Aarav came to the pool early on Saturday. The building was quiet. The only sound was the soft hum of the pumps.
星期六，阿拉夫很早就来到了游泳池。楼里很安静，只听得见水泵轻轻的嗡嗡声。
He was the new manager of the community pool. It was his third week. Every Saturday, forty children came for lessons. That day the first class started at nine.
他是社区游泳池的新经理，今天是他上班的第三个星期。每个星期六，都有四十个孩子来上课。那天第一节课九点开始。
The pool smelled of soap and wet stone. Blue light moved on the ceiling. Aarav liked it best at this hour, before the shouting began.
泳池里有肥皂和湿石头的气味。蓝色的光在天花板上游动。阿拉夫最喜欢这个时间，在喧闹开始之前。
He took the ring of keys from his pocket. There were twelve keys on it. Each key had a small paper tag in a plastic window. The tags came from the woman who ran the pool before. She moved to the coast in the spring. Her letters were round and careful. OFFICE. SIDE DOOR. PUMP ROOM. SHOWERS.
他从口袋里掏出钥匙串。上面有十二把钥匙，每把都挂着一个小纸标签，装在塑料小窗里。标签是以前负责这个泳池的女士留下的。她春天搬到海边去了。她的字迹圆润而认真：办公室。侧门。水泵房。淋浴间。
But the tags were old. Six of the little windows showed only a grey smudge. Nobody could read them. They looked like tired eyes.
可是标签旧了。六个小窗里只剩一团灰色的污迹，没人读得出来。它们看上去像疲倦的眼睛。
Aarav did not notice it until that morning. The lesson plan needed foam floats and kickboards. They lived in the long metal cupboard by the shallow end. The cupboard was locked.
直到那天早上，阿拉夫才注意到这一点。教学计划需要泡沫浮板和打水板，它们放在浅水区旁边那个长长的金属柜里。柜子锁着。
He tried the first key. It did not fit. He tried the second. It turned halfway and stopped. He tried the third, the fourth and the fifth.
他试了第一把钥匙，插不进去。他试了第二把，转到一半就卡住了。他试了第三把、第四把、第五把。
The clock on the wall said eight twenty.
墙上的钟指向八点二十。
Aarav tried the keys again, faster. His hands began to shake a little. The keys clinked together like small fish in a bucket. He could not remember which keys he tried.
阿拉夫又把钥匙试了一遍，更快了。他的手开始有些发抖。钥匙叮叮当当地撞在一起，像桶里的小鱼。他记不清自己试过哪几把了。
At eight forty, the front door opened. A boy came in with a bag on his back. He was about eight years old and very thin. His name was Adel. He always came early. He sat on the bench by the wall. He read a book about sea animals. He never went into the water. He only watched the others.
八点四十，前门开了。一个背着书包的男孩走了进来。他大约八岁，很瘦，名叫阿德尔。他总是来得很早。他会坐在靠墙的长椅上，读一本关于海洋动物的书。他从不下水，只是看着别人。
"Good morning," Adel said.
“早上好。”阿德尔说。
"Good morning," Aarav said, without turning around.
“早上好。”阿拉夫说，没有回头。
Adel put his bag down. He watched Aarav push another key into the lock. "Is the cupboard stuck?" he asked.
阿德尔放下书包。他看着阿拉夫把又一把钥匙塞进锁孔。“柜子卡住了吗？”他问。
"It is locked," Aarav said. "And half of my tags cannot be read."
“是锁着的，”阿拉夫说，“而且我一半的标签都看不清了。”
"Show me," Adel said.
“给我看看。”阿德尔说。
Aarav held up the ring. The grey smudges looked dull in the blue light.
阿拉夫举起钥匙串。那些灰色的污迹在蓝光里显得黯淡无光。
Adel came a little closer. He looked at the keys for a long time. "You tried this one four times," he said. "And this one three times. I counted."
阿德尔走近了一点。他看了很久钥匙。“这把你试了四次，”他说，“这把试了三次。我数了。”
Aarav stopped. "You counted?"
阿拉夫停住了。“你数了？”
"I always count," Adel said. "It helps when I feel nervous."
“我总是数，”阿德尔说，“我紧张的时候，数数有用。”
Aarav looked at the boy. Then he looked at his own hands. They were still shaking. "I am a bit nervous too," he said.
阿拉夫看着男孩，又低头看自己的手。它们还在发抖。“我也有点紧张。”他说。
"I know," Adel said. "You keep trying the same keys."
“我知道，”阿德尔说，“你一直在试同样的钥匙。”
He walked back to the bench and opened his bag. He took out a ball of blue thread. He used it for a school project about fishing nets. He cut a short piece with small scissors. Then he held it out.
