"I was born in Chicago in 1901." He paused and glanced at me from the corner of his eyes. My face was carefully unsurprised, patient for the rest. He smiled a tiny smile and continued. "Carlisle found me in a hospital in the summer of 1918. I was seventeen, and dying of the Spanish influenza."
“我出生在1901年的芝加哥。”他停下来，用眼角的余光瞥着我。我的脸上是小心翼翼的毫不惊讶的神情，我耐心地等待着下文。他淡淡一笑，然后继续说道。“1918年的夏天，卡莱尔在一家医院里发现了我。我才十七岁，正因为西班牙流感而濒临死亡。”
He heard my intake of breath, though it was barely audible to my own ears. He looked down into my eyes again.
他听见了我倒抽一口冷气的声音，尽管这声音小得几乎只有我自己能听见。他低下头，再次看着我的眼睛。
"I don't remember it well — it was a very long time ago, and human memories fade." He was lost in his thoughts for a short time before he went on. "I do remember how it felt, when Carlisle saved me. It's not an easy thing, not something you could forget."
“我记不太清了——那是很久以前的事了，而人类的记忆总在褪色。”他陷入了沉思，片刻之后，接着说道。“我确实还记得，卡莱尔救我时的感觉。那不是件容易的事，不是你轻易可以忘掉的事。”
"Your parents?"
“你的父母呢？”
"They had already died from the disease. I was alone. That was why he chose me. In all the chaos of the epidemic, no one would ever realize I was gone."
“他们都已经在这场瘟疫中死去了。我成了孤儿。这就是为什么他选择了我。在瘟疫流行的一片混乱中，没人会注意到我不见了。”
"How did he… save you?"
“他是怎样……救你的？”
A few seconds passed before he answered. He seemed to choose his words carefully.
几分钟后，他才回答了我的问题。他似乎在谨慎地选择着字眼。
"It was difficult. Not many of us have the restraint necessary to accomplish it. But Carlisle has always been the most humane, the most compassionate of us… I don't think you could find his equal throughout all of history." He paused. "For me, it was merely very, very painful."
“这很困难。我们中没几个人有足够的自制力来做到这件事。但卡莱尔总是我们之中最人道的，最慈悲的那个……我不认为你能在整个人类历史中找到可与他相提并论的人。”他顿了顿。“但对我来说，整个过程都仅仅是非常，非常的痛苦。”
《暮光之城》与图书题目相得益彰的是，“暮光之城”系列别具匠心的封面设计则很好地传达出了每本书内在的深远寓意。斯蒂芬妮·梅尔指出《暮色》封面上的苹果代表“创世纪” 内善恶树上的禁果。象征贝拉和爱德华之间人类与吸血鬼禁忌的爱恋。在书的开头引用了“创世纪”217页的内容：“只是分别善恶树上的果子，你不可吃，因为你吃的日子必定死。”这同时也代表了贝拉如何分辨善恶——选择是否吃下那颗禁忌的果实，这比喻了选择跟爱德华在一起或远离他。
