The Silver Crown and the Deep End

The craft table at the community pool smelled of glue and chlorine. Elif stood behind it with a box of cardboard strips. Every Saturday, the children made something before their swimming lesson.

社区游泳池的手工桌上，飘着胶水和氯气的味道。艾莉芙站在桌子后面，面前有一盒纸板条。每个星期六，孩子们上游泳课之前，都会做点东西。

Today they were making crowns.

今天他们做王冠。

"Gold or silver?" Elif asked the first child in line.

“金色的还是银色的？”艾莉芙问排在最前面的孩子。

"Gold," the boy said. "And please make the points sharp."

“金色，”男孩说，“还有，请把尖角做得尖一点。”

Elif gave him a strip and a pot of paint. Behind him, thirty children pushed and talked.

艾莉芙递给他一根纸板条和一罐颜料。他身后，三十个孩子推推搡搡，叽叽喳喳。

Her little sister Una stood at the end of the line. Una was seven, and she had not said a word since they left home. She held her towel in front of her like a shield.

她的小妹妹乌娜站在队伍的最末尾。乌娜七岁，从离开家起就没说过一句话。她把毛巾举在胸前，像举着一面盾牌。

"You can make a crown too," Elif said. "It is free for the sisters of helpers."

“你也可以做一顶王冠，”艾莉芙说，“帮忙者的妹妹免费。”

"I don't want to swim today," Una said.

“我今天不想游泳，”乌娜说。

"I know. Just make the crown first."

“我知道。你先做王冠就行。”

Una took a strip and chose the silver paint. She added a blue stone made from folded foil. It was not the best crown in the room, but it was neat and careful. Elif closed the ends with tape and set it on her sister's head.

乌娜拿了一根纸板条，选了银色的颜料。她又用折起来的锡箔做了一颗蓝宝石。这不是屋里最好的王冠，却整齐又用心。艾莉芙用胶带把两端粘好，戴在妹妹头上。

"You look like a queen," she said.

“你看起来像一位女王，”她说。

"Queens don't put their faces in water," Una said.

“女王才不会把脸埋进水里，”乌娜说。

Elif had no answer to that. Una had been afraid of water since last summer. A wave had pushed her under at the beach. Since then, even a bath made her hold her breath.

艾莉芙无言以对。乌娜从去年夏天起就怕水。那时在海滩上，一个浪头把她推到了水下。从那以后，就连洗澡，她都要屏住呼吸。

The lesson began at ten. The coach, a tall man with a whistle, lined the children up along the shallow end. He asked them to blow bubbles on the surface. Thirty faces bent down, and thirty little clouds of bubbles rose.

课在十点开始。教练是个高个子男人，脖子上挂着哨子，他让孩子们沿着浅水区一字排开，请大家在水面上吹泡泡。三十张小脸低下去，三十团小小的泡泡升了起来。

Una sat on the top step with her feet in the water and her crown still on. She watched the others carefully. Elif, who was helping from the side, crouched next to her.

乌娜坐在最上面一级台阶上，双脚泡在水里，头上的王冠还戴着。她仔细地看着别的孩子。在旁边帮忙的艾莉芙蹲到她身边。

"Only your chin," she whispered. "Try it once."

“只要下巴，”她小声说，“试一次吧。”

Una shook her head. A tear slid down and dropped into the pool.

乌娜摇了摇头。一滴泪滑下来，掉进了池子里。

"That's all right," the coach said, kneeling on her other side. "The water will wait for you. It has waited for everybody."

“没关系，”教练在她另一侧跪下，说道，“水会等着你的。它等过每一个人。”

By eleven, the lesson was over. The children ran for the changing rooms, leaving wet footprints on the tiles. Una stayed on the step, and the crown stayed on her head.

十一点，课结束了。孩子们跑向更衣室，在瓷砖上留下一串串湿脚印。乌娜还坐在台阶上，王冠还戴在头上。

Elif remembered a silly story the older helpers told every year. It might help.

艾莉芙想起了年纪大些的帮手们每年都要讲的一个傻故事，也许有用。

"Do you want to hear something strange?" she asked. "People say a crown made at this table can grant one wish. You must wear it by the water and say the wish in your head."

