Which is what everybody else says, he said hesitantly, is hallucinations?
Yes, but Arthur that’s ridiculous. People think that if you just say “hallucinations” it explains anything you want it to explain and eventually whatever it is you can’t understand will just go away. It’s just a word, it doesn’t explain anything. It doesn’t explain why the dolphins disappeared.
No, said Arthur. No, he added thoughtfully. No, he added again, even more thoughtfully. What? he said at last.
Doesn’t explain the dolphins disappearing.
No, said Arthur, I see that. Which dolphins do you mean?
What do you mean which dolphins? I’m talking about when all the dolphins disappeared.
She put her hand on his knee, which made him realize that the tingling going up and down his spine was not her gently stroking his back, and must instead be one of the nasty creepy feelings he so often got when people were trying to explain things to him.
The dolphins?
Yes.
All the dolphins, said Arthur, disappeared?
Yes.
The dolphins? You’re saying the dolphins all disappeared? Is this, said Arthur, trying to be absolutely clear on this point, what you’re saying?
Arthur where have you been for heaven’s sake? The dolphins all disappeared on the same day I… She stared him intently in his startled eyes.
What?…
No dolphins. All gone. Vanished.
She searched his face.
Did you really not know that?
It was clear from his startled expression that he did not.
Where did they go? he asked.
No one knows. That’s what vanished means. She paused. Well, there is one man who says he knows about it, but everyone says he lives in California, she said, and is mad. I was thinking of going to see him because it seems the only lead I’ve got on what happened to me.
She shrugged, and then looked at him long and quietly. She lay her hand on the side of his face.
I really would like to know where you’ve been, she said. I think something terrible happened to you then as well. And that’s why we recognized each other.
She glanced around the park, which was now being gathered into the clutches of dusk.
Well, she said, now you’ve got someone you can tell.
Arthur slowly let out a long year of a sigh.
“而那就是其他所有人所说的，”他踌躇了一下，“幻觉？”
“是的，但阿瑟这太荒唐了。人们认为你只要说一句‘幻觉’就可以解释任何你想解释的事情甚至你不能理解的一切都可以就那么飘走了。这只是个词而已，它解释不了任何东西。它解释不了为什么海豚都失踪了。”
“不，”阿瑟说。“不，”他深沉地补充道。“不，”他又补充道，甚至更加地深沉。“啥？”他最后说。
“解释不了海豚都失踪了。”
“不是，”阿瑟说，“我知道这个。你指的哪些海豚？”
“你问哪些海豚是什么意思？我说的是所有的海豚都失踪了。”
她把手放在他的膝头，这让他恍然明白脊梁上来回反复的酥麻感原来不是她在轻抚他的背，而一定是当人们试图向他解释什么的时候他经常会有的一种恶心恐怖的感觉。
“海豚？”
“是的。”
“所有的海豚，”阿瑟说，“都失踪了？”
“是的。”
“海豚吗？你是说所有的海豚都失踪了？这就是，”阿瑟说着，试图把意思表达的清清楚楚明明白白，“你所说的？”
“老天爷啊阿瑟你当时上哪儿去了？海豚全都失踪了的时候就是在那同一天我……”她目不转睛地盯着他震惊的双眼。
“怎么……”
“没海豚了。全走了。消失了。”
她探寻地望着他的脸。
“你真的不知道这个？”
从他震惊的表情上可以很明显地看出他不知道。
“它们去哪儿了？”他问。
“没人知道。消失就是指这个意思。”她停顿了一下。“好吧，有个人说他知道这个，但所有人都说他住在加利福尼亚，”她说，“而且疯了。我正考虑去见他因为这看起来是了解我身上发生了什么的唯一线索。”
她耸耸肩，接着长久而平静地望着他。她将手贴在了他脸的一侧。
“我真的想知道你去哪儿了，”她说，“我觉得你当时也经历了一些糟糕的事情。这就是我们为何会认出彼此。”
她瞅了一眼现在已经陷入黄昏的魔爪的公园。
“好吧，”她说，“现在你有一个可以说这些事儿的人了。”
阿瑟慢慢地舒了一长年的气。