1. As all Saturday nights went, we slipped by the wives and find weselves down by The Tricky Jester. Thinking about it, you don’t see much of those any more. The Tricky Jester, you leave your shame at the door. The new places, you have to comb your hair and put on perfume just to get a drink. Times change, you know. World going one way, people another.
每一個周六的晚上，我們都會從自己的妻子身邊溜走，然后來到這個名叫“機警的杰斯特”的俱樂部，并在這里找回自我。思考的多了，眼睛看到的自然就少了些。來到“機警的杰斯特”，你就得把自己的羞愧留在門外。來到新的地方，你就必須僅僅為了來喝一杯，梳理好你的頭發(fā)，再噴上些香水。時代變了，你知道的。但，世界與人的變化方向并不一致。
2. Last Saturday, though, something put a sour taste in my mouth. It came from the story Stew was telling. Stew is an important man, and so he gets to talk. He’d remind you of that too. So, how come this one put the sourness in me then? See, Stew went out on this one hike – the mountain trail of El Tucuche. The route ain’t a hard one, but not an amateur one either. And Stew is a man who don’t follow the map. He like to pride himself as a man who blazes his own trail. You have to learn to get lost to really find yourself, was the man’s mantra. A man is so small in the wilderness, believe me. The way how people is now, we ain’t tailored to live there. So when Stew say he stumble across a house in the middle of the mountain, my ears prick up.
但就在上個星期六，我卻在那里感受到了一陣酸楚的滋味。這滋味來自斯圖講的一個故事。斯圖是俱樂部的重要人物，所以他有機會侃侃而談。他還會提醒你這一點。那么，為什么他的這個故事會使我產(chǎn)生這種酸楚的感覺呢？那就細說一下他分享的這個名叫“埃爾圖庫切山中小徑徒步行”的故事吧——山路并不是太難走，但也并不太適合業(yè)余登山愛好者。斯圖不愛走地圖上指明的路線，更愿意為自己開辟了新的路線而感到自豪。你必須先學會 迷路才能真正地找到自我——這句話是這個男人的咒語。相信我，一個人在荒野中是如此渺小。人們現(xiàn)在的生存方式，并不適合居住在那里。于是，當斯圖說他在山間無意中發(fā)現(xiàn)一所房子時，我的耳朵便豎了起來。
3. Was smoke that led him to the hut. As he draw closer it, he noticed a doll nailedto a tree, weaved from twigs. As he followed the path, he saw that there was more trees and more dolls. Curious, he keep on the path till he come to an open space. At the centre was a hut. The smoke was coming from a pile of branches set at the edge of the open space the fire long smothered. He then noted the sound of bone crunching beneath his heels as he approached the house. Then he saw someone.
跟隨著煙霧，他向著那間小屋走去。當他更靠近小屋時，他注意到一棵樹上用釘子固定著一個用樹枝編織而成的玩偶。沿著小路繼續(xù)前行，他看到有更多的樹木和更多的玩偶。在好奇心的驅(qū)使下，他繼續(xù)沿著小路前行，直到他來到一片空地。空地的中央有一間小屋。煙霧來自空地邊緣的一堆燃燒過但已熄滅很長時間的樹枝。然后，隨著他走近那所房子，他又注意到了自己腳跟下嘎吱作響的骨頭。此時，他看到了一個人。
4. It was a woman. She was young. Couldn’t be more than thirty, Stew say –Her hair loose in wiry kinkles. Stew wanted a closer look at the young lady. When the woman spotted him, he thought she was gonna scamper away. It was only then he noticed how stick-thin she was. Cheeks sallow and sunken, almost like a carcass. Her feet remain planted on the ground, but he could see her toes wiggling nervously. Suddenly, he regretted coming up to this woman. ‘So what you do after?’ Mano cut in. ‘What y’think? Turn round and buss outta there one time! Woman coulda be La Diablesse for all I know.’
是一位年輕女子。斯圖說她的細絲卷發(fā)散落在肩上，年齡肯定不到三十。斯圖想仔細看看這位年輕女士。當女子發(fā)現(xiàn)他時，他以為她會跑開。此時，他才注意到她是多么的骨瘦如柴。她雙頰凹陷，幾乎像一具干尸。她的雙腳仍然在地面上一動不動，像長了根一樣，但他可以看到她的腳趾正在緊張地扭動著。突然間，他有一種后悔走近這個女人的想法?！澳悄阒笞隽耸裁矗俊瘪R諾插話道。“你覺得呢？當然是轉(zhuǎn)身就跑！據(jù)我所知，女人都可能是惡魔。

5. I felt a weight drop in my stomach. Just something about the story throw me off – I couldn’t explain it at the time. I excused myself and went back to my car to take a smoke. Later that night, when we was ready to go home, I pull Stew aside and asked him about the hiking route. He was hesitant at first and, for a moment, I wondered if he made the whole thing up. I was halfway hoping that he was. He gave in, however, and mapped it out for me. When he was done, he gave me a look like I was crazy. To me, it wasn’t craziness. It was clarity. My mind was set. Was then I realized it was a long time since I actually wanted to do anything.
