They're still there. He shrugged. As they have been for who knows how many millennia.  “他们还在那里。”他耸耸肩。“他们在那里不知道待了几千年。

Carlisle stayed with them only for a short time, just a few decades.  卡莱尔只和他们待了很短的一段时间，只有几十年。

He greatly admired their civility, their refinement, but they persisted in trying to cure his aversion to 'his natural food source,' as they called it.  他非常地钦佩他们的礼貌，他们的高尚，但他们固执地试图治愈他对‘他天生的食物来源’的厌恶，他们是这样称呼的。

They tried to persuade him, and he tried to persuade them, to no avail.  他们试图说服他，而他也试图说服他们，但双方都没有收到效果。

At that point, Carlisle decided to try the New World. He dreamed of finding others like himself. He was very lonely, you see. 在那时，卡莱尔决定去新世界试试。他梦想着能找到别的像他自己这样的人。他非常地孤独，你知道。

He didn't find anyone for a long time. But, as monsters became the stuff of fairy tales,  在很长一段时间里，他没有找到任何人。但是，随着怪物逐渐成为神话故事的内容，

he found he could interact with unsuspecting humans as if he were one of them. He began practicing medicine.  他发现自己可以毫无芥蒂地和没有戒心的人类相处，就好像他是他们之间的一员一样。他开始实践自己的医术。

But the companionship he craved evaded him; he couldn't risk familiarity. 但他所渴望的伙伴关系依然躲着他，他不敢冒任何风险，去尝试亲密的关系。”

When the influenza epidemic hit, he was working nights in a hospital in Chicago.  “当西班牙流感开始蔓延的时候，他在芝加哥的一家医院里上夜班。

He'd been turning over an idea in his mind for several years, and he had almost decided to act  他心里有一个想法，已经形成了许多年了，他也几乎已经决定要去付诸行动了

since he couldn't find a companion, he would create one. He wasn't absolutely sure how his own transformation had occurred, so he was hesitant.  既然他找不到志同道合的人，他可以自己创造一个。他不能完全肯定自己的转变是否能够顺利进行，所以他一直犹豫着。

And he was loath to steal anyone's life the way his had been stolen.  而且他不情愿去偷走别人的人生，就像他自己被偷走了人生一样。

It was in that frame of mind that he found me. There was no hope for me; I was left in a ward with the dying.  在他发现我的时候，他的想法成型了。我已经没救了，和一群奄奄一息的人待在一个病房里。

He had nursed my parents, and knew I was alone. He decided to try… 他看护过我的父母，知道我已经成了孤儿。他决定试一试……”

His voice, nearly a whisper now, trailed off. He stared unseeingly through the west windows.  他的声音，现在几近耳语，终于停住了。他视若无睹地向西边的窗外望去。

I wondered which images filled his mind now, Carlisle's memories or his own. I waited quietly. 我想知道充斥在他脑子里的是什么样的画面，是卡莱尔的回忆还是他自己的。我安静地等待着。