The Strange Notes Under My Door

Three weeks after I moved into my new flat, the first note appeared.

我搬進新公寓三週後，第一張紙條出現了。

It was folded neatly and slipped under my door.

它被摺得整整齊齊，從我的門縫下塞了進來。

It just said, your plants need more light.

上面只寫著：你的植物需要更多陽光。

Wait, my plants? Nobody had even been inside!

等等，我的植物？根本沒人進過我家啊！

Ha, honestly, I laughed it off at first.

哈，說實話，一開始我只是一笑置之。

But the next Monday, there was another one.

可是下個星期一，又來了一張。

This time it said, you're working too late again.

這次寫的是：你又工作到太晚了。

Okay, now that was genuinely creepy.

好吧，這下真的有點毛骨悚然了。

So, I decided to play detective!

於是，我決定當一回偵探！

I stayed up on Sunday night, listening by the door.

星期天晚上，我熬夜守在門邊聽動靜。

Then, around midnight, I heard slow footsteps on the stairs,

然後，大概半夜的時候，我聽到樓梯上傳來緩慢的腳步聲，

and a soft scratching sound at the bottom of the door.

還有門底下輕輕的沙沙聲。

I threw the door open, ready to catch a stranger.

我猛地把門拉開，準備當場抓住一個陌生人。

And there she was, the tiny old lady from downstairs!

站在那裡的，竟然是樓下那位嬌小的老奶奶！

She was about eighty, holding a pencil and looking terrified.

她大概八十歲，手裡拿著一支鉛筆，看起來嚇壞了。

Oh dear, I'm so sorry, she whispered. I didn't mean to frighten you.

哎呀，真對不起，她小聲說，我不是故意要嚇你的。

Well... it turned out she'd lived in my flat for forty years.

原來……她在我這間公寓裡住了四十年。

Her husband used to grow tomatoes on that very windowsill.

她先生以前就在那個窗台上種番茄。

Since he passed away, she'd barely spoken to anyone.

自從他過世後，她幾乎沒跟任何人說過話。

Writing to me, she said, made the building feel less empty.

她說，寫紙條給我，讓這棟樓感覺沒那麼空了。

I didn't know what to say, so I invited her in for tea.

我不知道該說什麼，就請她進來喝杯茶。

She looked at my poor plants and shook her head.

她看了看我那些可憐的植物，搖了搖頭。

Ha, you're drowning them, dear, she told me.

哈，你這是要把它們淹死啊，孩子，她對我說。

That was six months ago, and now we have tea every Sunday.

那是六個月前的事了，現在我們每個星期天都一起喝茶。

My tomatoes are finally growing, thanks to her.

多虧了她，我的番茄終於長起來了。

And yes, she still leaves me notes under the door.

沒錯，她現在還是會往我門縫下塞紙條。

But these days, I write back!

不過現在，我也會回信了！