On Ife's second Saturday as a volunteer, the organiser handed her the keys and left.
伊费做志愿者的第二个星期六，组织者把钥匙交给她就走了。
"I need to collect a delivery," the organiser said. "Back by noon. You will be fine." Then she got into a van and drove away. Ife stood alone in the park beside the free bike repair stand.
“我得去取一批货，”组织者说，“中午前回来。你没问题的。”说完她上了一辆面包车，开走了。伊费独自一人站在公园里，守着那座免费的自行车维修架。
It was a simple place. There was a metal frame that held a bike in the air. There was a toolbox, a foot pump and a sign painted by children. Ife had practised all week for this morning. She had made a plan on a sheet of paper. She had pinned it to the toolbox. Check each bike in five minutes. Fix the small problems. Send people away happy. Ten bikes an hour, twenty by lunch.
这是个简单的地方。有一个金属架子，能把自行车悬空架起来。有一只工具箱，一个脚踏打气筒，还有一块孩子们画的牌子。伊费为这天上午练习了整整一个星期。她在一张纸上做了计划，还把它别在了工具箱上。每辆车检查五分钟。修好小毛病。让大家高高兴兴地离开。每小时十辆，到午饭时二十辆。
At the bottom of the sheet, she had drawn a tiny egg. This was her favourite part. The toolbox held an old sand timer, the kind people use to boil eggs. It ran for exactly three minutes. The organiser used it to time the glue on tyre patches. Ife had decided it would also keep her honest. Every job would be finished before the sand ran out.
纸的最下面，她画了一个小小的鸡蛋。这是她最喜欢的部分。工具箱里有一只旧沙漏，就是人们用来煮鸡蛋的那种。它刚好走三分钟。组织者用它给补胎的胶水计时。伊费决定，它也能让她保持诚实。每一项活儿，都要在沙子漏完之前干完。
She turned it over once, just to see it work. The sand began to fall in a thin, steady line. Ife smiled. She felt ready.
她把它翻转了一次，只是想看看它怎么走。沙子开始落下，成了细细的、稳稳的一条线。伊费笑了。她觉得自己准备好了。
The first customer arrived at nine. He was a tall man with a new bicycle that still had a price sticker on the frame. He wheeled it towards her slowly, as if it might fall apart.
第一位顾客九点到了。他是个高个子男人，推着一辆新自行车，车架上还贴着标价贴纸。他慢慢地把车推向她，仿佛它随时会散架。
"Hello," he said. "My name is Basil. I bought this yesterday, and the back tyre is already flat."
“你好，”他说，“我叫巴泽尔。这车是昨天买的，后胎已经瘪了。”
"Don't worry," said Ife. "This is a quick one." She lifted the bike onto the frame and opened the toolbox. Then she stopped, because the lock on the inner tray was jammed. She pulled it, twisted it and pulled it again. Nothing moved.
“别担心，”伊费说，“这是个快活儿。”她把车抬上架子，打开了工具箱。然后她停住了，因为里层托盘的锁卡住了。她拉了拉，拧了拧，又拉了拉。纹丝不动。
"Is there a problem?" asked Basil.
“有问题吗？”巴泽尔问。
"No," said Ife, and her voice came out a little high. "No problem at all."
“没有，”伊费说，声音有点发尖，“一点问题都没有。”
But there was a problem, and it was a big one. The tray held every patch, every spanner and every tyre lever. Without it, she could not fix a single bike. She tried a screwdriver from the top shelf, and then a stone from the path. The lock only made a sad, grinding noise.
可是有问题，而且是个大问题。那个托盘里放着所有的补胎片、所有的扳手和所有的撬胎棒。没有它，她连一辆车也修不了。她试了上层架子上的一把螺丝刀，又试了路上的一块石头。那把锁只发出一种可怜的、吱吱的摩擦声。
By half past nine, a line had formed behind Basil. Ife counted eleven people. There were two teenagers with a broken chain and a woman with a baby seat. A boy had lost a pedal. They stood quietly at first. Then they started to look at their watches.
