11 Growing Up in Five Minutes
五分钟成长
(By Carlo Timbol)
（卡洛·迪勃）
I liked to think of myself as a grown man, but consternation was eating away at my bravado like a starved piranha devouring its prey. The storm grew stronger. The lights went off. The clock struck nine. I began to cry.
我那时喜欢把自己看作一个大人，但是惊恐、慌乱就像一条饥肠辘辘的食人鱼吞食猎物一般，渐渐攻破了我的虚张声势。暴风雨变得越来越猛烈。灯都熄灭了。时钟敲了九下。我哭了起来。
Then the phone rang. I wiped my tears, swallowed my sobs and answered. It was my mother.
这时电话铃响了。我擦去眼泪，强忍着哽咽接起了电话。是妈妈打来的。
Hello, Carlo? She began. "I"m still ..."
“嗨，卡洛吗？”她说道：“我还在……”
Where are you? I interrupted, fully aware that my agitation was unbecoming for a grown-up.
“你在哪里啊？”我打断了她的话，完全不管自己当时的焦虑不安有失大人的身份。
I"m here, in Glori"s, with your brother.
“我在格洛里这儿，和你弟弟一起。”
I knew that the Glori Supermart was only five minutes from our house. I knew because my dad told me, and estimating distances was grown men"s stuff.
我知道格洛里超市离我们家只有五分钟的路程。我之所以知道是因为我爸爸告诉过我，而且估计路程也是一个大人该会的本事。
What time will you be home? I asked.
“你们什么时候才能到家啊？”我问道。
Unless we get a ride, you shouldn"t expect us any time soon.
“除非我们能搭上车，要不然你别期望我们很快就能到家。”
Why don"t you take a pedicab home?
“为什么不坐三轮车回家呢？”
The tricycle drivers won"t accept any passengers.
“三轮车司机都不载客。”
Walk?
“走回来呢？”
Through that flood? I don"t think so - that"s why I called.
“冒这么大的雨走回来呀？我觉得不行——所以我才给你打电话。”
I braced myself.
我赶紧让自己撑住。
Get your raincoat, hail a pedicab and fetch us here, she said.
“穿上雨衣，招呼一辆三轮车过来接我们吧。”她说道。
Stunned , I couldn"t utter a word. My mother continued.
我目瞪口呆，一句话也说不出来。我妈妈还在继续说着。
Carlo? Is that OK with you?
“卡洛？你能行吗？”
Was it OK with me? Was she kidding? It was raining hard, it was dark, and thunder roared every minute - not that I was scared, but I was only ten! Who knew what danger awaited me out there in the dark?
我能行吗？她在开玩笑吗？雨下得很大，天色漆黑，雷声轰隆隆不断——我倒不是害怕，可我只有十岁啊！外面漆黑一片，谁知道会有什么危险等着我呢？
Sure, no problem, I replied.
“可以，没问题。”我回答道。
Great! Bring an umbrella. You might get wet.
“棒极了！带上一把雨伞。你会淋湿的。”
As we pulled away, I became frantic with worry. What if the driver was a kidnapper? What if he charged me too much? What if he decided to drop me off and I couldn"t find my mother or my way back home?
三轮车一开动，我便强烈地担心起来。万一司机是个绑匪怎么办呢？如果他收费太多怎么办呢？要是他让我半路下车，我找不到妈妈或者不知道回家的路怎么办呢？
Overwhelmed, I began to pray. It didn"t stop me from trembling, but it did ease my fears. The minutes flew by. We reached Glori"s.
我忧心忡忡，开始祈祷。祈祷并不能使我停止发抖，但却平复了我的恐惧感。几分钟的时间一晃就过去了，我们到了格洛里。
My mother, who was standing just outside the main entrance, saw me. She took my brother Paolo, who was nine, by her left hand and carried their umbrella with her right. They walked towards me.
我妈妈正站在大门口外面，她看到了我。她左手牵着我九岁的弟弟保罗，右手拿着雨伞。他们向我走过来。
Wow, you"re really a big boy now, taking public transportation and all, my mother said with a smile.
“哇，你现在真的是个大男孩了，能自己乘坐公共交通工具了， 还能来接我们。”妈妈微笑着说道。
I would have preferred "grown man" to "big boy", but still I glowed with pride. We all got in. I took the seat behind the driver, as all grown men do. It"s the most dangerous position because the person sitting there could easily fall off, so I held on as tightly as I could. Paolo turned to me. "Ah, you were really brave today," he said.
虽然我更愿意她用“大人”这个词来形容我而不是“大男孩”，但我还是得意得满脸通红。我们上了车。我坐在司机后面的座位上，就像所有成熟男人那样。那个位置最危险，因为坐在那个位置的人很容易摔下车，所以我紧紧地扶牢了。保罗对我说道：“啊，你今天真的很勇敢啊。”
I smiled nonchalantly ." It was nothing. Someday you"ll do this too." He looked at me as if I were a god.
我若无其事地笑了笑：“没什么。有一天你也能做到的。”他看着我，简直将我奉若神明。
As the pedicab roared through the flooded streets of our neighborhood, past the stores, the houses and the people, I felt great. I had faced my fears and delivered. I had a brother who admired me, a mother who trusted me and a memory of a little adventure for keeps. I had everything, and I felt invincible . Everything, plus my mum to tuck me in.
三轮车在我们街区附近雨水泛滥的街道上轰然行进，经过了众多商店、房屋和路人，我感觉太棒了。我已经克服恐惧，范文，完成使命。我的弟弟崇拜我，妈妈信任我，我还永远拥有了一段有点儿像冒险的记忆。我拥有了一切，我感觉自己已经战无不胜了。所有的一切，不过这时妈妈把我拽到了她身边。
Were you scared? she asked me.
“你刚才害怕吗？”她问我。
Scared? Me? I replied indignantly . "It was only a five-minute ride."
“害怕？我？”我愤怒地回答道：“那只不过是五分钟的车程。”
I looked at her. She was beaming.
