他小心翼翼地看了看她的睡袋，睡袋已經空了。阿蘭一下子僵住了。隨后，漸漸地，他又放松了。現在剛過8點，她也許是找地方方便去了。他平靜地、憂郁地等待著，爾后還是不見她回來，就心急火燎起來。阿蘭慌忙從睡袋里掙扎出來，開始在寺院里四處尋找。但蹤跡皆無。

Panic set in as Alan scoured the grounds again and drew a blank for the second time. It was becoming increasingly obvious that she had walked out on him and was probably climbing down to Tom. But rather than feeling anger, Alan simply felt desolate. She hadn’t even left him a note. He went over and touched the inside of her sleeping bag. It felt cold.

當阿蘭再次驚慌失措四處尋找仍然一無所獲的時候，顯然她已經不辭而別，很可能是下山找湯姆去了。阿蘭感到的與其說是生氣，倒不如說孤獨。她甚至連一張紙也沒有給他留下。他走過去將手伸進她的睡袋，里面冷冰冰的。

Surely she wouldn’t find her way back alone. Alan began to search again, this time through the tangled thickets of what might have been a herb garden. Something caught his eye. Lying on the ground was a small, shiny object. It was Alice’s bracelet.

她肯定無法獨自找到回路。阿蘭又開始找起來。這一次通過雜草叢生的灌木叢。某個東西引起了他的注意。躺在地上的是一個小小的、光亮的東西。那是愛麗絲的手鐲。

Suddenly real fear clutched at him. Someone had come and abducted her. Or had Tom come to find her? But the bracelet?

突然，一種真正的恐懼襲上他的心頭，一定是有人拐走了她，或者是湯姆來找她的？可是，手鐲又怎么講呢？

“Please God,”Alan muttered. “Let her be safe.”“Why hadn’t he looked after her? Why hadn’t he been able to reassure her? Alan now realized how he had locked himself into his own shell of rejection and jealousy. Tom no longer seemed a threat. All Alan wanted was Alice, and if only he could find her they would talk and talk and talk.”

“求求你，上帝，”阿蘭喃喃道，“保佑她平安。”為什么他沒有照顧她？為什么他沒有安慰她？現在阿蘭才意識到他以前是如何將自己鎖進一個妒忌和沮喪的空殼里？湯姆看起來似乎不再是一種威脅。阿蘭所想的全都是愛麗絲，只要能找到她，他們就會傾心長談。

For the fourth time he began to search the grounds, the bracelet in his hands. Then , in a crevice on the broken stones of the terrace, he saw something bright and beady. Alice’s ring. And he knew how tight on her finger it was. Sweat ran down Alan’s face.

他開始第四次在地上尋找，千里拿著那只手鐲，隨后在一排房屋堆砌的石頭縫里，他看見一件東西在發光——是愛麗絲的戒指，而且他知道那是緊緊地戴在她的手上的呀。阿蘭的汗從臉上流了下來。

“Alice,”he cried out. “Alice!?” No response. Alan began to run.

“愛麗絲，”他喊道，“愛麗絲！”沒有回音。阿蘭開始跑了起來。

It was only when he was back at the front door of the monastery that he realized there was one place he had not been to. His heart thumping and his throat dry, he went down the steps.

正當他驚恐地返回到那座廟的前門時，他意識到還有一個地方他沒有去找。他的心砰砰直跳，嗓子發干。他走下臺階。

Now he ran eagerly forward, pushing his way through the foliage. He gave a gasp of relief. She was there, lying on the pine needles.

他急不可待地跑上前，推開樹葉，看到她在那里，躺在松葉上，心里松了一口氣。

“Alice.”

“愛麗絲。”

She woke slowly, sleepily, stretching in the sun. “Sorry—I fell asleep.”

她慢慢地醒來了，睡眼朦朦地在太陽下伸伸懶腰。“對不起——我睡著了。”

“Where the hell have you been?”

“你究竟到哪里去了？”

“I went for a walk.”

“我出去走了走。”

He held up the bracelet and the ring.“I found these.”He was angry, positive. She looked away.“Come on .Why did you do it?”I’ve been searching for you. I thought—I thought you’d been kidnapped or something. Been hurt?

他舉起手鐲和戒指。“我找到了這些東西。”他很生氣，這一點是肯定的。她轉移了視線。“得了吧，你為什么這樣做？我一直在找你，我還以為——我還以為你被綁架或者別的什么了呢。受到了什么傷害了嗎？”

“I’m sorry.”

“對不起。”

“That’s not enough.”

“說‘對不起’就夠了。”

“I laid a trail.”

“我留有痕跡。”