Will took his mother's hand and said, "Come on, come on..." But his mother recoiled, she was still afraid.Will looked at the long, narrow street in the twilight, lined with houses fronted by small gardens and square fences, the sun shining through the windows on one side of the houses and casting shadows on the other. among.There wasn't much time left, people were probably eating their supper now, and soon other kids would be around, noticing them and staring at them commentatively.It was dangerous to wait, but all he could do was persuade her as usual. "Mother, let's go in and find Mrs. Cooper," he said. "Look, we're all here."

"Mrs. Cooper?" she asked hesitantly. But he had already started ringing the doorbell.He had to put down his bag before ringing the doorbell, because he still had his mother on his other arm.At twelve years old, it would have bothered him to be seen holding his mother's hand, but he knew that if he didn't, something would happen to his mother. The door opened, and the old, hunched figure of the piano teacher appeared at the door.She smelled of his familiar lavender perfume. "Who is it? William?" said the old lady. "I haven't seen you in over a year. What's the matter, dear?"

"Please let me in, and I've brought my mother," he said firmly. Mrs. Cooper looked at the disheveled, absent-minded woman with a half-smile, and at the sad-eyed, pursed-lipped, jutting-jawed boy.She noticed that Mrs. Perry, Will's mother, had makeup on one eye but not the other, but she didn't notice it, and neither did Will, something must have happened. "Okay..." She said and took a few steps to the side, making room in the narrow hall. Will looked carefully at the street before closing the door.Mrs. Cooper noticed Mrs. Perry clutching her son's hand as he led her very tenderly into the sitting-room with the piano (that was the only room he knew, of course); Mrs. Rie's clothes smelled damp and musty, as if they had been in the washing machine for a long time before drying.The two of them sat on the sofa, and the setting sun shone on their faces, with their broad cheekbones, their large eyes, and their straight black eyebrows, they looked so much alike.

"What's the matter, William?" asked the old lady. "What's the matter?" "My mother needs to live in one place for a while," he said, "and it's just too difficult to take care of her at home right now. I'm not saying she's sick, she's just a little confused, and she's a little nervous. It won't be very difficult to take care of her." Trouble. She just needs someone to be kind to her, and I think you might be able to." The woman looked at her son, as if not quite understanding, and Mrs. Cooper saw a bruise on her face.

Will didn't take his eyes off Mrs. Cooper for a moment, his expression was urgent. "She doesn't cost much," he went on. "I brought a few packs of food, which I think will last me a while. You can eat, too, and she won't mind being shared with her." "But... I don't know if I should... Doesn't she need to go to the doctor?" "No, she's not sick." "But someone has to be able to... I mean, isn't there a neighbor or a relative—" "We don't have any relatives, just the two of us. The neighbors are busy too."

"What about social services? I'm not trying to excuse you, honey, but—" "No! No, she just needs a little help. I can't help her right now, but it won't be long. I'm going to... I have some things to do, but I'll be back soon, and I'll Bring her home, I promise. You don't have to take care of it for a long time. " The mother looked at her son with infinite trust, and he turned and smiled at his mother, full of love and comfort.All this made Mrs. Cooper unable to say "no". "Well," she said, turning to Mrs. Perry, "I'm sure it won't be a problem for a few days, and you can use my daughter's room, dear. Now that she's in Australia, she doesn't need the room any more."

"Thank you," Will said, standing up, as if in a hurry to go. "But where are you going?" asked Mrs. Cooper. "I'm going to be with a friend," he said. "I'll try to call as often as I can. I have your number. It'll be fine." His mother looked at him, a little confused.He bent down and kissed her awkwardly. "Don't worry," he said. "Mrs. Cooper will take better care of you than I can, really. I'll call you tomorrow." They hugged tightly and Will kissed her again, then gently let go of her arms around his neck and walked towards the door.Mrs. Cooper saw him distressed, for there were tears in his eyes, but he turned round, remembering proper etiquette, and held out his hand.

"Goodbye," he said, "Thank you very much," "William," she said, "I wish you would tell me what happened—" "It's not clear in a word or two," he said, "but she won't give you any trouble, really." That's not what she meant, and they both understood, but wondered why Will had to bother. The old lady thought she had never seen such a stubborn child like him. He turned and left, already thinking about the empty house. Where Will and his mother lived was a modern housing complex with a dozen or so identical houses in a ring street.Their house was obviously the most dilapidated of them all.The garden in front of the house is just a small patch of grass, overgrown with weeds.His mother had planted some shrubs earlier this year, but the trees had died from lack of water.Will went around the corner of the garden, and his cat Moxie emerged from her favorite spot, which was the living hydrangea, stretched out, rubbed his head against his leg, and "meowed" softly greeted him.

