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ONE
第一章
ON THE THIRD NIGHT AFTER THE DAY HER FATHER DIED, LIESL SAW THE GHOST.
在她的父亲去世后的第三天晚上，丽莎看见了鬼魂。
She was lying in bed in the uniform gray darkness of her small attic room when in one corner the shadows seemed to crimp, or flex, and suddenly standing next to her wobbly desk and three-legged chair was a person about her height.It was as though the darkness was a sheet of raw cookie dough and someone had just taken a cookie cutter and made a child-sized shape out of it.
她躺在床上，均匀而一成不变的灰寂夜色充满了她小小的阁楼。某个角落里的影子似乎是被挤压或是收缩了，然后突然间，在她那摇摇欲坠的书桌和三脚椅旁边就站了一个和她差不多高的小人。这就好像黑暗是一大块用来做曲奇饼干的生面团，而刚刚有人拿着饼切切割出一个孩子的形状来。
Liesl sat up, alarmed.
丽莎惊恐地坐起来。
"What are you?"she whispered into the darkness, even though she knew it was a ghost.Normal people do not appear out of darkness, nor seem to be made of liquid shadow.Besides, she had read about ghosts.She read a lot in her little attic room.There was not much else to do.
“你究竟是什么？”她对着黑暗低语，即使她知道那是一个鬼魂。普通人可不会从黑暗中冒出来或者看上去像是由液态的影子组成的。况且，她以前读过鬼故事。就在她那小小的阁楼里，她读了很多类似的书。除此之外，也没什么别的事情可做了。
第一章
ON THE THIRD NIGHT AFTER THE DAY HER FATHER DIED, LIESL SAW THE GHOST.
在她的父亲去世后的第三天晚上，丽莎看见了鬼魂。
She was lying in bed in the uniform gray darkness of her small attic room when in one corner the shadows seemed to crimp, or flex, and suddenly standing next to her wobbly desk and three-legged chair was a person about her height.It was as though the darkness was a sheet of raw cookie dough and someone had just taken a cookie cutter and made a child-sized shape out of it.
她躺在床上，均匀而一成不变的灰寂夜色充满了她小小的阁楼。某个角落里的影子似乎是被挤压或是收缩了，然后突然间，在她那摇摇欲坠的书桌和三脚椅旁边就站了一个和她差不多高的小人。这就好像黑暗是一大块用来做曲奇饼干的生面团，而刚刚有人拿着饼切切割出一个孩子的形状来。
Liesl sat up, alarmed.
丽莎惊恐地坐起来。
"What are you?"she whispered into the darkness, even though she knew it was a ghost.Normal people do not appear out of darkness, nor seem to be made of liquid shadow.Besides, she had read about ghosts.She read a lot in her little attic room.There was not much else to do.
“你究竟是什么？”她对着黑暗低语，即使她知道那是一个鬼魂。普通人可不会从黑暗中冒出来或者看上去像是由液态的影子组成的。况且，她以前读过鬼故事。就在她那小小的阁楼里，她读了很多类似的书。除此之外，也没什么别的事情可做了。
"Po,"the ghost said,"My name is Po."
“阿宝。”鬼魂说道，“我叫阿宝。”
"Where did you come from?"Liesl asked.
“你从哪儿来？”丽莎问。
"From the Other Side,"the ghost said, as though it were obvious, as though he were saying"from downstairs," or"from Oak Street," or some other place she knew.
“彼岸。”鬼魂回答，神情自然得好像那是显而易见的，好像它说的是 “我是楼下的”抑或“我从橡树大街来”，或者是某些她知道的地方。
"Are you a girl or a boy?"Liesl was wearing the same thin nightshirt she had been wearing since Tuesday, when her father died, and it occurred to her that if the ghost was a boy, she should cover up.
“你是男孩还是女孩？”丽莎这才想到，自从星期二、她父亲去世以来，自己一直穿着同一件单薄的睡衣，如果眼前的鬼魂是个男孩，那她有必要用被子盖住自己。
“Neither,”the ghost replied.
“都不是。”鬼魂回答道。
Liesl was startled."You have to be one or the other."
丽莎很惊讶，“你必须得是男孩或是女孩。”
“I don't have to be anything,”the ghost replied, sounding irritated."I am what I am and that's all.Things are different on the Other Side, you know.Things are...blurrier."
