閒適散文:寧靜的海灘 Quiet Beach

The house was quiet at 5 am and Tim’s mother was asleep. Only the sound of the big freezer broke the quiet. He’ d dreamt of the cave last night. The purring of the freezer had been the sea.
下午5點，房間裏很安靜，蒂姆的媽媽在睡覺。偶爾冰箱發出的聲音會打破寧靜。他想着昨晚的洞穴。冰箱的蜂鳴聲讓他感到自己就在海上。

Tim pulled on a sweater and put some apples into his schoolbag. It was too early for breakfast. He’d eat after he’ d been through the cave, sitting on the rocks and staring at the sea.
蒂姆穿上毛衣，將幾個蘋果放到書包裏。還不到吃早飯的時候。他會穿過洞穴，坐在岩石上，看着大海吃蘋果。

He wished he had a proper pack. His schoolbag would have to do. What else? Sandwiches but his mother might wake up if he started pulling out bread for sandwiches, she’ d want to know why he had to leave so early. He settled for some biscuits, and left a note stuck to the table:
他希望有一個合適的揹包。只能用書包充當下。還有別的東西要放嗎？三明治，但是如果他取出麪包做三明治，媽媽也許就會知道。她會想這麼早他就離家的原因。於是他裝了些餅乾，在桌子上留了個條：

Gone to Michael’s Back tonight, Tim.
今晚去米Michael’s Back，蒂姆。

The sky was high and soft and light outside, though the sun still wasn’t up. Even the highway up the hill was quiet as he made his way down the street. The wind from the sea was fresh and sweet.
外面的天空高遠，柔和而又明亮，雖然太陽還沒升起。當他沿着街道走時，通往山上的公路很安靜。從海上刮來的風新鮮，芬芳。

The sandhills still breathed heat from yesterday’s sun, though the top of the sand was cool. He ran down to the beach impatiently, but there was no one, just dry sand dancing in the early wind and seabirds marching up and down watching the waves.
雖然沙丘頂部很涼爽，沙丘依然在呼吸着昨天太陽留下的熱量。他亟不可待地跑到海灘上，沒有一個人，只有乾燥的沙粒在晨風中飛舞，海鳥盯着海浪不時飛上飛下。

The light changed suddenly. The first rays of sunlight stretched across the sea. The sun was pushing its way over the edge of the world.
光線突然變了。太陽的第一縷曙光延展在海面上。太陽正從世界的邊緣一點點升起。

Over the first rocks, along to the point. Tim glanced back. The beach was still empty. The sun sailed higher in the sky.
朝向目標，姆站在緊鄰最近的岩石上。他回頭望去，海灘上依然很安靜。太陽越升越高。

He could see the cave now, even darker in the morning light. The sand turned silver then dark gold as the water flowed away from it. He had to force himself to go closer. Why was it so much more mysterious now? But it would be silly to go back now after so much trouble. He needn’t go in all the way...
他現在能看見巖洞了，在晨曦中顯得更加幽暗。沙子變成銀色，隨着海水的退去又變成暗金色。他必須迫使自己更近洞穴。現在爲什麼如此神祕？但是費了很多周折卻又折回去是很不明智的。他不必一直呆在山洞裏……