He picked her up and whispered, "Have they come back, Moxie? Have you seen them?" The whole house is very quiet.In the last light of dusk, the man across the road was washing the car, but he wasn't paying attention to Will, and Will wasn't looking at him.The less others pay attention to him, the better. He hugged Moxi to his chest, opened the door, and walked in quickly. Before putting Moxi on the ground, he listened carefully for a while, but there was no sound, and the whole house was empty. He opened a can and put it on the kitchen floor for Moshe to eat.How long will it take for that guy to come back?

He had no way of knowing, so he better move fast, so he went upstairs and started looking. He was looking for a worn and warped green leather pencil case.Even an average modern house has an amazing amount of places to hide something this size, and you don't need additional secret shelves and basements to make finding things more difficult.Will searches his mother's bedroom first, embarrassing him by rummaging through the drawers where she keeps her underwear. He went through the other rooms upstairs, even his own.Mossy came over to see what he was doing, then sat and groomed himself while keeping Will company.

But he still couldn't find it. By this time it was dark and he was hungry.He roasted some beans himself, and then he sat at the kitchen table and considered how best to inspect the downstairs rooms. Just as he was about to finish eating, the phone rang. He sat motionless, his heart beating wildly.He counted, twenty-six, and then the bell stopped.He put the plate in the sink and started following me. Four hours passed, and he still couldn't find the green leather pencil case.It was almost half past one, and he was exhausted.He lay on the bed without taking off his clothes, and immediately fell asleep.His dreams were tense and crowded, and his mother's sad, frightened face was always close at hand. For what seemed like a split second (he had actually slept for nearly three hours), he woke up and realized two things at the same time. First, he knew where the pencil case was.Second, he knew the men were downstairs, opening the kitchen door. He took Moxi aside and softly stopped her sleepy protest.Then he swung his legs and came to the bed. He put on his shoes and tensed every nerve to listen to the movement downstairs.The sounds were very slight: a chair being lifted and replaced, short hisses, the creaking of wooden floors. His movements were lighter than those of those people. He left the bedroom and tiptoed to an empty room at the top of the stairs. The room was not completely dark, and in the dim light before dawn he saw the old-fashioned pedal sewing machine. He had checked the room a few hours earlier, but he had forgotten to check the little box next to the sewing machine where the patterns and coils were kept. He touched the box cautiously and listened attentively.The group moved downstairs, and Will saw a glimmer of what might have been a flashlight through the crack of the door. Then he found the switch on the box, he pressed the switch, the box was opened, and as he expected, the leather pencil case was there. What should he do now?He squatted in the dim light, his heart beating violently, and he tried to listen. The two men were downstairs in the foyer.He heard one of them say softly, "Hey, I heard the milkman coming this way." "Not here yet," said another voice. "We have to go upstairs." "Then go up, don't hang around here." Will heard a slight creak at the top of the stairs and he steadied himself.The man didn't make much noise, but he couldn't stop the unexpected crunch.Then the sound stopped, and Will saw through the crack in the door a faint flashlight sweeping across the floor outside. The door opened slowly, and Will waited until the figure of the man was fully within the doorway, then rushed out of the darkness and slammed into the intruder's stomach. But none of them saw the cat. When the man reached the top of the stairs, Moxi quietly slipped out of the bedroom, with his tail up, stood behind the man's legs, ready to rub his body against him.The man was strong and well trained and would have been able to handle Will, but the cat was in his way.She tripped him as he stepped back, gasped, and rolled headfirst down the stairs, hitting his head hard on the hall table. Will heard a terrible crash, and before he could stop to think about the sound, he grabbed the pencil