“我不必成为其中任何一种。”鬼魂有些恼怒地回答道，“我就是我，就这样。在彼岸，一切都是不同的，你必须得明白。事物的界限总是更加……模糊不清。”
"But what did you used to be?" Liesl pressed. "You know ...before?"
“那你以前是什么呢？”丽莎步步紧逼，“你知道……从前吗？”
Po stared at Liesl for a while. At least, she thought the ghost stared at her. It didn't really have eyes, exactly. Just two folds of even deeper darkness where its eyes might be.
阿宝注视着丽莎。起码，她是这么觉得的。确切来说，它并不真的拥有眼睛。在它眼睛的位置上，只有两个颜色较深的黑洞取而代之。
"I don't remember,"it said finally.
“我不记得了。”它终于说道。
“阿宝。”鬼魂说道，“我叫阿宝。”
"Where did you come from?"Liesl asked.
“你从哪儿来？”丽莎问。
"From the Other Side,"the ghost said, as though it were obvious, as though he were saying"from downstairs," or"from Oak Street," or some other place she knew.
“彼岸。”鬼魂回答，神情自然得好像那是显而易见的，好像它说的是 “我是楼下的”抑或“我从橡树大街来”，或者是某些她知道的地方。
"Are you a girl or a boy?"Liesl was wearing the same thin nightshirt she had been wearing since Tuesday, when her father died, and it occurred to her that if the ghost was a boy, she should cover up.
“你是男孩还是女孩？”丽莎这才想到，自从星期二、她父亲去世以来，自己一直穿着同一件单薄的睡衣，如果眼前的鬼魂是个男孩，那她有必要用被子盖住自己。
“Neither,”the ghost replied.
“都不是。”鬼魂回答道。
Liesl was startled."You have to be one or the other."
丽莎很惊讶，“你必须得是男孩或是女孩。”
“I don't have to be anything,”the ghost replied, sounding irritated."I am what I am and that's all.Things are different on the Other Side, you know.Things are...blurrier."
“我不必成为其中任何一种。”鬼魂有些恼怒地回答道，“我就是我，就这样。在彼岸，一切都是不同的，你必须得明白。事物的界限总是更加……模糊不清。”
"But what did you used to be?" Liesl pressed. "You know ...before?"
“那你以前是什么呢？”丽莎步步紧逼，“你知道……从前吗？”
Po stared at Liesl for a while. At least, she thought the ghost stared at her. It didn't really have eyes, exactly. Just two folds of even deeper darkness where its eyes might be.
阿宝注视着丽莎。起码，她是这么觉得的。确切来说，它并不真的拥有眼睛。在它眼睛的位置上，只有两个颜色较深的黑洞取而代之。
"I don't remember,"it said finally.
“我不记得了。”它终于说道。
“Oh,” Liesl said. Next to Po, an even smaller portion of darkness seemed to crimp and flex, and then there was a noise in the corner, a cross between the meow of a cat and the yip of a small dog. "And what's that?" Liesl asked.
“哇。”丽莎叫道。阿宝的旁边似乎有一团小黑影正在挤压和收缩成形，接着角落里传来一种介于猫的喵呜声和小狗的吠叫之间的叫声。“那又是什么？”丽莎问道。
Po looked toward the place where its feet had once been. "That's Bundle."
阿宝看向它的脚刚刚所处的位置。“那是邦多。”
Liesl sat forward. She had never had any kind of pet, not even when her father was alive and well, which was ages and ages ago, before he met Augusta, Liesl's stepmother. "Is it yours?"
丽莎稍稍往前坐了点。她从未养过任何宠物，哪怕是在很久很久以前，她的父亲还身强力壮、充满活力的时候也没有。那会儿她的父亲还不曾遇见丽莎的继母奥古丝塔。“它是你的吗？”
"Nothing belongs to anyone on the Other Side," Po said.Liesl thought the ghost sounded superior.Then Po added, "But Bundle comes with me wherever I go."
“在彼岸，一切都是自由的。”阿宝说。丽莎感受到了鬼魂话语中流露出来的优越感。接着阿宝补充道，“不过，无论我去哪里，邦多总是跟着我。”
"Is it a dog or a cat?" The little ghost-pet was now making a kind of purring noise in the back of its throat. It slid silently across the room and stared up at Liesl. She could just make out a shaggy head of untrimmed shadow, and two pointed bits of darkness that could have been ears, and two stripes of pale silver moonlight that looked like eyes.
