When I think about the chance encountersI’ve had in my travels, dominoes come to mind. Every effect has its cause,sometimes stretching back for weeks, years, or (in this case) eons. It’s as iftime itself conspires, wilfully, to set up the cascade that tumbles us into thepresent moment, as if no encounter truly happens by chance.

每每想到旅行中的偶遇时，我的思绪就会像多米诺骨牌一样渐次打开。万事皆有因果，因果轮回有时是短短几周，有时可能长达数年，还有的时候(就像这次一样)可能是永生。时间本身似乎也蓄意参与了共谋，通过一连串的事件将我们带到此时此刻，仿佛没有一次偶遇是真的“偶遇”。

The domino metaphor is uniquely appropriatein this story. It’s set in Nepal, my second home since 1979, and to where I’dreturn as a visitor or resident almost every year for the next three decades.But on 25 April 2015, at 11:56 am, two plates of the Earth’s crust shiftedslightly. Their movement caused a deadly earthquake that toppled buildings,levelled ancient temples, triggered horrific landslides and sent houses –especially in Nepal’s Sindhupalchowk district – cascading down hillsides. Morethan 8,800 Nepalis were killed, and hundreds of thousands made homeless.

对这个故事而言，多米诺骨牌的比喻十分贴切。故事发生在尼泊尔，从1979年之后，那里就成了我的第二故乡。此后的30年，我几乎每年都会回去一趟，有时只是简单看看，有时会住上一段时间。但2015年4月25日中午11:56，地壳的两个板块发生了轻微的移动，引发了致命的地震，大量建筑物和古庙倒塌，甚至触发了可怕的山体滑坡，导致房屋沿着山坡滚落下来——尼泊尔辛杜帕尔乔克地区(Sindhupalchowk)的灾情尤为严重。这次地震造成8,800多尼泊尔人死亡，数十万人无家可归。

Given my long connection to the place, itis not surprising that I felt the tremors in my own core when the massiveearthquake struck. Part of me wanted to fly immediately to Kathmandu and dowhatever I could. But I knew, having worked in disaster zones before, thatwithout a clear and essential role, I’d just be anuisance.

由于我与尼泊尔之间有着特殊的联系，所以当这样的灾难发生时，我的内心感到躁动不安也就不足为奇。我真想立刻飞到加德满都，尽自己的一份微薄之力。但由于之前曾经参加过救灾活动，所以我深知，倘若没有明确的分工，我只会给救灾工作徒增累赘。

So six months later, I travelled to Nepalwith a purpose: to visit some of the more successful relief efforts and reporton the country’s recovery. I knew I’d see people whose lives had beendevastated, but planned to remain objective. And I did a pretty good job at it –until Ivisited Camp Hope, and met a 10-year-old girl from Sindhupalchowk.

所以，我一直等到6个月后才特地来到尼泊尔，希望探访一些比较成功的救灾措施，并报道这个国家的重建工作。我知道自己难免看到很多生活被完全摧毁的人，但我还是希望能尽量保持客观。我原本表现得很好——直到我来到“希望营”(Camp Hope)，并在那里遇到了一个来自辛杜帕尔乔克的10岁女孩。

Pedro and Lorenzo, two young backpackersfrom Portugal, had never heard of Sindhupalchowk. “Frankly,” said Pedro, “wedidn’t know anything about Nepal.” They’d arrived the night of 24 April, deepinto an open-ended trip across Asia. Their plan was to wake early, climb to thetop of the newly restored Dharahara, a historic 62m-high monument overlookingKathmandu, and then go trekking.

佩德罗(Pedro)和洛伦佐(Lorenzo)是两位来自葡萄牙的背包客，他们之前从未听说过辛杜帕尔乔克。“说实话，”佩德罗说，“我们之前对尼泊尔一无所知。”他们4月24日晚上到达尼泊尔，开始了深度的亚洲自由行。他们计划早点起床，爬上刚刚重建的达拉哈拉塔(Dharahara)，在62米的塔顶俯瞰整个加德满都，然后再去徒步远足。

The next day, predictably, they overslept.Just as they left the hotel, the earthquake struck. The delay had saved theirlives: all 180 people in and around the Dharahara were killed by the fallingtower.

不出所料，他们第二天早晨睡过了头。正当他们离开酒店时，地震发生了。虽然因为睡过头而耽误了旅程，但他们却因此捡回了性命：达拉哈拉塔倒塌时，里面和周围的180人全部丧生。

Though a flight home was offered, Pedro andLorenzo didn’t leave Nepal. They stayed, using their savings to buy rice,vegetables and fruit for the terrified locals camped on the streets. During thenext three weeks, their story – which they posted on Facebook – went viral. Tensof thousands of euros flowed in, bolstering their ragtag relief efforts. Duringthe following weeks, they worked non-stop, bringing food, supplies, andclothing to people made homeless by the disaster. As the tourist district wasin shambles, they’d been granted refuge at Dwarika’s, an elegant localhotel that also hosts the Spanish Consulate.