case and slid down the banister, over the twitching body of the man lying huddled at the foot of the stairs. Jumped over, grabbed the tote bag on the table, and ran out the door, while the other guy just had time to come out of the living room and stare. Even in the frenzy of fear, Will wondered why the other guy didn't yell at him or run after him?But they'll come after him soon, with cars and phones.All he has to do now is run. He saw the milkman appear at the corner, the lights of his electric pickup pale in the light of dawn.Will jumped the fence into the neighbor's garden, followed the path from one side of the house to the other side of the garden, jumped out, and ran across a dew-wet meadow, through the hedge, to the house. In a shrub forest between the district and the main road.He crawled under a bush and lay there panting and shaking.It's too early to be on the road, and we'll have to wait a little longer until rush hour. He couldn't get out of his mind the sound of the man's head banging against the table, the way his neck was buckled, completely deformed, and his limbs were twitching horribly.The man died, he killed him. He can't erase this scene, but he can't think about it anymore, there are still many things to think about.His mother: Would she really be safe in that place?Will Mrs. Cooper speak out?Even, what if Will didn't go back as he promised?Because he couldn't go back, he killed people. And Moxie.Who will feed Moxie?Would Moxie worry about where they were?Will she follow? It was getting brighter now, and there was enough light to see the contents of the shopping bag: his mother's wallet, the letter that had just arrived from the lawyer, a map of southern England, bars of chocolate, toothpaste, a change of shorts and socks, and the green dog. leather pencil case. Everything is there.Everything is going according to plan. Except he killed a man. When Will was seven, he realized for the first time that his mother was different and that he had to take care of her.It was in a supermarket, and they were playing a game: they could only put things in the trolley when no one was looking.Will's job was to look around and whisper, "Now that's it." So she'd grab a can or a box of something from the shelf and slip it into the cart.Once the stuff is in, they're safe because they're all invisible. The game was fun and they played for a long time.It was a Saturday morning and the shop was crowded, but they played the game well and worked together successfully, they trusted each other, and Will loved his mother and would tell her often, and she would tell Will She loves him too. When they got to the cash register, Will was excited and happy that they were going to win.It was still part of the game when his mother found out that the wallet was missing and said a thief must have stolen it.But by this time Will was getting tired of the game, and he was hungry, and Mom wasn't so happy anymore.She was really scared, and they walked back and put the things back on the shelves one by one, but this time they had to be extra careful, because the enemy got her wallet, knew her credit card number, and was tracking them... Will himself was getting more and more frightened.He realized how clever his mother was, making a game out of real dangers to keep him from being afraid, only to find out the truth anyway, and to reassure her he had to pretend not to be. So the little boy still pretended it was a game so she didn't have to worry about whether he was scared, and they went home without buying anything, but they were safe away from the enemies; Will found it on the hall table later wallet.They went to the bank on Monday. To be on the safe side, they canceled the old account and opened a new account elsewhere. The danger passed. But over the next few months, Will slowly and at the same time reluctantly realized that his mother's enemy was not in her life, but in her heart.But those enemies didn't make them any less real, dangerous, or intimidating; it just meant he had to be more careful about protecting his mother.Starting with the supermarket incident, he realizes that in order not to worry his mother, he has to pretend.Part of Will's attention had been on her worries, and he loved her so much he would protect her with his life. Regarding Will's father, he disappeared before Will could remember him. Will is very curious about his father, and he often asks his mother headache questions, most of