Assef waved a dismissive hand. "Bakhshida. Forgiven. It's done.?His voice dropped a little. "Of course, nothing is free in this world, and my pardon comes with a small price."

阿塞夫做了个解散的手势。"原谅你，就这样。"他声音放低一些，"当然，这个世界没有什么是免费的，我的原谅需要一点小小的代价。"

"That's fair," Kamal said.

"很公平。"卡莫说。

"Nothing is free," Wali added.

"没有什么是免费的。"瓦里加上一句。

"You're a lucky Hazara," Assef said, taking a step toward Hassan. "Because today, it's only going to cost you that blue kite. A fair deal, boys, isn't it?"

"你真是个幸运的哈扎拉人。"阿塞夫说，朝哈桑迈上一步。"因为今天，你所有付出的代价只是这个蓝风筝。公平的交易，小子们，是不是啊?"

"More than fair," Kamal said.

"不止公平呢。"卡莫说。

Even from where I was standing¹, I could see the fear creeping into Hassan's eyes, but he shook his head. "Amir agha won the tournament and I ran this kite for him. I ran it fairly. This is his kite."

即使从我站的地方，我也能看到哈桑眼里流露的恐惧，可是他摇摇头。"阿米尔少爷赢得巡回赛，我替他追这只风筝。我公平地追到它，这是他的风筝。"

"A loyal Hazara. Loyal as a dog," Assef said. Kamal's laugh was a shrill², nervous sound.

"忠心的哈扎拉人，像狗一样忠心。"阿塞夫说。卡莫发出一阵战栗、紧张的笑声。

"But before you sacrifice yourself for him, think about this:

"但在你为他献身之前，你想过吗?

Would he do the same for you? Have you ever wondered why he never includes you in games when he has guests? Why he only plays with you when no one else is around? I'll tell you why, Hazara. Because to him, you're nothing but an ugly pet. Something he can play with when he's bored, something he can kick when he's angry. Don't ever fool yourself and think you're something more."

他会为你献身吗?难道你没有觉得奇怪，为什么他跟客人玩总不喊上你?为什么他总是在没有人的时候才理睬你?我告诉你为什么，哈扎拉人。因为对他来说，你什么都不是，只是一只丑陋的宠物。一种他无聊的时候可以玩的东西，一种他发怒的时候可以踢开的东西。别欺骗自己了，别以为你意味着更多。"

"Amir agha and I are friends," Hassan said. He looked flushed.

"阿米尔少爷跟我是朋友。"哈桑红着脸说。

"Friends?" Assef said, laughing. "You pathetic fool! Someday you'll wake up from your little fantasy and learn just how good of a friend he is. Now, bas! Enough of this. Give us that kite."

"朋友?"阿塞夫大笑说，"你这个可怜的白痴!总有一天你会从这小小的幻想中醒来，发现他是个多么好的朋友。听着，够了，把风筝给我们。"

Hassan stooped and picked up a rock.

哈桑弯腰捡起一块石头。

Assef flinched³. He began to take a step back, stopped. "Last chance, Hazara."

阿塞夫一愣，他开始退后一步，"最后的机会了，哈扎拉人。"

Hassan's answer was to cock the arm that held the rock.

哈桑的回答是高举那只抓着石头的手。

"Whatever you wish." Assef unbuttoned his winter coat, took it off, folded it slowly and deliberately⁴. He placed it against the wall.

"不管你想干吗，"阿塞夫解开外套的纽扣，将其脱下，慢条斯理地折叠好，将它放在墙边。

I opened my mouth, almost said something. Almost. The rest of my life might have turned out differently if I had. But I didn't. I just watched. Paralyzed.

我张开嘴，几乎喊出来。如果我喊出来，我生命中剩下的光阴将会全然改观。但我没有，我只是看着，浑身麻木。