尽管可以买到回家的机票，但佩德罗和洛伦佐并没有离开尼泊尔。他们留了下来，用自己的积蓄为露宿街头、惊恐万分的当地人购买了大米、蔬菜和水果。接下来的3个星期，他们发在Facebook上的故事在网上火了起来。他们收到了数万欧元捐款，使之可以救助更多的底层群众。接下来的几个星期，他们不停地工作，为无家可归的灾民们提供食物、补给和衣服。由于旅游区已经变成一片废墟，所以他们被安排到德瓦利卡(Dwarika’s)当地一家优雅的酒店避难，西班牙领事馆也坐落在这里。

Dwarika’s is managed bySangita Shrestha, whose mother owns the property. The Shresthas had alsostarted some rebuilding projects, and soon the two Portuguese were involvedwith those as well. Then another domino fell.

德瓦利卡酒店由桑吉塔·施雷斯塔(Shrestha Shrestha)负责管理，这是她母亲的资产。施雷斯塔也启动了一些重建项目，而那两位葡萄牙游客也参与了进来。后来，另外一个多米诺骨牌倒下了。

“In mid-May,” Pedro recalled, “someone came to Dwarika’s and told usthat 350 people -– men, women and 81 children – had been evacuated byhelicopter from an area called Sindhupalchowk. They’d been left in an emptylot, without clothes, food or water. So we got a few vans,”he said, “and broughtthem basic supplies.”

“那是5月中旬，”佩德罗回忆道，“有人来到德瓦利卡告诉我们，直升机从一个名叫辛杜帕尔乔克的地方疏散了350人，有男有女，还有81名儿童。他们被留在一片空地上，没有衣服，也没有吃喝。于是，我们找到几辆货车，”他说，“给他们送去了基本的补给。”

Sangita, Pedro, Lorenzo and half a dozennew volunteers banded together to care for these uprooted Nepalis. Sangitasecured the use of an empty football field, and within days a tent city wascreated. Water was trucked in, electric wires connected and a kitchen set up.The children were enrolled in a nearby public school. Pedro gave the settlementa name: Camp Hope.

桑吉塔、佩德罗、洛伦佐和十几名新加入的志愿者一起照顾这些背井离乡的尼泊尔人。在桑吉塔的担保下，他们得以使用一片空旷的足球场。短短几天，一座“帐篷城市”拔地而起。卡车运来了水，还接上了电线，甚至在那里建起了厨房。孩子们也入读了附近的公立学校。佩德罗给这里起了一个名字：希望营。

In October 2015, I arrived in Nepal towrite my story. I’d installed myself at Dwarika’s and was scopingout interesting relief projects. One morning, Sangita joined me for coffee. “There is aproject,”she said, “that I very much want you to see.”

2015年10月，我来到尼泊尔为自己的报道寻找素材。我住在德瓦利卡，四处寻找有吸引力的救援项目。一天早晨，桑吉塔跟我一起喝了一杯咖啡。“我很想让你看一个项目。”她说。

When we arrived at Camp Hope, a large groupof adults and scores of children awaited us, pressing their hands together inthe traditional Nepali greeting. Sangita had work to do, and needed to pawn meoff for a while. She scanned the crowd with narrowed eyes, and singled out ablack-haired girl wearing a pink fleece jacket and a calm, curious expression.She had a pageboy haircut and intensely curious eyes.

当我们来到“希望营”时，已经有一大群成年人和孩子在此等候。他们双手合十，为我们送上尼泊尔的传统问候。桑吉塔还有工作要做，得离开一会儿。她眯着眼睛扫描着人群，找出一个穿着羊毛外套的黑发女孩儿，她留着娃娃头，眼神里充满了好奇。

“Laxmi?”The little girl nodded eagerly, and stepped forward. “This isJeff, from the United States. Please show him around.”

“拉克希米(Laxmi)？”那个小女孩急切地点着头，向前迈了一步，“这是杰夫，他来自美国。请带他四处转转。”

Nepal’s Hindus and Buddhists believe in thedoctrine of reincarnation. Some of this has rubbed off on me. I recognized inLaxmi a familiar soul, and felt an instant bond, as if she had somehow been apart of my life for many years. When she took my hand, I gave myself over toher completely, feeling instant trust and affection. It seemed feasible that,in some past life, she had been the adult, and I the child in her charge.

尼泊尔的印度教徒和佛教徒都相信转世轮回。其中一些教义已经对我产生了影响。我看到拉克希米时有一种似曾相识的感觉，就好像她早在多年前就已经融入了我的生活。当她拉住我的手，我的信任感油然而生，立刻就把自己完全托付给她。就好像她在前世是个成年人，而我则是由她照顾的孩童。