The Hilltop Shelter and the Wrong Shoes

At twenty-five to seven on the morning of the Hill Dash, Hendrik arrives at the bus shelter on top of the hill. He carries a starting flag and a stopwatch, and he has a feeling that he has forgotten something. He is the new chairman of the village running club, and this is his first race as the person in charge. He has laid out his clothes the night before. He has set two alarms. He has rehearsed his welcome speech in the bathroom mirror until his toothbrush looks bored.

山丘冲刺赛那天早上六点三十五分，亨德里克来到山顶的公交候车亭。他带着一面起跑旗和一只秒表，心里总觉得自己忘了什么。他是村里跑步俱乐部的新任会长，这是他以负责人身份主持的第一场比赛。头天晚上，他把衣服都摆好了。他设了两个闹钟。他对着浴室的镜子把欢迎致辞演练了一遍又一遍，连牙刷看上去都厌烦了。

The shelter is an odd place for a race finish, but it is the only building for a mile. It is a small brick box with a tin roof and a long wooden bench. A notice board is crowded with posters for lost cats and yoga classes. Nobody has waited for a bus here for years. Instead the village uses it as a meeting point, a lookout and, once a month, a collection point for the school's shoe drive.

候车亭作为比赛终点是个古怪的地方，可方圆一英里内只有这一座建筑。它是个小小的砖砌盒子，铁皮屋顶，里面有一条长木凳。布告栏上贴满了寻猫启事和瑜伽班的海报。这里已经好几年没人等过公交了。村里人反倒拿它当集合点、瞭望台，每个月还用作学校旧鞋募捐的收集点。

Giulia is already there, standing next to a big blue crate with a hand-painted sign that says OUTGROWN SHOES, PLEASE. She runs the shoe drive, and she also chairs the Hill Dash committee. She has a clipboard, a flask of coffee and the unhurried air of someone who has done this before.

朱莉娅已经到了，站在一只蓝色的大箱子旁边，箱子上挂着一块手绘的牌子，写着“穿小了的鞋，拜托啦”。她负责旧鞋募捐，同时也是山丘冲刺赛筹备委员会的主席。她拿着一块写字板，一壶咖啡，神态从容，一看就是做过很多回了。

"Good morning, Chairman," she says. "You are early."

“早上好，会长，”她说。“你来得真早。”

"I like to be prepared," Hendrik says, with dignity.

“我喜欢提前做好准备，”亨德里克郑重地说。

He strides up to the bench, sets down his flag and checks his watch. Then he sits, stretches out his legs and looks at his feet.

他大步走到长凳前，放下旗子，看了看手表。然后他坐下来，伸直双腿，低头看自己的脚。

On his left foot he is wearing a heavy brown leather walking boot. On his right foot he is wearing a thin white running shoe with a bright green stripe.

他的左脚穿着一只沉重的棕色皮革登山靴。他的右脚穿着一只轻薄的白色跑鞋，上面有一道亮绿色的条纹。

For a few seconds he does not move at all. Perhaps it is a trick of the early light, he thinks. He closes his eyes and opens them again, and the shoes are still different.

有那么几秒钟，他一动不动。也许是清晨的光线在捣鬼，他想。他闭上眼睛，又睁开，两只鞋还是不一样。

"Giulia," he says carefully. "How long have you been standing there?"

“朱莉娅，”他小心翼翼地说。“你站在那儿多久了？”

"Since six," Giulia says. "I noticed the shoes when you came up the lane. I thought it might be a fashion choice."

“从六点开始，”朱莉娅说。“你上小路的时候我就注意到那双鞋了。我还以为是你特意的时尚搭配。”

"It is not a fashion choice."

“这不是什么时尚搭配。”

"Then it is a very confident mistake."

“那就是一个非常自信的错误。”

Hendrik looks down the hill. Far below, on the village green, a small crowd is already gathering at the starting line. There are runners in bright shirts, children on their parents' shoulders and a man with a trumpet. The race begins at seven. The starter must give the signal from the top. The starter must be Hendrik, because the club rules say so, and he wrote them himself.

亨德里克朝山下望去。远处，在村里的草坪上，起跑线边已经聚起一小群人。有穿着鲜艳T恤的跑者，有骑在爸妈肩头的孩子，还有一个拿着小号的男人。比赛七点开始。发令员必须在山顶发出信号。发令员必须是亨德里克，因为俱乐部章程是这么规定的，而章程是他自己写的。

"It was dark in the kitchen," he says, in a thin voice. "I dressed quietly because my family was still asleep. I picked up two shoes by the back door, and I did not look."

“厨房里很暗，”他用细弱的声音说。“我怕吵醒家人，就轻手轻脚地穿衣服。我在后门边拿起两只鞋，也没看。”

"Don't worry," Giulia says. "It happens. Last year the mayor wore two different socks, and nobody said a word."

“别担心，”朱莉娅说。“这种事难免。去年镇长穿了两只不一样的袜子，没人说过一个字。”

"Because he is the mayor."

“因为他是镇长。”

"Because they were too busy laughing."

“因为大家都忙着笑呢。”

Hendrik puts his head in his hands. Then, because there is nothing else to do, he walks to the notice board and back, to find out how bad it really is. It is very bad. The boot is too stiff, the shoe is too light, and the result is a slow, lopsided limp that makes him look like a pirate. A boy of about ten, who has just reached the top of the hill with his mother, stops dead and stares.

亨德里克双手抱住了头。然后，因为没有别的办法，他走到布告栏那边又走回来，想看看到底有多糟。结果糟透了。靴子太硬，跑鞋太轻，走起来一瘸一拐，慢吞吞又歪歪斜斜，活像个海盗。一个十岁左右的男孩刚和妈妈爬到山顶，一下子停住脚步，直勾勾地盯着他。

"Why is that man wearing a boot on one foot?" the boy asks, loudly.

