By seven o'clock on Saturday morning, Wick Street already looks like a circus that has lost its map. Ladders lean against shop fronts, and flags lie in tangled heaps on the pavement. A van stands in the middle of the road. Its back is open, full of wooden boards and tables.
星期六早上七点，韦克街看上去已经像一个迷了路的马戏团。梯子靠在店铺门面上，旗子乱成一堆堆躺在人行道上。一辆货车停在马路中间，后门敞着，里面装满木板和桌子。
Aarav stands next to the van with a clipboard. He owns the hardware shop. Tonight is the first street party the neighbourhood has held in ten years. The council sent a letter with a plan. Aarav has read it six times and still feels worried.
阿拉夫拿着记事板站在货车旁边。他开着五金店。今晚是这个街区十年来第一次举办街头派对。市政厅寄来一封信，附了一张规划图。阿拉夫读了六遍，仍然心里发愁。
"Okay, everyone," he calls. "Please listen. The plan says the stage goes at the north end of the street, next to the power box. The tables run down the middle. The party lights go from the clock shop to the cheese shop."
“好了，各位，”他喊道，“请听我说。规划上写着舞台搭在街的北端，紧挨着配电箱。桌子沿着街中间摆。彩灯从钟表店挂到奶酪店。”
"Perfect," says the flower seller, Calla, who is carrying a bucket of ribbons. "Where is north?"
“太好了，”卖花的卡拉说，她提着一桶丝带，“北边是哪边？”
Nobody answers. Eleven shopkeepers look at each other.
没人回答。十一位店主面面相觑。
"Easy," says the clock mender. "North is uphill, and uphill is that way." He points confidently towards the shoe shop.
“简单，”修钟表的人说，“北边是上坡，上坡就是那个方向。”他自信满满地指向鞋店。
"No, no," says the cheese seller. "North is where the post office is. The post office is always north."
“不对不对，”卖奶酪的说，“北边是邮局那边。邮局总是在北边。”
"The post office is on the corner," says Calla. "Everything is on a corner."
“邮局在拐角上，”卡拉说，“什么东西都在拐角上。”
Aarav rubs his forehead. He had hoped that someone would simply know. He takes out his phone and opens the map. The little arrow spins like a puppy chasing its tail. Between the tall buildings, the phone cannot make up its mind.
阿拉夫揉了揉前额。他本来希望有人会直接知道。他掏出手机，打开地图。那个小箭头像追着自己尾巴的小狗一样转个不停。在高楼之间，手机拿不定主意。
"I'll vote," says the shoe seller. "All in favour of the uphill end, raise your hands."
“我来投票，”卖鞋的说，“赞成上坡那头的，请举手。”
Eight hands go up. Three people look at their shoes. It is not exactly science, but it is enough for a hurry.
八只手举了起来。三个人低头看自己的鞋。这不完全算科学，但对赶时间来说够了。
"Fine," Aarav says. "Uphill it is. Let's build."
“好吧，”阿拉夫说，“就上坡那头。开工吧。”
For the next two hours, the street fills with noise. Shopkeepers carry boards and hammer nails. The stage grows slowly at the uphill end. It has a bright orange curtain and a banner that says WICK STREET LIVES. The tables stretch down the road in a long line. Calla ties ribbons around every chair, and the cheese seller hangs paper lanterns on a rope.
接下来的两个小时，街上充满了嘈杂声。店主们搬木板、钉钉子。舞台在上坡那头慢慢成形。它有一块亮橙色的幕布，还有一条横幅，上面写着“韦克街万岁”。桌子沿着马路排成一长列。卡拉在每把椅子上系了丝带，卖奶酪的把纸灯笼挂在一根绳子上。
At half past nine, the electrician arrives, a quiet woman in a yellow jacket. She looks at the stage, then at the power box, then at the stage again.
