珍珠(九) 

(A Chinese Mermaid Tale)

Written and illustrated by Linda Yi | Chinese Translations by 竻竻

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Chapter 25– Disbelief

第二十五章–难以置信

Hai did not believe.

海根本不相信。

The days when he had believed in Yeye’s stories – tales of gods of the skies and dragons of the sea – those days were long gone. Stories of dragon kings were the stuff of fantasy meant only to entertain children before sleep. 

没错，他小时候是爱听爷爷讲天上神仙和水下龙王的故事，并且对这些人物的存在深信不疑—可那早就是过去的事了。那些故事是大人们编的，拿来哄小孩入睡的。

Hai shook his head. His throat had tightened and he gritted his teeth against the tears that had gathered behind his eyes. Then, Hai spoke:

于是，海摇了摇头。他感到喉咙发紧，只得咬了咬牙，强忍住在眼眶边打转的泪水，艰难地开口说道：

“If you are to refuse me, then refuse me – but why peddle me these lies? I am not a child to be coddled. Did you imagine these fairytales would comfort me? If you won’t leave – “ here Hai drew in a sharp breath and ignored the painful tightening in his chest, “If you won’t leave…then I will.”

“如果你想要拒绝我，那就直说，为什么要拿这些谎话来骗我呢？我不是一个要人哄的小孩子，难道你真的以为用这些童话故事就能随随便便把我打发掉吗？” 说到这，海用力地吸了一口气。他忽略自己胸口的剧痛，最后撂下一句话：“如果你不走，那我走。”

Hai rose from the table, his bowl of half eaten rice cooling before him. Without looking at Mei, he turned towards the door, blinking away the wetness in his eyes. In four long strides, Hai was gone… leaving a stricken Mei still seated at the table.   

他起身，忍住泪水，头也不回地向门口走去，只留下半碗放凉了的米饭孤零零地杵在桌上。他迈开腿，不消四步便

彻底消失在小妹的视线中。

It was many minutes before she too rose to her feet and hurried towards the sea.  Her hairand tears streamed behind her as the wind carried the scent of drying tears for miles.

小妹呆呆地坐在桌边，过了很久才缓过劲来。她回过神后匆忙向大海的方向奔去，咸咸的海风吹起她的头发，带起她的泪，把她的悲伤生生拖了好长、好长的一段距离。

Chapter 26– A Glimmer of Light

第二十六章–微光

Hai walked, barefooted, along the sea shore – feeling grains of sand shift between his toes.  He looked up at the moon. It gazed down at him, her silver white face implacable. Hai looked down at his hands, their roughness visible even under the pale moonlight – calloused, darkened, and weather beaten by long days at sea.

海光着脚，沿着海岸线一直走着，感受着细沙掠过他冰凉的脚面。他抬头看月，月也回望着他，那银色的面容平静安宁，辨不出情绪。他又低头端详自己的双手，在月光下那粗糙的纹理依稀可见—这是一双劳动青年的手，长满了茧子，一副饱经风霜的样子。

 That same sea water lapped softly at his ankles. Without knowing it, Hai’s feet had carried him to the sea. He looked down to see the water, expecting to see only the inky blue of a nighttime ocean. Instead, he saw something else: 

海水一点一点轻轻拍打着海的脚踝，而年轻的小伙子也不知不觉地向海面走去。他低下头，以为只能看到夜晚墨蓝色的海水，却没想到，发现了别的东西：

By moonlight, the rose carp appeared a pale violet.  The rainbow scales that ran from its forehead and along its back shimmered like jewels as water and moonlight slid across its supple body. The rose carp swam around Hai’s ankles, winding close before drawing back, and then coming forward once more… it was as if it wanted Hai to follow.  

那是他的玫瑰鲤鱼，在月光下，泛着淡紫色的那条鲤鱼。它从头到尾缀满的彩虹色鳞片，如今像宝石一样散发着迷人的光芒。玫瑰色鲤鱼在海的脚踝边来回梭巡，好像要他跟上自己。

And Hai did follow –  as if in a dream.  The rose carp swam ahead in the shallows, and Hai trailed behind it under the moonlight. 

海迷迷糊糊地跟上去了，好像在做梦一样。鲤鱼在浅滩里游泳，海在月光下跟随。

They came to a bend in the shore. A cluster of rock jutted out into the sea - cutting off Hai’s path.  The rose carp paused, then darted around the bend, disappearing from sight.  Hai tried to follow.  He walked until he was almost chest deep in the water, searching for a glimpse of the rose carp.   

他们来到沙滩的拐角处停了下来。这个位置有一座大石头突兀地挡住了海前进的步伐。这时玫瑰鲤鱼突然不见了。海想要跟上去，于是便一步步踱入水中，目光不停寻找鲤鱼的身影，直到海水没过他的腰部。

No sign.

可是鱼儿还是消失地无影无踪。

 Hai ran a hand along the stones. Some were smooth from the constant ebb and flow of waves - others rough and broken by those same waters. he shook his head, not for the first time, at the strange behavior of the carp.  Returning to shore, Hai wrung the sea water from his shirt and prepared to head back … though to where, he was at a loss to say. Silent clouds had shaded the moon from sight. Hai blinked into the shadowy gray that blanketed his surroundings. 

海伸手摸了摸岩石。石头的有些部分由于海浪长期的冲刷而显得很光滑，而另一些地方则被同样的海浪腐蚀了，显得粗糙不堪。他摇摇头，不止一次地对鲤鱼奇怪的作风而感到无奈。回到岸上，海把自己衣服上的海水挤干，准备回去—可是，到底回哪里，他也不知道。静默的云遮住了月亮，周围的天色变得

昏暗，影子一般的灰色像雾一样包括着他的四周。

Then, a breeze.

