“我出生在1901年的芝加哥。”他停下来，用眼角的余光瞥着我。我的脸上是小心翼翼的毫不惊讶的神情，我耐心地等待着下文。他淡淡一笑，然后继续说道。“1918年的夏天，卡莱尔在一家医院里发现了我。我才十七岁，正因为西班牙流感而濒临死亡。”
He heard my intake of breath, though it was barely audible to my own ears. He looked downinto my eyes again.
他听见了我倒抽一口冷气的声音，尽管这声音小得几乎只有我自己能听见。他低下头，再次看着我的眼睛。
"I don't remember it well — it was a very long time ago, and human memories fade." He was lostin his thoughts for a short time before he went on. "I do remember how it felt, when Carlislesaved me. It's not an easy thing, not something you could forget."
“我记不太清了——那是很久以前的事了，而人类的记忆总在褪色。”他陷入了沉思，片刻之后，接着说道。“我确实还记得，卡莱尔救我时的感觉。那不是件容易的事，不是你轻易可以忘掉的事。”
"Your parents?"
“你的父母呢?”
"They had already died from the disease. I was alone. That was why he chose me. In all thechaos of the epidemic, no one would ever realize I was gone."
“他们都已经在这场瘟疫中死去了。我成了孤儿。这就是为什么他选择了我。在瘟疫流行的一片混乱中，没人会注意到我不见了。”
"How did he… save you?"
“他是怎样……救你的?”
A few seconds passed before he answered. He seemed to choose his words carefully.
几分钟后，他才回答了我的问题。他似乎在谨慎地选择着字眼。
"It was difficult. Not many of us have the restraint necessary to accomplish it. But Carlisle hasalways been the most humane, the most compassionate of us… I don't think you could findhis equal throughout all of history." He paused. "For me, it was merely very, very painful."
“这很困难。我们中没几个人有足够的自制力来做到这件事。但卡莱尔总是我们之中最人道的，最慈悲的那个……我不认为你能在整个人类历史中找到可与他相提并论的人。”他顿了顿。“但对我来说，整个过程都仅仅是非常，非常的痛苦。”
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