魯思·彼得森　許書明/譯

She was six years old when I first met her on the beach near where I live. I drive to this beach， a distance of three or four miles， whenever the world begins to close in on me. She was building a sandcastle or something and looked up， her eyes as blue as the sea.

我在離我住處不遠(yuǎn)的沙灘上第一次碰見她時，她才6歲。每當(dāng)這個世界讓我感到苦悶壓抑時，我就開上三四英里的車來到這片沙灘。她在用沙子蓋城堡或是別的什么。她抬起頭來，眼睛跟大海一樣湛藍(lán)。

“Hello，” she said.

“你好?！彼f。

I answered with a nod， not really in the mood to bother with a small child.

我點(diǎn)頭回答。說實在的，我沒有心思理一個小孩子。

“Im building，” she said.

“我在蓋東西。”她說。

“I see that. What is it？” I asked， not caring.

“我看見了。那是什么呀？”我漫不經(jīng)心地問道。

“Oh， I dont know， I just like the feel of sand.”

“啊，我不知道。我只是喜歡沙子的感覺。”

That sounds good， I thought， and slipped off my shoes. A sandpiper1 glided by.

那聽上去不錯，我自忖，然后我把鞋子脫掉。這時一只鷸滑翔而過。

“Thats a joy，” the child said.

“那是一種歡樂?！蹦呛⒆诱f道。

“Its a what？”

“是什么？”

“Its a joy. My mama says sandpipers come to bring us joy.”

“一種歡樂。我媽媽說，鷸會給我們帶來歡樂?！?/p>

The bird went glissading2 down the beach. “Good-bye joy，” I muttered to myself， “hello pain，” and turned to walk on. I was depressed; my life seemed completely out of balance.

那鳥沿著海灘滑降?！霸僖?，歡樂?！蔽亦哉Z，“你好，痛苦。”說完就轉(zhuǎn)身繼續(xù)往前走去。我情緒低落；我的生活仿佛徹底失去了平衡。

“Whats your name？” She wouldnt give up.

“你叫什么名字？”那女孩就是不放過我。

“Ruth，” I answered. “Im Ruth Peterson.”

“魯思，”我回答說，“魯思·彼得森?！?/p>

“Mines Wendy...Im six.”

“我叫溫迪，我6歲了?！?/p>

“Hi， Wendy.”

“你好，溫迪?！?/p>

She giggled. “Youre funny，” she said.

她咯咯地笑了?！澳阏嬗腥??！彼f。

In spite of my gloom， I laughed too and walked on. Her musical giggle followed me.

盡管有些憂郁，我也笑了，腳步?jīng)]有停下。她那音樂般的笑聲從背后傳來。

“Come again， Mrs. P，” she called. “Well have another happy day.”

“彼太太，下次再來吧，”她叫道，“我們還會有快樂的一天?！?/p>

The days and weeks that followed belong to others： a group of unruly Boy Scouts3， PTA4 meetings， and ailing mother. The sun was shining one morning as I took my hands out of the dishwater. “I need a sandpiper，” I said to myself， gathering up my coat.

以后的幾天甚至幾周是屬于別人的：一群鬧哄哄的童子軍、家長教師聯(lián)誼會的會議，還有我那生病的媽媽。一天早上，我洗完碗，看到陽光明媚?！拔倚枰恢机??！蔽倚闹邪迪耄闷鹆松弦?。

The ever-changing balm of the seashore awaited me. The breeze was chilly， but I strode along， trying to recapture the serenity I needed. I had forgotten the child and was startled when she appeared.

海濱在等我，那千變?nèi)f化的大海可以帶給人撫慰。微風(fēng)略有寒意，可我闊步前進(jìn)，試圖重新獲得我需要的寧靜。我已經(jīng)把那女孩忘了，所以她出現(xiàn)時，我嚇了一跳。

“Hello， Mrs. P，” she said. “Do you want to play？”

“你好，彼太太。”她說道，“你想玩嗎？”

“What did you have in mind？” I asked， with a twinge of annoyance.

“你想玩什么？”我問道，帶著一絲厭煩。

“I dont know， you say.”

“我不知道。你說吧?！?/p>

“How about charades5？” I asked sarcastically.

“玩字謎游戲怎么樣？”我故意問道。

The tinkling laughter burst forth again. “I dont know what that is.”

她又發(fā)出了清脆的笑聲，“我不知道那是什么。”

“Then lets just walk.” Looking at her， I noticed the delicate fairness of her face.

“那我們就散散步吧?！蔽铱粗?，注意到她的臉柔弱白皙。

“Where do you live？” I asked.

“你住在哪兒？”我問道。

“Over there.” She pointed toward a row of summer cottages.

“那邊。”她手指著一排避暑小屋。

Strange， I thought， in winter. “Where do you go to school？”

奇怪，我心想，怎么冬天來避暑?！澳阍谀膬荷蠈W(xué)？”

“I dont go to school. Mommy says were on vacation.”

“我不上學(xué)。媽媽說我們在度假?！?/p>

She chattered little girl talk as we strolled up the beach， but my mind was on other things. When I left for home， Wendy said it had been a happy day. Feeling surprisingly better， I smiled at her and agreed.

我們在海灘上漫步，她喋喋不休地說著小女孩的那些事，我卻在想別的。我要回家時，溫迪說那一天過得很愉快。我感覺出奇地好，朝她笑了笑表示同意。

Three weeks later， I rushed to my beach in a state of near panic. I was in no mood to even greet Wendy. I thought I saw her mother on the porch and felt like demanding she keep her child at home.

