Every morning, Xiomara found new chalk marks on the shared driveway. Numbers and letters covered the gray stone. They disappeared by the next afternoon.
每天早上，西奥马拉都会在共用的车道上发现新的粉笔印。数字和字母布满了灰色的石面。到第二天下午，它们就不见了。
At first, she thought the rain washed them away. But some mornings were dry, and the marks still vanished.
起初，她以为是雨把它们冲掉了。可有些早晨天气干燥，印子还是消失了。
One Saturday, Xiomara decided to check early, before school. She walked outside at seven. A small boy sat on the driveway with a box of chalk.
一个星期六，西奥马拉决定在上学前早点去看看。她七点走到屋外。一个小男孩坐在车道上，身边放着一盒粉笔。
"Good morning," she said. "Are you the person with all these chalk numbers?"
“早上好，”她说，“这些粉笔数字是你写的吗？”
The boy looked up, a little shy. "I'm Rio," he said. "I practice my numbers before school. My mom washes the driveway every afternoon."
男孩抬起头，有点害羞。“我叫里奥，”他说，“我在上学前练习写数字。我妈妈每天下午都会冲洗车道。”
"That explains it," Xiomara said. She sat down next to him. "Can I see your numbers?"
“这就说得通了，”西奥马拉说。她在他身边坐下。“我能看看你写的数字吗？”
Rio showed her rows of numbers, from one to twenty. They looked a little crooked but clear.
里奥给她看了一行行从一到二十的数字。它们有点歪歪扭扭，但很清楚。
"These are good," Xiomara said. "Do you want help with the next ten?"
“写得不错，”西奥马拉说，“接下来的十个，你想让我帮你吗？”
Rio nodded and handed her a piece of chalk. They sat together and wrote numbers all the way to fifty.
里奥点点头，递给她一支粉笔。他们坐在一起，一直写到了五十。
The next morning, new marks covered the driveway again. Numbers from one to fifty looked neat and proud.
第二天早上，车道上又布满了新的印子。从一到五十的数字，整齐又神气。
Xiomara smiled when she saw them on her way to school.
西奥马拉在去上学的路上看见它们，笑了。
