評論
打印
"Everything is fine, okay? Just give me a minute and I'll explain everything, I promise."
“一切都很好，不是嗎？只要給我一分鐘，我就能解釋清楚所有的事情，我保證。”
I paused, surprised that she hadn't interrupted me yet.
我停頓了片刻，驚訝地發現她至今都沒有打斷我的話。
"Mom?"
“媽媽？”
"Be very careful not to say anything until I tell you to." The voice I heard now was as unfamiliar as it was unexpected. It was a man's tenor voice, a very pleasant, generic voice — the kind of voice that you heard in the background of luxury car commercials. He spoke very quickly.
“當心點，在我讓你說話以前，別出聲。”我聽到了一個陌生的，出乎意料的聲音。那是一個高亢的男聲，一個非常親切，毫無特色的聲音——就是那種你會在豪華汽車廣告里聽到的聲音。他說得非常快。
"Now, I don't need to hurt your mother, so please do exactly as I say, and she'll be fine." He paused for a minute while I listened in mute horror. "That's very good," he congratulated. "Now repeat after me, and do try to sound natural. Please say, 'No, Mom, stay where you are.'"
“現在，我不必傷害你媽媽了。我真高興我能像自己所說的那樣確實做到這一點，她沒事。”他停頓了一分鐘，而我驚駭地聽著這一片沉寂。“非常好，”他祝賀道。“現在，重復我說電話，盡量讓自己聽起來正常些。請說，‘不，媽媽，待在那里。’”
"No, Mom, stay where you are." My voice was barely more than a whisper.
“不，媽媽，待在那里。”我的聲音只比耳語大聲一點。
"I can see this is going to be difficult." The voice was amused, still light and friendly. "Why don't you walk into another room now so your face doesn't ruin everything? There's no reason for your mother to suffer. As you're walking, please say, 'Mom, please listen to me.' Say it now."
“我看得出，這會很困難。”那聲音充滿了戲謔的意味，依然既輕柔又友好。“現在你為什么不走到另一間屋子里，好讓自己的表情不泄露任何秘密呢？沒有理由讓你媽媽承受這一切。你走動的時候，請說‘媽媽，請聽我說。’現在就說。”
"Mom, please listen to me," my voice pleaded. I walked very slowly to the bedroom, feeling Alice's worried stare on my back. I shut the door behind me, trying to think clearly through the terror that gripped my brain.
“媽媽，請聽我說。”我的聲音懇求著。我很慢很慢地向臥室走去，我能感覺到愛麗絲正用憂慮的眼神注視著我的背。我關上身后的門，試圖趕在恐懼控制我的頭腦以前仔細地把事情考慮一遍。
"There now, are you alone? Just answer yes or no."
“現在，你是一個人了嗎？請說是或者不是。”
"Yes."
“是的。”
"But they can still hear you, I'm sure."
“但他們還是能聽見你說話，我敢肯定。”
"Yes."
“是的。”
"All right, then," the agreeable voice continued, "say, 'Mom, trust me.'"
“那么，好吧。”那個愜意的聲音繼續說道。“說，‘媽媽，相信我。’”
"Mom, trust me."
“媽媽，相信我。”
"This worked out rather better than I expected. I was prepared to wait, but your mother arrived ahead of schedule. It's easier this way, isn't it? Less suspense, less anxiety for you."
“這比我預料中的更管用。我正準備等著，你媽媽卻提前回來了。這樣就更容易了，不是嗎？對你來說，懸而未決的事情變少了，需要擔心的事情也更少了。”
I waited.
我在等著。