which she can't answer. "Is he rich?" "Where did he go?" "Why is he leaving?" "Is he dead?" "Will he come back?" "What kind of person is he?" Only the last question she can answer.John Perry was once a handsome, brave and intelligent officer in the Royal Navy, before he left the army to become an explorer, exploring places in the world less traveled. Will was thrilled to hear that, and there's nothing more exciting than having an explorer father.From then on, he had an invisible companion in all his games: he and his father plodded through the jungle, gazing out at the stormy sea with his hands shielded from the deck of a sailboat, holding a torch in a bat-infested cave. Deciphering mysterious handwriting...they are best friends who have saved each other's lives countless times, laughing and talking late into the night around the campfire. But as Will got older, he started to feel weird.Why isn't there a picture of his dad in his everyday life or on his expeditions?Like sledding across the North Pole with other men with frosty beards, or inspecting vine-covered ruins in the jungle?Why isn't there a souvenir he brought back at home? Why is he never mentioned in the books? His mother didn't know either, but what she said hit his heart. She said: "One day, you will follow in your father's footsteps and become a great man, and you will inherit his mantle." Will doesn't yet understand what that means, but he's had some kind of epiphany, and he's buoyed by a sense of pride and purpose.His game is about to become reality.His father was still alive, lost somewhere in the wilderness, and he was going to rescue him, to inherit his mantle... With such a great purpose, life is worth living even if it is hard. So he strictly kept his mother's secret.When she was calmer and sober, he paid attention to learning from her how to shop, cook, and tidy the house.He could do it when she was confused and scared.He also learned how to hide himself, to remain unknown at school, to avoid the attention of the neighbors, even when his mother could barely speak in her fright and madness.What Will fears most is that the relevant agencies of society will find her, take her away, and send him to a stranger's home. Nothing is more difficult than this.Because there are times when the haze in her heart is swept away, and she will be happy again, laugh at her fear, and praise him for taking good care of her.At that time she was so loving and gentle, he felt that there was no better partner than her, and he just wanted to live with her forever. But then the gang came. They weren't cops, they weren't social welfare workers, and they weren't criminals—or so Will judged.Will tried to drive them away, but they didn't answer him, they didn't ask for anything, they only talked to his mother, and she was so vulnerable at the time. But outside the door he heard them asking about his father, and his breath came short. Those people wanted to know where John Perry had been, if he had sent her anything, when she had last heard from him, and if he had been in touch with any foreign embassies.Will heard his mother growing sad, and finally he ran into the room to tell them to leave. He looked so fierce that the two men did not find him ridiculous because of his young age. They could have easily beaten him, or knocked him to the ground with a single fist, but he was unafraid and raged. They left.This scene reinforces Will's conviction that his father must be in trouble somewhere, and only he can save him.His game was no longer childish, it was no longer a figment of his mind, it was real and he had to be good. They came back shortly after, claiming that Will's mother had something to tell them.They came when Will was at school, and one of them was downstairs talking to Will's mother while the other took the opportunity to search their bedroom.She didn't know what they were doing, but Will came home early and found them, and he glared again, and they left again. He was reluctant to ask the police for help, fearing that his mother would be taken away by the relevant agencies, and they seemed to know this, so they became more entangled, and finally they broke in when Will went to the park to find his mother.She got worse and thought she'd have to feel every slat on the bench by the lake.In order for her to finish quickly, Will helps her.When they got home that day, they saw the gang's car disappearing down the street, and when he entered the