“你想听点奇怪的事吗？”她问，“人们说，在这张桌子上做的王冠能实现一个愿望。你得在水边戴着它，在心里说出愿望。”

Una looked up. "Is that true?"

乌娜抬起头。“是真的吗？”

"I have never tried it," Elif said, which was honest.

“我从没试过，”艾莉芙说，这倒是实话。

Una said nothing. She only touched the blue foil stone with one finger.

乌娜没说话，只用一根手指碰了碰那颗蓝色的锡箔宝石。

At noon, their mother called the front desk. Her bus was stuck, and she would be an hour late. Elif's boss agreed that the girls could wait inside. The pool closed at twelve, so the building soon fell silent.

中午，妈妈打电话到前台。她的公交车被堵住了，要晚一个小时。艾莉芙的老板同意两个女孩在里面等着。游泳池十二点关门，整栋楼很快就安静下来。

Elif mopped the tiles near the changing rooms. When she came back, Una was sitting at the pool edge again. The lights above the water hummed softly. The surface was perfectly flat, like a sheet of glass.

艾莉芙在更衣室附近拖地。等她回来时，乌娜又坐在了池边。水面上方的灯发出轻轻的嗡嗡声，水面平得像一块玻璃。

Una's lips were moving. She was not talking to Elif. She had her eyes closed, and her hands were tight around her knees.

乌娜的嘴唇在动，但她不是在对艾莉芙说话。她闭着眼睛，双手紧紧抱着膝盖。

Elif stopped where she was. She did not hear the words, and she did not want to. Some wishes belong to one person only.

艾莉芙停在原地。她没听见那些话，也不想听。有些愿望只属于一个人。

Then the water moved.

然后，水动了。

It was not a wave. It was one slow ripple, and it travelled the wrong way, from the deep end to the steps. Elif watched it cross the whole pool. It reached Una's crown and lifted it gently from her head.

那不是浪，而是一道缓缓的涟漪，而且方向不对，是从深水区向台阶漂来的。艾莉芙看着它穿过整个泳池，到了乌娜的王冠边，轻轻地把它从她头上托了起来。

The crown landed on the water without a sound. It did not sink. It turned once and floated away across the pool.

王冠无声无息地落在水面上，没有下沉。它转了一圈，朝着池子的另一边漂去。

"My crown!" Una cried.

“我的王冠！”乌娜叫道。

"Leave it," Elif said. "I will get a net."

“别管它了，”艾莉芙说，“我去拿网兜。”

But the crown moved faster than a net could reach. It glided past the ropes and into the middle. The blue stone caught the light and flashed. Una jumped up and ran along the edge, following it.

可是王冠比网兜够得着的速度还快。它滑过分隔泳道的浮绳，漂到了池子中央。蓝宝石捕捉到灯光，闪了一下。乌娜跳起来，沿着池边跑，追着它。

"Una, stop!" Elif called. "It is too deep over there!"

“乌娜，停下！”艾莉芙喊道，“那边太深了！”

"I know!" Una answered. "But it is mine!"

“我知道！”乌娜回答，“可那是我的！”

She was already on the steps again, going down one at a time. The water reached her knees, then her waist. Elif kicked off her shoes and followed, her heart beating hard. She had been trained for many things, but not for a floating crown.

她已经又回到台阶上，一级一级往下走。水没到膝盖，又没到腰。艾莉芙踢掉鞋子，跟着下了水，心怦怦直跳。她受过很多训练，却没有受过应付一顶漂浮王冠的训练。

The crown stopped in the middle of the pool and waited. Una stood on her toes and stretched out her arm. She could not reach it.

王冠停在池子中央，等着。乌娜踮起脚尖，伸长手臂，够不到。

"Elif," she said in a small voice. "I have to go under to get closer."

“艾莉芙，”她用很小的声音说，“我得潜下去才能靠近它。”

"No, you don't. I can swim out and bring it back."

“不用。我可以游过去把它拿回来。”

"It's my wish," Una said. "I think I have to do it."

“这是我的愿望，”乌娜说，“我想我必须自己来。”

Elif hesitated. Then she moved next to her sister and held out one hand. "Take it, then. I am right here. If you feel afraid, stand up."

