The Ladder That Fell Short

The arcade at the end of the promenade is closing for the winter, and tonight is the last night. Remy has worked here all summer, and he knows every sound the place makes. There is the chime of the coin machines, the thump of the dance floor and the wet clatter of tokens in trays. At ten o'clock exactly, the owner's timer will shut the iron shutters over every window and skylight. After that, nobody comes in until spring.

海滨步道尽头的游戏厅要在冬天关门歇业了，今晚是最后一夜。雷米整个夏天都在这里干活，这地方发出的每一种声音他都熟。有投币机的叮当声，有舞池的咚咚声，还有托盘里游戏币湿漉漉的哗啦声。十点整，老板的定时器会把铁卷帘拉下来，盖住每一扇窗户和天窗。那以后，要到春天才会有人再进来。

At a quarter to nine, Remy is mopping around the air-hockey tables. His cousin Wes runs in from the back office with his phone in his hand.

八点四十五分，雷米正绕着空气曲棍球台拖地。他的表哥韦斯手里拿着手机，从后面的办公室跑了进来。

"Come and see the skylight," Wes says. "Now. Do not ask me why."

“快来看天窗，”韦斯说，“现在就来。别问我为什么。”

Remy leans the mop against the wall and follows him to the centre of the hall. High above them, four metres up, there is a round window of old glass. Something is moving behind it. It is small and blue, about the size of a pear, and it glows like a lamp turned very low.

雷米把拖把靠在墙上，跟着他走到大厅中央。他们头顶上方四米高的地方，有一扇老玻璃做的圆窗。有什么东西正在窗后移动。它小小的，蓝蓝的，大约有一只梨那么大，发出的光像一盏调到最暗的灯。

"It is a bird," Remy says. "A bird with a light on it."

“是一只鸟，”雷米说，“一只带着灯的鸟。”

"Birds do not hum," Wes says. "Listen."

“鸟可不会嗡嗡响，”韦斯说，“听。”

The blue shape bumps against the glass, again and again. Each time it makes a thin, sad note, like a finger running around the rim of a cup. Remy realises that he has heard that sound before. For two weeks he has been catching a faint singing in the evenings and blaming the speakers.

那团蓝色的东西一下又一下地撞着玻璃。每撞一次，就发出一声细细的、悲伤的音符，像手指沿着杯口转了一圈。雷米意识到，他以前听过这个声音。两个星期来，每到傍晚他都会隐约听到一阵歌声，他还一直怪是音箱有问题。

"It came in off the sea," Wes says. "The fishermen at the harbour talk about sea-lamps, little lights that follow the boats home. I always thought they were only stories."

“它是从海上飞进来的，”韦斯说，“港口的渔民谈过海灯，就是跟着船只回家的小光点。我一直以为那只是传说。”

"If it is real, it is trapped," Remy says. He looks at the clock above the prize counter. "And we have an hour and a quarter before the shutters close."

“要是真的，它就被困住了，”雷米说。他望向奖品柜台上方的钟。“离卷帘落下只剩一小时一刻钟了。”

"Then we need the ladder," Wes says.

“那我们得用梯子，”韦斯说。

They fetch the old aluminium ladder from the cleaning cupboard and carry it under the skylight. Remy climbs first. The latch of the window is a small brass hook on the far side of the frame. He stretches as far as he can, with his fingertips trembling. He misses it by an arm's length.

他们从清洁间里取出那架旧铝梯，抬到天窗下面。雷米先爬了上去。窗子的插销是窗框另一侧的一个小黄铜钩。他尽力伸长手臂，指尖不停地颤抖。他还差一整条手臂的距离，没够着。

"It is too short," he calls down. "At least a metre too short."

“太短了，”他朝下喊，“至少短了一米。”

"The long ladder is in the harbour shed," Wes says. "That is ten minutes there and ten minutes back, if the shed key is where I think it is."

“长梯子在港口的棚屋里，”韦斯说，“来回得二十分钟，前提是棚屋的钥匙放在我想的那个地方。”

"And if it is not?"

“要是不在呢？”

Wes does not answer. They both look at the clock. It is ten past nine.