“那个人为什么一只脚穿靴子？”男孩大声问。

"He is a very dedicated runner," Giulia says, without blinking.

“他是个非常敬业的跑者，”朱莉娅面不改色地说。

Hendrik sits down again and unlaces both shoes. For a moment he considers going home, but home is forty minutes away on foot, and the race starts in twenty. He considers starting the race in his socks. He considers moving to another country.

亨德里克重新坐下，解开了两只鞋的鞋带。他想过回家，可是步行回家要四十分钟，而比赛二十分钟后就开始。他想过穿着袜子发令。他想过干脆搬到另一个国家去。

"Wait," Giulia says. She puts down her coffee and looks at the blue crate. "What size do you take?"

“等等，”朱莉娅说。她放下咖啡，看着那只蓝色的箱子。“你穿多大的鞋？”

"Forty-five."

“四十五码。”

"Hmm. That is large for a school shoe drive. But let's see."

“嗯。这对学校的旧鞋募捐来说可太大了。不过咱们瞧瞧。”

They kneel together on the concrete floor and begin to lift out the shoes. The crate is full of the small, hopeful objects that children leave behind as they grow. There are tiny sandals, football boots with the studs worn flat and a single glittery slipper with no partner. Giulia pulls out a pair of ballet shoes and holds them up to Hendrik's foot. They are the size of his hand.

他们一起跪在水泥地上，开始把鞋子一双双拿出来。箱子里装满了孩子们长大时留下的小小的、满怀希望的东西。有小凉鞋，有鞋钉磨平了的足球鞋，还有一只闪闪发亮、没有配对的拖鞋。朱莉娅拽出一双芭蕾舞鞋，拿到亨德里克的脚边比了比。它们只有他的手那么大。

"Not those," he says.

“不是这双，”他说。

"No. Probably not those."

“对，大概不是这双。”

By a quarter to seven, the floor of the shelter is covered with shoes in a wide, colourful circle. The boy and his mother have settled on the bench to watch. He offers advice. He suggests a rubber boot. He suggests tying the walking boot to the running shoe with string and wearing them as a pair. Hendrik thanks him, politely, for neither.

到差一刻七点的时候，候车亭的地上已经摊满了鞋，围成一个五颜六色的大圈。男孩和他妈妈在长凳上坐下来观看。他提出建议。他建议穿一只雨靴。他建议用绳子把登山靴和跑鞋绑在一起，当成一双来穿。亨德里克礼貌地谢谢他，两个都没采纳。

At ten minutes to seven, Giulia says, "Oh."

差十分钟七点时，朱莉娅说：“哦。”

She is holding a pair of faded blue running shoes, very large and slightly cracked at the toes. She turns one over and reads the label inside the tongue, where someone has written a name in black marker.

她手里拿着一双褪了色的蓝色跑鞋，特别大，鞋头有点开裂。她把其中一只翻过来，读着鞋舌内侧的标签，上面有人用黑色记号笔写了一个名字。

"Hendrik," she says slowly, "these are yours."

“亨德里克，”她慢慢地说，“这是你的。”

He takes the shoe from her hand and looks. It is true. His own handwriting stares back at him. He remembers now. Last month he bought a new pair, and his wife told him to be sensible about the old ones. So he dropped them into this very crate on his way to the shop. He had felt rather noble about it. He had told the story twice at dinner.

他从她手里接过鞋子，看了看。没错。他自己的笔迹正回望着他。他现在想起来了。上个月他买了一双新的，妻子叫他对旧鞋要明智处理。于是他去商店的路上，就把它们扔进了这个箱子。他当时还觉得自己挺高尚的。他在晚饭桌上讲了两遍这件事。

"I gave away my own shoes," he says, "and now I have come to take them back."

“我把自己的鞋捐了出去，”他说，“现在又跑来把它们拿回去。”

"Technically," Giulia says, "you are borrowing them. The school will get the new ones."

“严格来说，”朱莉娅说，“你是借用。学校会得到新的。”

"I don't understand."

“我不明白。”

"You will leave a donation in the tin for a replacement pair. The children lose nothing, and you lose a little pride. It is a fair arrangement."

“你往捐款箱里放一笔钱，用来换一双替代的鞋。孩子们没有任何损失，你只损失一点面子。这样很公平。”

Hendrik considers this, then nods. He takes two coins from his pocket, drops them in the tin on the bench, and adds a third for the boy's good advice. He laces up the blue shoes with quick, steady fingers, and they feel like old friends who forgive everything. He stuffs the walking boot and the white running shoe into his bag, to be dealt with later at home.

亨德里克考虑了一下，点了点头。他从口袋里掏出两枚硬币，投进长凳上的捐款箱，又多加一枚，感谢男孩的好建议。他用迅速而稳当的手指系好那双蓝鞋的鞋带，感觉它们就像包容一切的老朋友。他把登山靴和白色跑鞋塞进包里，留到回家再处理。

At two minutes to seven he stands at the edge of the hill and looks down. The crowd has become a bright blur of colour. Somebody blows a note on the trumpet. Giulia stands beside him with her coffee, and the boy stands beside her. All three of them watch the second hand of the stopwatch crawl towards the top.

七点差两分，他站在山丘边上向下望。人群已经成了一团鲜亮的色块。有人在小号上吹出一个音。朱莉娅端着咖啡站在他旁边，男孩站在她旁边。他们三个都望着秒表的秒针，慢慢爬向顶端。

Hendrik takes the starting flag in both hands, lifts it high above his head, and waits for every face below to turn up towards him.

亨德里克双手握住起跑旗，高高举过头顶，等着下面每一张脸都转过来朝向他。

Then he brings it down.

然后，他把旗子挥了下来。