Every evening at six, Esteban opens the ticket booth of the Lumen Cinema. Every evening at six, the gate slams.
每天傍晚六点，埃斯特班都会打开流明电影院的售票亭。每天傍晚六点，那扇门都会“砰”地一声关上。
The gate belongs to the old iron fence beside the booth. It guards a narrow side alley. The cinema keeps its bins, its spare chairs and one tired plant there. The gate has a bent hinge. It swings shut by itself with a clang that you can hear three streets away. Esteban has complained about it to the owner for eleven years. The owner always says the same thing: "It adds atmosphere."
那扇门是售票亭旁边老铁栅栏的一部分，守着一条狭窄的侧巷。电影院把垃圾桶、备用椅子和一盆无精打采的植物都放在那里。这扇门的合页弯了，会自己荡回去关上，发出的哐当声三条街外都听得见。埃斯特班向老板抱怨了十一年。老板总是同一句话：“这给咱们添了点气氛。”
Esteban does not want atmosphere. He wants to sit in his small glass booth, read the newspaper and sell tickets in peace.
埃斯特班不要什么气氛。他只想坐在自己的玻璃小亭子里，读读报纸，安安静静地卖票。
He tries to fight the gate in different ways. First, he tries a brick to hold it open. The gate pushes the brick across the pavement. Then he tries a heavy bucket of sand. The gate drags that along too, with a scraping noise like an angry animal. Today he has a new plan. He has tied the gate to the fence with a long piece of green string.
他想了各种办法跟这扇门斗。起先，他试着用一块砖头把它顶开。门把砖头推着在人行道上滑了出去。后来他试着用一桶沉甸甸的沙子。门连那桶沙子也拖着走，发出刺耳的摩擦声，像一头发怒的野兽。今天他有了新的计划：他用一根长长的绿色细绳把门拴在了栅栏上。
"It won't work," says Zosia.
“不管用的，”佐西娅说。
She is leaning out of the little window above the booth, where the projection room is. She has worked there for twenty years, and she has a loud voice and a bright orange scarf. Nothing about the cinema surprises her any more.
她正从售票亭上方的小窗里探出身来，那里是放映室。她在这里干了二十年，嗓门洪亮，围着一条鲜橙色的围巾。电影院里的任何事都不会再让她感到意外了。
"It will work," Esteban says. "It is a very strong string."
“会管用的，”埃斯特班说，“这是一根很结实的绳子。”
"The gate has beaten a brick, a bucket and a mop. A string is not going to frighten it."
“这扇门连砖头、水桶和拖把都打败了。一根绳子吓不倒它。”
"We'll see."
“走着瞧。”
At six o'clock, the gate swings shut. The string stretches, snaps and flies through the air like a thin green snake. Esteban ducks. Zosia laughs so hard that she has to hold on to the window frame.
六点整，门荡了回去，关上了。绳子绷紧，绷断，像一条细细的绿蛇在空中飞舞。埃斯特班赶紧低头躲开。佐西娅笑得直不起腰，只好抓住窗框。
"I told you," she says.
“我说过吧，”她说。
"You enjoy this too much."
“你也太乐在其中了。”
"I enjoy it exactly the right amount."
“我乐得刚刚好。”
The first customers arrive at a quarter to seven. They are the same three people who come to the early show every week. A woman in a green hat buys one ticket and always asks for the third row. A man in a flat cap buys one ticket and says nothing. A young woman with a notebook buys one ticket. She tells Esteban she is writing about the history of cinemas. She has been writing about it for three years.
第一批观众六点三刻到了。还是每周来看早场的那三个人。一位戴绿帽子的女士买一张票，总是要第三排。一位戴鸭舌帽的男士买一张票，一言不发。一位拿着笔记本的年轻女子买一张票。她告诉埃斯特班，她在写一部电影院的历史，已经写了三年。
"Seat K4, as usual," Esteban says to her. "The film tonight is a silent comedy about a man and a ladder."
“座位K4，跟平常一样，”埃斯特班对她说，“今晚放的是一部默片喜剧，讲一个男人和一架梯子。”
"Wonderful," she says, and she writes it down.
“太棒了，”她说着，把它记了下来。
The gate clangs behind them. Nobody turns to look. The people in the line have learned to ignore it, the way people learn to ignore a clock.
门在他们身后哐当一响。没有人回头看。排队的人早就学会了不去理它，就像人们学会不去理一座钟一样。
At five to seven, Esteban begins to count his cash. This is the part of the evening he likes best. The street is quiet, and the sign above his head makes a soft pink hum. Soon he will lock the booth and climb the stairs. He will watch the film from the back row with a cup of coffee.
七点差五分，埃斯特班开始数钱。这是他一晚上最喜欢的时刻。街上很安静，头顶的招牌发出轻轻的粉红色嗡嗡声。很快他就会锁上售票亭，爬上楼梯，端着一杯咖啡坐在后排看电影。
Then he hears a voice outside the glass.
这时他听到玻璃外有个声音。
"Good evening. I would like two tickets, please."
“晚上好。我想买两张票，谢谢。”
Esteban looks up. A tall man in a long brown coat stands in front of the booth. He has a very serious face and a neat grey beard. At the end of a thick rope, standing quietly beside him, is a goat.
埃斯特班抬起头。一个高个子男人站在售票亭前，穿着一件长长的棕色外套，神情十分严肃，留着整齐的灰胡子。粗绳的另一头，安安静静地站在他身旁的，是一只山羊。
It is a large white goat with long ears and a pair of curved horns. It looks at Esteban with calm yellow eyes. Then it chews something slowly, and it seems to be thinking about the price of tickets.
