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"Shall we go down?" Esme asked in her soft, melodic voice, and I realized I was staring openmouthed after him. I quickly reassembled my expression and nodded. Esme kept a few feet between us, and I wondered if she was still being careful not to frighten me. She matched her stride to mine without seeming impatient at the pace.
“我们要过去了吗？”艾思梅用她温柔的，优美的声线问道，我这才意识到自己一直贪婪地注视着他的背影。我立刻调整好自己的表情，点了点头。艾思梅始终和我保持着几英尺的距离，我怀疑她还在小心翼翼地避免吓着我。她配合着我的步调走着，没有丝毫的不耐烦。
"You don't play with them?" I asked shyly.
“你不和他们一起打球吗？”我羞涩地问道。
"No, I prefer to referee — I like keeping them honest," she explained.
“不，我更喜欢当裁判——我喜欢让他们诚实地比赛。”她解释道。
"Do they like to cheat, then?"
“那么，他们喜欢作弊吗？”
"Oh yes — you should hear the arguments they get into! Actually, I hope you don't, you would think they were raised by a pack of wolves."
“哦是的——你真应该听听他们是怎样吵吵嚷嚷的！事实上，我希望你不必听到，否则你会认为他们是在狼群里长大的。”
"You sound like my mom," I laughed, surprised.
“你说话的语气真像我妈。”我惊讶地大笑起来。
She laughed, too. "Well, I do think of them as my children in most ways. I never could get over my mothering instincts — did Edward tell you I had lost a child?"
她也大笑起来。“好吧，基本上，我确实视他们如己出。我从没能从自己的母性本能中恢复过来——爱德华有没有告诉过你，我失去过一个孩子？”
"No," I murmured, stunned, scrambling to understand what lifetime she was remembering.
“没有。”我大受惊吓，喃喃低语着。我脑子里很混乱，不知道她想起的是哪段人生。
"Yes, my first and only baby. He died just a few days after he was born, the poor tiny thing," she sighed. "It broke my heart that's why I jumped off the cliff, you know," she added matter-of-factly.
“是的，我第一个，也是唯一一个还在。他生下来几天就夭折了，可怜的小东西，”她叹息着说道。“我的心都碎了——所以我才会从悬崖上跳下来，你知道。”她实话实说地补充道。
"Edward just said you f-fell," I stammered.
“爱德华只是说你跳——跳下来了。”我结结巴巴地说道。
"Always the gentleman." She smiled. "Edward was the first of my new sons. I've always thought of him that way, even though he's older than I, in one way at least." She smiled at me warmly. "That's why I'm so happy that he's found you, dear." The endearment sounded very natural on her lips. "He's been the odd man out for far too long; it's hurt me to see him alone."
“他总是那么绅士。”她笑了起来。“爱德华是我新生后的第一个儿子。我总是那样认为的，虽然他比我更为年长，至少在某种程度上来说是这样。”她温和地向我微笑着。“所以，当他找到你的时候，我才会那么的高兴，亲爱的。”她语气里的亲切感是那么的自然。“他独自一人过得太久了，看着他一直单身让我很难过。”
《暮光之城》
与图书题目相得益彰的是，“暮光之城”系列别具匠心的封面设计则很好地传达出了每本书内在的深远寓意。斯蒂芬妮·梅尔指出《暮色》封面上的苹果代表“创世纪” 内善恶树上的禁果。象征贝拉和爱德华之间人类与吸血鬼禁忌的爱恋。在书的开头引用了“创世纪”217页的内容：“只是分别善恶树上的果子，你不可吃，因为你吃的日子必定死。”这同时也代表了贝拉如何分辨善恶——选择是否吃下那颗禁忌的果实，这比喻了选择跟爱德华在一起或远离他。
