His voice was soothing, but Eddie could only stare. He had barely known this man. Why was he seeing him now? He was like one of those faces that pops into your dreams and the next morning you say, "You'll never guess who I dreamed about last night."
他的声音很柔和，但是，爱迪只能瞪着眼睛发愣。他几乎不认识这个人。他为什么现在要见他呢？他就像那种无端端地闯到你梦里的人，第二天早晨醒来，你说：“你怎么也想不到我昨天晚上梦见谁了！”
"Don't be afraid…" the blue man said, rising slowly from his chair. "Don't be afraid…"
“别害怕…”蓝皮人一边说，一边慢慢地从椅子上站起身来。“别害怕…”
"Tell me something," the Blue Man said. He pointed to a two-humped wooden roller coaster in the distance. The Whipper. It was built in the 1920s, before under-friction wheels, meaning the cars couldn't turn very quickly -- unless you wanted them launching off the track. "The Whipper. Is it still the 'fastest ride on earth'?"
“我想问你点事情，”蓝皮人说。他用手指了指远处的一个有双驼峰的木结构“疯狂过山车”。“风驰电掣”。这座游乐车建于二十年代，是摩擦轮出现之前的产物，也就是说，它转弯速度不快——除非你想让它飞出轨道。“‘风驰电掣’还是‘地球上最快的疯狂过山车’吗？”
"Your body feels like a child's, right?"
“你觉得自己的身体就像孩子的一样，是吗？”
"You were a child when you knew me, that's why. You start with the same feelings you had."
“你认识我的时候还是一个孩子，这就是为什么。开头的时候，你的感觉会和过去一样。”
Start what? Eddie thought.
什么开头？爱迪想。
The Blue Man lifted his chin. His skin was a grotesque shade, a graying blueberry. His fingers were wrinkled. He walked outside. Eddie followed. The pier was empty. The beach was empty. Was the entire planet empty?
蓝皮人扬起下颏。他的皮肤颜色怪诞，像泛灰的蓝浆果。他的手指上布满皱纹。他走到外面。爱迪跟随其后。码头上空寂无人，沙滩上也不见人的踪影。整个星球上都没有人吗？
Eddie nodded.
爱迪点点头。
Eddie looked at the old clanking thing, which had been torn down years ago. He shook his head no.
爱迪望了一眼那个铿锵作响、多年前就被拆掉了的旧东西。他摇了摇头。
How did I die?
我是怎么死的？
"Ah," the Blue Man said. "I imagined as much. Things don't change here. And there's none of that peering down from the clouds, I'm afraid."
“呵，”蓝皮人说道。“不出我所料。这里的一切永远不变。恐怕，也没有什么从云里朝下观望那一说。”
"An accident," the Blue Man said.
“一场事故，”蓝皮人说。
Here? Eddie thought.
这里？爱迪心想。
The Blue Man smiled as if he'd heard the question. He touched Eddie's shoulder and Eddie felt a surge of warmth unlike anything he had ever felt before. His thoughts came spilling out like sentences.
蓝皮人微微一笑，好像他听到了他的问题。他用手触了一下爱迪的肩膀，爱迪感到一股从未体验过的暖流流遍全身。他的思维像句子一样倾泻出来。
How long have I been dead?
我死了多久了？
Where am I?
我在哪里？
"A minute. An hour. A thousand years."
“一分钟。一小时。一千年。”
The Blue Man pursed his lips, then repeated the question thoughtfully. "Where are you?" He turned and raised his arms. All at once, the rides at the old Ruby Pier cranked to life: The Ferris wheel spun, the Dodgem Cars smacked into each other, the Whipper clacked uphill, and the Parisian Carousel horses bobbed on their brass poles to the cheery music of the Wurlitzer organ. The ocean was in front of them. The sky was the color of lemons.
蓝皮人抿起嘴唇，若有所思地重复了一遍。“你在哪里？”他转过身去，举起双臂。霎时间，老“红宝石码头”里所有的游乐车都一起复活了：“阜氏摩天巨轮”转了起来，“碰碰车”相互碰撞着，“风驰电掣”喀哒作响地爬上了山，“巴黎式旋转木马”随着乌力册风琴发出的欢快音乐，在黄铜柱子上上下起伏。大海就在他们眼前。天空是一片柠檬色。
"Where do you think?" the Blue Man asked. "Heaven."
“还能在哪里？”蓝皮人说道。“天堂呀。”
NO! EDDIE SHOOK his head violently. NO! The Blue Man seemed amused.
