The sorting room of the Highcrest courier hub is never quiet. Parcels hum on the shelves, and letters flutter in their baskets like nervous birds. A brass owl on the desk blinks at every label. It says the name of the town where the parcel belongs. Nadine has worked here for eight years, and she still loves the sound.
高崖快递中转站的分拣室从来不安静。包裹在货架上嗡嗡作响，信件在篮子里像受惊的小鸟一样扑腾。桌上的一只黄铜猫头鹰对着每张标签眨眼，然后报出包裹该去的城镇名。娜丁在这里干了八年，仍然爱听这些声音。
At half past seven, the owl blinks twice and says, "Lowmere."
七点半，猫头鹰眨了两下眼，说：“洛米尔。”
A long parcel slides down the ramp from the loading door. It is wrapped in brown paper and tied with silver string. It is two and a half metres long. It rests on the floor with one end sticking out into the aisle.
一个长长的包裹从装货门那边的斜坡滑了下来。它用牛皮纸包着，系着银色的细绳，足有两米半长。它躺在地上，一头伸到了过道里。
"What is that?" Nadine asks.
“这是什么？”娜丁问。
Hedy, the night supervisor, picks up the label. She reads it twice, then she laughs. "A pair of skis," she says. "For a girl named Pia. She is seven years old."
值夜班的主管赫迪拿起标签，读了两遍，然后笑了。“一副滑雪板，”她说，“寄给一个叫皮娅的女孩。她才七岁。”
"They are taller than the owl. Taller than me!"
“它们比猫头鹰还高。比我还高！”
"The note says she will grow into them." Hedy turns the label over. "It also says, 'Deliver tonight. Her first race starts at nine, and she will not race without them.' Somebody has paid triple for speed."
“留言说她会长大，到时候就合适了。”赫迪把标签翻过来，“上面还写着：‘今晚送到。她九点开始第一场比赛，没有这副板子她不肯上场。’有人付了三倍的加急费。”
Nadine looks at the clock above the door. The hands show seven thirty-five. Lowmere lies in the valley, forty minutes away by the evening van. The van leaves from the loading dock at eight, and it never waits for anyone.
娜丁看了看门上方的钟。指针指着七点三十五分。洛米尔在山谷里，坐晚班货车过去要四十分钟。货车八点从装卸码头出发，从不等任何人。
"Then we have twenty-five minutes," she says.
“那我们还有二十五分钟，”她说。
"Enough." Hedy rolls up her sleeves. "We send the skis along the ceiling rail. It carries parcels to the dock in four minutes."
“够了。”赫迪卷起袖子，“我们让滑雪板走天花板上的轨道。轨道四分钟就能把包裹送到码头。”
The ceiling rail is the pride of the hub. It is a track of iron hooks under the roof. It runs along all four walls and out through an arch to the dock. Every night, hundreds of parcels travel on it, humming like a flock of geese.
天花板轨道是中转站的骄傲。那是屋顶下的一条挂着铁钩的轨道，沿着四面墙绕一圈，再从一道拱门穿出去通到码头。每天夜里，成百上千的包裹在上面穿行，嗡嗡作响，像一群大雁。
Nadine climbs a ladder and hangs the skis from two hooks, one near each end. They hang straight and still, and they look almost proud. Hedy pulls the lever.
娜丁爬上梯子，把滑雪板挂在两个钩子上，一头一个。它们挂得笔直，一动不动，看上去几乎有些得意。赫迪拉下了拉杆。
The rail starts to move, and the skis sail across the room under the lamps. For a minute, everything is perfect.
轨道开始移动，滑雪板在灯下飘过整个房间。有那么一分钟，一切都很完美。
Then the skis reach the corner. The rail bends to the right, but the skis do not bend with it. Their front tips swing out and strike the wall of the arch with a loud crack. The rail jerks and stops, and every parcel in the room cries out in a different voice.
然后滑雪板到了拐角。轨道向右拐，滑雪板却没有跟着拐。它们的前端甩了出去，砰的一声撞在拱门的墙上。轨道猛地一抖，停住了，屋里所有的包裹都用不同的嗓音叫了起来。
"No, no, no," Hedy says. She pulls the lever back and forward. Nothing happens. The skis hang across the arch like a bridge, and a hundred other parcels are stuck behind them.
