By Roman A.Ranieri

The room was dimly lit， and on first glance， appeared to be empty. A few moments later， the padded chair behind the desk moved， and the man seated there reached for the telephone. He tapped the buttons without looking at them， then waited patiently for his call to be answered.

“Hello？” came the voice of an elderly woman.

“Mrs. Hannah Gelbman？” asked the man in a low， soothing tone.

“Yes， this is Hannah Gelbman. Who am I speaking to？”

“Its time to rest， Hannah. Youve lived a long， troubled life， overcoming countless hardships and disappointments. Its time for your suffering to end.”

“Who is this？ What kind of stupid joke are you trying to play？ I can have the police trace this call， you know that？”

“Please calm yourself， Hannah. I mean you no harm. I only wish to help you achieve peace. Havent you endured more than your fair share of suffering？ Isnt it time for something better？”

“Who are you？ Are you a member of some parasitic1 religious group？ If youre looking for a donation， youre wasting both your time and my time， because Im not giving you a penny.”

“No. I dont represent any particular group. But all religions acknowledge me， and try their best to understand the cosmic logic of my work.”

“Who are you？” the old woman asked again， her voice betraying her uncertainty. She had no idea what this man wanted from her， but she sensed that she needed to know his purpose.

“I am the Angel of Death. Havent you recently prayed that I would come to release you from your suffering？ Arent you so very tired of the constant pain of old age， and the indifference of your relatives？ If not for the change in the programs you watch on television， would you even know what day it was？”

“This is really a cruel and sick-minded joke to play on an elderly person. Youre nothing but a filthy lunatic. Im not going to tolerate this nonsense any longer. Im going to hang up right this minute.”

“You are Hannah Gelbman. You have lived at 42 Forest Lane for the last forty-two years. You had two sisters； Abigail， who moved to Florida in 1953， then remained there until her death in 1969； and Esther， who lived on the street directly behind you before she was tragically killed in an automobile accident in 1971. You were married to Asher Gelbman for sixty-three years until a stroke took him in 1993. Shall I continue？ How much will it take to convince you of my identity？”

“Yes， I guess so.”

“Fine. In a moment youll begin to feel a numbness in your left arm. Dont be alarmed. Im going to make this as painless as I can. Just relax and allow it to happen.”

“My arm is starting to tingle. What should I do？”

“Remain clam， Hannah. Think of the tingling simply as the beginning of your new existence. Let the feeling flow up your arm to your shoulder. Release yourself from the prison of your aged body. You dont need it any longer.”

“Im starting to feel a tightening in my chest，” said Hannah anxiously. “You said this wasnt going to hurt. Make it stop. Im in pain.”

“Its only a brief twinge3， Hannah. Let go. Your soul already knows the way. Just let go.”

“I—I cant breathe. Stop—stop the pain.”

He heard the thump4 of something falling to the floor， then silence. He listened patiently for several minutes， but there were no other sounds. He glanced down at the open notebook on the desk， and dialed a new number.

“Hello？” answered a young man.

“Your Aunt Hannah just died of a heart attack， Mr. Fine.”

“I understand. How did you know that she had a heart condition？”

“I endeavor to know everything about my clients， Mr. Fine. By noon tomorrow， you will place the balance of my fee in the same location as before.”

“Thats impossible. Ill need at least a week to get that much money without arousing suspicion.”

“The money will be paid by noon tomorrow as we agreed， or your heirs will be inheriting your estate by the end of the week.”

“Dont threaten me， Im not some sickly little old lady. You cant induce me to have a heart attack.”

“No， Mr. Fine. No heart attack. Your death doesnt need to appear natural. With you， I can be more creative.”

The man at the desk hung up. He wasnt concerned. He knew he would be paid. One way or another， he always got paid.

