At nine o'clock, every light in the building goes out. The fridge stops. The fan stops. Elsbeth's phone has two percent left. She stands in the dark kitchen and hears the whole building groan.
九点整，整栋楼的灯都灭了。冰箱停了。风扇停了。埃尔斯贝丝的手机只剩百分之二的电。她站在黑漆漆的厨房里，听见整栋楼都在吱呀作响。
"Roof!" shouts her brother from the hall. "Everyone is going to the roof!"
“屋顶！”她哥哥在门厅里喊，“大家都去屋顶了！”
It is true. Doors open on every floor. People climb the stairs with candles and cold drinks. They talk in loud, happy voices. A power cut is a party when it happens to everyone.
确实如此。每一层的门都开了。人们提着蜡烛、拿着冷饮爬上楼梯。他们大声而开心地说着话。停电如果是全楼一起遇上，就成了一场派对。
Elsbeth takes her jacket and follows them. Her family moved here two years ago. She knows the stairs and the smell of every kitchen. She knows the broken light on the fourth floor. She does not really know the people.
埃尔斯贝丝拿起外套，跟着他们上去。她家两年前搬到这里。她熟悉楼梯，也熟悉每家厨房的气味。她知道四楼那盏坏掉的灯。但她其实并不真正认识这些人。
The roof is wide and flat. It has a low wall and a water tank. A few plastic chairs stand around. Beyond the wall, the whole city is dark. Only a few cars move on the far road. Above them, there are more stars than Elsbeth ever sees.
屋顶宽阔而平坦。上面有一道矮墙和一个水箱。周围放着几把塑料椅子。矮墙之外，整座城市一片漆黑。只有远处的马路上有几辆车在行驶。在它们的上方，是埃尔斯贝丝平时从没见过的那么多星星。
"Wow," says her brother. For once, he has nothing else to say.
“哇。”她哥哥说。这一回，他再也说不出别的话了。
In the corner of the roof stands a lemon tree. It is not tall. It grows in a big clay pot, as wide as a bucket. A piece of white tape is on its side. On the tape, in black letters, are three words: DO NOT MOVE.
屋顶的角落里立着一棵柠檬树。它不高。种在一个大陶盆里，盆口有水桶那么宽。盆的侧面贴着一条白胶带。胶带上用黑色的字写着三个词：请勿移动。
Elsbeth sees it every day. She never asks about it. Nobody does.
埃尔斯贝丝每天都能看见它。她从来没问过。也没有人问过。
A boy sits next to the pot with his knees up. He is Sandor, from the sixth floor. He is her age, maybe a year older. They go to different schools. They say "hi" on the stairs, and that is all.
一个男孩屈膝坐在花盆旁边。他是六楼的桑多尔。他和她同岁，也许大一岁。他们上不同的学校。他们在楼梯上互相说声“嗨”，仅此而已。
Tonight, Sandor does not say hi. He just looks at the tree.
今晚，桑多尔没有说“嗨”。他只是看着那棵树。
A man in a loud shirt shouts across the roof. "We need space for the chairs!" He points at the corner. "Who wants to move that thing?"
一个穿着花哨衬衫的男人隔着屋顶大声喊道：“我们得给椅子腾点地方！”他指着那个角落。“谁来把那玩意儿挪开？”
"I will do it," says another man. He walks over and puts both hands on the pot.
“我来吧。”另一个男人说。他走过去，两只手按在花盆上。
"Please don't," says Sandor.
“请别动。”桑多尔说。
The man laughs. "It is only a plant, my friend."
那个男人笑了。“不过是一盆植物，朋友。”
"Please don't touch it." Sandor is on his feet now. His voice is not loud, but it is hard. "Not even a little."
“请不要碰它。”桑多尔已经站了起来。他的声音不大，却很强硬。“一点也不行。”
The man looks at him. Then he shrugs and walks away. "Okay, okay. Keep your lemons," he says. Some people laugh. Then they talk about something else. The roof goes back to being a party.
那个男人看着他。然后耸了耸肩，走开了。“好好好，留着你的柠檬吧，”他说。有些人笑了。然后他们又聊起了别的事。屋顶重新变回了一场派对。
Nobody asks Sandor why. The grown-ups go back to their chairs. Elsbeth thinks about it for a minute. Then she walks over to the corner.
没有人问桑多尔为什么。大人们回到了自己的椅子上。埃尔斯贝丝想了一会儿。然后她朝那个角落走去。
"Is it okay if I sit here?" she asks.
“我可以坐在这儿吗？”她问。
"Yes, you can sit here," says Sandor.
“可以，你坐这儿吧。”桑多尔说。
She sits down on the warm stone. For a while, they say nothing. Below them, someone plays a guitar badly. A baby cries and then stops. The lemon tree smells strong and green, like soap.