九点半，电工到了，是一位穿黄夹克、不爱说话的女士。她看了看舞台，又看了看配电箱，再看了看舞台。
"Good morning," she says. "Why is the stage so far from the power?"
“早上好，”她说，“舞台为什么离电源这么远？”
"It isn't," Aarav says. "The power box is at the north end, and that's where we are."
“没有啊，”阿拉夫说，“配电箱在北端，我们就在那里。”
"The power box is over there," the electrician says, and points down the street. It stands next to the clock shop, forty metres away from the new stage.
“配电箱在那边，”电工说着，指向街的另一头。它就在钟表店旁边，离新舞台有四十米远。
Aarav stares at the box. Then he looks at the stage and at the plan in his hand. "That cannot be right," he says.
阿拉夫盯着那个箱子。然后他看看舞台，又看看手里的规划图。“这不可能，”他说。
"I only have a twenty-metre cable," she says. "And the council plan says the stage goes by the box. So either the box has moved, or your stage is at the wrong end."
“我只有一根二十米的电缆，”她说，“而市政厅的规划说舞台要搭在箱子旁边。所以，要么是箱子挪了地方，要么是你们的舞台搭在了错误的一头。”
A long silence settles over the street. Even the flags seem to droop. The clock mender takes off his cap and looks inside it, as if the answer might be there.
一阵漫长的沉默笼罩了街道。连旗子似乎都耷拉了下来。修钟表的人摘下帽子，往里看了看，好像答案可能藏在里面。
"My phone says north is both directions," says the shoe seller.
“我的手机说，北边是两个方向，”卖鞋的说。
"Mine says it's lunchtime," says the cheese seller.
“我的说现在是午饭时间，”卖奶酪的说。
Calla puts down her bucket. She looks at Aarav, and then at the pocket of his apron. Something small and round makes a bump there. "Aarav," she says. "Don't you have a compass?"
卡拉放下水桶。她看看阿拉夫，又看看他围裙的口袋。那里有个小小的圆东西鼓出一块。“阿拉夫，”她说，“你不是有个指南针吗？”
Aarav freezes. Everybody in the shop knows about the compass. It is brass, as big as a biscuit, and he carries it everywhere. People tease him about it all the time. He once used it to find the stairs in a department store.
阿拉夫僵住了。店里人人都知道那个指南针。它是黄铜的，有一块饼干那么大，他走到哪儿都带着。人们总是拿它取笑他。有一次他用它在百货商店里找楼梯。
"I do," he says slowly. "But you all said it was silly."
“我有，”他慢慢地说，“可你们都说它很傻。”
"It is silly," says the clock mender. "Also, it might be useful today."
“是很傻，”修钟表的人说，“而且今天说不定还有用。”
Aarav takes out the compass and opens the lid. He holds it flat on his palm, in the middle of the road, and the needle swings. It wobbles to the left, then to the right, then to the left again. It will not settle.
阿拉夫拿出指南针，打开盖子。他把它平放在手掌上，站在马路中央，指针摆了起来。它先向左晃，再向右晃，又向左晃。怎么也停不下来。
"It is broken," says the cheese seller.
“坏了，”卖奶酪的说。
"It isn't broken," Aarav says. "It's confused." He frowns at the heavy steel frame of the stage, then at the van parked next to him. "Metal makes it nervous. I need to stand somewhere clear."
“没坏，”阿拉夫说，“它是糊涂了。”他皱眉看着舞台沉重的钢架，又看了看停在身旁的货车。“金属会让它紧张。我得站到空旷的地方去。”
He walks to the middle of the street, far from the van and the lamp posts. He crouches and sets the compass on the road. Everybody follows him and forms a circle, as if they are about to watch a magic trick.
他走到街中间，远离货车和路灯杆。他蹲下身，把指南针放在路面上。大家跟了过来，围成一个圈，仿佛要看一场魔术表演。
The needle trembles. It slows down, and it stops. It points firmly and calmly to the end of the street where the clock shop stands.