到九点半，巴泽尔身后已经排起了队。伊费数了数，有十一个人。有两个青少年，链条断了；还有一位女士，车上装着婴儿座椅。有个男孩丢了一只脚踏板。起初他们安静地站着。后来他们开始看手表。
Ife wiped her hands on her trousers. Her plan was lying on the toolbox, and every line of it was useless now. Five minutes per bike? She could not even open the tray.
伊费在裤子上擦了擦手。她的计划就摆在工具箱上，可现在，上面每一行都没有用了。每辆车五分钟？她连托盘都打不开。
"I am so sorry," she said to the line. "The lock is stuck, and I cannot get to the tools. Maybe you should come back later."
“真对不起，”她对着队伍说，“锁卡住了，我拿不到工具。你们也许该晚点再来。”
Nobody moved. A girl at the end of the line sighed. A man put his bike down on the grass.
没人动。队尾的一个女孩叹了口气。一个男人把自行车放倒在草地上。
Basil cleared his throat. "May I say something?" he asked.
巴泽尔清了清嗓子。“我可以说一句吗？”他问。
"Of course," said Ife, although she wanted to hide.
“当然，”伊费说，尽管她很想找个地方躲起来。
"I work in a restaurant kitchen," he said. "When the orders pile up, we do not fix each plate alone. Everyone does one small job, and the whole line moves. Nobody waits for one person." He glanced at the stand. "Is there anything you can do without the tray?"
“我在一家餐馆的厨房里工作，”他说，“订单堆起来的时候，我们不会一个人一盘一盘地做。每个人做一件小事，整条流水线就动起来了。没人需要等一个人。”他瞥了一眼修理架。“不用那个托盘，有什么你能做的吗？”
Ife looked around. She had the foot pump. She had the frame. The top shelf of the toolbox was not locked. It held a bottle of oil and a pile of cloths. Next to the toolbox stood a bucket of water. There was also a handful of loose patches. And she had the sand timer.
伊费环顾四周。她有脚踏打气筒。她有架子。工具箱的上层架子没有上锁。里面有一瓶油和一堆抹布。工具箱旁边有一桶水。还有一小把散放的补胎片。而且她还有那只沙漏。
An idea arrived very suddenly, like a bike coming down a hill.
一个主意突然冒了出来，像一辆冲下山坡的自行车。
"Wait," she said. "Basil, I think I can do something. But I need your help."
“等一下，”她说，“巴泽尔，我想我能做点什么。不过我需要你的帮助。”
"Tell me," said Basil.
“说吧，”巴泽尔说。
"Is your tyre off the wheel already?"
“你的轮胎已经从轮子上拆下来了吗？”
"No. I did not know how."
“没有。我不知道怎么拆。”
"Then we will learn." Ife raised her voice and spoke to the whole line. "Everyone, listen, please. I cannot open the tool tray, but I can still show you how to fix a puncture. I only need a bucket, a patch and some patience. If you fix your own bike, you will not need to wait for me."
“那我们就来学。”伊费提高了声音，对着整支队伍说话。“大家听我说，请听一下。我打不开工具托盘，但我还是可以教你们怎么补扎破的胎。我只需要一只桶、一块补胎片和一点耐心。如果你们自己修自己的车，就不用等我了。”
A boy near the front frowned. "You want us to do it ourselves?"
队伍前面的一个男孩皱起了眉。“你想让我们自己来？”
"I will show you the first step," said Ife. "After that, we will help each other."
“第一步我来演示，”伊费说，“之后，我们互相帮忙。”
She set up three tiny stations on the grass. Each had a cloth, a patch and some water. At the first station, a person pressed the tyre into the water and watched for bubbles. At the second, they rubbed the hole clean and put on the glue. At the third, they waited for the glue to dry, and that was where the sand timer went.