她在温热的石头地面上坐下。有一阵子，他们谁也没说话。在他们下方，有人把吉他弹得很难听。一个婴儿哭了一声，又停了。柠檬树散发着浓烈的青草气味，像肥皂一样。
"It never gives lemons," says Sandor at last. "Not many, anyway. Two last year. Both small."
“它从来不结柠檬，”桑多尔终于说，“至少结得不多。去年结了两个。都很小。”
"Then why can't anyone move it?"
“那为什么没人能挪它？”
"It is a rule from my mother." He almost smiles. "When you move a lemon tree, it gets angry. It drops its flowers. My mother says it can take a year to forgive you."
“这是我妈妈定的规矩。”他几乎笑了。“柠檬树被挪动以后会生气。它会掉花。我妈妈说，它可能要花一年才肯原谅你。”
"That is a lot of feelings for a plant."
“一棵植物，感情可真多。”
"Yes." He touches a leaf with one finger. "She brought it in a taxi when we came here. She held it on her knees the whole way. She chose this corner because the sun reaches it first."
“是啊。”他用一根手指碰了碰一片叶子。“我们搬来的时候，她是坐出租车带它来的。一路上她都把它抱在膝盖上。她选了这个角落，因为太阳最先照到这里。”
Elsbeth watches his hand. She sees how carefully he touches the leaf. She remembers something else. Last Sunday, she saw three boxes on the stairs outside his door. They were big boxes for moving house. She did not think about them then.
埃尔斯贝丝望着他的手。她看到他碰那片叶子时有多么小心。她又想起了另一件事。上个星期天，她在他家门外的楼梯上看见过三个箱子。那是搬家用的大箱子。她当时没往心里去。
She thinks about them now.
现在，她想起来了。
Everyone in the building sees the boxes. Nobody asks about them.
楼里的每个人都看见了那些箱子。没有人问起。
Her heart beats faster. It is a small question, but it feels big in her mouth.
她的心跳得更快了。这是一个小小的问题，可在她嘴里却显得很大。
"Sandor," she says. "Are you moving away?"
“桑多尔，”她说，“你们要搬走吗？”
He does not answer right away. The night air moves across the roof. The leaves shake. He stares at the pot.
他没有立刻回答。夜风吹过屋顶。叶子在抖动。他盯着花盆。
"I do not know," he says. His voice is small and honest. "My father says maybe. My mother says maybe, too. They talk in the kitchen at night with the door closed. I stand behind it and listen. Nobody tells me."
“我不知道，”他说，声音很轻，却很诚实，“我爸爸说也许。我妈妈也说也许。他们夜里在厨房里关着门说话。我站在门后面听。没有人告诉我。”
"And the tree?"
“那这棵树呢？”
"That is the problem." He laughs, but it is not a happy laugh. "If we go, we cannot take it. It will hate that. So I water it every night. I check the leaves. It is stupid, I know."
“这就是问题所在。”他笑了，可那不是开心的笑。“如果我们走了，就带不走它。它会恨这件事的。所以我每天晚上给它浇水。我检查叶子。我知道这很傻。”
"It is not stupid," says Elsbeth.
“不傻。”埃尔斯贝丝说。
They are quiet again. Nearby, her brother tells a long story to a stranger. A candle burns low. The stars look very close.
他们又安静下来。不远处，她哥哥正对一个陌生人讲着一个很长的故事。一支蜡烛烧得快要见底。星星看上去离得很近。
"Thank you," says Sandor. "For asking. Nobody did."
“谢谢你，”桑多尔说，“谢谢你问我。没有人问过。”
Elsbeth does not know what to say. She picks a dry leaf from the ground. She turns it in her fingers. "Can I water it tomorrow?" she asks. "If you are busy."
埃尔斯贝丝不知道该说什么。她从地上捡起一片干叶子。在指间转了转。“明天我可以来浇水吗？”她问，“如果你忙的话。”
"Maybe," says Sandor. But he does not say no.
“也许吧。”桑多尔说。不过他没有说不行。
Then, without any warning, the lights come back. The lamps in the streets blink and shine. The city below them wakes up all at once, street by street. On the roof, people clap and cheer.
然后，毫无预兆地，灯又亮了。街上的路灯闪了几下，亮了起来。下方的城市一下子醒来，一条街接着一条街。屋顶上的人们鼓掌欢呼。
In the sudden light, Elsbeth looks at the tape on the pot. The corner lifts a little. Under it, in a different pen, are two words. She reads them before Sandor puts his hand over them. STAYS HERE.
在突如其来的灯光里，埃尔斯贝丝看着花盆上的胶带。一角微微翘了起来。在它下面，用另一支笔写着两个词。她在桑多尔伸手盖住之前读到了。留在这里。
