暮光之城1: 暮色 The Twilight Saga: Twilight
作者：斯蒂芬妮·梅尔 (Stephanie Meyer) [美国]
贝拉是一个与众不同的女孩，她不爱慕虚荣，不会像其他女孩一样追求时髦，也不愿伪装自己刻意去和合不来的同学搞好关系。因为母亲再婚的缘故，贝拉搬去和父亲同住。在新学校里，贝拉遇到了一个名叫爱德华的男孩，他跟贝拉遇见过的所有人都不一样，不仅英俊、聪明、幽默，而且跟贝拉非常有共同点--同样孤独。两人很快就陷入了爱河。然而爱德华的真实身份其实是一个吸血鬼，爱德华和贝拉能有情人终成眷属吗？
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My mother drove me to the airport with the windows rolled down. It was seventy-five degrees in Phoenix, the sky a perfect, cloudless blue. I was wearing my favorite shirt -- sleeveless, white eyelet lace; I was wearing it as a farewell gesture. My carry-on item was a parka.
妈妈开车送我去的机场，一路上车窗都敞开着。凤凰城当天的气温是75华氏度，蔚蓝的天空，万里无云。我穿着自己最喜欢的那件无袖网眼白色蕾丝衬衣；我之所以穿这件衬衫，是用它来跟凤凰城作别的。手上还拎着一件派克式外套。
In the Olympic Peninsula of northwest Washington State, a small town named Forks exists under a near-constant cover of clouds. It rains on this inconsequential town more than any other place in the United States of America. It was from this town and its gloomy, omnipresent shade that my mother escaped with me when I was only a few months old. It was in this town that I'd been compelled to spend a month every summer until I was fourteen. That was the year I finally put my foot down; these past three summers, my dad, Charlie, vacationed with me in California for two weeks instead.
华盛顿州西北的奥林匹克半岛上，有一座名叫福克斯的小镇，那里几乎常年笼罩着乌云。这个微不足道的小镇上的雨水比美利坚的任何地方都要多。妈妈就是从这个小镇那阴郁而又无处躲藏的阴影之下，带着我逃出来的，当时我才几个月。就是这个小镇，我每年夏天都不得不去待上一个月，直到我满十四岁。就是在那一年，我终于拿定主意说不肯去；结果最近三个夏天，爸爸查理没办法只好带我去加利福尼亚度假，在那里过上两个星期。
It was to Forks that I now exiled myself -- an action that I took with great horror. I detested Forks.
我这次自我流放的目的地就是福克斯——采取这次行动令我恐惧不已。 我憎恶福克斯。
I loved Phoenix. I loved the sun and the blistering heat. I loved the vigorous, sprawling city.
我喜爱凤凰城。我喜爱阳光，喜爱酷热。我喜欢这座活力四射、杂乱无章、不断扩张的大城市。
"Bella," my mom said to me -- the last of a thousand times -- before I got on the plane. "You don't have to do this."
"贝拉，"上飞机之前，妈妈对我说，这话她已经说了九百九十九遍了，"你没有必要这样做。"
My mom looks like me, except with short hair and laugh lines. I felt a spasm of panic as I stared at her wide, childlike eyes. How could I leave my loving, erratic, harebrained mother to fend for herself? Of course she had Phil now, so the bills would probably get paid, there would be food in the refrigerator, gas in her car, and someone to call when she got lost, but still…
我长得像我妈妈，但她头发较短，而且脸上带有笑纹。看着她那双天真烂漫的大眼睛，我涌起一阵心痛。我怎么可以撇下我可爱、古怪、率性的母亲，让她独自一人去生活呢？当然，眼下她有菲尔，账单会有人去付，冰箱里会有吃的，汽车没油了有人去加，迷了路也有人可求，但还是……
"I want to go," I lied. I'd always been a bad liar, but I'd been saying this lie so frequently lately that it sounded almost convincing now.
"我真的想去，"我撒了个谎。我一直都不太会说谎话，不过这个谎话最近一直在说，最后连自己都深信不疑了。
"Tell Charlie I said hi." "I will."
"代我向查理问好。" "我会的。"
"I'll see you soon," she insisted. "You can come home whenever you want -- I'll come right back as soon as you need me."
"我很快就会来看你的，"她坚持道，"你想回家的话，随时都可以回——你说一声需要我，我马上就回来。"
But I could see the sacrifice in her eyes behind the promise.
不过，从她眼中我能看出这样的诺言会让她做出怎样的牺牲。
"Don't worry about me," I urged. "It'll be great. I love you, Mom."
"别为我操心，"我劝她，"一切都会很好的。我爱你，妈妈。"
She hugged me tightly for a minute, and then I got on the plane, and she was gone.
她紧紧地搂了我一会儿，然后等我登上了飞机，她才离开。
It's a four-hour flight from Phoenix to Seattle, another hour in a small plane up to Port Angeles, and then an hour drive back down to Forks. Flying doesn't bother me; the hour in the car with Charlie, though, I was a little worried about.