艾莉芙犹豫了。然后她走到妹妹身边，伸出一只手。“那你拉着。我就在这儿。要是害怕了，就站起来。”

Una took a very big breath, so big that her shoulders rose. She closed her eyes and put her face into the water.

乌娜吸了很大很大的一口气，大得肩膀都耸了起来。她闭上眼睛，把脸埋进了水里。

Elif held her hand and counted in her head. One second passed, then two, then three. She got ready to pull her sister up.

艾莉芙握着她的手，在心里数着数。一秒过去了，两秒，三秒。她准备好把妹妹拉起来。

At five, Una opened her eyes under the water. Elif bent down and saw what Una was seeing.

数到五的时候，乌娜在水下睁开了眼睛。艾莉芙弯下腰，看到了乌娜所看到的东西。

A fish was swimming in front of her sister. It was not a real fish. It was small and silver, and it seemed to be made of the lights from the ceiling. Its tail moved in a slow, easy wave. Every time it moved, a thin line of light followed behind it.

一条鱼正在她妹妹面前游动。那不是一条真正的鱼，它小小的，银色的，仿佛是用天花板上的灯光做成的。它的尾巴缓缓地、轻松地摆动，每摆一下，身后就拖出一道细细的光线。

Una lifted her head for air and laughed in surprise. Then she went back under.

乌娜抬起头换气，惊讶地笑了出来。然后她又钻了回去。

The little fish turned in a circle. Una kicked her feet, one then the other, exactly as the fish moved its tail. Una floated forward, first with her chin on the water, then with her whole face in it. She was swimming. It was an awkward, splashing kind of swimming, but she was moving.

小鱼转了一个圈。乌娜蹬动双脚，先一只，再另一只，恰好跟小鱼摆尾的节奏一样。乌娜向前浮了出去，先是下巴贴着水面，然后整张脸都浸在水里。她在游泳。那是一种笨拙的、水花四溅的游法，可她在前进。

She reached the crown in six kicks. She grabbed it, turned around and came back with her head up and her mouth wide open.

她蹬了六下就够到了王冠。她一把抓住，转过身，抬着头，嘴巴张得大大地游了回来。

"Did you see the fish?" she shouted.

“你看见那条鱼了吗？”她喊道。

"I saw it," Elif said. Her voice shook. "I saw everything."

“看见了，”艾莉芙说，声音在发抖，“我什么都看见了。”

Una stood in the shallow water, dripping, holding the soaked crown against her chest. The silver paint had run, and the blue stone had come loose.

乌娜站在浅水里，浑身滴着水，把湿透的王冠紧紧抱在胸前。银色的颜料已经晕开了，蓝宝石也脱落了。

"I wished to swim like a fish," she said slowly. "But I did not turn into one."

“我许愿要像鱼一样游泳，”她慢慢地说，“可我并没有变成鱼。”

"No," Elif said. "You got something better. A fish came to teach you."

“没有，”艾莉芙说，“你得到了更好的东西。是一条鱼来教你。”

"Will it come back?"

“它还会回来吗？”

"I do not know," Elif said. "But you know how to kick now."

“我不知道，”艾莉芙说，“但你现在会打水了。”

Their mother arrived half an hour later, still out of breath from running. Una told her everything at once, with both arms in the air. Their mother listened to every word. She did not say that fish are not made of light. She only held Una tight and said, "Next Saturday, you can show me."

半小时后，妈妈赶到了，跑得还在喘气。乌娜把一切一股脑儿告诉她，两条胳膊举在空中比划着。妈妈听完了每一句话。她没有说鱼不是用光做成的，只是紧紧抱住乌娜，说：“下个星期六，你游给我看。”

When they were gone, Elif stayed behind to switch off the lamps. She picked up the crown from the bench where Una had left it. The cardboard had softened, and the foil stone was gone. She hung it on the back of the lifeguard chair to dry.

她们走后，艾莉芙留下来关灯。她从乌娜留下的长凳上拿起那顶王冠。纸板已经软了，锡箔宝石也不见了。她把它挂在救生员椅子的靠背上晾干。

The water lay still again. Near the deep end, one last silver ring spread across the surface. It touched the wall and disappeared.

水面又恢复了平静。靠近深水区的地方，最后一圈银色的涟漪在水面上散开，碰到池壁，消失了。