在观看了日出时奇妙的变化以后，我会沿着陡峭的山路下行，走到一个遍布岩石的海滩，游一会儿泳。每次，我都注意到远处有一个居民区，里面有一座破旧的建筑物，人声沸沸扬扬。我通常都对它视而不见，但很奇怪的是，有一天，我竟决定走过去看看。这是一个鲜鱼市场。大部分顾客都是附近居民楼里的家庭主妇。她们完全是一副最糟糕的周日装扮——不施粉黛，衣着邋遢，脸也没洗，头发蓬乱——这与她们前一晚在夜店里那副精心装扮的外表形成了鲜明的对比。

　　I had began to walk away, quite dejected, when I saw her for the first time. I stopped, dead in my tracks. She was a real beauty—tall, fair and freshly bathed, her long lustrous hair dancing on her shoulders. She had large, expressive brown eye and her sharp features were accentuated by the rays of the morning Sun. I can’t begin to describe the sensation she evoked in me; it was the first time in my life that I felt my heart ache with such intense yearning. I knew this was love. Yet, in my heart, I knew that Istood no chance—she had a mangalsutra around her neck. She was married—maybe happily, too. Nevertheles I drew closer to her and made the pretence of buying some fish. Smiling guardedly at me, she selected a couple of pomfrets and held them out to me. I managed to briefly touch her soft hands—the feeling was electric and a shiver of thrill passed through me. She communicated an unspoken “good-bye” with her teasing, dancing eyes and briskly walked away. Too dazed to follow her, I returned to my room and had fried pomfret for breakfast. Needless to say, they tasted delicious.

　　我很失望，正要离开时，我第一次看见了她。我停了下来，脑子里一片空白。她真是一个美人——个子高高的，肤若凝脂，带着浴后的清新。长而有亮泽的头发在她的肩上起舞。她有一双大而有神的褐色眼睛，分明的轮廓在晨曦里更加清晰可见。我无从描述她在我内心唤起的感受。在我的一生中，我还是头一次由于强烈的渴望而感到内心疼痛。我知道这是爱。然而，我心里清楚我已经没有机会了——她脖子上戴着用来护佑婚姻的幸运项链。她结婚了——说不定还很幸福。然而，我不由地向她靠近，假装要买鱼。她警觉地朝我笑了笑，挑选了两条鲳鱼，捞出水面递给我。我设法碰了碰她柔软的双手——犹如触了电一般，一阵颤栗袭遍全身。她揶揄似的转动双眸，无声地示意“再见”，然后脚步轻快地走了。我昏昏沉沉的，以至无法跟从她，便回到自己的房间，炸了鲳鱼做早餐。不用说，味道好极了。