“不，不，不，”赫迪说。她把拉杆前后拨了几下，什么反应也没有。滑雪板像一座桥一样横在拱门上，后面还堵着上百个别的包裹。
"The corner is too tight," Nadine says. "I should have measured. We cannot move the skis without cutting them."
“拐角太急了，”娜丁说，“我早该量一量的。不把滑雪板锯开，就没法让它们动。”
"We are not cutting them. They belong to a child." Hedy looks at the clock. It says seven forty-five. "Fifteen minutes. The van will leave without us."
“我们不能锯。它们是一个孩子的。”赫迪看了看钟，七点四十五分。“还剩十五分钟。货车要丢下我们走了。”
From the dock, a bell begins to ring. It is the first warning. It rings once for every five minutes left.
码头那边，铃声响了起来。这是第一次警告，每剩五分钟就响一声。
Nadine runs to the window and looks out. Outside, the valley is dark and wide, and a small cluster of lights glows far below: Lowmere. The hub sits at the top of a steep hill. Next to the window, a huge wooden pipe curves down the slope. It winds round and round to the village square. It is the Long Slide, the old route for heavy crates.
娜丁跑到窗边向外看。外面的山谷又黑又宽，远远的下方亮着一小簇灯光，那是洛米尔。中转站坐落在一座陡坡的顶上。窗边有一根巨大的木管子，沿着山坡弯弯曲曲地向下，一圈又一圈，一直通到村里的广场。这就是“长滑道”，是从前运重木箱的老路线。
"What about the slide?" she asks.
“那条滑道呢？”她问。
"The slide is for crates, not for skis." Hedy shakes her head. "And a crate does not need to be steered. The slide has eleven turns. A long parcel will stick in the third one."
“滑道是给木箱用的，不是给滑雪板用的，”赫迪摇头，“而且木箱不用人来掌舵。滑道有十一个弯。长包裹会卡在第三个弯里。”
"Then a long parcel needs somebody to steer it."
“那长包裹就需要有人给它掌舵。”
Hedy turns slowly. "Nadine. Please say you do not mean what I think you mean."
赫迪慢慢转过身来。“娜丁。请你告诉我，你说的不是我想的那个意思。”
"Think about it. The skis are the right shape for sliding. The slide is the right shape for the skis. The only thing missing is a seat." Nadine is already dragging a flat trolley across the floor, the kind used for sacks of small letters. She puts it on the floor and lays the skis along its sides like two long runners.
“你想想看。滑雪板的形状最适合滑，滑道的形状也最适合滑雪板。就缺一个座位。”娜丁已经拖着一辆平板小车穿过地板，那是平时装小信件麻袋的车。她把小车放在地上，把滑雪板摆在两侧，像两条长长的滑轨。
"We will break the rules," Hedy says.
“我们这是要违反规定，”赫迪说。
"We will break one rule. The rule says, 'Do not send people down the slide.' It does not say what to do if the people are the only ones who can steer."
“只违反一条。规定上写的是‘不准送人下滑道’，可没写如果只有人才能掌舵，该怎么办。”
For a moment, Hedy says nothing. The bell rings a second time. The skis, tied to the trolley, begin to hum. The sound is soft and eager, like a cat at an open door.
赫迪一时没有说话。铃声第二次响了起来。绑在小车上的滑雪板开始嗡嗡作响，声音轻柔而急切，像一只守在敞开的门口的猫。
"Even the parcel wants it," Nadine says.
“连包裹都想去，”娜丁说。
"That is the most worrying thing you have said all night." But Hedy sits down on the trolley, and she pulls her hat tight over her ears. "Get in. Hold on to me, and do not scream."
“这是你今晚说的最让人担心的话。”但赫迪还是在小车上坐了下来，把帽子紧紧拉下盖住耳朵。“上来。抓紧我，别尖叫。”
"I never scream."
“我从来不尖叫。”
They push off. The trolley rolls down the ramp, through the window frame, and into the mouth of the wooden pipe. For a few seconds, everything is dark and quiet. Then the slide drops away, and they fall.
她们蹬了出去。小车沿着斜坡滚下，穿过窗框，冲进木管子的入口。头几秒钟，四周又黑又静。然后滑道陡然下沉，她们坠了下去。
The first turn comes so fast that Nadine's stomach stays behind. The skis sing on the wood, a clear, high note. The second turn is wide, and Hedy leans to the left to steer. The third turn is the one that worries them. The long skis scrape the wall on the outside, and the trolley shakes.
