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He said to me, "What do you think of that, mate?" And you know, one doesn't get called "mate" every day.
他对我说老兄，你觉得它怎么样？”你也知道，一个黑人并不是每天都会有幸被称作“老兄”的。
I'm looking at it, I said."
“我正在看呢，”我说。
I come and look at it nearly every night, he said. "You know it's by one of your own boys, don't you?"
“我几乎每天晚上都来看它，”他说，“你知道，这是由你们的一位兄弟创作的，是吧？”
Yea, I know.
“是的，我知道。”
It's beautiful, he said. "Look at that mother's head. She's loving that child, but she's somehow watching too. Like someone guarding. She knows it won't be an easy life."
“太美了，”他说，“看那母亲的脸，她深深地爱着那个孩子，但她也在以某种方式警惕着，像是一位守卫者。她知道生活并不容易。”
Then he said confidentially, "Mate, would you like a drink?"
然后，他套近乎似地说老兄，想喝一杯吗？”
Well honestly I didn't feel like a drink at that time of night, with a white stranger and all, and a train still to catch to Orlando.
坦白地说，我不太想在晚上的这个时候喝酒，还是和一个陌生的白人，再说我还要赶火车回奥兰多。
You know we black people must be out of the city by eleven, I said.
“你知道我们黑人必须在晚上十一点前出城我说。
It won't take long. My flat's just round the corner. Do you speak Afrikaans?
“不会耽误你很长时间。我的公寓就在不远处。你会说南非荷兰语吗？”
Since I was a child, I said in Afrikaans.
“从小就会说我用南非荷兰语说道。
We'll speak Afrikaans then. My English isn't too wonderful. I'm van Rensburg. And you?
“那么我们就说南非荷兰语吧。我的英语也不太好。我叫范兰斯堡。你呢？”
I couldn't have told him my name. I said I was Vakalisa, living in Orlando.
我不能告诉他我的名字。因此我说我叫瓦卡利沙，住在奥兰多。
By this time he had started off, and I was following, but not willingly. We didn't exactly walk abreast, but he didn't exactly walk in front of me. He didn't look constrained. He wasn't looking round to see if anyone might be watching.
这时他已走开了，我跟在他后面，但并不很情愿。我们没有完全并肩而行，但他也不在我的正前方。他看起来并不拘谨，没有环顾四周看看是否有人在注视我们。
He said to me, "Do you know what I wanted to do?"
他对我说：“你知道我以前想要做什么吗？”
No, I said.
“不知道我说。
I wanted a bookshop, like that one there. I always wanted that, ever since I can remember. But I had bad luck. My parents died before I could finish school.
“我想要开家书店，就像那儿的那一家。自我记事起，我就一直有这样的想法。但我运气不好。我还没有上完学我父母就去世了。”
