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"Sunny and Johnston don't know sbout it," he said. "None of the people know that we met since we moved. It seemed as if it might work better that way. Even the other kids—they don't hardly ever mention him. Never mention his name."
“赛妮和约翰斯顿并不知道这件事。”他说，“从我们搬走之后认识的人中没人知道这些。好像这样更好一些。甚至其他孩子——他们几乎不曾再提起他，从来不提他的名字。”
I was not one of the people among whom they would make their new, hard, normal life. I was a person who knew—that was all. A person he had, on his own, who knew.
我不属于那些他们可以结交到的、可以展开他们崭新而又艰难的普通生活的朋友。我是了解他一切的人，一个他自己拥有的、了解他的朋友。
While we were driving back, Mike and I both noticed, and spoke about, al prickling, an itch or burning, on our bare forearms, the backs of our hands, and around our ankles. Places that had not been protected by our clothing when we crouched in the weeds. I remembered the nettles. But those plants with the big pinkish-purple flowers are not nettles. I have since discoveied that they are called joe-pye weed. The stinging nettles that we must have got into are more insignificant plants, with stalks wickedly outfitted with fine, fierce, skin-piercing and inflaming spines.
当我们驾车返回时，我和麦克都注意到并大声地说起我们赤裸的前臂、手背和脚踝都有种灼痒和刺痛感。这都是我们蹲在杂草地里时没有衣服保护的部分。我记起了那些荨麻。但那些有着硕大的粉紫色的花的植物并不是荨麻。我后来才发现它们叫斑茎泽兰。我们一定是进到带刺的荨麻丛里了。这些荨麻是些更不起眼儿的植物，它们的茎上阴险地长满着细细的、锋利的能划破人皮肤并能引起发炎的小刺。
Sitting in Sunny's farmhouse kitchen, we told about out adventure and revealed our rashes. Sunny knew what to do for us. On an earlier weekend the boys had gone down into the weedy field behind the barn and come back covered with welts and blotches. Cold compresses were prescribed and antihistamine lotion, and pills. There was still part of a bottle of lotion left and there were some pills, too.
坐在赛妮的农舍厨房里，我们讲述了我们的历险，还展示了我们起的疹子。赛妮知道该为我们做些什么了。以前有一个周末，男孩儿都跑到空地后的杂草地里去，回来时满身污渍和伤痕。大夫吩咐将伤口冷敷，又开了抗组胺药膏和一些药片。现在仍剩着不到一瓶药水和一些药片。
The children thought it was funny to see us sitting there with out feet in basins, our arms and hands clumsy with their wrappings of thick cloths. Claire especially was delighted with the sight of our naked, foolish, adult feet. Mike wriggled his long toes for her, and she broke into fits of alarmed giggles.
孩子们看见我们坐在那，双脚泡在盘里，手和胳膊厚厚地缠着纱布，觉得滑稽极了。克莱尔看见我们光着的大脚尤其高兴。迈克用长脚趾向她慢慢靠近，她就猛地发出一阵警觉似的咯咯的笑声。
Well. It would be the same old thing, if we never met again. Or if we didn't. Love that was not usable, that knew its place. Not risking a thing yet staying alive as a sweet trickle, an underground resource. With the weight of this new stillness on it, this seal.
如果我们能再见的话，也会有同样的结果。爱是不可随便使用的，它清楚自己的位置。爱无须冒风险，它像一股涓涓的甘泉，一份埋在地下的宝藏，永葆鲜活的生命力。
I never asked Sunny for news of him or got any, during all the years of our dwindling friendship.
在我们的友谊逐渐淡化的那些岁月里，我没有再向赛妮询问，也没有得到过任何关于他的消息。