“它是狗或者猫吗？”这只小小的鬼魂宠物正从自己的喉咙底部发出一种类似于呼噜的声音。它轻巧而安静地滑过房间，抬起头来凝视着丽莎。她只能辨认出那影子有着乱蓬蓬的未经修剪的毛发，两个尖尖的阴影应该是它的耳朵，还有两条盛满了黯淡的银色月光的眼睛，起码看上去是那样。
“I told you,”Po said, "it isn't one or the other. It's just Bundle. On the Other Side—"
“我说过了，”阿宝说着，“它不是其中任何一种。它就是邦多。在彼岸——”
“Things are blurry, I know,” Liesl cut in. She was quiet for a moment, and then seemed struck by an idea. "Are you here to haunt me?"
“事物的界限总是模糊不清的，我知道。”丽莎截过话头。她沉默了一会儿，看来是想到了什么。“你来这里是为了折磨我吗？”
“哇。”丽莎叫道。阿宝的旁边似乎有一团小黑影正在挤压和收缩成形，接着角落里传来一种介于猫的喵呜声和小狗的吠叫之间的叫声。“那又是什么？”丽莎问道。
Po looked toward the place where its feet had once been. "That's Bundle."
阿宝看向它的脚刚刚所处的位置。“那是邦多。”
Liesl sat forward. She had never had any kind of pet, not even when her father was alive and well, which was ages and ages ago, before he met Augusta, Liesl's stepmother. "Is it yours?"
丽莎稍稍往前坐了点。她从未养过任何宠物，哪怕是在很久很久以前，她的父亲还身强力壮、充满活力的时候也没有。那会儿她的父亲还不曾遇见丽莎的继母奥古丝塔。“它是你的吗？”
"Nothing belongs to anyone on the Other Side," Po said.Liesl thought the ghost sounded superior.Then Po added, "But Bundle comes with me wherever I go."
“在彼岸，一切都是自由的。”阿宝说。丽莎感受到了鬼魂话语中流露出来的优越感。接着阿宝补充道，“不过，无论我去哪里，邦多总是跟着我。”
"Is it a dog or a cat?" The little ghost-pet was now making a kind of purring noise in the back of its throat. It slid silently across the room and stared up at Liesl. She could just make out a shaggy head of untrimmed shadow, and two pointed bits of darkness that could have been ears, and two stripes of pale silver moonlight that looked like eyes.
“它是狗或者猫吗？”这只小小的鬼魂宠物正从自己的喉咙底部发出一种类似于呼噜的声音。它轻巧而安静地滑过房间，抬起头来凝视着丽莎。她只能辨认出那影子有着乱蓬蓬的未经修剪的毛发，两个尖尖的阴影应该是它的耳朵，还有两条盛满了黯淡的银色月光的眼睛，起码看上去是那样。
“I told you,”Po said, "it isn't one or the other. It's just Bundle. On the Other Side—"
“我说过了，”阿宝说着，“它不是其中任何一种。它就是邦多。在彼岸——”
“Things are blurry, I know,” Liesl cut in. She was quiet for a moment, and then seemed struck by an idea. "Are you here to haunt me?"
“事物的界限总是模糊不清的，我知道。”丽莎截过话头。她沉默了一会儿，看来是想到了什么。“你来这里是为了折磨我吗？”
"Why did you stop drawing?" Po asked.
“为什么你不画画了？”阿宝问。
Liesl had been temporarily distracted from thinking about her father. But now she remembered, and a heavy feeling came over her, and she lay back down in her bed.
丽莎一直想尽办法使自己暂时分心，不再去想她的父亲。然而现在她记起来了，同时一种万分沉重的感觉抓住了她的心脏，这让她不得不重又躺回自己的床上。
"Haven't felt like it," she answered.
“我不想画了。”她答道。
Po was suddenly at her bedside, just another shadow skating across her room.
一个影子滑过她的房间，忽然间阿宝就来到了她的床边。
"Why?"
“为什么？”
Liesl sighed."My father is dead."
丽莎叹道，“我的父亲死了。”
Po didn't say anything.
阿宝沉默了。
Liesl went on, "He was sick for a very long time.He was in the hospital."
丽莎继续说道，“他曾久病不起，一直住在医院里。”
Po still didn't say anything. Bundle raised itself up on two hind legs of shadow and seemed to look at Liesl with its moonlight eyes.