house, they found that they had searched the house, and they had gone through most of the drawers and cupboards. He knew what they were looking for.The green leather pencil case was his mother's most prized possession, and he dreamed of seeing its contents, but he never knew where she kept it.He knew there were letters in them, and he knew she read them often, crying, and then she would tell him about his father.Will decided it was the pencil case that the gang was looking for, so he had to do something. He decided to find a safe place for his mother first.He thought about it, but he had no friends to turn to, and the neighbors had long been suspicious of them. There was only one person he could trust, and that was Mrs. Cooper.As long as his mother was there safe and sound, he was going to find the green leather pencil case and see what was in it, and then he was going to Oxford to find the answers to his doubts.But the gang came too fast. Now he also killed one of them. So the police will come after him too. Fortunately, he is good at avoiding attention.More than ever, he had to stay out of the spotlight for as long as possible, until he found his father or the gang found him.If the gang found him first, he didn't care about killing a few more people. Later that day, at actually midnight, Will was walking about forty miles from Oxford, exhausted.He hitchhiked, changed buses twice, walked again, and arrived in Oxford at six o'clock in the evening, by which time it was too late to do any of the things he wanted to do.He ate dinner at Burger King, then hid in a movie theater (even while watching a movie, which he quickly forgot what it was about), and now he is walking on a never-ending road in the suburbs, this The road leads all the way to the north. So far no one has noticed him.But he knew he'd better find a place to sleep right away, because the later it was, the more conspicuous he was.The problem is that there's nowhere to hide in the gardens of those cozy houses down the road, and there's no sign of anything approaching the wild. He came to a large roundabout, and there was an east-west ring road through Oxford, leading north. There were very few cars on the road at night, and the road he was standing on was also very quiet. There were large grass fields on both sides of the road, and some comfortable houses behind the grass.On both sides of the road, there are two rows of hornbeams growing along the lawn. Those trees grow strangely, the leaves are close together, and the crowns are very symmetrical. It looks more like a child drew it with a pen.Streetlights make the scene even more unreal, like a stage set.Will was already drowsy with exhaustion, and he may have walked north, or he may have slept on the grass under one of the trees; At that time, he saw a cat. She, like Moxie, was a tabby cat.She slipped quietly from where Will stood, out of a garden on the Oxford side of the road.Will put the bag down and held out his hands, and the cat came up and rubbed its head against his knee, just like Moxie did.Of course, every cat does this, but it still makes Will so homesick that tears come to his eyes. Finally, the cat turned and walked away.It's night and she's on patrol and catching mice.She crossed the road noiselessly towards the bushes beyond the hornbeam when she stopped. Will watched the cat's actions curiously. She stuck out a paw and slapped something in the air ahead that Will couldn't see, then jumped back, back arched, fur bristling, tail stretched stiffly.Will was familiar with the cat's movements, and he watched with vigilance as the cat approached the same spot, the small empty patch of grass between the hornbeam and the garden hedge, and she began to pat again. She jumped back again, but this time not so far, not so vigilant.She snorted, tentatively, and twitched her beard, and after a few seconds, her curiosity overcame her vigilance. The cat leaped forward—and disappeared. Will blinked.Then a truck came down the road and he stood motionless, leaning against the nearest tree, the light of its headlights sweeping past him.The truck passed and he crossed the road, keeping his eyes on where the cat had been scouting, which wasn't easy because there was nothing to stare at, but when he came up close and looked closely, he saw it. At least, he saw it from some angles.It looked as if someone had dug a square less than a yard wide out of the air two yards from the curb.If you're