck is too crowded to see the island. Everybody is in front of us."
萨米尔站了起来。“甲板上人太多，看不清岛。大家都挡在我们前面。”
It is true. A family stands at the front rail. Three men in work clothes lean next to them. A man with a camera takes pictures of everything.
确实如此。一家人站在前面的栏杆旁。三个穿工作服的男人靠在他们身边。一个拿相机的男人什么都要拍。
"Then we need a better view," Elan says.
“那我们得找个更好的视角，”埃兰说。
He looks up. Behind the bench, a metal ladder goes up to a small platform. A sign says STAFF ONLY. The platform has a bright orange ring, and nothing else.
他抬起头。长椅后面有一架金属梯子，通向一个小平台。一块牌子上写着：员工专用。平台上只有一个鲜橙色的救生圈，别的什么都没有。
Samir shakes his head. "No."
萨米尔摇摇头。“不行。”
"We only look," Elan says. "Two minutes."
“我们只是看看，”埃兰说，“就两分钟。”
"We will be in trouble."
“我们会惹麻烦的。”
"Then we ask first." Elan walks to a worker. She wears a blue jacket and holds a rope. "Excuse me. May we stand on the high platform for two minutes? We want to find a tree on the island."
“那我们先问一声。”埃兰走向一位工作人员。她穿着蓝夹克，手里拿着一根绳子。“打扰一下。我们能在高处的平台上站两分钟吗？我们想在岛上找一棵树。”
The woman looks at him. She looks at the paper in his hand. "Is that a map?"
那位女士看着他，又看看他手里的纸。“那是地图吗？”
"A child drew it. We must find the right dock."
“是个孩子画的。我们得找到正确的码头。”
The woman reads the page. A small smile appears. "Good drawing. I know that tree. It is the old pine on the hill. The bird is a statue." She points at the island. "The yellow house is near it, by the little fishing pier."
女士看了看那幅画，露出一丝微笑。“画得不错。我知道那棵树。那是山上的那棵老松树。那只鸟是座雕像。”她指着岛说。“黄房子就在它附近，挨着小渔码头。”
"So the tree and the house are close together?" Samir asks.
“这么说，树和房子离得很近？”萨米尔问。
"Yes. Your friend with the crayons drew everything in one picture. Real life is bigger." She nods at the ladder. "Go up. Hold the rail with both hands."
“是的。你那位拿蜡笔的朋友把所有东西画在了一张图里。真实的地方要大得多。”她朝梯子点点头。“上去吧。两只手都要扶好栏杆。”
"Thank you!" Elan says.
“谢谢您！”埃兰说。
They climb. The platform is small and cold. From here, the island rises out of the sea.
他们爬了上去。平台又小又冷。从这里望去，岛屿从海中升起。
Elan holds the map up. He looks from the paper to the island. He moves it left, then right.
埃兰举起地图。他的目光在纸和岛之间来回移动。他把图往左移，又往右移。
"There," he says. He points. "The tall tree. And a house with a yellow roof. They are close together."
“在那儿，”他说着，指了出去。“那棵高树。还有一座黄屋顶的房子。它们挨得很近。”
"Which is the dock?" Samir asks.
“哪个是码头？”萨米尔问。
Elan looks for the black line. At the foot of the hill, a short pier reaches out. It is between the tree and the house. It is closer to North Landing.
埃兰寻找那条黑线。在山脚下，有一座短短的栈桥伸向海里。它在那棵树和那座房子之间，离北码头更近。
"The pier is in the middle," he says. "The girl drew everything near it. She did not mean North or South. She meant the little pier between them."
“栈桥在中间，”他说，“小姑娘把所有东西都画在它旁边。她说的不是北码头，也不是南码头。她指的是它们之间的那座小栈桥。”
Samir laughs. "So where does the ferry stop?"
萨米尔笑了。“那么渡轮在哪儿停？”
Elan checks the ship's sign again. "The ferry stops at North Landing first. That is the closest to the pier. We get off there and walk five minutes."
埃兰又看了看船上的告示牌。“渡轮先停北码头。那里离栈桥最近。我们在那儿下船，走五分钟。”
"Great plan," Samir says.
“好计划，”萨米尔说。
They climb down. The woman with the rope gives them a big smile. Samir takes the map. He folds it with care along its lines.
他们爬了下来。拿绳子的女士冲他们露出灿烂的笑容。萨米尔接过地图，小心地沿着折痕把它叠好。
The ferry slows. The horn sounds again, low and long. People pick up their bags and move toward the door.
渡轮减速了。汽笛又响了，低沉而悠长。人们拿起行李，朝门口走去。
Elan and Samir stay at the rail one moment longer. The island is close now. Under the pine tree, the stone bird shines in the sun.
埃兰和萨米尔又在栏杆旁多待了一会儿。岛已经很近了。在松树下，那只石头鸟在阳光中闪着光。
The map lies in Samir's hand. Its crayon sea is soft and bright. The black line at the bottom is a pier now.
地图躺在萨米尔的手中。它那蜡笔画的海洋柔和而明亮。底部的那条黑线，现在是一座栈桥了。
The gangway touches the dock with a quiet bump.
舷梯轻轻一碰，靠上了码头。