阿宝还是什么都没说。邦多抬起自己的两条后腿坐立起来，似乎是在用自己浸满月光的双眼看着她。
Liesl added, "My stepmother wouldn't let me see him. She told me—she told me he did not want me to see him like that, sick. But I wouldn't have minded.I just wanted to say good-bye. But I couldn't, I didn't, and now I won't ever see him again." Liesl felt a tremendous pressure pushing at the back of her throat, so she squeezed her eyes shut and spelled the word ineffable three times in her head, as she always did when she was trying not to cry.
丽莎又说，“我的继母不许我去看他。她说——她说他不愿让我见到他疾病缠身的模样。但我根本不在乎。我只想跟他说一声再见。但我没有办法，最终也没有做到，现在我再也看不到他了。”她感受到了无法估量的沉重压力涌上她的喉咙，于是她紧紧闭上自己的双眼，并在脑海中默写了整整三遍“Ineffable（不可言喻的）“以制止自己的眼泪流下，就像她之前所做过的无数次那样。
“为什么你不画画了？”阿宝问。
Liesl had been temporarily distracted from thinking about her father. But now she remembered, and a heavy feeling came over her, and she lay back down in her bed.
丽莎一直想尽办法使自己暂时分心，不再去想她的父亲。然而现在她记起来了，同时一种万分沉重的感觉抓住了她的心脏，这让她不得不重又躺回自己的床上。
"Haven't felt like it," she answered.
“我不想画了。”她答道。
Po was suddenly at her bedside, just another shadow skating across her room.
一个影子滑过她的房间，忽然间阿宝就来到了她的床边。
"Why?"
“为什么？”
Liesl sighed."My father is dead."
丽莎叹道，“我的父亲死了。”
Po didn't say anything.
阿宝沉默了。
Liesl went on, "He was sick for a very long time.He was in the hospital."
丽莎继续说道，“他曾久病不起，一直住在医院里。”
Po still didn't say anything. Bundle raised itself up on two hind legs of shadow and seemed to look at Liesl with its moonlight eyes.
阿宝还是什么都没说。邦多抬起自己的两条后腿坐立起来，似乎是在用自己浸满月光的双眼看着她。
Liesl added, "My stepmother wouldn't let me see him. She told me—she told me he did not want me to see him like that, sick. But I wouldn't have minded.I just wanted to say good-bye. But I couldn't, I didn't, and now I won't ever see him again." Liesl felt a tremendous pressure pushing at the back of her throat, so she squeezed her eyes shut and spelled the word ineffable three times in her head, as she always did when she was trying not to cry.
丽莎又说，“我的继母不许我去看他。她说——她说他不愿让我见到他疾病缠身的模样。但我根本不在乎。我只想跟他说一声再见。但我没有办法，最终也没有做到，现在我再也看不到他了。”她感受到了无法估量的沉重压力涌上她的喉咙，于是她紧紧闭上自己的双眼，并在脑海中默写了整整三遍“Ineffable（不可言喻的）“以制止自己的眼泪流下，就像她之前所做过的无数次那样。
“On where?”
"去哪儿？"
"On. To other place. To Beyond." When it was irritated, the ghost became easier to see, as its silhouette flared somewhat along the edges. "How should I know?"
“就是继续前行。去其他一些超越彼岸的地方。”当鬼魂恼火的时候，它的轮廓边缘就会微微闪光，使它更容易被看见。“我怎么知道？”
"But do you think you could find out? "Liesl sat up on her knees and stared at Po intently. "Please? Could you just—could you just ask?"
“那么你觉得你能找到他吗？”丽莎支起膝盖坐起来，直直地望着阿宝，“求你了？你可以就帮忙问问吗？”
"Maybe." Po did not want to get the girl*s hopes up. The Other Side was vast and filled with ghosts. Even on the Living Side, Po could still feel the Other Side expanding in all directions, had a sense of new people crossing over endlessly into its dark and twisting corridors. And people lost shapes quickly on the Other Side, and memories, too: They became blurry, as Po had said. They became a part of darkness, of the vast spaces between stars. They became like the invisible side of the moon.
“或许吧。”阿宝并不希望眼前的女孩的希望落空。彼岸广阔无边、充满了形形色色的鬼魂。即使身处人类世界，阿宝还是能够感受到来自彼岸不断膨胀扩大的压力，意识到又有新鲜的死人步入彼岸那黑暗而又无尽的回廊之中。初入彼岸的人们很快就会失去自己原来的形态和记忆：他们的身形渐渐变得模糊不清，就像阿宝之前所说的那样。他们渐渐成为星际之间那块广阔空间的黑暗的一部分。渐渐变得像月亮隐藏着的另一边。
But Po knew the girl wouldn*t understand any of this if it tried to explain, so it just said, "Maybe. I can try."