韦斯没有回答。他们俩一起看向钟。已经九点十分了。

Remy climbs down and sits on the bottom step with his chin in his hands. Above him, the blue light has stopped bumping the glass. It hangs in the middle of the dome, dimmer than before. Its note is so quiet now that he has to hold his breath to hear it.

雷米爬下来，坐在最下面一级踏板上，双手托着下巴。他头顶上，那团蓝光已经不再撞玻璃了。它悬在穹顶中间，比刚才暗了。它的音符如今轻得让他得屏住呼吸才听得见。

"It is getting weaker," he says.

“它越来越弱了，”他说。

"Then we run to the shed," Wes says.

“那我们跑去棚屋，”韦斯说。

"No." Remy frowns at the ceiling. "Think about what it does when it moves. This afternoon, when I switched on the big pinball machine, it went straight to the edge of the dome nearest to it. And when you waved your phone just now, it turned its head. If it is a bird at all, it is the kind that follows the brightest thing in the room."

“不行。”雷米皱着眉看向天花板。“想想它移动时的样子。今天下午我打开那台大弹珠机的时候，它径直飘到了离机器最近的穹顶边缘。你刚才挥手机的时候，它也转过了头。就算它真是一只鸟，也是那种会追着房间里最亮的东西走的鸟。”

"The brightest thing in the room is the moon," Wes says. "It is shining straight through that glass."

“房间里最亮的是月亮，”韦斯说，“月光正直直照在那块玻璃上。”

"Exactly. So we make something brighter than the moon." Remy stands up. "We do not climb to the sea-lamp. We bring it down to us."

“没错。所以我们要弄出比月亮更亮的东西。”雷米站起身。“我们不去够海灯。我们把它引下来。”

Wes stares at him. Then, slowly, he begins to grin.

韦斯盯着他。然后，他慢慢咧开嘴笑了。

"You are going to switch on everything," he says.

“你是要把所有东西都打开，”他说。

"Everything," Remy says. "And we are going to build a staircase out of light."

“所有的，”雷米说，“我们要用光搭一道楼梯。”

It is eighteen minutes past nine. They split the hall between them and run.

此时是九点十八分。他们把大厅分成两半，各自跑开了。

Wes takes the left side, slamming his hand against the master panel one switch at a time. The pinball machines blaze into life, then the racing cars, then the shooting games with their flashing targets. Remy takes the right side. He kicks open the box under the dance platform. The floor strips come alive with pink and green chase lights that race towards the front doors. He sets the claw machine to its brightest setting. Then he drags the cable of the neon sign outside, so that it throws a wide white pool across the entrance.

韦斯负责左边，一个接一个地拍着总控制面板上的开关。弹珠机亮得耀眼，接着是赛车机，然后是带着闪烁靶子的射击游戏机。雷米负责右边。他一脚踢开舞台下面的箱子。地板灯带亮了起来，粉色和绿色的追逐灯朝着大门飞奔而去。他把抓娃娃机调到了最亮。接着，他把霓虹招牌的电线拖到外面，让它在入口处投下一大片白光。

Last of all, he runs to the great mirror ball hanging in the middle of the ceiling. Its motor is old and stiff, but when he presses the button it starts to turn. Hundreds of tiny reflections begin to crawl over the walls.

最后，他跑向挂在天花板中央的那个大镜面球。它的马达又旧又僵，可他一按按钮，它还是转了起来。成百上千个小小的反光开始在墙上爬动。

"It is not enough," Wes says, looking up. "The moon is still winning."

“还不够，”韦斯抬头看着说，“月亮还是占上风。”

He is right. The blue light has stirred, but it is hovering where it was. It trembles between the glass and the glittering room, as if it cannot make up its mind. The clock says twenty-eight minutes past nine.

他说得对。蓝光动了动，却还悬在原处。它在玻璃和那间闪闪发光的大厅之间颤抖，仿佛拿不定主意。钟上是九点二十八分。

"We need a bridge," Remy says. "Something close to the ceiling that reflects the light back up. Wes, give me your phone."

“我们需要一座桥，”雷米说，“一个靠近天花板、能把光反射回去的东西。韦斯，把你的手机给我。”

He climbs the short ladder once more, and this time he does not try to reach the window. He aims the phone's torch at the mirror ball from the highest rung. The beam hits the spinning glass and breaks into a hundred beams. A line of tiny white stars climbs the wall, one after another, all the way to the skylight.

