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司氏姐妹（The Switch Sisters）第一章：不許惡作劇

作者：Wuwuyu 於 2012-7-10 11:09 發表於最熱鬧的華人社交網路--貝殼村

作者分類:翻譯小說|通用分類:原創文學

關鍵詞：小說連載, 新移民, 魔法, 童話, 英語翻譯

第一章：不許惡作劇

婚禮前夜，司法媽把女兒們叫到她的卧室里。

「不許作惡作劇，」她說。

她讓她們看著她的眼睛，並和她們交心。她的女兒們知道這是嚴肅的：打破了交心后的承諾的後果是嚴重的，可以確信法媽毫不手軟。

米娜，那最小的女兒，嘟著嘴。

「瑪拉在哪里？」她說。「為什么瑪拉不用交心？」

摩根轉動著她的眼珠。「因為是她結婚，小傻瓜。」一根蠟燭閃爍在米娜的座位邊，火焰似乎開玩笑似地跳上米娜的手臂，在她的袖子上翩翩起舞，然後在半空中的煙霧中熄滅。

「嘿！」米娜跳起來拍打著手臂，轉著圈子看她的襯衫背部是否完好。「瑪麗，幫幫我！」她說，「把它熄滅！」

瑪麗也轉了轉她的眼珠。她一直在讀一本她寧願在自己房間悄悄讀的書。她的母親經常把姐妹們聚集在一起，給於長時間嚴厲的有關要保密和謹慎的說教，這些說教主要針對摩根。畢竟，米娜魔力還很小，除了有一次隔空打翻了一杯牛奶（後來大家都認為她可能只是在沒人注意時用胳膊肘悄悄的蹭了一下），而每個人都知道瑪麗永遠不會去做任何逞能的事情。瑪麗翻了一頁書，放在她母親的床邊的一杯水在空中劃過一道弧線，噴向摩根的頭頂。瑪麗說：「幫幫忙」，她頭也不抬。「不要打攪我。」

司夫人站了起來，拍了一下手，她的黑色長外套沙沙作響。「絕不許作惡作劇，」她說。她的聲音像噓聲滲透到房間的各個角落，直到一切默然寂靜。她的女兒們低垂著頭，點了點頭。

明天是大日子，瑪拉，最大的姐姐，要和一名男子結婚。格雷厄姆－亨特是他的名字，大家都能猜出他是一個凡人，對司維曲家特殊的魔力一無所知。

司氏家族的確特殊。一家四姐妹，每人都有象針一樣筆直的黑色頭髮，柔軟白皙的皮膚襯托出一雙象貓一樣明亮的眼睛。除了她們不尋常的外表之外，還有其他一些司家的東西讓安玫瑰鎮的居民不安。自從法媽手牽著一個女孩，背著一對雙胞胎，挺著她那從黑色長外套里透出的鼓鼓的懷孕肚子，邁進塔瑪尼巷中，人們就耳語不斷。她在主街上開張了法媽食店－－小鎮上第一和唯一的一家中國餐館－－她把她的孩子們靜靜地安置到一棟房子里。隨著她的女兒們長大，生意的興隆，她仍然象第一天看到那樣年輕，她也從來沒有一次跟鄉親們多說一句不必要的話。她冷漠和沉靜，關閉和守護著她的女兒。除了在她的餐館用餐，鎮民們也讓他們的子女遠離法媽。在家裡關上房門后，大家會悄悄地談論這張年輕的中國人的臉是一個鷹鉤鼻，皺臉皮，鼓眼睛的老婦人的面具。在手電筒燈下，人們在傳說這種變臉在眨眼或轉頭之間即可完成。

司家住在塔瑪尼巷尾的一個老房子里。這是一個狹窄的兩層建築，黑色的油漆斑駁，屋頂邊緣掛著瓦片。每當有遊客經過這裡，他們會驚嘆它沒被丟棄，竟然有五人幸福地生活在裡面，因為它看起來太舊太小，不適合居住。

但外表往往欺騙人。有機會進入房子的幸運兒會告訴你，裡面是閃閃發光，煥然一新，拋光的紅木地板和明亮的吊燈懸掛在大廳。一個玻璃製成的螺旋式樓梯彎彎曲曲延伸到二樓，這房子所展現的肯定比人們從它的外表外觀猜測到得寬敞無比。他們甚至會說它具有有一種不是自然美的東西。其他人會點頭，因為這也符合對整個家庭人員的描述。

法媽把她的三個小女兒各自送到床上，掖好被角，給予警告。在姐姐的大日子里任何逗樂的惡作劇將會得到最高的重罰。最後，她來到米娜床邊，她還太小去做那些讓司維曲家庭顯的特別的事情。她在床單里不安的抽鼻子，蹬腳和滾動。因此法媽不是給予警告，而是彎下腰來輕輕地吻了一下最小女兒的額頭。

「是什麼事發生在我們身上？」米娜說，「瑪拉會永遠離開我們嗎？」

法媽用她的手撫摸著米娜的眼睛，將它們合上。「噓，」她說。「該睡覺了。」她坐在米娜的床邊，撫摸著她的黑頭髮。「好好睡覺，一切都會在明天早上明朗。」

Chapter 1: No Funny Business

Fa Switch gathered her daughters in her bedroom the night before the wedding.

