Augustin had been dreaming about his first night shift for months. In none of the dreams was anyone old, calm or sitting in a hallway. His dreams contained sirens, stairwells and dramatic decisions. The real shift began with a cold sandwich and a warning from his supervisor. "Don't expect fireworks," she said. "Most nights are mostly paperwork."
几个月来，奥古斯丁一直梦想着自己的第一个夜班。梦里没有一个人是年迈的、平静的，或是坐在走廊里的。他的梦里全是警笛、楼梯间和惊心动魄的抉择。而真正的夜班是从一个冷三明治和主管的一句提醒开始的。“别指望有什么大场面，”她说，“大多数夜晚主要就是填表。”
The first six hours proved her right. They were sent to a minor car scrape and a woman with a sprained ankle, and then spent forty minutes restocking the ambulance. Augustin, who was only observing, carried bags and kept quiet. Despite himself, he was beginning to feel like a spare part.
前六个小时证明她说得没错。他们被派去处理一起轻微的刮蹭事故和一位扭伤脚踝的女士，然后花了四十分钟给救护车补充物资。奥古斯丁只是来观摩的，他提着包，一声不吭。他不由自主地觉得自己像个多余的零件。
At ten to three in the morning, the radio crackled. A man had called the emergency line to report a fall. The address was a small flat above a bakery in the old quarter.
凌晨两点五十分，对讲机响了起来，夹着杂音。一名男子打进急救电话，报告自己摔倒了。地址是老城区一家面包店楼上的一间小公寓。
The door was unlocked. Inside, a thin man of about eighty was sitting on the hall floor, his back against the wall. A tea towel was pressed to his forehead. "Ivar," he said, when they asked his name. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry to bring you out at this hour."
门没有锁。屋里，一位八十岁上下的瘦削老人坐在门厅的地板上，背靠着墙，额头上按着一条擦碗布。“伊瓦尔，”他们问他名字时，他说，“对不起。真对不起，这个时候还把你们叫出来。”
The senior paramedic, who had been doing the job for twenty years, checked his pupils, his pulse and his head. The cut was small, and nothing seemed to be broken. "You were lucky," she said. "But why did you wait an hour before calling?"
资深急救员已经干了二十年这一行，她检查了他的瞳孔、脉搏和头部。伤口很小，似乎也没有骨折。“你运气不错，”她说，“不过你为什么等了一个小时才打电话？”
Ivar looked embarrassed. "Because it wasn't an emergency," he said. Then he admitted that he had not spoken to anyone in four days. The last person had been the baker downstairs, who had asked whether he wanted his usual loaf. When the phone was in his hand, he had simply wanted to hear someone answer.
伊瓦尔显得很难为情。“因为这不算急事，”他说。接着他承认，自己已经四天没跟任何人说过话了。最后一个跟他说话的是楼下的面包师，问他是不是还要平常那种面包。电话拿在手里的时候，他只是想听听有人回答。
Augustin, standing in the doorway with the equipment bag, felt something shift. He had expected an emergency, and a small cut was hardly one. Yet the man in front of him had needed help badly enough to dial.
奥古斯丁提着器械包站在门口，心里有什么东西动了一下。他原以为会遇上一场紧急情况，而一道小伤口算不上。可眼前这个人确实需要帮助，需要到不得不拨通电话。
While his colleague finished the examination, Augustin made tea in the narrow kitchen. The flat was tidy and very silent, with one clock ticking above a table set for one. A radio sat on the shelf, switched off.
同事在完成检查的时候，奥古斯丁到狭窄的厨房里泡了茶。公寓整洁得很，也静得很，一只钟在只摆了一人份餐具的桌子上方滴答作响。架子上放着一台收音机，关着。
Once the tea was in his hands, Ivar began to talk. He talked about the bakery and about the choir he could no longer reach because of his knees. He talked about a daughter who lived abroad and called on Sundays. By the time he had finished, the cut was dressed and the tea had gone cold.
茶一端到手里，伊瓦尔就开始说话了。他说起面包店，说起因为膝盖不好再也去不了的合唱团，说起住在国外、每个星期天打来电话的女儿。等他说完，伤口已经包扎好了，茶也凉透了。
Back in the ambulance, Augustin raised the subject. "He doesn't need a hospital," he said. "But he needs someone."
回到救护车上，奥古斯丁提起了这件事。“他不需要去医院，”他说，“可是他需要有个人陪着。”
His colleague looked at him for a moment. "There's a community visiting service," she said. "Volunteers call round, and a coordinator phones within two days. The patient has to agree, though, and a referral form has to be filled in."
同事看了他一会儿。“有一项社区探访服务，”她说，“志愿者会上门看望，协调员两天内会打电话联系。不过得病人本人同意，还要填一份转介表。”
Ivar had been asked, and he had agreed after a long pause, although he warned them that he wouldn't be good company. Augustin had laughed. He had not been able to help it.
有人问过伊瓦尔，他沉默了很久之后同意了，只是提醒他们自己不会是个好伴儿。奥古斯丁笑了出来。他实在忍不住。
At dawn, back at the station, Augustin sat down with the form. The box marked "Reason for referral" was only two lines long. He wrote, "Patient has not spoken to anyone in four days." Then he crossed it out. Underneath, in smaller handwriting, he wrote, "Patient would enjoy company, and has plenty to say."
天亮时，回到站里，奥古斯丁坐下来填那份表。“转介原因”那一栏只有两行。他写道：“患者已四天没有与任何人说话。”然后又划掉了。在下面，他用小一点的字迹写道：“患者会喜欢有人陪伴，而且有很多话想说。”
He signed the form and, after a moment's thought, dropped it into the tray marked "Urgent".
他签了字，略一思索，把表格放进了标着“紧急”的托盘里。