从凤凰城到西雅图要飞四个小时，然后在西雅图换乘小飞机往北飞一个小时到天使港，再南下开一个小的车就到福克斯了。坐飞机我倒不怕；不过，跟查理在车上相处的那一个小时却令我有些担心。
Charlie had really been fairly nice about the whole thing. He seemed genuinely pleased that I was coming to live with him for the first time with any degree of permanence. He'd already gotten me registered for high school and was going to help me get a car.
查理对这件事情的态度从头到尾都非常不错。我第一次来跟他一起生活，即使还有些许做秀的成分，但他似乎真的很高兴。他已经为我在高中注册了，还打算帮我弄辆车。
But it was sure to be awkward with Charlie. Neither of us was what anyone would call verbose, and I didn't know what there was to say regardless. I knew he was more than a little confused by my decision -- like my mother before me, I hadn't made a secret of my distaste for Forks.
但是跟查理在一起肯定会很别扭。我们都不是那种在谁看来都很啰嗦的人，何况，我也不知道有什么好说的。我明白，他被我的决定弄得摸不着头脑了——就像我妈妈在我面前那样，我不喜欢福克斯，这一点我从来都没有掩饰过。
When I landed in Port Angeles, it was raining. I didn't see it as an omen -- just unavoidable. I'd already said my goodbyes to the sun.
飞机在天使港着陆时，天空正在下着雨。我没有把它看作是某种征兆——下雨在福克斯是不可避免的。我已经跟太阳说过再见了。
Charlie was waiting for me with the cruiser. This I was expecting, too. Charlie is Police Chief Swan to the good people of Forks. My primary motivation behind buying a car, despite the scarcity of my funds, was that I refused to be driven around town in a car with red and blue lights on top. Nothing slows down traffic like a cop.
查理开着巡逻车来接我，这也是我预料之中的事。查理·斯旺是福克斯善良人民的斯旺警长。我尽管手头不宽裕，但还是想买辆车，主要就是因为我不想让一辆顶上有红蓝灯的警车拉着我满街跑。交通不畅，警察的功劳谁都望尘莫及。
Charlie gave me an awkward, one armed hug when I stumbled my way off the plane.
我晃晃悠悠地下了飞机以后，查理笨拙地用单手拥抱了我一下。
"It's good to see you, Bells," he said, smiling as he automatically caught and steadied me. "You haven't changed much. How's Renee?"
"见到你很高兴，贝尔，"他不假思索地伸手稳住了我，笑着说，"你变化不大嘛。蕾妮好吗？"
"Mom's fine. It's good to see you, too, Dad." I wasn't allowed to call him Charlie to his face.
"妈妈还好。见到你我也很高兴，爸爸。"他们不让我当着他的面直呼其名，叫他查理。
I had only a few bags. Most of my Arizona clothes were too permeable for Washington. My mom and I had pooled our resources to supplement my winter wardrobe, but it was still scanty. It all fit easily into the trunk of the cruiser.
我只有几个袋子。我在亚利桑那州穿的衣服，对于华盛顿州来说大都太不挡雨了。我和妈妈已经把我们的钱凑起来，给我新添了冬天穿的衣服了，但还是没多少。巡逻车的后备箱轻轻松松就全装下了。
"I found a good car for you, really cheap," he announced when we were strapped in.
"我弄到了一辆适合你开的好车，真的很便宜，"我们系好安全带后，他说。
"What kind of car?" I was suspicious of the way he said "good car for you" as opposed to just "good car."
"什么样的车？"他放着简简单单的"好车"不说，偏说"适合你开的好车"，这让我起了疑心。
"Well, it's a truck actually, a Chevy."
"噢，实际上是一辆卡车，一辆雪佛兰。"
"Where did you find it?"
"在哪儿弄的？"
"Do you remember Billy Black down at La Push?" La Push is the tiny Indian reservation on the coast.
"你记不记得住在拉普什 的比利·布莱克？"拉普什是太平洋岸边的一个很小的印第安人保留区。
"No."
"不记得了。"
"He used to go fishing with us during the summer," Charlie prompted.
"以前夏天他常常跟我们一块儿去钓鱼，"查理提示道。
That would explain why I didn't remember him. I do a good job of blocking painful, unnecessary things from my memory.
难怪我不记得了。不让痛苦、多余的东西进入我的记忆，是我的拿手好戏。
"He's in a wheelchair now," Charlie continued when I didn't respond, "so he can't drive anymore, and he offered to sell me his truck cheap."
"现在他坐轮椅了，"见我没反应，查理继续说道，"所以开不了车了，他主动提出来要便宜卖给我。"
"What year is it?" I could see from his change of expression that this was the question he was hoping I wouldn't ask.
"哪年的车？"从他脸上表情的变化，我看得出这是个他不希望我问的问题。
"Well, Billy's done a lot of work on the engine -- it's only a few years old, really."