in a horizontal orientation, the block is vertical, it's almost invisible, and it's completely invisible from behind.You can only see it on the side closest to the road, but even then it's hard to see because it's the same thing in front of it: a field of grass under a street lamp. But Will had no doubts: it was a different world beyond the grass. He could not say why, but he believed it at once, as surely as he believed that fire burns, and that kindness is a virtue.He was looking at something entirely new and strange. It was for this reason that he knelt down to take a closer look.What he saw made him dizzy, but he didn't hesitate: he stuffed the handbag through it first, then crawled through himself, so that he came from a hole in this world to another. He found himself standing under a row of trees.But these were not hornbeams, but tall palms, which, like the Oxford trees, stood in a row along the lawn.This is a forest-lined avenue, with a row of small restaurants and small shops on the side of the road. Under the starry sky, the lights of these shops are on, the doors are open, but there is no one there.The hot night was filled with the scent of flowers and the salty sea. Will looked around carefully.Behind him, a full moon shines on the green hills in the distance. On the slopes at the foot of the hills are houses with beautiful gardens, open grass, groves, and an antique temple. Beside him is the square in the sky, which is also difficult to recognize from this side, but it really exists.He bent down and saw the streets of Oxford, his own world.He turned and shuddered; whatever world this was, it had to be better than the one he had just left.As dawn came, he was half awake with a mild headache.He stood up and looked around for his guide, the cat. She is out of sight.She must have passed the taverns with their inviting lights, and explored the back streets and gardens.Will picked up his deformed shopping bag, crossed the road, and walked slowly there.He walked carefully, for fear that all this would suddenly disappear. There is something Mediterranean or Caribbean in the air here.Will had never been outside of England, so he couldn't compare it to other places he knew, but it was one of those places where people came out late at night to eat, drink, dance, and enjoy good music.It's just that there is no one here, and it is silent. He came to the first turning, and there was a diner, with little green tables, a small bar covered in zinc, and a coffee machine for espresso on the path outside.On some tables there were half-empty glasses, and in one ashtray there was a cigarette burned down to the butt.Next to a basket of rolls that were as old as cardboard was a plate of risotto. He took a bottle of soda from the freezer behind the counter, thought for a moment, and tossed another pound into the drawer. He closed the drawer and it occurred to him that the money inside might explain where it was, so he opened the drawer again. The currency inside was called Corona (Corona, also "Crown"), which was a the basic monetary unit of Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden]", but he knew nothing else. He put the money back, opened the soda bottle with the corkscrew tethered to the counter, and left the small café.He left the avenue and strolled along the side streets, where there were small grocery stores, bakeries, jewelers, florists, and private houses with beaded curtains and wrought-iron balconies full of flowers that hung over narrow walls. on the sidewalk.It is remote and even more silent here. The street went downhill, and in a moment there was a wide avenue ahead, with more palm trees, the undersides of their leaves glistening in the light of the street lamps. On the other side of the avenue is the sea. Will found himself in front of a harbor, with a stone breakwater on his left, and a piece of land stretching out into the sea on his right. Among the flowering trees and bushes on the land, there was a huge building brightly illuminated by floodlights. Stone columns, wide steps and ornate balconies.There are two rowboats moored quietly in the harbor.Beyond the breakwater, starlight shines on the calm sea. Now, Will's exhaustion has been swept away.He was wide awake, and wonder seized him.On the side street just now, he raised his hand from time to time, stroking the walls or door openings, or the flowers on the windowsill, and found that they were real.And now he wanted