Chinese · Episode 12
Rain on My Skin
Spoken by 晓星
After 留学, telling 小美 the sea was loud, and that rain on her own skin was the part she still cannot explain.
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留学回来那天，我经过小美家的摊子， The day I came back from studying abroad, I passed by Xiaomei's stall,
包还没放下，她就把我叫住了。 I hadn't even put my bag down when she called me over.
“海看了吗？什么样，什么味道，都记住没有？” "Did you see the sea? What was it like, what did it smell like—did you remember it all?"
我说看了，不过学期快结束才去， I said I had, but I only went near the end of the term,
待的时间也不长。 and I didn't stay long.
她马上给我让了个地方，让我坐下来慢慢讲。 She quickly made room for me and had me sit down to tell her properly.
我先说海很响，水一直在动，站在边上就能听见。 I started by saying the sea was loud, the water kept moving, and you could hear it just standing at the edge.
她问颜色，我说有点灰，也有点蓝， She asked about the color. I said it was a bit gray, a bit blue,
跟我之前在上海路过时看见的黄水不一样。 not like the yellow water I'd seen passing through Shanghai before.
“那味道呢？” "And the smell?"
“风里有一点咸味，像带着一点盐。” "There was a bit of saltiness in the wind, like it carried a touch of salt."
她等了一会儿，看我没往下说， She waited a moment, saw I wasn't going on,
就问：“只有这些啊？” and asked, "That's all?"
我知道她想了很久， I knew she'd been thinking about this for a long time,
可我也不能为了让海听着特别， but I couldn't, just to make the sea sound special,
就编出没见过的东西。 make up things I'd never seen.
后来我跟她说起第一次下雨，水落在脸上、手上， Later I told her about the first time it rained, water falling on my face and hands,
头发湿了还会贴着脸。 and how wet hair sticks to your face.
她说：“这个小雨录过，我知道有水声。” She said, "Xiaoyu recorded that. I know there's the sound of water."
我说自己以前也听过， I said I'd heard it before too,
可站在雨里跟听录音还是不一样。 but standing in the rain is still different from listening to a recording.
她问到底哪里不一样，我想了半天， She asked how exactly it was different. I thought for a long time,
也只说出凉凉的，一滴接着一滴。 and could only say it was cool, one drop after another.
海的颜色和声音，我还讲得出一点。 I could still describe a bit of the sea's color and sound.
雨碰到自己的皮肤是什么感觉，反而讲不清楚。 But what rain felt like on my own skin, I couldn't really put into words.
小美给我倒了杯热饮，说：“看来还得我自己去。 Xiaomei poured me a hot drink and said, "Looks like I'll have to go myself.
” "
我点点头。她看见的海、碰到的雨， I nodded. The sea she sees, the rain she feels,
说不定跟我记得的又不一样。 might turn out different again from what I remember.