The first time Damir saw the mirror fogged up, he thought the window was open. It wasn't. The small mirror in the back room of the pet shop was covered with a white cloud. It reached from the bottom edge to just above the middle.
达米尔第一次看到镜子起雾时，还以为是窗户开着。其实没有。宠物店后屋里那面小镜子上蒙着一团白雾，从下沿一直漫到中间偏上一点的位置。
By the time he had cleaned it with his sleeve, he had forgotten about it. The next morning, the same cloud was there again. So was the day after.
等他用袖子擦干净，就把这事忘了。第二天早上，同样的一团雾又出现了。再过一天，还是。
"It's the cold," Fiona said on Thursday. She was the driver who brought the seed and the sawdust. Her loud laugh was the best part of Damir's week. She came into the back room with a sack on each shoulder. Then she saw the glass and stopped.
“是天冷的缘故，”星期四，菲奥娜说。她是送饲料和锯末的司机，她爽朗的笑声是达米尔一周里最好的部分。她扛着两袋货走进后屋，随即看见了那块玻璃，停了下来。
"It isn't cold in here," Damir said. "The heater has worked for years. And look at the shape. It's the same every day."
“这里不冷，”达米尔说，“暖气好几年都没出过毛病。而且你看这形状，每天都一样。”
Fiona put the sacks down and stood in front of the mirror with her hands on her hips. "Somebody has been breathing on this," she said.
菲奥娜放下袋子，双手叉腰站在镜子前。“有人对着它哈过气，”她说。
"There's nobody here at night," Damir said. "I lock the door myself."
“晚上这里没人，”达米尔说，“门是我自己锁的。”
"Then you have a ghost," Fiona said. She grinned. "A very clean ghost, because it only does the mirror."
“那你就是有个鬼了，”菲奥娜咧嘴一笑。“一个特别爱干净的鬼，因为它只管镜子。”
Damir laughed, but it was not a real laugh. He had worked in the shop for two years. He had never felt nervous in the back room before. Now he caught himself checking the corners each time he went in.
达米尔笑了，但不是真心的笑。他在这家店里干了两年，从没在后屋里感到紧张过。现在，他发觉自己每次进去都要检查一遍各个角落。
"I'll solve it," Fiona said. "I'm good at puzzles. I do the crossword in the van during my lunch break."
“我来解开它，”菲奥娜说，“我擅长解谜。午休的时候我就在车里做填字游戏。”
"You don't have time," Damir said.
“你没时间的，”达米尔说。
"I have ten minutes before my next delivery, and I have you." She took out a pen and wrote on the back of her hand. "Rule number one. A ghost leaves no clues, so if I find any, it isn't a ghost."
“下一单送货前我有十分钟，还有你呢。”她掏出一支笔，在手背上写字。“第一条规则：鬼不会留下线索，所以只要我找到线索，它就不是鬼。”
She walked slowly round the room. The back room was small and tidy. It had a sink in one corner, a shelf of cage bedding and a cold metal table. There was a low stool by the door, and a heat lamp that hung over an empty box.
她慢慢绕着屋子走了一圈。后屋小而整洁，一个角落有水槽，一架子笼子垫料，还有一张冰凉的金属桌。门边有一只矮凳，一盏取暖灯悬在一只空箱子上方。
"Clue number one," Fiona said, pointing at the mirror. "Look at where the fog is. It starts at the bottom and stops at about my elbow. If a person had breathed on it, it would be at head height."
“线索一，”菲奥娜指着镜子说，“看看雾在哪儿。它从底下开始，到我胳膊肘这么高就停了。要是人对着它哈气，该在脑袋那么高的地方。”
"A short person," Damir said.
“一个矮个子的人，”达米尔说。
"A very short person," Fiona said. "Or something close to the floor."
“一个特别矮的人，”菲奥娜说，“或者是贴近地面的什么东西。”
Damir bent down. The fog was thickest in the lower corner. In the white mist, someone had drawn a tiny curve, like the beginning of a smile.
达米尔弯下腰。雾在靠下的角落里最浓。在那片白蒙蒙里，有人画了一道小小的弧线，像是一个微笑的开头。
"Clue number two," Fiona said. She had moved to the sink. "Look at the tiles."
“线索二，”菲奥娜说。她已经走到了水槽边。“看看地砖。”
Damir followed her. On the grey floor, a faint line of small damp marks ran from the sink to the door. They were round, and each one was about the size of a coin. Each one was a little apart from the next.
达米尔跟了过去。灰色的地面上，有一串淡淡的小湿印，从水槽一直通向门口。印子是圆的，每一个都有硬币那么大，每一个和下一个之间隔着一点距离。
"Footprints," Damir whispered.
“脚印，”达米尔低声说。
"Very small footprints," Fiona said. "And whoever made them was in no hurry. Look how far apart they are. It was walking, not running."
“很小很小的脚印，”菲奥娜说，“而且留下它们的家伙一点也不着急。看看间距有多远。是走过去的，不是跑过去的。”
"Why would a ghost walk slowly?" Damir asked.
“鬼为什么要慢慢走呢？”达米尔问。
"Because it isn't a ghost," Fiona said. She looked at her watch. "I have to go. But think about it. And by Friday, I want clue number three."
“因为它不是鬼，”菲奥娜说。她看了看手表。“我得走了。不过你好好想想。到星期五，我要线索三。”
She picked up her keys, winked at him and went out. The van door banged outside. Damir stood alone in the back room, feeling both nervous and strangely cheerful.