第一个弯来得太快，娜丁的胃还留在了后面。滑雪板在木头上唱起歌来，是一个清亮的高音。第二个弯很宽，赫迪向左倾身掌舵。第三个弯是让她们最担心的。长长的滑雪板在外侧刮到了管壁，小车晃了起来。
"Lean right!" Hedy shouts.
“向右靠！”赫迪喊道。
Nadine leans. The skis slide back to the middle. A shower of sparks bursts from the wood. Then they are through, spinning round the fourth bend and the fifth.
娜丁靠了过去。滑雪板滑回了中间。木头上迸出一阵火花。然后她们冲了过去，转过第四个弯和第五个弯。
They scream after all, both of them. By the seventh turn, the scream becomes laughter. By the ninth, they have learned how to steer by moving their shoulders together. The tenth turn is almost graceful. At the eleventh, the pipe opens, and the trolley shoots out into the cool night air.
她们到底还是尖叫了，两个人都叫了。到第七个弯，尖叫变成了笑声。到第九个弯，她们学会了两人肩膀一起动来掌舵。第十个弯几乎称得上优雅。到第十一个弯，管子豁然张开，小车飞射出去，落进清凉的夜空里。
It lands in the village square with a long, gentle slide across the stones. A crowd of children in thick coats stands near a rope. They all turn to stare.
它落在村里的广场上，在石板上长长地、轻轻地滑行。一群穿着厚外套的孩子站在一根绳子旁边，全都转过头来盯着她们。
The trolley stops a hand's width from a small girl in a yellow hat. In her mittens she holds a paper number: seven.
小车在一个戴黄帽子的小女孩面前一掌宽的地方停住了。她的连指手套里捏着一张纸号码牌：七号。
Hedy checks her watch. "Seven fifty-six," she says, with a shaky voice. "We are early."
赫迪看了看表。“七点五十六分，”她用发抖的声音说，“我们提前到了。”
"You are the courier," the girl says. She looks at the skis, then at the two tired women, then at the skis again. Her mouth falls open. "Are those mine? They are enormous."
“你们是快递员，”小女孩说。她看看滑雪板，又看看两个疲惫的女人，再看看滑雪板。她张大了嘴。“这些是我的吗？它们好大啊。”
"They are yours," Nadine says. She stands up on legs that feel like soup. "You will grow into them."
“是你的，”娜丁说。她站起身来，两条腿软得像汤。“你会长大，到时候就合适了。”
The girl steps closer and puts one hand on the tip of a ski. It hums under her mitten. "I think they like me," she says.
女孩走近一步，伸手按在一块滑雪板的前端。它在她的手套下嗡嗡作响。“我觉得它们喜欢我，”她说。
"They like everyone," Hedy says. "That is their problem."
“它们喜欢每一个人，”赫迪说，“这就是它们的毛病。”
Pia kneels in the snow and ties the skis onto her small boots. They stick out in front of her like two long boats. She stands very straight to keep her balance. The crowd cheers when the starting bell rings. She pushes off, and the skis carry her away across the white hill.
皮娅跪在雪地里，把滑雪板绑在自己的小靴子上。它们伸在她前面，像两条长长的小船。她站得笔直，努力保持平衡。起跑铃响起时，人群欢呼起来。她一蹬，滑雪板载着她滑过了白色的山坡。
Nadine and Hedy watch her go, with sparks still in their hair. Then Hedy looks at the long road that leads back up to the hub.
娜丁和赫迪望着她远去，头发里还夹着火星。然后赫迪看了看那条通回中转站的长路。
"Nadine," she says. "How do we get home?"
“娜丁，”她说，“我们怎么回家？”
Nadine looks at the pipe, the hill, and the lights far above. "Well," she says, "we can always send ourselves by post."
娜丁看看管子，看看山坡，又看看远在上方的灯光。“嗯，”她说，“我们总可以把自己当邮件寄回去。”
"Don't," Hedy says. "The last time I did, I arrived with a stamp on my forehead."
“别，”赫迪说，“上回我这么干，到的时候额头上盖了个邮戳。”