三個星期后，我瀕臨崩潰，沖向常去的海灘。我甚至沒有心思同溫迪打招呼。我好像看見她的母親站在前廊，真想要求她把孩子留在家里。

“Look， if you dont mind，” I said crossly when Wendy caught up with me， “Id rather be alone today.” She seems unusually pale and out of breath.

“哎，抱歉，”溫迪追上我時，我氣惱地說，“今天我想一個人待著?！彼@得特別蒼白，上氣不接下氣。

“Why？” she asked.

“為什么呢？”她問道。

I turned to her and shouted， “Because my mother died！” and thought， my God， why was I saying this to a little child？

我轉(zhuǎn)向她吼道：“因為我媽媽死了！”可是一說完，我就想，上帝啊，我為什么跟一個小孩子說這個？

“Oh，” she said quietly， “then this is a bad day.”

“啊，”她輕聲說，“那今天是個壞日子?！?/p>

“Yes， and yesterday and the day before and—oh， go away！”

“是，昨天也是，前天也是，還有——哦，你走吧！”

“Did it hurt？”

“痛苦嗎？”

“Did what hurt？” I was exasperated with her， with myself.

“什么痛苦嗎？”我跟她也跟自己發(fā)火。

“When she died？”

“她死的時候痛苦嗎？”

“Of course it hurt！” I snapped， misunderstanding， wrapped up in myself. I strode off.

“當(dāng)然痛苦！”我惱怒地說道，誤解了她的意思，心中只想著自己。我大步走開了。

A month or so after that， when I next went to the beach， she wasnt there. Feeling guilty， ashamed and admitting to myself I missed her， I went up to the cottage after my walk and knocked at the door. A drawn looking young woman with honey-colored hair opened the door.

大約過了一個月，我再次去海灘時，溫迪不在那兒。我感到內(nèi)疚和羞愧，承認(rèn)有些想念她。散完步，我走到她家的小屋，敲了敲門。一個蜜色頭發(fā)、面容憔悴的年輕女人開了門。

“Hello，” I said， “Im Ruth Peterson. I missed your little girl today and wondered where she was.”

“您好，”我說，“我是魯思·彼得森。今天沒見到您家小姑娘，想見見，不知道她在不在。”

“Oh yes， Mrs. Peterson， please come in. Wendy talked of you so much. Im afraid I allowed her to bother you. If she was a nuisance， please， accept my apologies.”

“啊，哦，彼得森太太，請進(jìn)。溫迪總是說起您?？峙滤谴驍_您了。如果她討您嫌了，請接受我的歉意?！?/p>

“Not at all—shes a delightful child，” I said， suddenly realizing that I meant it. “Where is she？”

“一點(diǎn)兒也沒有——她是個討人喜歡的孩子?！蔽艺f道，頓時意識到這是真心話，“她在嗎？”

“Wendy died last week， Mrs. Peterson. She had leukemia. Maybe she didnt tell you.”

“彼得森太太，溫迪上個星期就走了。她得了白血病。也許她沒有告訴您?！?/p>

Struck dumb， I groped for a chair. My breath caught.

我一下子愣住了，伸手摸到一把椅子撐住。我感覺有些透不過氣。

“She loved this beach so when she asked to come， we couldnt say no. She seemed so much better here and had a lot of what she called happy days. But the last few weeks， she declined rapidly...” Her voice faltered， “She left something for you...if only I can find it. Could you wait a moment while I look？”

“她愛這片海灘，所以每次她要來，我們都無法拒絕。在這兒她看起來好得多，度過了許多她所謂的快樂時光。但是前幾周，病情急劇惡化……”她顫聲說道，“她給您留了點(diǎn)兒東西……我得找一找。您能等一會兒嗎，我這就去找？”

I nodded stupidly， my mind racing for something， anything， to say to this lovely young woman. She handed me a smeared envelope， with MRS. P printed in bold， childish letters. Inside was a drawing in bright crayon hues—a yellow beach， a blue sea， and a brown bird. Underneath was carefully printed： A SANDPIPER TO BRING YOU JOY.

我愣愣地點(diǎn)了點(diǎn)頭，拼命想找出些話跟這位和善的年輕女士說，什么話都好。她遞給我一個臟兮兮的信封，上面端端正正寫著幾個稚拙的粗體字——彼太太。信封里是一幅蠟筆畫，顏色鮮艷——黃色的海灘、藍(lán)色的大海，還有一只棕色的鳥。下邊工整地寫著：帶來歡樂的鷸。

Tears welled up6 in my eyes， and a heart that had almost forgotten to love opened wide. I took Wendys mother in my arms. “Im so sorry， Im sorry， Im so sorry，” I muttered over and over， and we wept together.

淚水涌出眼眶，我那顆幾乎忘卻了愛的心又敞開了。我緊緊抱住溫迪的母親?！氨?，很抱歉，真的很抱歉。”我一遍又一遍低聲說著。我們倆抱頭痛哭。

The precious little picture is framed now and hangs in my study. Six words—one for each year of her life—that speak to me of harmony， courage， undemanding love.

如今這幅珍貴的小畫已經(jīng)鑲上框掛在我的書房里。畫中的六個字——一個字代表她短暫人生的一年——告訴我什么是平和、勇氣和無私的愛。

A gift from a child with sea-blue eyes and hair the color sand—who taught me the gift of love.

這是一個小姑娘送我的禮物。她有著海藍(lán)色的眼睛和沙黃色的頭發(fā)，是她教我懂得了給予愛。