"哦，比利已经在发动机上下了大力气了——才几年的车，真的。"
I hoped he didn't think so little of me as to believe I would give up that easily. "When did he buy it?"
我希望他别太小瞧我了，以为我这么轻易就可以打发："他什么时候买的？"
"He bought it in 1984, I think."
"1984年买的，我想是。"
"Did he buy it new?"
"他是买的新车吗？"
"Well, no. I think it was new in the early sixties -- or late fifties at the earliest," he admitted sheepishly.
"哦，不是新车。我想是65年以前的新车——最早也是55年以后的，"他不好意思地承认道。
"Ch -- Dad, I don't really know anything about cars. I wouldn't be able to fix it if anything went wrong, and I couldn't afford a mechanic…"
"查——爸爸，车我可真是一窍不通哟。要是出了什么毛病，我自己可不会修，请人修吧，我又请不起。……"
"Really, Bella, the thing runs great. They don't build them like that anymore."
"真的，贝拉，那家伙棒着呢。现在再也没人能生产这样的车了。"
The thing, I thought to myself… it had possibilities -- as a nickname, at the very least.
那家伙，我思忖道 ……可能有好几种意思——最起码，也是个绰号。
"How cheap is cheap?" After all, that was the part I couldn't compromise on.
"多便宜算便宜啊？"说到底，这才是我不能妥协的地方。
"Well, honey, I kind of already bought it for you. As a homecoming gift." Charlie peeked sideways at me with a hopeful expression.
"噢，宝贝，可以说我已经给你买下了。作为欢迎你回家的礼物。"查理满怀希望地从眼角偷偷瞥了我一眼。
Wow. Free.
哈，免费。
"You didn't need to do that, Dad. I was going to buy myself a car."
"您不必这样破费的，爸爸。我本打算自己买一辆的。"
"I don't mind. I want you to be happy here." He was looking ahead at the road when he said this. Charlie wasn't comfortable with expressing his emotions out loud. I inherited that from him. So I was looking straight ahead as I responded.
"我不介意。我想让你在这儿过得高兴。"说这话的时候，他两眼盯着前面的路。查理不习惯大声表达自己的感情。在这点上，我完全继承了他。所以我回话的时候，也是两眼盯着正前方。
"That's really nice, Dad. Thanks. I really appreciate it." No need to add that my being happy in Forks is an impossibility. He didn't need to suffer along with me. And I never looked a free truck in the mouth -- or engine.
"那样真的太好了，爸爸。谢谢啦。我真的很感激。"没有必要再来一句：我在福克斯会感到高兴那是不可能的事情。他不必跟我一起遭罪。再说，馈赠之马莫看牙——我这白捡的卡车又哪能嫌它的发动机差呢？
"Well, now, you're welcome," he mumbled, embarrassed by my thanks.
"好啦，不必客气了，"他喃喃道，他让我谢得不好意思了。
We exchanged a few more comments on the weather, which was wet, and that was pretty much it for Conversation. We stared out the windows in silence.
我们聊了聊潮湿的天气，这可不是什么可以让人聊个没完的话题。接着，我们默默地看着窗外。
It was beautiful, of course; I couldn't deny that. Everything was green: the trees, their trunks covered with moss, their branches hanging with a canopy of it, the ground covered with ferns. Even the air filtered down greenly through the leaves.
风景当然很漂亮，这一点我不能否认。放眼望去，满眼皆绿：树是绿色的，树干上的苔藓是绿色的，树枝上浓密的树叶是绿色的，地上的蕨类植物也是绿色的。就连从树叶之间滤下的空气，也都染上了一层绿意。
It was too green -- an alien planet.
太绿了——简直是另外一个星球。
Eventually we made it to Charlie's. He still lived in the small, two-bedroom house that he'd bought with my mother in the early days of their marriage. Those were the only kind of days their marriage had -- the early ones. There, parked on the street in front of the house that never changed, was my new -- well, new to me -- truck. It was a faded red color, with big, rounded fenders and a bulbous cab. To my intense surprise, I loved it. I didn't know if it would run, but I could see myself in it. Plus, it was one of those solid iron affairs that never gets damaged -- the kind you see at the scene of an accident, paint unscratched, surrounded by the pieces of the foreign car it had destroyed.
终于，我们到了查理的家。他还住在那套两居的小房子里，是他跟我妈妈在结婚之初买下来的。他们的婚姻也就仅有那么一段日子——新婚燕尔的那几天。在他那一切如昨的房子前面，停着我的新卡车，对了，应该说是对我而言的新卡车。褪了色的红色，圆圆大大的挡泥板，还有一个灯泡形状的驾驶室。大出我意料的是，我竟然很喜欢它。我不知道它开不开得走，但我能从它的身上看到我自己的影子。而且，它是那种结结实实，永远也坏不了的铁疙瘩，就是你在车祸现场看到的那种结实玩意儿：自己身上漆都没蹭掉一点儿，而周围却一片狼藉，全是毁在它手下的外国汽车的碎块儿。
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