她拿起钥匙，朝他眨了眨眼，走了出去。外面传来货车门砰的一声。达米尔一个人站在后屋里，心里既紧张，又莫名地高兴。
That evening, he turned the whole room over. He looked behind the shelves and under the table. He opened every drawer. He found two broken pens, a ball of string and a tin of dog biscuits. Nothing explained the fog. Then he went to the sink to wash his hands. As he reached for the tap, he saw something small and green lying near the drain.
那天傍晚，他把整个屋子翻了个遍。他看了架子后面，看了桌子底下，拉开了每一个抽屉。他找到两支断了的笔、一团细绳和一盒狗饼干。没有一样东西能解释那团雾。后来他走到水槽边洗手。伸手去够水龙头时，他看到排水口附近躺着一小片绿色的东西。
It was a lettuce leaf, dry and curled at the edges.
那是一片生菜叶，干干的，边缘卷了起来。
Damir stared at it. He had no lettuce in the shop. He fed the rabbits with pellets and dried grass, never with leaves.
达米尔盯着它。店里根本没有生菜。他喂兔子用的是颗粒饲料和干草，从来不喂菜叶。
At six o'clock on Friday morning, he stood in front of the shop. He held a coffee in each hand. Fiona's van pulled up, and she climbed out with a smile.
星期五早上六点，他站在店门口，两只手各端着一杯咖啡。菲奥娜的货车开了过来，她笑着跳下车。
"You came early," she said. "You've got something."
“你来得真早，”她说，“你有发现了。”
"I have clue number three," Damir said. He held out the lettuce leaf in a paper bag. "I found it beside the sink."
“我有线索三了，”达米尔说。他举起一个纸袋，里面装着那片生菜叶。“我在水槽边找到的。”
"So," Fiona said slowly. "A fog low on the mirror, small damp footprints, and a lettuce leaf." She took the coffee and drank half of it. "It sounds like somebody has been giving a bath to a very polite, very hungry visitor."
“这么说，”菲奥娜慢慢地说，“镜子下面起雾，有小小的湿脚印，还有一片生菜叶。”她接过咖啡，喝了一半。“听起来，是有人在给一位特别有礼貌、特别饿的客人洗澡。”
"A bath?"
“洗澡？”
"Warm water makes steam," Fiona said. "Steam makes fog on a cold mirror. We don't need a ghost, we need someone who likes warm water, walks slowly and eats lettuce."
“热水会冒蒸汽，”菲奥娜说，“蒸汽会在冰凉的镜子上结成雾。我们不需要鬼，我们需要的是个喜欢热水、走路慢吞吞、爱吃生菜的家伙。”
They unlocked the door together. The shop was dark and still, and the back room was in shadow. Damir opened the door slowly, and they both stopped.
他们一起开了门。店里黑漆漆、静悄悄的，后屋笼罩在阴影里。达米尔慢慢推开门，两个人都愣住了。
The room was warm and full of mist. On the metal table sat a plastic washing-up bowl full of steaming water. In the bowl sat a very old tortoise. Her long neck was stretched out, and her eyes were half closed.
屋里暖烘烘的，雾气弥漫。金属桌上放着一只塑料洗碗盆，盆里盛满了冒着热气的水。盆中坐着一只非常老的乌龟，她的长脖子伸得直直的，眼睛半闭着。
Behind her, a man in a dressing gown stood with a small towel over one arm. He looked at Damir, then at Fiona. He had the look of a person caught doing something silly.
她身后，一个穿着睡袍的男人站着，胳膊上搭着一条小毛巾。他看看达米尔，又看看菲奥娜，一副做了蠢事被抓了现行的神情。
"Ah," he said. "Good morning."
“啊，”他说，“早上好。”
"You're the owner," Damir said. "I have only met you twice."
“您是店主，”达米尔说，“我才见过您两次。”
"I live upstairs," the man said. "She has a warm bath every morning at six. The vet said it was good for her shell. But I didn't think the shop assistant should have to worry about it, so I never mentioned it."
“我住楼上，”男人说，“她每天早上六点洗一次热水澡。兽医说这对她的壳有好处。可我觉得不该让店员为这个操心，所以一直没提过。”
"I thought the shop was haunted," Damir said.
“我还以为这家店闹鬼呢，”达米尔说。
"Haunted?" The man looked worried. "By whom?"
“闹鬼？”男人面露担忧。“谁闹的？”
"By whoever fogs up the mirror," Fiona said. She pointed at the tortoise. "We have found her. She seems quite pleased with herself."
“就是那个让镜子起雾的家伙，”菲奥娜说。她指着乌龟。“我们找到她了。她看起来挺得意的。”
The tortoise opened one eye. She looked at them as if they were the strangest creatures she had ever seen. Then she closed it again.
乌龟睁开一只眼睛。她看着他们，仿佛他们是她见过的最奇怪的生物。然后她又把眼睛闭上了。
"She does like the mirror," the man admitted. "I hold her up in front of it every morning, so she can see her own face. She seems to enjoy it."
“她确实喜欢那面镜子，”男人承认道，“每天早上我都把她举到镜子前，让她看看自己的脸。她好像很享受。”
Damir looked at the mirror, then at Fiona, and then he began to laugh. This time, it was a real laugh. Fiona joined him until she had to lean on the table.
达米尔看看镜子，又看看菲奥娜，然后笑了起来。这一回，是真心的笑。菲奥娜也跟着他笑，笑得不得不靠在桌子上。
"Mystery solved," she said, wiping her eyes. "The ghost is a tortoise."
“谜团解开了，”她擦着眼睛说，“鬼是一只乌龟。”
"A very old tortoise," Damir said. "And she still spends longer in the bathroom than I do."
“一只非常老的乌龟，”达米尔说，“她待在浴室里的时间还比我长。”
