The uniform jacket reaches Laila's knees. The sleeves cover her hands, and the collar touches her ears.
制服外套长到莱拉的膝盖，袖子盖住了她的手，领子碰着她的耳朵。
She stands at the ferry gate on her first morning. She looks like a child in her father's coat. Passengers walk past her and hold their tickets out without a word. A man hands her an empty cup to throw away. A woman asks her where the real crew is.
第一天早上，她站在渡轮的登船口，看上去像个穿着爸爸大衣的孩子。乘客们从她身边走过，一言不发地把船票递过来。一个男人递给她一个空杯子，让她拿去扔掉。一个女人问她真正的船员在哪儿。
"I am the real crew," Laila says in a small voice. Nobody hears her.
“我就是真正的船员。”莱拉小声说。没有人听见。
The ferry crosses the bay in eighteen minutes. It carries cars on the lower level and people on the open deck. Laila is fifteen, and this is her first summer job. Her task is simple. She checks tickets, points people to the stairs, and keeps the deck clean.
渡轮十八分钟就能横渡海湾。车辆停在下层，乘客待在露天甲板上。莱拉十五岁，这是她第一份暑期工。她的任务很简单：检票，给大家指楼梯的方向，保持甲板整洁。
The man who trains her is called Rumi. He is nineteen, thin and always smiling. His uniform fits him perfectly.
负责带她的人叫鲁米，十九岁，瘦瘦的，总是笑着。他的制服穿在身上非常合身。
"Do not worry about the jacket," Rumi says. He folds her sleeves back twice, and they fall down again. "They only have one size for new staff. The next box arrives in September."
“别担心外套，”鲁米说。他把她的袖子向后折了两道，可袖子又滑了下来。“新员工只有一个尺码。下一批要到九月才到。”
"September is the end of the summer," Laila says.
“九月，暑假就结束了。”莱拉说。
"That is how a summer job works," he answers cheerfully.
“暑期工就是这样的嘛。”他高高兴兴地回答。
During the first week, she learns the rules. She learns to count the life rings and to open the gate before the ramp comes down. She learns that seagulls steal food from anyone who looks away. What she does not learn is how to make people listen. Her voice is soft, and the engine is loud.
第一个星期，她学会了各种规矩。她学会了清点救生圈，学会了在跳板放下之前打开闸门。她还知道了，只要你一转开视线，海鸥就会偷走任何人的食物。可她没学会的，是怎样让人们听她说话。她的声音很轻，而引擎声很响。
Every hour, a recorded message plays on the speakers. A deep voice explains where the life jackets are. Laila listens to it every day, and she knows the words by heart. Every day she thinks the same thing. That voice sounds like someone who is never ignored.
每个小时，广播里都会播放一段录音。一个低沉的声音告诉大家救生衣放在哪里。莱拉每天都听，那些话她已经倒背如流。每天她都会想同一件事：那个声音听上去像是从来不会被人忽视的人。
On Friday, she finds the courage to ask.
星期五，她鼓起勇气开口问了。
The ferry is empty on the return trip, except for a few students on the top deck. Rumi sits on a bench and eats an orange. Laila stands in front of him and pulls her sleeves down.
回程的渡轮上几乎没人，只有几个学生在顶层甲板上。鲁米坐在长椅上吃橙子。莱拉站在他面前，把袖子往下拽了拽。
"Can I tell you something?" she asks.
“我能跟你说件事吗？”她问。
"You can tell me anything. I cannot promise I will fix it."
“什么都可以跟我说。不过我不敢保证能帮你解决。”
"I want to make the announcement. Just once. Live, with the microphone, not the recording."
“我想做一次广播，就一次。现场用麦克风说，不是放录音。”
Rumi stops eating. He looks at her for a long moment, and she is sure he will laugh.
鲁米不吃了。他看了她很久，她确信他会笑出来。
"Why?" he asks.
“为什么？”他问。
"Because nobody here listens to me," she says. "I am the girl in the big jacket. If I use the microphone, they will have to hear me."
