The food row at the night market starts to wake up at six. Malika lights the gas under her big pot of dumplings. Then she checks the paper lanterns above her stall. Each one is yellow and slightly crooked. She hung them herself three years ago, and she likes them crooked.
夜市的美食街到六点就开始苏醒了。玛利卡点燃煤气，烧上那口煮饺子的大锅。然后她查看摊位上方的纸灯笼。每一盏都是黄色的，还有点歪。那是她三年前自己挂上去的，她就喜欢它们歪着的样子。
Around her, the other cooks do the same small jobs. The noodle man stacks his bowls. The woman who sells grilled corn blows on her coals. By seven, smoke and steam fill the whole row, and the first crowds arrive.
在她周围，别的摊主也在做着同样的小活计。卖面的男人把碗一摞摞叠好。烤玉米的女人对着炭火吹气。到七点，烟和蒸汽弥漫了整条街，第一批人潮涌了进来。
Malika knows most of her customers by their orders. The boy with the headphones always wants six pork dumplings. The two nurses share one plate and argue about the sauce. Tonight, however, a new face walks up to her counter, and the face looks upset.
玛利卡认得大多数顾客，是凭他们点的东西。戴耳机的男孩总是要六个猪肉饺子。两个护士合吃一盘，还为蘸料争个不停。可今晚，一张生面孔走到了她的摊位前，神情看上去很烦恼。
The woman is about thirty, with a neat jacket and a tired smile. Malika looks at her face, and then she looks down. She cannot stop herself.
那位女士三十岁上下，穿着整洁的夹克，笑容里带着疲惫。玛利卡看了看她的脸，接着低下了头。她控制不住自己。
The woman wears one blue trainer on her left foot. On her right foot, she wears a gold sandal with a thin strap.
女士左脚穿着一只蓝色运动鞋，右脚却穿着一只系细带的金色凉鞋。
"Please don't say anything," the woman says. "I know. I know."
“请什么都别说，”女士说，“我知道，我知道。”
"I say nothing," Malika says. "Six dumplings?"
“我什么也不说，”玛利卡说，“要六个饺子吗？”
"Six dumplings, yes, and a big glass of water." The woman sits on the stool beside the counter and lets out a long breath. "My name is Brina. I work in an office near here. The power was off this morning. I dressed in the dark and put on two shoes without looking. I only noticed at lunchtime. By then it was too late to go home."
“对，六个饺子，再来一大杯水。”女士在柜台旁的凳子上坐下，长长地呼了一口气。“我叫布里娜。我在这附近的一家公司上班。今天早上停电了。我摸黑穿衣服，没看就套上了两只鞋。直到午饭时才发现。那时候再回家已经来不及了。”
"Did anybody look?" Malika asks.
“有人看吗？”玛利卡问。
"Everybody looked," Brina says. "A child on the bus said, loudly, 'That lady has different feet.'"
“人人都看，”布里娜说，“公交车上有个孩子大声说：‘那位阿姨的两只脚不一样。’”
Malika laughs, and then she covers her mouth. "I am sorry. It is not funny."
玛利卡笑了起来，随即捂住了嘴。“对不起。这一点也不好笑。”
"It is a little funny," Brina says. "But tonight I have a dinner with my team, right here on the food row. They are all coming in an hour. Ten people, and every one of them will stare at my shoes. I just want to eat in peace."
“是有一点好笑，”布里娜说，“可今晚我要和团队聚餐，就在这条美食街上。他们一个小时后就到。十个人，每个人都会盯着我的鞋看。我只想安安稳稳吃顿饭。”
Malika puts six dumplings on a plate and slides it across the counter. Brina takes a bite and closes her eyes. For a moment, the problem seems smaller.
玛利卡把六个饺子装进盘子，从柜台上推了过去。布里娜咬了一口，闭上了眼睛。有那么一会儿，这个麻烦似乎变小了。
"I wish I could do something about it," Brina says, with her mouth half full. "I wish nobody would look at my feet tonight. That's all. Just one evening."
“真希望我能想点办法，”布里娜嘴里塞得半满，说道，“我希望今晚没有人看我的脚。就这样。就一个晚上。”
Malika wipes her hands on her apron. She has a habit of taking small wishes seriously. Over the years, people have asked her for stranger things than this. A man once asked for a dumpling that tasted like his mother's. She tried nine times.
