Samir has lived in his apartment for six months. He knows the unit next door has been empty the entire time. Its "For Rent" sign is still taped crookedly to the window facing the street. He has never once heard a sound through that wall.
萨米尔在他的公寓里已经住了六个月。他知道隔壁那一套一直是空的。写着“出租”的牌子，还歪歪斜斜地贴在朝向街道的窗户上。他从来没有透过那面墙听到过任何声音。
Then, one Tuesday night around eleven, soft piano music starts drifting through the wall. He is reading in bed at the time. It's careful, a little hesitant in places. It's the same short piece, played over and over with small improvements each time.
然后，一个星期二的晚上十一点左右，轻柔的钢琴声开始从墙那边飘过来。当时他正躺在床上看书。琴声很小心，有些地方还有些迟疑。那是同一首短曲子，一遍又一遍地弹，每一遍都比上一遍好一点。
He assumes at first that someone has finally moved in. He never sees a moving truck or any new furniture arrive, though. The music continues most nights that week, always around the same time. It is always the same handful of pieces, always stopping abruptly around midnight.
起初他以为终于有人搬进来了。可是他从没看到搬家的卡车，也没看到任何新家具运来。那个星期，琴声大部分晚上都在继续，总是在差不多同一个时间。总是那么几首曲子，总是在午夜前后突然停下。
Curious, Samir knocks on the building superintendent's door the following Saturday. He half expects to learn a new tenant has just moved in quietly. Instead, the superintendent looks a little sheepish.
萨米尔很好奇，下个星期六去敲了楼管的门。他心里多少觉得，会听到有新租客悄悄搬进来了。可是楼管看起来有点不好意思。
"That's Milena," he admits. "She's a music student a few buildings over. Her own apartment's walls are paper-thin, so her neighbors complained about late practicing. I let her use the empty unit's piano after hours, before her audition next month. I probably should have mentioned it to you."
“那是米莱娜，”他承认道，“她是附近几栋楼外的一个音乐系学生。她自己住处的墙薄得像纸，邻居们抱怨她深夜练琴。我在下个月她试演之前，让她下班后用那间空房子里的钢琴。我大概应该跟你提一下的。”
Samir isn't upset, just relieved to finally understand what he'd been hearing. He mentions that the piece she keeps repeating sounds better each night. This makes the superintendent laugh, and he admits Milena would probably appreciate hearing that directly.
萨米尔并没有生气，只是松了口气，终于明白了自己一直听到的是什么。他说，她反复弹的那首曲子，每天晚上听起来都更好了。楼管听了笑了起来，承认米莱娜要是能当面听到这话，大概会很高兴。
The next evening, Samir leaves a short note under the empty apartment's door. It reads: "Whoever is practicing next door, it's genuinely lovely. Good luck with your audition." A reply appears under his own door two days later. It is just a few words, thanking him for not complaining like the last building had.
第二天晚上，萨米尔在那间空公寓的门底下塞了一张短纸条。上面写着：“隔壁不管是谁在练琴，真的很好听。祝你试演顺利。”两天后，一张回复出现在了他自己的门底下。只有短短几个字，感谢他没有像上一栋楼的人那样抱怨。
