三千年的渴望（2022）

我向Boschkolo祈祷，希望得到释放，
I pray to Boschkolo for my release,
如果这不起作用，
and when that does not work,
我就向我知道的任何神祈祷，
I pray to any god I know,
然后再向我可能不知道的任何神祈祷。
and then to any god I may not know.
当我仍然找不到答案时，
And when, still,I find no answers,
我就在清醒的梦中
I spend my time in waking dreams
重温我生命中的所有故事。
revisiting all the stories of my life.
当我精疲力尽了很多很多次，
And when I have exhausted this many, many times,
我又回到了我的祈祷和愤怒中。
I return to my prayer and my rage.
然而，最后。
And then, finally,
我对自己开了个玩笑。
I play a trick on myself.
我祈祷留在瓶子里。
I pray to remain in the bottle.
我恳求Boschkolo让我永远留在瓶子里。
I beseech Boschkolo to keep me always in the bottle.
那这样做有用吗？
And does that work?
渴望一无所有?
To yearn for nothing?
假装什么都不想要，
To pretend to want nothing more
只想装在瓶子里?
than to be contained in a bottle?
不
No.
对于精灵来说，这是我们离死亡最近的一次。
For a djinn, it is the closest we ever come to death.
你知道她那道问题的答案吗?
Do you know the answer to her question?
女人最想要的是什么?
What women most desire?
是的
Yeah.
你不知道吗?
Do you not know?
如果你不知道，我也不能告诉你。
If you do not know,I cannot tell you.
当然，我们想要的东西不都是一样的。
Well, surely, we don't all want the same thing.
夫人，你的渴望我一点也不清楚。
Madam, your yearnings are not at all clear to me.
我…我目前一切所需都已拥有。
I... I'm at a point in my life where I have all I need.
我敢说我很满足，而且很感激。
I daresay I'm content,and gratefully so.
告诉我。
Tell me.
你是妻子吗?一个寡妇吗?
Are you a wife? A widow?
-恩……—也许是母亲?
-Um...
-A mother, perhaps?
我没有孩子，没有兄弟姐妹，没有父母。
I have no children,no siblings, no parents.
我曾经有过一个丈夫。
I did once have a husband.
Ah.
这个丈夫的肤色是什么?
And what was the complexion of this husband?
他的肤色吗?
His complexion?
一开始，它是发光的。
In the beginning,it was glowing.
最后呢?
And in the ending?
这算不上什么故事。
It's not much of a story.
但这是一个故事。这是你的故事，
But it is a story.It is your story,
了解那些控制你的人
and it is always wise
是明智的
to understand those who have a hold on you.
请继续
Please.
好吧，好吧，嗯
Well, okay, um...
我们从年轻时就认识对方。
We'd known each other since our youth.
我们，嗯，结婚很早
We, uh, married early.
一开始，我们在对方的思想
In the beginning,we took pleasure
和身体上获得快乐。
in each other's minds and bodies.
嗯...
Um...
我们舒舒服服地度过了那几年，
We passed the years comfortably,
然后，一切都
and then as it happens,
消失了，
it all evaporated,
然后，呃…我们变得
and, uh... and we became
越来越少交流。
less.
他在哪里?
And where is he?
他和艾米琳·波特在哈克尼。
He's in Hackney,with Emmeline Porter.
嗯
Mmm.
他告诉我…
He told me I...
我无法读懂感情。
I was incapable of reading feelings.
我无法读懂他的感情。
I was incapable of reading his feelings.
得做个决定了
...gonna have a resolution.
这太棒了！
This is exciting!
-这太棒了！-不，不
-It is exciting!
-No, it's not.
让我猜猜看。没有人死在里面。
Let me guess.No one dies in it.
不
No!
我的大脑思维方式是......是......
The way my brain is wired is... is the...
是我的力量和
the source both of my power
呃，和我的孤独的来源。
and, uh, and my solitude.
我怀疑这就是我喜欢故事的原因。
I suspect that's why I like stories.
我通过故事找到感觉。
I find feelings through stories.
也许你可以许愿让他回来。
Perhaps you could wish for him back.
噢，不不不不
Oh, no, no, no. No, no, no.
不
No.
我…我本以为
I... I thought, um,
我可能会因为失去和背叛而悲伤，但事实上，
I might grieve a loss and betrayal, but, uh,
不，我是自♥由♥的。
no, in fact, I was free.
我就像一个从地牢
I was like a prisoner
走到阳光下的囚犯。
emerging from a dungeon into the sunlight.
我拓展了自己的生活空间。
I expanded into the space of my own life.
不，我不能要求更多了。
No, I could not wish for more.
你是个聪明又谨慎的女人，Alithea.
You are a wise and cautious woman, Alithea.
但我们都有欲望，
But we all have desires,
即使它们一直隐藏着。
even if they remain hidden from us.
那也只是也许而已
That's as maybe.
但我也是一个叙事学家，
But I am also a narratologist,
这将是一个问题。
and that is going to be a problem.
这将是一个非常大的问题。
It's going to be a very big problem.
你看，我知道所有
See, I know all the stories there are
关于诡计多端的精灵的故事，
about trickster djinn,
以及他们为自己的目的
and the ways in which they manipulate wishing
操纵愿望的方式。
to their own ends.
我不是其中之一。
I am not one of them.
我敬畏神，尊敬神，
I am god-fearing and honorable,
只为满足你内心的愿望。
and only here to grant your heart's desire.
好吧，即使这是真的，
Well, even if that's true,
你怎么能依靠那些被召唤的人去许愿？
how can you rely on those called upon to wish?
你怎么知道你可以依靠我？
How do you know you can rely on me?
嗯，我希望如此
Well, I hope so.
和你一起，我当然希望如此。
With you,I certainly hope so.
有一个......
There's a...
有趣的小故事。我的意思是，你可能知道它。
funny little story.I mean, you probably know it.
三个朋友坐着一艘小船迷失在海上。
Three friends lost at sea in a tiny boat.
他们捞起了一条魔法鱼。
They pull up a magic fish,
鱼满足了他们每个人的一个愿望。
who grants each of them one wish.
第一个
The first one,
"我希望我在家里和我的妻子在一起"
"I wish I were at home with my wife."
他消失了。
He vanishes.
第二个，"我希望我
The second one,"I wish I were playing
和我的孩子们在田里玩耍"。
"in the fields with my children."
他离开了
Off he goes.
而第三个，"我想念我的朋友.....
And the third one,"I miss my friends..."
我希望他们在这里。"
"I wish they were here."
你已经知道了。
You've got it.
关于许愿的故事，没有一个不是警示性的。
There's no story about wishing that is not a cautionary tale.
没有一个是大团圆结局
None end happily.
甚至那些应该是笑话的也不例外。
Not even the ones that are supposed to be jokes.
但你和我才是这个故事的作者。
But you and I are the authors of this story,
我们可以避免所有的陷阱。
and we can avoid all traps.
那么，如果我根本就没有许愿呢？
Well, what if I made no wish at all?
抱歉？
Pardon?
如果我没有许愿呢？
What if I made no wish?
这将是一个...
That would be an...
这将会
That would be
灾难性的!
catastrophic!
好吧
All right.
我要告诉你我的接下来的监禁生涯。
I need to tell you about my next incarceration.
我洗耳恭听。
I'm all ears.
我永远不知道
I will never know
我的瓶子是如何从红海之底......
how my bottle came from the bottom of the Red Sea...
到君士坦丁堡的一个宫殿。