玛利卡在围裙上擦了擦手。她有个习惯，会认真对待别人的小愿望。这些年里，人们向她提过比这更怪的要求。有一次，一位先生想要一个尝起来像他妈妈做的饺子。她试了九次。
"I cannot sell you new shoes," she says. "There is a shoe stall at the end of the row, but the owner closes early. And I cannot make people blind." She looks along the row of lanterns, and a slow smile appears on her face. "But maybe I can make everyone busy with their own feet."
“我没法卖给你新鞋，”她说，“街尾有个鞋摊，但老板收摊早。我也没法让大家都变成瞎子。”她沿着那一排灯笼望过去，脸上慢慢浮起一丝笑意。“不过，也许我能让大家都忙着看自己的脚。”
"What does that mean?" Brina asks.
“这是什么意思？”布里娜问。
"Eat your dumplings," Malika says. "I need to make a few phone calls."
“你先吃饺子，”玛利卡说，“我得去打几个电话。”
She walks next door to the noodle man and speaks to him quietly. He frowns, then shrugs, then bends down and takes off his left shoe. Malika goes to the woman with the corn and does the same. Then she visits the juice seller, the man with the skewers, and the girl with the rice cakes. Each of them listens. Each of them looks at Brina's shoes. Then they look at each other, and one by one they start to grin.
她走到隔壁卖面的男人那里，压低声音和他说了几句。他皱起眉头，接着耸了耸肩，然后弯下腰脱下了左脚的鞋。玛利卡又去找卖玉米的女人，做了同样的事。接着她拜访了卖果汁的、卖烤串的男人和卖年糕的姑娘。每个人都听了她的话。每个人都看了看布里娜的鞋。然后他们彼此对视，一个接一个咧嘴笑了起来。
Brina watches from her stool and understands nothing. Then she sees the noodle man bring out a pair of old garden boots from under his counter. He puts one boot on his left foot. His right foot keeps its own black shoe.
布里娜坐在凳子上看着，一头雾水。接着她看见卖面的男人从柜台下拿出一双旧的园艺靴。他把一只靴子套在左脚上。右脚还穿着他自己的黑鞋。
"What is he doing?" she whispers.
“他在干什么？”她小声问。
"Wait," Malika says, and she holds up a finger.
“等着瞧，”玛利卡说着，竖起一根手指。
By eight o'clock, a strange thing is happening on the food row. The corn woman wears a pink slipper and a green clog. The juice seller has one tall boot and one tiny sandal he borrowed from his niece. The man with the skewers wears a work boot and a shower shoe. Even the man who sells phone cases joins in. He puts on a fluffy rabbit slipper and walks very seriously down the row.
到了八点，美食街上出现了一幕奇景。卖玉米的女人穿着一只粉色拖鞋和一只绿色木屐。卖果汁的男人一只脚是高筒靴，一只脚是从侄女那里借来的小凉鞋。卖烤串的男人穿着一只工作靴和一只浴室拖鞋。连卖手机壳的男人也加入了进来。他套上一只毛茸茸的兔子拖鞋，一脸严肃地沿着街走过去。
Malika herself steps out from behind her counter. She wears one rubber shoe from the kitchen and one sandal from her bag. She bows to Brina like a queen.
玛利卡自己也从柜台后走了出来。她一只脚穿着厨房里的橡胶鞋，另一只脚穿着包里带的凉鞋。她像女王一样朝布里娜鞠了一躬。
"Mismatched Night," she announces, in her loudest voice. "Tonight, every cook has two different shoes. If a customer finds a matching pair on the whole row, he gets a free dumpling."
“错配之夜，”她用最响亮的声音宣布，“今晚，每位摊主都穿着两只不一样的鞋。如果哪位顾客能在整条街上找到一双配对的鞋，就能得到一个免费饺子。”
People stop walking. They stare at the cooks, and then they look down at their own feet, just to be sure. A teenager laughs and points at the corn woman. A couple takes photos of the juice seller's tiny sandal. Soon a small crowd forms in the middle of the row, and everyone is bending down, searching.
人们停下了脚步。他们盯着摊主看，然后又低头看看自己的脚，只是想确认一下。一个少年笑着指向卖玉米的女人。一对情侣给卖果汁男人的小凉鞋拍起了照。很快，街中央聚起了一小群人，大家都弯着腰四处寻找。
"Look at that one!" a boy shouts. "He has a boot and a slipper!"