指针颤抖着。它慢了下来，停住了。它稳稳地、平静地指向钟表店所在的那一头。
"North," Aarav says. "North is the clock shop. The cheese shop is south, and we have built the stage in the wrong place."
“北边，”阿拉夫说，“北边是钟表店。奶酪店在南边，我们把舞台搭错地方了。”
"The wrong place," repeats the clock mender in a small voice. "I voted for uphill."
“错地方了，”修钟表的人用小小的声音重复，“我投的是上坡那头。”
"The hill is east," Calla says kindly. "It was a nice guess."
“山坡在东边，”卡拉和气地说，“你猜得挺不错的。”
For a moment, the whole street is quiet. Eleven people look at a stage that weighs more than a small car. Aarav feels a cold wave of regret. The stage took three hours to build, and the party begins in nine.
有那么一会儿，整条街都安静了。十一个人望着一个比小汽车还重的舞台。阿拉夫感到一阵冰冷的悔意涌上来。舞台花了三个小时搭，而派对九个小时后就要开始。
Then the electrician says, "You have wheels on the bottom of that stage, don't you?"
这时电工说：“那个舞台底下装着轮子，对吧？”
Aarav blinks. He walks to the side of the stage and kneels. Under the wooden skirt, he sees four small black wheels, still locked with metal brakes. The builders borrowed them from the council last week for exactly this kind of thing.
阿拉夫眨了眨眼。他走到舞台侧面，跪下来。在木制围裙板下面，他看见四个小小的黑轮子，还锁着金属刹车。施工的人上星期从市政厅借来了它们，正是为了这种情况。
"We could roll it," he says.
“我们可以推着走，”他说。
"We could roll it," says Calla. She is already holding the corner of the orange curtain.
“我们可以推着走，”卡拉说。她已经抓住了橙色幕布的一角。
It takes eight people to push the stage down Wick Street. Calla stands at the front and shouts directions. The clock mender walks backwards to watch the wheels. The cheese seller pushes with both shoulders and sings a marching song that no one else knows. The helpers slide the tables to the side, and the stage squeaks along the road.
要八个人才能推动舞台沿着韦克街前进。卡拉站在最前面喊着方向。修钟表的人倒着走，盯着轮子。卖奶酪的用两个肩膀一起顶着推，唱着一首别人谁也不会的进行曲。帮手们把桌子推到一边，舞台吱吱嘎嘎地沿着马路移动。
After twenty minutes, the stage stops beside the power box. The electrician plugs in her cable and tests it with a small meter. She nods once.
二十分钟后，舞台在配电箱旁边停下了。电工插上电缆，用一个小仪表测试。她点了一下头。
"It reaches," she says.
“够得着，”她说。
The shopkeepers cheer. The clock mender sits down on a step and fans his face with his cap. Calla laughs so hard that she has to lean on a lamp post.
店主们欢呼起来。修钟表的人在台阶上坐下，用帽子扇着脸。卡拉笑得不得不靠在一根路灯杆上。
By evening, the street is full of music. The lights stretch from the clock shop to the cheese shop, and the tables shine with ribbons. Children run between the legs of the grown-ups, and the smell of hot food floats everywhere. Aarav stands near the stage with his compass in his hand. He looks at it for a second, then puts it back in his pocket, proudly.
到了傍晚，街上充满了音乐。彩灯从钟表店一直挂到奶酪店，桌子上丝带闪闪发亮。孩子们在大人的腿间跑来跑去，热腾腾的食物香味飘得到处都是。阿拉夫站在舞台附近，手里拿着指南针。他看了一秒钟，然后骄傲地把它放回口袋。
"Ready?" Calla asks, holding the switch.
“准备好了吗？”卡拉握着开关问。
"Ready," Aarav says.
“准备好了，”阿拉夫说。
She presses it.
她按了下去。
Click.
咔嗒。