他又一次爬上那架短梯，这回他没有去够窗子。他站在最高一级踏板上，把手机的手电筒对准镜面球。光束打在旋转的玻璃上，碎成了上百道光束。一排小小的白色星星顺着墙爬了上去，一颗接一颗，一直爬到天窗。

Then he holds his breath again.

然后，他又屏住了呼吸。

The blue light shivers. It lifts its glow away from the moon and slides out into the room. It follows the stars down the wall, hesitant at first, then a little faster. Remy pulls the torch away from the ceiling, and the stars follow it. They slide down his arm and over his shoulder and out across the floor. The sea-lamp comes after them in a long, slow spiral.

蓝光颤了颤。它把光芒从月亮那边收回来，滑进了大厅。它顺着墙往下追着星星，起初有些犹豫，后来快了一点。雷米把手电筒从天花板上移开，星星跟着它走。它们滑过他的手臂，滑过他的肩头，铺满了地面。海灯跟在它们后面，划出一道长长的、缓慢的螺旋。

"It is working," Wes whispers.

“成功了，”韦斯小声说。

"Do not speak," Remy whispers back. "Do not move."

“别说话，”雷米也小声回答，“别动。”

The sea-lamp passes within a hand's width of his face. Up close it is not a bird, or even a creature. It is a small ball of cold fire, with a pale ring spinning inside it like a coin on a table. It smells faintly of salt and of the inside of a shell. For a second it stops in front of him. Remy feels something very light brush across his thoughts, like a hand pressing a window from the other side.

海灯从他脸旁一掌宽的地方经过。凑近了看，它不是鸟，甚至不是什么生物。它是一团小小的冷火，里面有一个苍白的圆环在转动，像桌上转着的一枚硬币。它闻起来带着淡淡的盐味，还有贝壳内部的气味。有那么一秒，它停在了他面前。雷米觉得有什么极轻的东西拂过他的思绪，像有人隔着窗户从另一边按在玻璃上。

Then it drifts away, down the floor strips, towards the doors.

随后它飘走了，顺着地板灯带，朝大门而去。

The two boys follow it at a distance. The clock says forty minutes past nine, and the shutters will start to move at ten. The sea-lamp reaches the neon sign, and the white pool of light, and the dark open air beyond. It rises over the promenade railing and turns once, as if saying goodbye, and then it slips down to the black water and disappears.

两个男孩远远地跟着它。钟上是九点四十分，卷帘十点就会开始降落。海灯到了霓虹招牌前，到了那片白光里，到了外面黑暗开阔的空气中。它升到步道栏杆上方，转了一圈，像在告别，然后滑向漆黑的海水，消失不见了。

For a long moment the promenade is silent, except for the waves against the stones.

很长一会儿，步道上一片寂静，只有海浪拍打石头的声音。

"We should switch everything off," Remy says at last, "before the owner sees the electricity bill."

“我们该把所有东西都关掉了，”雷米终于说，“免得老板看到电费单。”

"We have twenty minutes," Wes says, and he is laughing now. "I would like to see him try to be angry about this."

“我们还有二十分钟，”韦斯说，这会儿他笑出了声。“我倒想看看他怎么为这件事生气。”

They go back inside and begin to turn off the machines, one by one. The last light to go is the mirror ball, which spins down slowly until it is only a dark shape in the roof. In the new quiet, the clock ticks forward, and ten o'clock arrives exactly on time.

他们回到里面，开始把机器一台台关掉。最后熄灭的是镜面球，它慢慢转慢，直到变成屋顶上一个黑色的影子。在这新的寂静里，时钟往前走，十点整准时到来。

The two boys step out into the cool night and pull the front doors behind them. Somewhere above their heads, a motor wakes up, and the iron shutters begin to fall.

两个男孩走进清凉的夜色，随手带上了前门。他们头顶上方的某处，一台马达醒了过来，铁卷帘开始落下。

"Do you think it will come back in the spring?" Wes asks.

“你觉得它春天会回来吗？”韦斯问。

Remy watches the dark water for a while. "Ask me in April," he says, and they walk home along the promenade.

雷米望着黑色的海水看了一会儿。“四月再问我吧，”他说，然后两人沿着步道走回家去了。