“因为这里没人听我说话，”她说，“我是那个穿大外套的女孩。如果我用麦克风，他们就不得不听我说了。”
Rumi puts the orange down. "The captain decides about the microphone. But I will ask him."
鲁米放下橙子。“麦克风的事船长说了算。不过我去问问他。”
"Really?"
“真的吗？”
"Really. Be ready on Monday."
“真的。星期一准备好。”
All weekend, Laila practises in her room. She stands in front of the mirror and reads the safety words aloud. She tries a low voice, then a loud voice, then a voice like the recording. Her sister knocks on the wall and tells her to stop.
整个周末，莱拉都在房间里练习。她站在镜子前，大声朗读安全须知。她试着用低沉的声音，再用响亮的声音，又试着学录音里的声音。她姐姐敲着墙，让她别念了。
On Monday morning, the captain nods once. He is a quiet man with a short beard. He gives her a card with the words and points at the small room behind the bridge.
星期一早上，船长点了一下头。他是个安静的男人，留着短胡子。他递给她一张写着广播词的卡片，指了指驾驶台后面的小房间。
"Eleven o'clock crossing," he says. "Speak slowly. Do not shout."
“十一点那一班，”他说，“说慢一点，不要喊。”
At eleven, the ferry is full. The deck is crowded with families, bikes and bags. Laila stands in the small room with the microphone in her hands. Her sleeves hide her fingers, so nobody can see how much they shake.
十一点，渡轮上坐满了人。甲板上挤着带孩子的家庭、自行车和行李。莱拉站在小房间里，双手握着麦克风。袖子遮住了她的手指，所以没人看得出她抖得有多厉害。
She looks at the card. The words swim in front of her eyes. She takes a breath and puts her mouth close to the microphone.
她看着卡片，字在眼前晃来晃去。她吸了一口气，把嘴凑近麦克风。
Then the door opens, and Rumi rushes in. His face is not smiling any more.
就在这时，门开了，鲁米冲了进来。他脸上没有笑容了。
"Wait," he says. "Not the safety message. Something has happened."
“等一下，”他说，“先别念安全须知。出事了。”
"What?"
“怎么了？”
"A little boy is missing. His mother says he was beside her a minute ago. She is on the lower deck, and she is crying."
“有个小男孩不见了。他妈妈说一分钟前他还在她身边。她在下层甲板上，哭着呢。”
Laila's stomach drops. "How old is he?"
莱拉的心猛地一沉。“他多大？”
"About four. He wears a yellow shirt and has no shoes. The captain says we must tell everyone on board."
“大概四岁。穿着黄衬衫，没穿鞋。船长说要通知船上所有人。”
Rumi pushes the microphone toward her. "You have the card in your hand, and you are already here. Will you do it?"
鲁米把麦克风推到她面前。“卡片就在你手里，你人也已经在这儿了。你愿意来吗？”
For a second, she cannot move. This is not the announcement she asked for. There are no practised words on a card, and her heart is beating very fast.
有那么一秒钟，她动弹不得。这不是她想要的那种广播。卡片上没有她练习过的词，她的心跳得飞快。
Then she thinks about the boy. She thinks about how small he must feel on this big, noisy boat.
然后她想到了那个男孩。她想到，在这艘又大又吵的船上，他一定觉得自己特别渺小。
She presses the button. "Good morning, everyone," she says.
她按下按钮。“各位早上好，”她说。
Her voice sounds thin. Out on the deck, a few people look up.
她的声音听起来很单薄。外面的甲板上，有几个人抬起了头。
She tries again, slower. "Excuse me. We are looking for a little boy. He is about four years old, in a yellow shirt, and he has no shoes. His mother is waiting by the car stairs. If you see him, please bring him to the front gate."
她又试了一次，说得更慢了。“打扰一下。我们在找一个小男孩。他大约四岁，穿着黄衬衫，没有穿鞋。他的妈妈在车辆楼梯旁等着。如果您看到他，请把他带到前面的登船口。”
She stops. The ferry is very quiet. Even the engine seems to be listening.