“看那个！”一个男孩大喊，“他穿着一只靴子和一只拖鞋！”
"And that one has a sandal and a trainer!" says another voice.
“那个人是一只凉鞋配一只运动鞋！”另一个声音说。
"No, no, that is Brina," Malika says gently, and she points at the stool. "She is a judge tonight. She decides who has the most beautiful mistake."
“不，不，那是布里娜，”玛利卡温和地说，指了指那张凳子，“她今晚是评委。由她来决定谁犯的错最漂亮。”
Brina's mouth falls open. "I am a what?"
布里娜的嘴巴张得合不拢。“我是什么？”
"A judge," Malika whispers. "Sit up straight and look serious. It helps."
“评委，”玛利卡小声说，“坐直，表情严肃点。这样管用。”
So Brina sits up straight. She looks at the cooks one by one. She gives each of them a score from one to ten. The crowd cheers whenever she speaks. The rabbit slippers get a nine. The garden boot gets an eight and a half, because it is very big.
于是布里娜坐直了身子。她一个接一个地打量那些摊主。她给每个人打了一到十分的分数。她每开一次口，人群就欢呼一阵。兔子拖鞋得了九分。园艺靴得了八分半，因为它实在太大了。
At half past eight, Brina's team arrives. Ten people walk down the row in their work clothes. They stop at the same moment, like fish. Nobody looks at Brina's feet. They look at the juice seller, then at the rabbit slippers, then at the customers checking their shoes.
八点半，布里娜的同事们到了。十个人穿着上班的衣服沿着街走来。他们同时停住脚步，像一群鱼。没有人看布里娜的脚。他们看着卖果汁的男人，又看着兔子拖鞋，再看着低头检查自己鞋子的顾客。
"What is going on here?" her manager asks.
“这是怎么回事？”她的经理问。
"It's a festival," Brina says calmly. "I am the judge."
“这是个节日，”布里娜平静地说，“我是评委。”
Her manager looks at her for a long moment. Then he looks down at his own polished black shoes. "Do I need to enter?" he asks.
经理看了她好一会儿。然后他低头看了看自己锃亮的黑皮鞋。“我也需要参赛吗？”他问。
"I think you do," Brina says.
“我想你需要，”布里娜说。
The team eats together at a long table beside Malika's stall. They talk about the day and laugh about the rabbit slippers. Nobody says a word about gold sandals. Two of them take off one shoe each and swap them, just for fun. By nine, half the row has joined the game, and the free dumplings run out twice.
同事们在玛利卡摊位旁的一张长桌边一起吃饭。他们聊着一天的事，笑着说那双兔子拖鞋。没有人提起金色凉鞋半个字。有两个人各脱下一只鞋互相交换，纯粹是为了好玩。到九点，半条街的人都加入了这个游戏，免费饺子被领光了两次。
When the crowd finally thins, Brina walks back to the counter. Her feet hurt, and her face hurts from smiling. She puts a folded note under the plate.
人群终于散去时，布里娜走回柜台。她的脚很疼，笑得脸也疼。她把一张折好的纸条压在盘子下面。
"You didn't make anyone blind," she says. "You made everyone look at everything else."
“你没有让任何人变成瞎子，”她说，“你让大家去看别的东西了。”
"That is how most wishes work," Malika says. She shrugs. "People get the thing they ask for, but not in the shape they expect."
“大多数愿望就是这样实现的，”玛利卡说着耸了耸肩，“人们得到了自己想要的，只是形状和预想的不一样。”
"What shape was mine?"
“我的是什么形状？”
"A very odd one," Malika says. "With a rabbit on it."
“一个很古怪的形状，”玛利卡说，“上面还有只兔子。”
Later, when the last customer has gone, the lanterns still glow above the empty row. The cooks pack their pots and carry them away, one soft step at a time. Under the stalls, a line of odd shoes waits in the dust. Above them, one crooked lantern swings gently.
后来，等最后一位顾客也走了，灯笼依旧在空荡荡的街上方亮着。摊主们收拾好锅具，一步一步轻轻地把它们搬走了。摊位底下的尘土里，留着一排奇形怪状的鞋子。在它们上方，一盏歪歪的灯笼轻轻摇晃。