我感到心里咯噔一下，像是一塊大石頭掉了下來。是因為這個故事的一些情節(jié)讓我有些不知所措——我當時無法解釋這一點。我給自己找了個借口，回到車上吸了根煙。那天晚上的晚些時候，當我們準備回家時，我把斯圖拉到一邊，向他詢問那次徒步行的路線。起初他有些猶豫，讓我有那么一會兒覺得整個故事都是他編的，甚至中途有些希望這個故事真的是他編造的。不過，最終他讓步了，并為我繪制了一張去那里的地圖。繪制完地圖后，他給了我一個表情，似乎在表達我瘋了。對我來說，這并不是瘋狂，而是明晰。我做出了決定，同時也意識到我已經(jīng)很久沒有真正想做某件事情了。
6. I was determined to find this mystery woman. Yessir, I was gonna climb that mountain. The next Monday, I decide to take a day off. I didn’t tell the wife. I drive all the way up to the trail. Ten minutes into it, my legs started to wear out and my water canteen was already runnin dry. It ain’t gonna be long till the rain come down, I remember thinking. A drop of rain hit my nose. Was I really expecting to finish this journey with my body intact? Ain’t many times I been a man without a plan, but that’s why this expedition was feeling so good.
我決心找到那個神秘的女人。是的，我要爬上那座山。下周一，我決定休息一天。我沒把這件事告訴我妻子。我開車一路抵達了那條山路。在山路上步行十分鐘后，我的雙腿開始變得力不從心，水壺里的水也快喝完了。我記得當時在想，天很快就要下雨了。此時，一顆雨滴砸到了我的鼻子上。我真的希望自己毫發(fā)無損地結(jié)束這次旅程嗎？我不是個經(jīng)常沒計劃地做事的人，但這就是這次探險之行感覺如此之好的原因。
7. Without my glasses, everything looked covered in a film of oil. I kept on the path until I spotted the stick doll that Stew was prattling on about. There was a series of them, just as Stew describe, from tree to tree to tree. I followed them and then there it was – the house. My eyes widened – I expected it to vanish in a blink. Something not from this realm. Something not meant for the human eye. I spotted the pile of branches Stew had mentioned – where he seen the smoke rising up. I pushed one of the branches with my boot and something rolled out from under it. I saw what it was but it took a while to register.
因為沒戴眼鏡，在我眼里所有東西看起來都蒙上了一層油。我繼續(xù)沿著山路前行，直到我發(fā)現(xiàn)了斯圖聊到的那個樹枝編織而成的玩偶。而且，正如斯圖所描述的那樣，這里還有很多這樣的樹和這些樹上掛著的玩偶。我跟隨著這些樹和玩偶繼續(xù)前行，終于那所房子出現(xiàn)在我的眼前。我雙目圓睜——擔心一眨眼的功夫它就會消失。這東西不應(yīng)屬于這個地方，不應(yīng)被人眼所見。然后，我發(fā)現(xiàn)了斯圖提到的那堆冒著煙的樹枝。我用靴子推了推其中一根樹枝，從底下滾出了一個東西。我看到它是什么，但又花了好一段時間才確認。
8. It was a skull – the skull of a child. Coated in soot and ash. My eyes fluttered back to the hut. The door opened and a man popped his head out. I dropped the skull and rocketed through the bushes, too fast, tripped, and fell. I was gonna die, I felt it. Crack… The bone pierced right through the skin. It ain’t even look like bone. The rain pouring on the wound. When I caught that glimpse of my broken ankle, my head fell back. The feeling before I passed out – it was like I was falling into the sky. When I woke up, I found myself lying on the ground, four faces staring down at me – an old man, a young lady and two boys. They musta brung me inside the hut. I focused on the boys. Their long hair was tied back and knotted with loops of grass. They was all so scrawny, I coulda see their spines.
這是一個頭骨——一個孩子的頭骨。上面沾滿了煙灰和灰燼。我的眼神飄回到那個小屋。門打開了，里面伸出了一個男人的頭。我丟掉了那個頭骨，飛速地穿過了樹叢，由于速度太快，我被絆倒了。我會死的，我感覺到了。咔嚓......我的骨頭刺穿了我的皮膚。甚至看起來穿透我皮膚的不像骨頭。雨水傾瀉而下澆在我的傷口上。當我看到我已經(jīng)骨折的腳踝時，我的頭便倒了下去?；璧骨?，我感覺自己就像落入了空中。當我醒來時，我發(fā)現(xiàn)自己躺在地上，四張臉正盯著我——一位老翁、一位年輕女士和兩個男孩。他們肯定把我?guī)нM了屋里。我仔細地觀察了那兩個男孩。他們倆都留著長發(fā)，并用草環(huán)在背后扎成了鞭子。他們倆都骨瘦如柴，我甚至可以看到他們脊柱。
9. The old man say to me, ‘Bad fall y’had, brudda. Y’come here to kill y’self, eh?’ He laughed. ‘What side y’come? I didn’t answer. I coulda barely breathe, much less speak. ‘I take you to Lluengo,’ the man say. ‘Lil village near the coast, y’know it? Nice people in Lluengo, y’know.’ ‘You always live here?’ I say. ‘Not always,’ he say. ‘F’now, I stay here. Y’pity we for livin in bush, eh?’ the old man say. ‘I ain’t pity. Just curious.’