不可能！爱迪拼命地摇头。不可能！蓝皮人似乎被逗乐了。
"No? It can't be heaven?" he said. "Why? Because this is where you grew up?"
“不可能？不可能是天堂？”他说道。“为什么不？就因为这里是你长大的地方？”
Eddie mouthed the word Yes.
爱迪用嘴形示意，正是。
He led Eddie through the park, passing cigar shops and sausage stands and the "flat joints," where suckers lost their nickels and dimes.
他领着爱迪从游乐场里走过，经过了雪茄店、香肠摊子，以及那些“骗钱点”，傻瓜蛋们在那里浪费他们五分和十分钱的钢镚儿。
Heaven? Eddie thought. Ridiculous. He had spent most of his adult life trying to get away from Ruby Pier. It was an amusement park, that's all, a place to scream and get wet and trade your dollars for kewpie dolls. The thought that this was some kind of blessed resting place was beyond his imagination.
天堂？爱迪心想。荒唐。他用了大半辈子时间想摆脱这座“红宝石码头”。这里不过是一个游乐场，人们到这里来尖叫一通，浸个透湿，再用钱换个胖乎乎的洋娃娃，仅此而已。他无论如何想像不到，这里会是某种神圣的安息之地。
He tried again to speak, and this time he heard a small grunt from his chest. The Blue Man turned.
他又试着开口说话，这一次，他听到胸腔里有一个小小呼噜声。蓝皮人转过头来。
"Ah." The Blue Man nodded. "Well. People often belittle the place where they were born. But heaven can be found in the most unlikely corners. And heaven itself has many steps. This, for me, is the second. And for you, the first."
“噢，”蓝皮人点点头。“哎，人们往往太轻视他们出生的地方。但是，天堂可能出现在最不起眼的角落里。天堂本身有多重境界。对我而言，这是第二重。对你来说，这是第一重。”
"Your voice will come. We all go through the same thing. You cannot talk when you first arrive." He smiled. "It helps you listen."
“你的嗓音会恢复。我们都有同样的经历，刚来的时候都讲不了话。”他笑了笑。“这样能帮助你倾听。”
The Blue Man waited patiently.
蓝皮人耐心地等待着。
"People think of heaven as a paradise garden, a place where they can float on clouds and laze in rivers and mountains. But scenery without solace is meaningless.
“人们以为天堂是乐园，他们可以在云头飘浮，在河中嬉戏，在山间漫游。但是，景色再美，没有心灵的慰藉，也是毫无意义的。
"There are five people you meet in heaven," the Blue Man suddenly said. "Each of us was in your life for a reason. You may not have known the reason at the time, and that is what heaven is for. For understanding your life on earth."
“在天堂里你会遇见五个人，”蓝皮人突然说，“我们每个人在你生命里出现都有一个原因。你当时可能不知道，而这就是天堂存在的意义。让人们理解他们在地球上的生命。”
"What… killed…"
“谁…杀了…”
"I am your first person, Edward. When I died, my life was illuminated by five others, and then I came here to wait for you, to stand in your line, to tell you my story, which becomes part of yours. There will be others for you, too. Some you knew, maybe some you didn't. But they all crossed your path before they died. And they altered it forever."
“我是你要见的第一个人，爱德华。当初我死了之后，有五个人点明了我生命的真谛，然后，我来这里等你，排队告诉你我的故事，也就是你的故事的一部分。你还会见到其他人。有的你认识，有的你可能不认识。但是，在他们死之前，他们都曾在你的生命之路上与你相逢。而且，他们都永远地改变了你的生命里程。”
Eddie pushed a sound up from his chest, as hard as he could.
爱迪竭尽全力将一个声音从他的胸腔里挤了出来。
His voice seemed to be breaking through a shell, like a baby chick.
他的声音像一只雏鸡正在啄壳而出。
"You did," he said.
“你杀了我，”他说道。
Eddie coughed, trying to bring up his voice. He was tired of being silent.
爱迪清清嗓子，想发出声来。他厌倦了沉默。
"This is the greatest gift God can give you: to understand what happened in your life. To have it explained. It is the peace you have been searching for."
“这是上帝能够给予你的最好的礼物：理解你生命里发生的一切。让你的生命得到诠释。你一生所寻觅的正是这份宁静。”
Eddie looked confused.
爱迪神情茫然。
"What… killed… you?"
“谁…杀了…你？”
The Blue Man looked a bit surprised. He smiled at Eddie.
蓝皮人看上去有些吃惊。他朝爱迪笑了笑。
"What…" he finally croaked.
“谁…”他终于哑着嗓子说出来。