to touch the whole scene that opened before him, it was so wide that his eyes couldn't take it all in for a moment.He stood there quietly, breathing deeply, almost frightened. He found that he still had the bottle of soda from the little café in his hand.He took a few sips.The soda tasted as cool and pleasant as before, because the night air was hot. He walked to the right, past the brightly lit entrance of the hotel with its awning, past the bougainvillea in full bloom, and into the gardens here.The ornate, floodlit building in the grove might have once been an opera house, with pathways leading here and there along the oleander trees hung with lampposts, but there was no sign of life : No nightbirds singing, no bugs whining, just Will's own footsteps. The only sound Will could hear was the thin, regular sound of waves coming from the beach beyond the palm trees by the garden.Will walked over there.The tide was just half way up, or maybe it was just half way out.On the soft white sand, there is a row of pedal boats parked above the deep water line.Every now and then a fine wave would lap against the shore and recede neatly before the next wave.In this calm sea, about fifty yards away, there was a diving platform. Will sat on the side of a pedal boat and kicked off his shoes, his hot feet were squeamishly squeezed by his cheap, frayed espadrilles.He dropped the sock beside the shoe and dug his toes into the sand.After a while, he took off his clothes and walked into the sea. The sea water is neither hot nor cold, very comfortable.He paddled, swam to the diving platform, climbed up, sat down on the weather-beaten platform, and looked back at the city. To his right, the breakwater enclosed the harbor, and about a mile beyond it stood a red and white striped lighthouse.In the distance from the lighthouse are the looming cliffs, and in the distance are the rolling hills that Will saw from the place where he just came. In front of you are the trees with lights hanging in the gardens of villas, the streets, hotels by the sea, cafes, and shops with lights, all quiet and deserted. It's also very safe here.Nobody had followed him here, the people who searched his house would never know the place, and the police couldn't possibly find him.He has a whole world in which to hide. For the first time since running out of the gate that morning, Will felt safe. He is thirsty and hungry.After all, the last time he ate was in another world.He slipped into the water and swam back to shore at a slower pace than before.He put on his shorts and, carrying the rest of his clothes and the shopping bag, threw the empty bottle into the first bin he saw and walked barefoot down the path to the port. When he dries a little, he puts on his jeans and looks for a place to eat.Those hotels were too luxurious, he looked at the first hotel first, it was too big for his comfort.So he went on and on until he saw a small coffee shop, which he thought was a good place.He couldn't tell why, it was similar to those other cafes, the balcony on the first floor was full of flowers, and there were some tables and chairs on the path outside the door.But he just took a fancy to this one. There are pictures of boxers on the wall at the counter and a signed poster of a happy, smiling accordion player.Next to the kitchen was a door leading to a narrow flight of stairs with a brightly patterned carpet. He went up the stairs to the narrow landing and opened the first door he saw.It was a room facing the street, and it was hot and stuffy in it.Will opened the glass door to the balcony to let in the night wind.The room is small and the furniture inside looks rough and crude, but the room is clean and comfortable.The people who lived here must have been very hospitable.There is also a small bookshelf in the room, a magazine and several framed pictures on the table. Will left and looked at the other rooms: a small bathroom, a bedroom with a double bed. He felt a thorn in his back before he opened the last door, and his heart beat faster.He didn't know if he heard the voice inside, he felt that the room was not empty.In the early hours of this morning, he was inside the dark room where others were outside, and now the scene is reversed.It all seemed strange to him—while he was standing thinking, the door was thrown open, and something rushed towards him like a beast. But memory had warned him, and he wasn't standing very close so he wasn't knocked down.