然后，他感到一阵风吹了过来。

The clouds above parted, and a faint wisp of moonlight drifted from the night sky. It settled gently upon a sweep of dark ivy, which covered the cluster of rocks Hai had just left. A second gust of wind ruffled the ivy, and for the briefest of moments, Hai thought he saw a glimmer of light.  

风驱散了云层，淡淡的一丝月光在夜空中飘荡着。光芒落在一株爬山虎上，而爬山虎正巧生长在海刚才看到的岩石上。第二阵风吹了过来，而下一秒，海觉得自己好像看到一丝微光。

He moved closer.

他靠的更近了。

Another glimmer.  More light.

又是一道微光，然后是更多的光。

He was right by the cliff wall now....

他已经到达了岩石的一边。

Hai pulled back the hanging ivy to find a narrow entrance. Something shimmered on the other side: a soft and beckoning light.  Hai entered.  The something seemed to call to him, pulling at his heart and plucking at its strings.  Whatwas it?

海伸手拨开藤蔓，从眼前狭窄的入口穿了进去。石洞的另一面，有什么东西在闪闪发光，光芒如此温柔又亲切，仿佛是召唤着他的到来。海追着光，进了一个隧道。一瞬间里，他觉得好像有什么别的东西在呼唤着他，那呼唤不大声，却拨动着他的心弦。它到底是什么呢？

... and he was through to the other side.

这么想着，海穿越隧道，来到了山洞的另一边。

This is what he saw:

他看到的是…

Chapter 27– One Last Time

第二十七章–最后一次

He was in a cave.

他发现自己身处一个小山洞里。

There must have been an opening, somewhere up above, for silver moonlight streamed down in slender rays from the sky.  At the center of the cave was large crystalline pool. At the center of that pool stood a maiden. 

这山洞肯定有一个出口的，因为银色的月光从天空中散落下来。山洞的中心有一个很大的水晶池，池子的中间站着一个女孩。 

She stood with her back to him, shoulders bare, raven hair loose and flowing. It streamed down her back, shining in the moonlight and pooling into the midnight blue water at her feet. 

她背对着他，露着肩膀，深黑色的头发松松地搭在肩上，倾泻下来，堆叠在午夜的深蓝色池水上。

It streamed down her back, shining in the moonlight and pooling into the midnight blue water at her feet. Hai realized that he was holding his breath.  He exhaled, slowly, and silently turned to leave. He felt like an intruder.  This was not a place for someone like him... 

这时，海才发现自己屏着呼吸，他缓慢地吐气，一言不发地转身想离开。他感觉自己闯入了一个不该来的地方。

 Yet something stopped him.  Hai turned again to look at the maiden.  There was something familiar about her.  

但是，下一秒他犹豫了。他转身，发现眼前这个姑娘有点眼熟。

And then Hai saw – had they been there before?– a row of stepping stones which led to the center of the pool.  His feet carried him forward before he realized he was even walking.  

然后，海看到了一排石头，整整齐齐地直通水池的中央。它们之前在那儿吗？然后，他感觉自己的脚在带着自己往前走

One, two, three, four...

一步、两步、三步、四步…

Hai reached the maiden on his forty-ninth step. As he took his final step, the maiden turned…Hai found himself gazing into a pair of sea-storm eyes. Hai’s heart jumped in his chest. Wonder, bewilderment, joy, and shock danced in quick succession across his mind. Before Hai could think to ask Mei how she came to be here, he felt her press something into his palm. He heard the familiar musical clink of jangling bracelets. 

第四十九步的时候，他来到了女孩的身边。当他迈出最后一步的时候，女孩转过了身。。海发现，自己正看向一双被暴风雨洗礼过后的双眼。他的心跳一下子加速了，惊叹、迷茫、欣喜、震惊，复杂的情绪像过电影似地一点点从他的脑海中掠过。海还来不及问小妹是怎么到这里的，就感觉到小妹纤细的玉手覆在自己的掌心。那一秒中里，他听到了手镯银铃般的歌声。

Lowering his gaze, Hai saw that he now held a single bangle upon which hung a rose-colored pearl. The pearl felt odd to the touch – alternately hot and cool against his palm. He shot a quizzical look at Mei and nearly dropped the bracelet.

低下头，海发现他手里握着单个的一枚镯子，镯子上点缀着一颗玫瑰色的珍珠。珍珠的触感有点奇怪，时而温热、时而清冷。他疑惑地看向小妹，手一抖，差点把镯子摔掉。

Mei’s eyes were closed. Her skin glowed, pearl like, under pale moonlight, smooth as fine marble. Skin as hard as marble too –  with delicate veins of gray spidering across its surface. One hand rested, butterfly like, on her chest.  The other, from which herseven otherbracelets still hung, was extended, as if to touch Hai.  

小妹却阖着双眼，一语不发。她的皮肤在月光下泛着白光，看起来如大理石般光滑。可是，那皮肤看起来也和大理石一般僵硬，与此同时，深灰色的脉络也清晰地爬满了坚硬的表面。她的一只手像一只蝴蝶一样落在了她的胸前。她的另一只手，那只还带着七只手镯的手，缓缓地伸向前方，好像是要触摸眼前的那个人。

As if to touch him one last time.

好像是触摸他最后一次。

Story Video (with bonus drawing process! )

coming soon