但阿宝清楚地知道，即使它解释了，这个女孩也不可能听懂这些。它只好说道，“或许我可以试试。”
“Thank you!”
“谢谢你！”
"I said I would try, that*s all.I didn*t say I could."
“我说的是我会试试，但也仅此而已。我不一定能够做到。”
"Still, thank you." Liesl felt hopeful for the first time since her father had died. It had been ever so long since anyone had tried to do anything for her—not since her father had been well, at least, before Augusta had decided that Liesl must move to the attic. And that was months upon months ago: a tower of months, so that when Liesl tried to remember her life before the attic, her memory grew slimmer and slimmer as though it was being stretched, and snapped before it could reach the ground.
“无论如何，我还是要谢谢你。”自从她的父亲去世以后，丽莎第一次感到内心充满希望。已经很久没有人试着为她做某件事了——即使是在她的父亲身强体壮的时候，至少是在奥古丝塔坚持要她搬进阁楼以来，都没有过。那已经是数月之前，因此每当丽莎想要回忆起阁楼以前的生活，她的记忆都会变得无比单薄，虽然它已经尽力伸长，却还是在到达地面之前无奈断裂。
"去哪儿？"
"On. To other place. To Beyond." When it was irritated, the ghost became easier to see, as its silhouette flared somewhat along the edges. "How should I know?"
“就是继续前行。去其他一些超越彼岸的地方。”当鬼魂恼火的时候，它的轮廓边缘就会微微闪光，使它更容易被看见。“我怎么知道？”
"But do you think you could find out? "Liesl sat up on her knees and stared at Po intently. "Please? Could you just—could you just ask?"
“那么你觉得你能找到他吗？”丽莎支起膝盖坐起来，直直地望着阿宝，“求你了？你可以就帮忙问问吗？”
"Maybe." Po did not want to get the girl*s hopes up. The Other Side was vast and filled with ghosts. Even on the Living Side, Po could still feel the Other Side expanding in all directions, had a sense of new people crossing over endlessly into its dark and twisting corridors. And people lost shapes quickly on the Other Side, and memories, too: They became blurry, as Po had said. They became a part of darkness, of the vast spaces between stars. They became like the invisible side of the moon.
“或许吧。”阿宝并不希望眼前的女孩的希望落空。彼岸广阔无边、充满了形形色色的鬼魂。即使身处人类世界，阿宝还是能够感受到来自彼岸不断膨胀扩大的压力，意识到又有新鲜的死人步入彼岸那黑暗而又无尽的回廊之中。初入彼岸的人们很快就会失去自己原来的形态和记忆：他们的身形渐渐变得模糊不清，就像阿宝之前所说的那样。他们渐渐成为星际之间那块广阔空间的黑暗的一部分。渐渐变得像月亮隐藏着的另一边。
But Po knew the girl wouldn*t understand any of this if it tried to explain, so it just said, "Maybe. I can try."
但阿宝清楚地知道，即使它解释了，这个女孩也不可能听懂这些。它只好说道，“或许我可以试试。”
“Thank you!”
“谢谢你！”
"I said I would try, that*s all.I didn*t say I could."
“我说的是我会试试，但也仅此而已。我不一定能够做到。”
"Still, thank you." Liesl felt hopeful for the first time since her father had died. It had been ever so long since anyone had tried to do anything for her—not since her father had been well, at least, before Augusta had decided that Liesl must move to the attic. And that was months upon months ago: a tower of months, so that when Liesl tried to remember her life before the attic, her memory grew slimmer and slimmer as though it was being stretched, and snapped before it could reach the ground.
“无论如何，我还是要谢谢你。”自从她的父亲去世以后，丽莎第一次感到内心充满希望。已经很久没有人试着为她做某件事了——即使是在她的父亲身强体壮的时候，至少是在奥古丝塔坚持要她搬进阁楼以来，都没有过。那已经是数月之前，因此每当丽莎想要回忆起阁楼以前的生活，她的记忆都会变得无比单薄，虽然它已经尽力伸长，却还是在到达地面之前无奈断裂。