他奋力回击：用他的膝盖、头、拳头和胳膊的力量反击他，她——是一个跟他差不多大的女孩，四肢细瘦，穿着破破烂烂的脏衣服，正在凶狠地向他厉声喊叫。 在这同一时刻，她看见了他，她从他光着的胸膛前跳开去，像一只困兽般蹲在楼梯平台的黑暗角落里。让他惊讶的是：她身边还有一只猫，是一只大的野猫，到他膝盖那么高，身上的毛和尾巴竖了起来，向他露出牙齿。 她把手放在猫的背上，舔了舔她干裂的嘴唇，注视着他的一举一动。 威尔慢慢地站了起来。 "Who are you?" “莱拉?西尔弗顿。”她说。 “你住在这里吗？” “不。”她立即否认道。 “那这是什么地方？这个城市？” "I have no idea." "Where are you from?" “从我的世界，它跟这儿连着。你的精灵在哪儿？” His eyes widened.这时他发现那只猫有了奇异的变化：它一跳到她的臂弯里，立刻就变了。现在它变成了一只短尾鼬，红棕色的毛皮，脖子和腹部则是乳白色，它和那个女孩一样，凶狠地瞪着他。但这时情况有所变化，因为他发现女孩和短尾鼬都十分怕他，好像他是一个魔鬼一样。 “我没有精灵，”他说，“我不知道你指什么。”然后他说，“哦，这就是你的精灵吗？” 她慢慢地站起来。那只短尾鼬蜷起身子，绕在她的脖子上，他的黑眼睛一刻也没有离开威尔的脸。 “但是你活着，”她半信半疑，“你没有……你还没有……” “我叫威尔'佩里，”他说，“我不知道你说的精灵是什么。在我的世界里，精灵是魔鬼的意思，是邪恶的。” “在你的世界？你是说这不是你的世界？，，“对，我只是发现了……一条进来的路。我猜，就像你的世界一样，它一定是跟这儿连着。 " 她放松了一点儿，但她还是专注地盯着他。他则很平静，好像她是一只他想要认识的陌生的猫。 “你见过这个城市里别的人吗？”他继续问。 "No." “你到这里多久了？” “不知道。几天吧，我不记得。” “那你为什么到这里来呢？” “我来找'尘埃'。”她说。 “找尘埃？什么？是金粉吗？什么样的尘埃？” 她眯了一下眼睛，没有说话。他转过身，走下楼去。 “我饿了，”他说，“厨房里有什么吃的吗？” "I don't know," she said.她跟着他走下楼，跟他保持着一段距离。 威尔在厨房里找到用来做炖菜的鸡、洋葱和胡椒，但它们是生的，在炎热的天气里已经发出了臭味。威尔把它们都扔进了垃圾箱。 “你什么都没吃吗？”他说着打开了冰箱。 莱拉跟了过来。 “我不知道它在这儿。”她说，“哦！这么冷。” 她的精灵又变化了，这回他变成了一只巨大的、色彩鲜艳的蝴蝶，它飞进冰箱，但立刻又飞出来，停栖在她的肩头，缓慢地上下扇动着翅膀。威尔被它的奇异之处搞得头脑发晕，尽管如此，他还是觉得不该老盯着它看。 “你以前没见过冰箱吗？”他说。 他找出一听可乐递给她，然后拿出一盒鸡蛋。她很高兴，双手紧握着它。 “喝吧。”他说。 她皱着眉头看着它，她不知道如何打开。他帮她打开，可乐气泡冒了出来，她怀疑地舔了舔，然后瞪大了眼睛。 “这个好吗？”她说，语气中一半是希望，一半是害怕。 “是啊。显然这个世界里也有可乐。看我来喝两口，证明它不是毒药。” 他又打开一听。她看见他喝，就跟他学。她显然渴坏了，她喝得那么快，气泡窜进了她的鼻子，她打着嗝。鼻子发出响亮的吭哧声。威尔盯着她看，她就怒气冲冲。 “我要做煎鸡蛋。”他说，“你吃不吃？” “我不知道什么是煎鸡蛋。” “那好，你看我做就知道了。如果你想吃，那边还有一听烘豆。” “我不知道烘豆是什么。” 他指给她看，她在罐子上找可乐罐上的那种易拉盖。 “不，你得用开罐器。”他说，“你们那儿的人不用开罐器吗？” “在我们那儿仆人做饭。”她不屑一顾地说。 “到那边抽屉里找找看。” 她在餐具中翻找着。他则在碗里打了六个鸡蛋，用叉子搅拌着。 “就是它。”他注视着她，“那个有红色把手的，把它拿过来。” 他切穿盖子，向她示范如何打开罐头。 “现在去把那只小平底锅从挂钩上拿下来，把罐头里的东西倒进去。”他对她说。 她闻了闻豆子，眼神中又充满了喜悦和怀疑。她把罐头里的东西倒进平底锅，舔了舔手指。她看着威尔往打好的鸡蛋里洒了盐和胡椒，又从冰箱里拿出一盒黄油，切了一小块放在铁锅里。他去吧台拿火柴，当他回来的时候，她正用手指蘸着碗里的鸡蛋，贪婪地舔着。她的精灵，这时又变成了一只猫，也把它的爪子伸进碗里，但当威尔走近的时候它又缩了回去。 “还没做熟呢。”威尔说着把碗拿开了，“你上一次吃饭是什么时候？” “在斯瓦尔巴特，我父亲的家里。”她说，“好几天之前吧，我不记得了。 我在这里看见面包什么的，我就吃那个了。 " 他点燃煤气，等黄油融化了，把鸡蛋倒进去，让它铺满锅底。她的眼神贪婪地跟随着他的每一个动作，她看着他把鸡蛋在锅的中央堆成柔软的小山，又倾斜着锅，好让生鸡蛋流到锅底。她也注视着他，注视着他的脸、正在忙碌的双手，还有他光着的肩膀和脚。 鸡蛋饼煎好了，他把蛋饼翻个身，用铲子从中间切开。 “找几个盘子来。”他说道，莱拉顺从地照办了。 她明白了其中的道理后好像还是很听从吩咐的，于是威尔又让她到小饭馆前清理出一张桌子。他把饭端出来，又从抽屉里拿出几副刀叉。他们一起坐了下来，觉得有点别扭。 她不到一分钟就吃完了她的那份，然后等着威尔吃完，她烦躁不安地坐在椅子上前后摇晃，拉扯着编织坐垫上的塑料线。她的精灵这会儿又变成了一只黄雀，在桌子上啄着那看不见的面包屑。 威尔慢慢吃着。他把大部分的烘豆都给了她，尽管如此，他还是吃得比她慢。 他们面前的港湾，无人的大街边的路灯，夜空中的星星，都沉浸在一片寂静中，好像除此之外，再没有别的东西存在了。 他一直注意着这个女孩，她纤细而结实，刚才打起架来像一只老虎那么凶猛。 他的拳头在她的脸颊上留下一块青紫，她并不在意。她的表情中搀杂着天真幼稚——当她第一次尝可乐时——和一种深深的忧郁和警惕。她的眼睛是浅蓝色的，她的头发要是洗过了的话应该是暗黄色的，她很脏，她身上的味道闻起来好像是好多天没洗过澡。 “劳拉？拉拉？”威尔说。 "Laila." “莱拉……西尔弗顿？” "right." “你的世界在哪儿？你是怎么到这儿来的？” She shrugged. “我走来的。”她说，“雾很大，我不知道到了哪里。直到雾散了我才知道，至少，我知道我离开了我的世界。然后我就发现自己到了这儿。” “你刚才说什么尘埃来着？” “尘埃，对。我要找它。但这个世界好像没有人，也找不到人打听。我以前来过这里……我不知道，三四天了，这儿一个人也没有。” “但你为什么要找尘埃呢？” “特殊的尘埃。”她立刻说，“当然不是普通的尘埃。” 那只精灵又变了。眨眼问他从黄雀变成了老鼠，一只红眼睛、浑身漆黑的健壮的老鼠。威尔瞪大眼睛警惕地看着他，女孩看见了他的眼神。 “你有一个精灵。”她说，“在你的身体里。” 他不知道该说什么。 “你有，”她接着说，“你只能是人。你一定曾……快死了。我们见过一个小孩，他的精灵被砍掉了。你不是那样的，即使你不知道，你也有一个精灵。我们一开始看见你都被吓着了，好像你是一个恶鬼之类的，但后来我们发现你根本不是。” "us?" “我和潘特莱蒙，我们。但是你，你的精灵和你没有分开。他就是你，是你的一部分。你的世界里没有人像我们这样吗？他们是不是和你一样，精灵都藏起来了？” 威尔看着他们俩，那个瘦瘦的浅色眼珠女孩和坐在她怀中的黑老鼠精灵，他觉得自己非常孤单。 “我累了，要去睡觉了。”他说，“你打算待在这个城市里吗？” “我不知道。我得努力找我要的东西，这个世界里肯定有院士，肯定有人知道跟这有关的事情。” “可能不在这个世界里，我是从一个叫牛津的地方来的，那里就有许多院士，如果你要找的是这些人的话。” “牛津？”她叫道，“我就是从那里来的！” “那你的世界也有一个牛津吗？你不可能来自我的世界。” “不，”她斩钉截铁地说，“我们来自不同的世界，但我的世界里也有一个牛津。我们都说英语，不是吗？我们还有别的相同之处，这也是合乎情理的。你是怎么过来的？是有一座桥？还是别的什么？” “好像就是空中的一个窗口。” “带我去看。”她说。 这不是请求，而是命令。He shook his head. “现在不行。”他说，“我想睡觉，再说，现在还是半夜呢。” “那明天早晨带我去看！” “好吧，我会带你去看的。但我还有自己的事要做。你自己去找那些院士吧。” “那容易。”她说，“我知道关于院士的所有事情。” 他把盘子摞起，站了起来。 “我做了饭，”他说，“所以该你洗碗了。” 她看上去有点难以置信的样子，“洗碗？”她不屑地一笑，“那儿躺着成千上万只盘子呢！再说我也不是仆人。我不打算洗碗。” “那我就不告诉你去牛津的路。” “我自己找。” “你找不到，它是藏着的，你不可能找到。听着，我不知道我们在这个地方能待多久，我们要吃东西，这儿有什么我们就吃什么，但吃完了我们得把这个地方收拾干净，我们应该这么做。这些碗你来洗，我们要对得起这个地方。现在我要去睡觉了，我用另外一个房间。明天早晨见。” 他进屋去了，从他的破包里取出牙膏，用手指刷了牙，然后倒在双人床上，一会儿就睡着了。 莱拉等到确信他已经睡着了以后，拿着盘子进了厨房，把盘子放在水笼头下面，用一块布使劲擦，直到它们看上去干净为止。刀叉也是如此。但这个步骤对煎鸡蛋的锅就不起作用了，所以她拿了一块肥皂来擦，又笨拙地抠了一会儿，直到她认为差不多干净为止。然后她用另外一块布擦干它们，把它们整齐地堆放在水池边的架子上。 她还觉得渴，她还想尝试打开一个罐头，所以她又打开了一听可乐，拿上楼。 她在威尔的门外听了听，什么声音都没有，于是她踮着脚尖来到另外一个房间，从她的枕头下拿出真理仪。 她不需要靠近威尔就可以问他的情况，但她还是想去看一看，所以她竭力蹑手蹑脚地转动威尔房间的门把手，走了进去。 海边有一盏灯，灯光向上照进房间，又从天花板反射下来，她就在亮光中注视着这个熟睡中的男孩。他皱着眉头，脸上都是汗，闪闪发亮。他矮壮结实，当然他还没有长成大人，因为他比她自己也大不了多少，但有一天他会变得强大有力的。如果能看见他的精灵会容易得多！她想着那可能会是什么样子，也许还没有固定的形状。不管那是什么形状，它会表现出一种野性、礼貌和忧郁的性格。 她轻手轻脚地来到窗前，在路灯的光亮中调整了真理仪的指针，放松意念，在心中问了一个问题。指针开始在仪表盘上停停转转，令人目不暇接。 她问的是：他是谁？朋友还是敌人？ 真理仪上的答案是：他是一个杀人凶手。 当她看到这个答案时，立刻感到了轻松。他可以找到吃的，还可以带她去牛津，那都是很有用的本领，但他原本也可能懦弱，或不值得信任。杀人凶手是有价值的伙伴，她感到和他在一起就像和披甲熊伯尔尼松一样安全。 她把百叶窗的叶片调到和敞开的窗户相对的方向，这样早晨的阳光就不会照到他的脸。然后她踮着脚尖走了出去。