他走回长椅，打开书包，拿出一团蓝色的线。那是他做学校里关于渔网的作业用的。他用小剪刀剪下一小段，递了过来。
"Tie this on every key you try," Adel said. "Then you will know which ones are finished."
“你试过的每一把钥匙都系上它，”阿德尔说，“这样你就知道哪些已经试完了。”
Aarav almost laughed. It was such a small idea. It was also exactly the idea he needed.
阿拉夫差点笑出来。这是个多么小的主意，却恰恰是他需要的主意。
He took the thread. He tied a piece on the first key, then the second. He went down the ring slowly. He tried each key once. Each failed key wore a little blue bow.
他接过线。他在第一把钥匙上系了一段，又在第二把上系了一段。他慢慢地沿着钥匙串往下走，每把钥匙只试一次。每把失败的钥匙都戴上了一个小小的蓝蝴蝶结。
Adel stood next to him and counted out loud. "Six," he said. "Seven. Eight."
阿德尔站在他旁边，大声地数着。“六，”他说，“七。八。”
The clock said eight fifty. Outside, the first parents arrived. Aarav heard car doors and small voices. A child laughed near the entrance. Somebody knocked on the glass.
钟指着八点五十。外面，第一批家长到了。阿拉夫听见了车门声和细小的说话声。入口附近有个孩子在笑。有人在敲玻璃。
"Nine," Adel said.
“九。”阿德尔说。
The ninth key slid into the lock easily. Aarav felt it in his fingers before he turned it. It was one of the keys with a grey smudge. He turned it, and the lock opened with a soft click.
第九把钥匙轻轻松松地滑进了锁里。还没转动，阿拉夫的手指就感觉到了。那是一把标签上只有灰色污迹的钥匙。他一拧，锁咔嗒一声轻响，开了。
The cupboard was full of bright foam floats. They were blue and yellow and green. It smelled of rubber and old sunshine.
柜子里装满了鲜艳的泡沫浮板，蓝的、黄的、绿的。里面有橡胶和旧日阳光的气味。
For a moment, Aarav only stood there. His shoulders felt lighter. The problem was not big. But it stopped him completely. The thread solved it in ten minutes.
有那么一会儿，阿拉夫只是站在那儿。他觉得肩头轻松了。问题并不大，却把他彻底难住了。那根线只用了十分钟就解决了它。
"Thank you," he said.
“谢谢你。”他说。
"It was easy," Adel said. "You only needed to stop trying the same ones."
“这很简单，”阿德尔说，“你只是需要别再试同样的那几把。”
Aarav carried the floats to the edge of the pool. Then he let the children in. They came running. Their wet feet slapped on the stone. He said "Walk, please" twelve times. By nine, the water was full of kicking legs and loud laughter.
阿拉夫把浮板搬到池边，然后放孩子们进来。他们跑着进来，湿脚啪嗒啪嗒地拍在石头地上。他说了十二遍“请走路”。到九点，水里已经满是踢动的腿和响亮的笑声。
Adel sat on his bench with his sea book. But this time, he did not open it. He watched the water for a long time.
阿德尔坐在长椅上，拿着他的海洋书。可这一次，他没有翻开。他望着水面看了很久。
When the class finished, the pool was quiet again. Aarav came back to the cupboard. The key ring was in his hand. The blue bows were still tied to eight of the keys. The ninth key had no bow, because it opened the cupboard.
课结束后，泳池又安静下来。阿拉夫回到柜子前，钥匙串还在手里。八把钥匙上仍系着蓝色的蝴蝶结，第九把没有，因为它是用来开柜子的。
He took a small piece of paper from the office. He took a pen. He wrote one word in large letters on it. FLOATS.
他从办公室拿来一小张纸和一支笔，在纸上用大字写了一个词：浮板。
Then, under it, he wrote a small A.
然后，在下面，他写了一个小小的“阿”。
Adel looked over his arm. "Why the A?" he asked.
阿德尔从他的胳膊旁边探头看。“为什么写‘阿’？”他问。
"Because the old tags are hers," Aarav said. "This one is mine."
“因为旧标签是她的，”阿拉夫说，“这一个是我的。”
He put the new tag into the window of the ninth key. It sat a little crooked. It did not look like the others. The letters were square and quick, not round and careful.
他把新标签插进第九把钥匙的小窗里。它有点歪，和别的都不一样。字迹方方正正、飞快利落，不像她那样圆润而认真。
"I like it," Adel said. "Now it has a name. Now it cannot get lost."
“我喜欢，”阿德尔说，“现在它有名字了，再也不会丢了。”