房間里燈光黯淡，初看上去仿佛空的一般。過(guò)了一會(huì)兒，桌子后面那張軟墊椅動(dòng)了動(dòng)，隨后坐在那里的那個(gè)人伸手去拿電話。他沒(méi)看按鍵就撥了起來(lái)，然后耐心地等著對(duì)方接聽(tīng)。

“喂？”說(shuō)話的是一位上了年紀(jì)的女人。

“是漢娜·吉爾布曼太太嗎？”那人用低沉鎮(zhèn)定的語(yǔ)調(diào)問(wèn)。

“是，我是漢娜·吉爾布曼。你是哪位？”

“該休息了，漢娜。你過(guò)著一種漫長(zhǎng)困窘的生活，要克服無(wú)數(shù)艱難和失望。你的苦日子該到頭了?！?/p>

“你是誰(shuí)？你在開(kāi)什么愚蠢的玩笑？我可能會(huì)叫警察追查這個(gè)電話，你知道嗎？”

“請(qǐng)鎮(zhèn)靜，漢娜。我無(wú)意傷害你。我只是想幫你獲得安寧。你不是忍受不了你那份苦日子嗎？難道還不是過(guò)好日子的時(shí)候嗎？”

“你是誰(shuí)？你是不是某個(gè)寄生宗教團(tuán)體的成員？如果你是在找人捐助，那你既是在浪費(fèi)我的時(shí)間，也是在浪費(fèi)你的時(shí)間，因?yàn)槲乙粋€(gè)子兒也不會(huì)給你。”

“不。我不代表任何特定組織，但所有的宗教界人士都認(rèn)識(shí)我，而且盡其所能來(lái)理解我工作的無(wú)限邏輯。”

“你是誰(shuí)？”老婦人再次問(wèn)道，聲音里流露出了她的惴惴不安。她不曉得這個(gè)人想要從她這里得到什么，但她意識(shí)到自己需要知道他的意圖。

“我是死亡天使。你近來(lái)沒(méi)有祈禱我要來(lái)把你從苦難中解救出來(lái)嗎？你不是厭倦透了一大把年紀(jì)不斷帶來(lái)的痛苦以及親戚間的冷漠嗎？如果不是因?yàn)槟憧措娨暪?jié)目的變換，你哪里會(huì)知道是星期幾？”

“這真是對(duì)一個(gè)上年紀(jì)的人開(kāi)的殘酷而又病態(tài)的玩笑。你只不過(guò)是卑劣的瘋子。我再也無(wú)法忍受這種胡言亂語(yǔ)了?，F(xiàn)在我就掛斷電話?！?/p>

“你是漢娜·吉爾布曼。你過(guò)去的42年曾住在森林巷42號(hào)。你有兩個(gè)妹妹。阿比蓋爾1953年移居佛羅里達(dá)州，然后住在那里，直到1969年去世；伊莎1971年在車禍中不幸死去，此前她就住在你正后面的那條街上。你嫁給阿舍爾·吉爾布曼63年，直到1993年一場(chǎng)中風(fēng)要了他的命。還要我繼續(xù)講下去嗎？要多長(zhǎng)時(shí)間才能使你相信我的身份呢？”

停頓了好一陣子，漢娜才答道：“你剛才講的每件事在各種政府記錄中都備了案：出生證明、稅單、結(jié)婚證以及死亡證明。一個(gè)地道的騙子完全可以輕而易舉地找出那些東西?！?/p>

“你的思想真敏銳，漢娜。我發(fā)現(xiàn)歲月并沒(méi)有使你的頭腦變得遲鈍，但你丈夫的情婦薩倫·戴爾怎么樣呢？你對(duì)整件事都守口如瓶，不是嗎？你甚至對(duì)你的妹妹們都從來(lái)沒(méi)有提過(guò)，不是嗎？我一個(gè)素不相識(shí)的人怎么會(huì)知道她的事呢？”

“如果這樣一件事曾發(fā)生過(guò)，我想戴爾小姐可能會(huì)被收買說(shuō)出幾個(gè)細(xì)節(jié)?！?/p>

電話上傳來(lái)了咯咯的笑聲：“我不怪你懷疑我。差不多我打給的每個(gè)人一開(kāi)始都懷疑，直至他們意識(shí)到我正在給他們提供兩件他們非常想要的東西：擺脫痛苦，永遠(yuǎn)安息?！?/p>

“夠了，”漢娜生氣地說(shuō)?！澳闶窃诎踪M(fèi)口舌。死亡天使為什么還需要用電話？你為什么不現(xiàn)在就出現(xiàn)在我的起居室？”

“為什么不用電話？它可是最普通的通信工具，不是嗎？另外，我想要你在我來(lái)到你身邊時(shí)歡迎我。我不想在突然憑空出現(xiàn)在你面前時(shí)把你給嚇?biāo)?。我的目的是讓你舒服，而不是痛苦。?/p>

