Lila moved to the village in April. Every afternoon she sat on the low wall by the stone bridge and drew boats. She drew fishing boats, paper boats, and boats with sails shaped like wings. She did not speak to anyone.
莉拉四月搬到了这个村庄。每天下午，她都坐在石桥边的矮墙上画船。她画渔船、纸船，还有帆像翅膀一样的船。她不和任何人说话。
Sam watched her from the other side. He wanted to ask about her drawings, but his words came out crooked. 'Are you counting the fish?' he asked. Lila looked up, puzzled, and shook her head. Sam felt his ears turn red.
萨姆在河对岸看着她。他想问问那些画，可话一出口就别扭起来。“你是在数鱼吗？”他问。莉拉抬起头，一脸困惑，摇了摇头。萨姆觉得耳朵发烫。
The next day, Sam folded a paper boat and set it on the water. It drifted under the bridge and bumped Lila's shoe. Inside, he had written one word: HELLO. Lila fished it out and smiled. She folded the paper into a bird and sent it back.
第二天，萨姆折了一只纸船，放进水里。它漂过桥下，碰了碰莉拉的鞋。船里写着一个词：你好。莉拉把它捞起来，笑了。她把纸折成一只鸟，送了回去。
The bird landed at Sam's feet. On its wing was a tiny drawing of two children on a bridge. Sam looked across the water. Lila waved. He waved back, and something tight in his chest loosened.
纸鸟落在萨姆脚边。它的翅膀上画着两个站在桥上的孩子。萨姆朝对岸望去。莉拉挥了挥手。他也挥了挥手，胸口里那根绷紧的线松开了。
They met in the middle of the bridge. Lila showed Sam her notebook. 'I draw because words are hard,' she said. 'Sometimes they come out wrong.' Sam nodded. 'For me too,' he said. 'But boats are easy.'
他们在桥中间见了面。莉拉把自己的本子给萨姆看。“我画画，是因为说话太难了，”她说，“有时候话会说错。”萨姆点点头。“我也是，”他说，“可是船很容易。”
They sat on the wall until the sky turned pink. Sam drew a river. Lila drew a bridge. Then they wrote both their names on the stones, side by side, small enough for the rain to wash away and big enough to read until morning.
他们坐在矮墙上，直到天空变成粉色。萨姆画了一条河。莉拉画了一座桥。然后他们把两个人的名字写在石头上，并排挨着，小得会被雨水冲掉，又大得能读到第二天早上。