那是一只大个儿的白山羊，耳朵长长的，头上有一对弯弯的角。它用平静的黄眼睛望着埃斯特班，然后慢悠悠地嚼着什么，看上去像是在掂量票价。
"I'm sorry," Esteban says. "Did you say two tickets?"
“对不起，”埃斯特班说，“您说两张票？”
"One for me. One for her." The man nods at the goat. "She loves films."
“一张给我，一张给她。”男人朝山羊点点头。“她喜欢看电影。”
Esteban opens his mouth. He closes it. He looks up at the window, but Zosia has disappeared.
埃斯特班张开嘴，又闭上了。他抬头看向窗口，佐西娅已经不见了。
"Sir, I don't think animals are allowed in the hall."
“先生，我想动物是不能进放映厅的。”
"Your sign says no dogs." The man points at the small sign beside the booth. "She is not a dog. She is a guest. She will sit quietly. She has excellent manners."
“你们的牌子上写的是不许带狗。”男人指着售票亭旁的小牌子。“她不是狗。她是客人。她会安安静静地坐着。她的礼貌好得很。”
The goat chooses that moment to eat the corner of a poster for next week's film. The man gently pulls her rope. "She's only curious."
就在这时，山羊啃起了下周电影海报的一角。男人轻轻拉了拉绳子。“她只是好奇。”
Esteban stares at the poster, then at the goat. Then he looks at the line of people. The woman in the green hat has stopped in the doorway. The man with the cap is looking up at the ceiling very hard. The young woman has taken out her notebook again.
埃斯特班盯着海报，又盯着山羊。接着他看了看排队的人。戴绿帽子的女士停在了门口。戴鸭舌帽的男士使劲盯着天花板。年轻女子又掏出了她的笔记本。
"I need to check the rules," Esteban says.
“我得查一查规定，”埃斯特班说。
He opens the big folder of regulations that he keeps under the counter. It is thick and full of yellow pages. He turns the pages for a long time. There is a rule about food, a rule about phones and a rule about people who talk. There is not one single word about goats.
他打开放在柜台下的那本厚厚的规章制度，里面满是黄色的纸页。他翻了很久。有关于食物的规定，有关于手机的规定，还有关于说话的人的规定。可是关于山羊，一个字也没有。
"Well?" says the man.
“怎么样？”男人问。
"It doesn't say that goats are forbidden," Esteban says slowly. "But it doesn't say they are allowed."
“上面没写禁止山羊进入，”埃斯特班缓缓地说，“但也没写允许。”
"A very good place to begin," the man says kindly. "Two tickets, please. I will pay in coins."
“这是个很好的开头，”男人和善地说，“请给我两张票。我付硬币。”
He reaches into his coat pocket. He counts out the money on the counter, one coin at a time. The goat watches each coin with great interest. Esteban gives him two tickets. They are for seats F8 and F9. He does not know why he chooses those seats. He only knows that the goat should not sit near the aisle.
他把手伸进外套口袋，一枚一枚地把钱数在柜台上。山羊饶有兴致地盯着每一枚硬币。埃斯特班递给他两张票，座位是F8和F9。他不知道自己为什么选这两个座位，只知道山羊不该坐在靠过道的地方。
The man thanks him and leads the goat toward the door. Small hooves go click, click, click on the floor. The gate swings shut behind them with a loud clang. The goat looks back at it and makes a very small sound that might be a laugh.
男人道了谢，牵着山羊朝门口走去。小小的蹄子在地上嗒、嗒、嗒地响。门在他们身后“哐当”一声关上了。山羊回头看了看它，发出一声极轻的叫声，也许是在笑。
Esteban sits for a long minute without moving. Then he picks up the phone and calls the projection room.
埃斯特班一动不动地坐了好长一会儿。然后他拿起电话，打给放映室。
"Zosia."
“佐西娅。”
"Yes?"
“怎么了？”
"Did you know about this?"
“你早就知道这事了吧？”
"About what?" She sounds very innocent. Too innocent.
“什么事？”她听起来一脸无辜。太无辜了。
"There is a goat in my cinema."
“我的电影院里有一只山羊。”
"A goat. Really? How interesting. I must write that in the log."
“一只山羊。真的吗？多有意思啊。我得把它记在日志里。”
"Zosia."
“佐西娅。”
"Esteban, the film starts in four minutes. I have to go."
“埃斯特班，电影四分钟后开演，我得走了。”
She hangs up. He puts down the phone and looks at the list of seat bookings on his computer. Beside the two seats, seat F10 is already marked as sold. Someone bought it online three days ago, under one initial only.
她挂了电话。他放下听筒，看着电脑上的订座名单。在那两个座位旁边，F10已经标成了售出。三天前有人在网上买的，只留了一个首字母。
The initial is Z.
那个首字母是Z。
He looks at it for a long time. Above him, the projector begins to hum. In the hall, the lights go down. A small, pleased bleat drifts out of the dark.
他看了很久。头顶上，放映机开始嗡嗡作响。放映厅里，灯光暗了下来。一声小小的、满足的咩咩从黑暗中飘了出来。
Outside, the gate swings gently open. And, with a patient clang, it shuts once more.
外面，那扇门轻轻荡开了。接着，伴着一声耐心的哐当，它又关上了。