“你是瘋子，滿口胡言。我要掛了?！?/p>

“別惹我生氣，漢娜。如果你掛斷，至少10年內(nèi)我不會(huì)再給你打電話。你真的愿意忍受這種生活這么長(zhǎng)時(shí)間嗎？想一想年老帶來(lái)的不可避免的痛苦，不僅是在身體上，而且在感情上，還有在智力上。繼續(xù)活下去有什么用？你不是已經(jīng)完成了幾乎所有對(duì)你真正重要的事情嗎？”

“你想要我做什么？”她輕聲問(wèn)道。

“你是坐在舒適的椅子上嗎？”

“是?！?/p>

“那就放松，聽(tīng)我說(shuō)。我將引導(dǎo)你到一個(gè)快樂(lè)安靜的世界。向后靠近墊子，閉上眼睛。讓身體放松。你極需要休息。在整個(gè)生命中，你已經(jīng)做了要你做的每件事情。你已經(jīng)贏得了轉(zhuǎn)而為自己考慮考慮的權(quán)利。”

“我害怕，”漢娜說(shuō)，她的聲音幾乎是在耳語(yǔ)，“我會(huì)發(fā)生什么事？”

“鎮(zhèn)靜。一切都會(huì)好的。從現(xiàn)在起幾分鐘后，你就會(huì)跟你丈夫和妹妹們?cè)谝粋€(gè)更好的世界團(tuán)聚。你聽(tīng)我說(shuō)話時(shí)，盡力使你的思緒漂流在一陣涼爽柔和的微風(fēng)上。你可以做到，能不能，漢娜？”

“能，我想能。”

“很好。過(guò)一會(huì)兒，你會(huì)開(kāi)始感到左臂麻木，不用怕。我會(huì)盡可能使其沒(méi)有痛苦。只要放松，跟著感覺(jué)走。”

“我的胳膊開(kāi)始刺痛。我該怎么辦？”

“保持冷靜，漢娜。把這種刺痛看成是你新生命的開(kāi)始。讓那感覺(jué)流向你的胳膊和肩膀。將你自己從衰老身體的禁錮中解放出來(lái)。你再也不需要它了?！?/p>

“我開(kāi)始感到胸部發(fā)緊，”漢娜憂心忡忡地說(shuō)，“你說(shuō)過(guò)這不會(huì)疼的。讓它停下來(lái)。我很疼?！?/p>

“這僅僅是短暫的痛苦，漢娜。放松。你的靈魂已經(jīng)知道怎么辦了。請(qǐng)放松?！?/p>

“我──我無(wú)法呼吸。停止──停止這痛苦吧?！?/p>

他聽(tīng)見(jiàn)什么東西砰的一聲落在了地板上，隨后是一片沉寂。他耐心地聽(tīng)了幾分鐘，但沒(méi)有別的聲響。他低頭掃了一眼桌子上打開(kāi)的筆記本，然后撥了一個(gè)新號(hào)碼。

“喂？”一個(gè)年輕男人答道。

“你的姨媽漢娜剛剛心臟病發(fā)作死了，凡恩先生?！?/p>

“我明白。你是怎么知道她有心臟病的？”

“我總是竭力了解我的顧客的方方面面，凡恩先生。明天中午，像以往一樣，你還把我的費(fèi)用結(jié)款放在老地方?！?/p>

“那不可能。我至少需要一周才能不引起任何懷疑地弄到那一大筆錢?！?/p>

“務(wù)必按照我們的約定在明天中午前支付那筆錢，否則你的繼承人將會(huì)在本周末繼承你的房產(chǎn)。”

“別威脅我。我可不是病懨懨的小老太太。你是不可能誘發(fā)我心臟病發(fā)作的?！?/p>

“是，凡恩先生。沒(méi)有心臟病。你的死不需要顯得那樣自然。對(duì)你，我的手段可能更有創(chuàng)意。”

桌邊那人掛了電話。他不用擔(dān)心。他知道他會(huì)收到付款的。不管怎樣，他總能收到付款。

1. parasitic： 寄生的。parasitic religious group指靠他人施舍或供給的宗教團(tuán)體。

2. out of thin air： 憑空（出現(xiàn)或消失），無(wú)中生有地。

3. twinge： 刺痛。

4. thump： 重?fù)袈暋?/p>