那位老翁對我說：“孩子，你摔得很慘。你是來這里自殺的嗎？”他笑了起來，然后接著問我：“你從哪來的？”我沒有回答他。我?guī)缀鯚o法呼吸，更不用說講話了?！拔?guī)闳luengo，”老翁說，“靠近海岸的Lil村，你知道那里嗎？你知道，Lluengo那里的人都很友好?！薄澳恢弊≡谶@里？”我說?！安皇且恢?，”他說，“目前我住在這里。你是感到我們住在叢林里很可憐，是嗎？”老翁說。“不是這個意思，只是好奇而已，”我回答說。
10. To this day, I ain’t sure how much time passed before it was time to go. The old man was scrawny but strong. He slung his arm round my neck to balance me as we made a path through the forest. Figured it woulda be nightfall by the time we reach civilization, but it was barely twilight. The old man ain’t dare step foot outta the forest, though. Once the first road came into sight, he tell me, ‘We part ways here.’
直到這天，我還不清楚還要多長時間我才能回家。這位老翁雖然骨瘦如柴但很是強壯。當我們穿過森林時，他用胳膊摟在我的脖子上，幫我保持平衡。可以想到，夜幕降臨時我們才能夠抵達文明世界，但此時已見暮色。但，這位老翁卻不敢踏出森林?！爱斠姷降谝粭l大路時，”他告訴我，“我們就立刻分道揚鑣?！?br />And that was that. The sun was setting and I was miles away from home, but hell, I remember thinking, I’m alive. Two weeks passed since meeting the man and his family. While I was in the hospital, I finally managed to tell the wife the story. But she ain’t want to hear nothing of it. She just kept interrupting with, ‘But how you, a big old horse, could lie through your teeth and say you was goin to work!’. I was amazed how much she didn’t care about the events in between. Not even the children coulda budge from their iPads to hear me out.
就這樣。太陽落山時，我離家只有幾英里遠了。但是，天啊，我居然還記得思考，我還活著。自從與那位老翁及他的家人見面已經(jīng)過去了兩周時間。當我在醫(yī)院時，我終于努力著想把這個故事講給我妻子聽。但她根本聽不進去。她只是不停地打斷我的話：“但，你個家伙怎么能對我撒謊，還說你是去上班了！”我很驚訝她怎么這么不在乎這段時間究竟發(fā)生了什么。甚至孩子們都不愿意放下他們手中的iPad，聽我把故事講完。
11. I couldn’t believe it. I had something – I finally had something! Not just a story. I had a tale, a damn good one, and nobody didn’t care to hear it! When I finally got discharged on the Thursday, I rang up the fellas and we organized a lime at the Tricky Jester. Drinks was on me and believe me, I had the most. After the second round, I started telling the story. Every detail. The trail, the rain, the house. It was going good until I get to the two children. And then there was no more smiles.
簡直不敢相信。我想到了一些東西——我終于想到了一些東西！不僅僅是一個講述事實的故事。而是一個精彩的故事，一個棒極了的故事，每個人都想聽的故事！最后，當我在周四出院后，我打電話給我的那些伙伴，然后我們在機警的杰斯特俱樂部組織了一次活動。飲品的花費全由我出，相信我，我出的大頭。第二場結(jié)束后，我開始講故事——每個細節(jié)：小徑、雨水、房子。一切進展順利，直到我說到那兩個孩子。此時，人們臉上的笑容全部消失了。
12. I ordered another round and decided to tell them about the skull. ‘A human skull?’ Mano asked, breaking the silence. ‘Yeah, boy, Mano, couldn’t be no animal, telling you! That was as human as human coulda be!’ The silence deepen and deepen as I went along. Was it the way I was telling it, I wondered? Was I too drunk? Was I forcing it? When the evening was done, the fellas just patted my back and said, ‘We just glad you come out in one piece, boy.’ Things was quiet for a few days till I switch on the news one night and I see the forest family on TV. The old man and the woman in handcuffs. I just shut my damn mouth for now and let the world turn.
我又訂了一場，決定把頭骨的事情講給他們聽?！叭祟惖念^骨？”馬諾打破沉默問道。“是的，馬諾老弟，肯定不是動物的，我告訴你！跟人類的一模一樣！”隨著我故事的進展，沉默的氛圍不斷加深。我很納悶是不是我講故事的方式出了問題？是因為我喝醉了嗎？是不是我用力過猛了？活動結(jié)束后，伙伴們只是拍了拍我的后背，說：“我們很高興你能完好無損地從那里出來，伙計?！苯?jīng)過幾天的平靜，一天晚上我在電視上看到了一則新聞，里面有叢林里的那家人——那位老翁和那個女人雙雙戴著手銬。我現(xiàn)在只能閉上我的那張嘴，再也不對任何人提起。