她停住了。渡轮上一片寂静，连引擎声似乎都在倾听。
Then voices come back all at once. People stand up. Parents look under benches. Someone shouts that they are checking the toilets. A man on the top deck calls out that he has not seen him yet.
随后，人声一下子全回来了。人们站了起来。父母们去看长椅底下。有人喊着说他们在查看厕所。顶层甲板上的一个男人喊道，他还没看到孩子。
Laila runs out of the room with Rumi, and her big sleeves flap around her. They search the lower deck first. They look between the cars, behind the life ring boxes and around the coils of rope.
莱拉和鲁米一起跑出小房间，宽大的袖子在她身边飞舞。他们先搜查了下层甲板。他们在车辆之间找，在救生圈箱子后面找，在一圈圈缆绳周围找。
After five minutes, she hears a small sound. It comes from the narrow space behind the stairs, where the cleaning cart stands. She bends down and looks into the dark.
五分钟后，她听到一个小小的声音。声音来自楼梯后面那个狭窄的空隙，清洁车就停在那里。她弯下腰，朝黑暗里看去。
A small boy sits there with his arms around his knees. His yellow shirt is wet with tears.
一个小男孩坐在那儿，双臂抱着膝盖。他的黄衬衫被眼泪打湿了。
"Hello," Laila says softly. "I am Laila. Did you hide in here?"
“你好，”莱拉轻声说，“我叫莱拉。你是躲在这里面吗？”
He nods slowly. "The boat is too loud."
他慢慢点了点头。“船太吵了。”
"I know. It is loud for me too." She takes off her jacket, the huge one, and holds it open. "Look. This is a very big coat. It is almost a tent. Would you like to sit inside until we find your mum?"
“我知道。我也觉得吵。”她脱下外套，那件特别大的外套，敞开来举着。“你看，这是一件超大的外套，差不多像个帐篷。你想不想坐在里面，等我们找到你妈妈？”
The boy thinks about it for a long second. Then he crawls out and walks into the jacket. She wraps it around him, and the sleeves cover his hands as well. He stops crying and looks up at her with big eyes.
男孩想了很长的一秒钟。然后他爬了出来，走进外套里。她把外套裹在他身上，袖子也盖住了他的手。他不哭了，睁着大眼睛抬头看她。
"It smells like the sea," he says.
“它闻起来有大海的味道。”他说。
"It does," says Laila, and she smiles.
“是啊。”莱拉说着，笑了。
She carries him up the stairs, with the jacket dragging along the floor. His mother meets them halfway, and she is crying again. She takes her son in her arms. She does not say thank you at first, because she cannot speak. She just holds him.
她抱着他走上楼梯，外套拖在地板上。他的妈妈在半路上迎了过来，又哭了。她把儿子抱进怀里。起初她没有说谢谢，因为她说不出话来。她只是紧紧地抱着他。
Later, on the ramp, the captain stands next to Laila. "Your voice carried well," he says.
后来，在跳板上，船长站到莱拉身旁。“你的声音传得很远。”他说。
"It was only because they wanted to hear it," Laila answers.
“那只是因为大家想听。”莱拉回答。
"No," he says. "People always want to hear the right words from someone who means them."
“不，”他说，“人们总是愿意听到真心实意的人说出恰当的话。”
Laila gets her jacket back at the next stop. The boy's mother has folded it neatly before returning it. As she puts the jacket on, Laila feels something small and hard in the pocket. She takes it out. It is a yellow plastic button from the boy's shirt. She does not know when it fell inside.
下一站，莱拉拿回了她的外套。男孩的妈妈在归还之前把它叠得整整齐齐。莱拉穿上外套时，感觉口袋里有个又小又硬的东西。她把它拿出来，是男孩衬衫上的一颗黄色塑料纽扣。她不知道它是什么时候掉进去的。
She holds it in her palm, and the ferry begins to cross the bay again.
她把纽扣握在掌心，渡轮又开始横渡海湾了。