她在草地上设了三个小小的工作点。每个点上都有一块抹布、一块补胎片和一些水。在第一个点，人们把内胎按进水里，看有没有气泡。在第二个点，他们把破洞擦干净，涂上胶水。在第三个点，他们等胶水变干，沙漏就放在这里。
"Three minutes," she told them, and she held it up. "No more, no less. The glue needs exactly this long. When the sand stops, you press the patch on."
“三分钟，”她举起沙漏对他们说，“不多不少。胶水正好需要这么长时间。沙子漏完，你们就把补胎片按上去。”
Basil stepped forward. "Let me hold the timer," he said. "I am used to counting seconds."
巴泽尔走上前来。“让我拿沙漏吧，”他说，“我习惯数秒了。”
He turned the glass over. The line watched the sand fall. Ife showed the first rider how to find the hole, and the rider showed the next one. By ten o'clock, a rhythm had started. A woman called out "Glue!" and Basil shouted "Turn!" and the sand began again. People passed the cloths from hand to hand. The two teenagers fixed their own chain after a stranger lent them a spare link.
他把玻璃沙漏翻转过来。队伍看着沙子落下。伊费教第一位骑车人怎么找到破洞，这位骑车人又教下一位。到十点钟，一种节奏出现了。一位女士喊“胶水！”，巴泽尔就喊“翻！”，沙子又重新开始落下。大家把抹布一个传一个。那两个青少年在一个陌生人借给他们一节备用链节后，自己修好了链条。
Ife walked up and down the line and answered questions. She did not touch a single bike. It felt strange and wonderful. She had planned to be the hero of the morning. Instead she had become the person who made the room for everyone else.
伊费沿着队伍来回走动，回答问题。她没有碰过任何一辆自行车。这感觉既奇怪又美好。她原本打算做这个上午的英雄。结果她成了那个为所有人腾出空间的人。
At half past eleven, Basil's tyre was fixed. He pressed the patch on firmly and counted to ten. Then he pumped air into the tube, and it grew round and tight.
十一点半，巴泽尔的轮胎修好了。他把补胎片牢牢地按上去，数到十。然后他往内胎里打气，它变得又圆又结实。
"It holds," he said, and he laughed. "I did that."
“它撑住了，”他说着笑了起来，“这是我自己修的。”
"You did," said Ife.
“是你修的，”伊费说。
By a quarter to twelve, the line had disappeared. Fourteen bikes stood in the grass with fresh patches and clean chains. The riders sat on the bank, talking to each other like old friends.
到十二点差一刻时，队伍已经消失了。十四辆自行车停在草地上，换上了新补片，链条也干干净净。骑车人坐在河岸上，彼此聊着天，像老朋友一样。
A white van pulled into the car park. The organiser climbed out with a large box. She stopped when she saw the crowd.
一辆白色面包车驶进了停车场。组织者抱着一只大箱子下了车。看到人群，她停住了。
"What happened here?" she asked. "I left a quiet morning."
“这里发生了什么？”她问，“我走的时候这里还很安静。”
"The tool tray jammed," said Ife. "I am very sorry. I tried everything."
“工具托盘卡住了，”伊费说，“真的很抱歉。我什么办法都试了。”
The organiser put down her box and looked at the happy faces on the grass. Then she looked at the sand timer in Basil's hand. She took a long breath. "How many bikes did you manage to fix?" she asked.
组织者放下箱子，看了看草地上那一张张开心的脸。然后她看了看巴泽尔手里的沙漏。她深深吸了一口气。“你修好了多少辆自行车？”她问。
Ife looked at the riders and at the bikes. Her plan lay forgotten on the toolbox.
伊费看看骑车人，又看看自行车。她的计划被遗忘在工具箱上。
"None," she said. "They all fixed their own."
“一辆也没有，”她说，“他们都是自己修的。”