「No funny business,」 she said.

She made each of them look her in the eye and cross their hearts. Her daughters knew this was serious: the consequence for breaking a promise crossed over the heart was severe, and Fa Switch could be trusted to show no mercy.

Mina, the littlest one, pouted.

「Where』s Mara?」 she said. 「Why doesn』t Mara have to cross her heart?」

Morgan rolled her eyes. 「Because she』s the one getting married, dufus.」 A candle was flickering by Mina』s seat, and the flame seemed to jump playfully onto Mina』s arm, dancing across her sleeve and then going out in a puff of smoke in midair.

「Hey!」 Mina jumped up and batted her arms, turned around in circles to make sure that the back of her shirt was okay. 「Marie, help me!」 she said, 「Put it out!」

Marie rolled her eyes. She had been reading a book that she』d snuck into the room. Her mother frequently assembled the sisters to give long, stern lectures about secrecy and discretion that were mostly directed at Morgan. After all, Mina had shown little power besides once tipping over a glass of milk without seeming to touch it (everyone agreed afterwards that she had most likely just swiped it with her elbow when no one was looking), and everyone knew Marie would never be the cause of any flashy business. Marie flipped a page in her book, and the water sitting in a cup by their mother』s bed arched in the air, splattering on Morgan』s head. 「Come on,」 Marie said without looking up. 「Leave her alone.」

Ms. Switch stood up, her long black jacket rustling, and clapped her hands once. 「No funny business,」 she said. Her voice seeped into the corners of the room like a hiss until it was silent and still. Her daughters lowered their heads and nodded.

Tomorrow was a big day, for Mara, the oldest, was marrying a man. Graham Hunter was his name, and for all anyone could guess he was a mortal who knew nothing about the Switches and the ways in which they were special.

For the Switches were special indeed. A family of four sisters, they had black hair that fell straight as a pin and soft pale skin punctuated by catlike eyes. But besides their unusual looks, there was something about the Switch family that unsettled the people of Ambrose. Ever since Fa Switch came striding down Tamany Lane with a girl in one hand, twins strapped on her back, and her pregnant belly bulging through her long black coat, there had been whispers. She opened up Fa』s Food on Main Street–the first and only Chinese restaurant in town–had her baby and settled quietly into a house. As her daughters grew older and her business became more successful, she remained as young as she』d looked on the first day, and never once spoke to the townsfolk more than was necessary. Cold and silent, she kept her daughters close and guarded. Besides dining in her restaurant, the villagers kept their children away from Fa Switch. Behind closed doors, whispers were exchanged that the youthful Chinese face was a mask for an old woman with a hooked nose and sunken, bulging eyes. Stories were told by flashlight about her transforming, in the blink of an eye or a turn of the head.

The Switches lived in an old house at the end of Tamany Lane. It was a narrow two-story building, with black paint chipping and shingles hanging off the edges of the roof. Whenever visitors to the town passed by the house, they marveled to discover that it was not abandoned, and that five people lived happily inside, because it looked all together too old and small to be fit for living.

But appearances were deceiving. The lucky ones who did have a chance to enter the house will tell you that the inside was gleaming and new, with polished mahogany floors and a bright chandelier dangling in the foyer. A spiral staircase made of glass snaked through the stories, and the house certainly revealed itself to be much more spacious on the inside than one would have guessed from its outwardly appearance. They would even say that there was something off about it, a kind of beauty that was not quite natural. The others would nod, because there was something about the entire family that fit that description.

Fa sent her three younger daughters to bed, tucking in each one with a warning. Any funny business on their sister』s big day, and they would feel the fullness of her wrath. Finally, she reached Mina, who was too young to do those things that made the Switches special. She was sniffling, tossing and turning in her sheets. And so, instead of the warning, Fa bent down to kiss her youngest daughter on the forehead.

「What』s going to happen to us?」 Mina said, 「Is Mara leaving forever?」

Fa Switch wiped her hand over Mina』s eyes to close them. 「Ssh,」 she said. 「Go to bed.」 She sat on the edge of Mina』s bed and stroked her black hair. 「Sleep well, and everything will be clear in the morning.」