人生不設限·只差一點，我就把自己淹死在浴缸里了

有一天下午放學后，我問媽媽可不可以把我放在浴缸里泡一會兒。當她離開浴室時，我請她把門帶上，然后就把耳朵浸入水里。在寂靜之中，沉重的思緒在我心里奔騰，其實我是計劃好要這么做的。

One afternoon after school I asked my mother if she could put me in the bath to soak for a while. I asked her to shut the door when she left the bathroom. Then I put my ears under water. In the silence, very heavy thoughts ran through my mind. I had planned in advance what I wanted to do.

如果上帝不帶走我的痛苦，如果我的生命根本沒有意義……如果我到人世走一遭只是為了體驗被排斥和孤獨的感覺……我是每個人的包袱，我沒有未來……我現(xiàn)在就應該結束一切。

If God will not take away my pain and if there is no purpose for me in this life . . . if I'm here only to experience rejection and loneliness . . . I'm a burden to everyone and I have no future . . . I should just end it now.

前面提過，我剛開始學游泳時，是把肺里裝滿空氣，好讓自己仰著漂浮。現(xiàn)在我試著估計在翻過來之前，肺里要保留多少空氣：翻身之前要屏住氣嗎?我是要深深吸氣，還是只吸一半?是不是干脆把肺放空，直接翻沉算了?

As I mentioned when I described learning to swim, I'd float on my back by filling my lungs with air. Now I tried to gauge how much air to keep in my lungs before I flipped over. Do I hold my breath before I turn over? Do I take a full deep breath, or do I just do half? Should I just empty my lungs and fl ip over?

最后我直接轉過去，把臉沉入水中。我本能地屏住氣，而因為肺活量夠，我漂浮了一段應該不算短的時間。

I finally just turned and plunged my face under water. Instinctively, I held my breath. Because my lungs were strong, I stayed afloat for what seemed like a long time.

當空氣沒了，我又翻了回來。

When my air gave out, I flipped back over.

我辦不到。

I can't do this.

但陰暗的念頭還在堅持：“我要離開這里。我只想消失。”

But the dark thoughts persisted: I want to get out of here. I just want to disappear.

我吐出肺里大部分的空氣，然后又翻了過去。我知道自己至少可以撐個十秒，所以我開始倒數(shù)：“10、9、8、7、6、5、4、3……”

I blew most of the air out of my lungs and flipped over again. I knew I could hold my breath for at least ten seconds, so I counted down . . . 10 . . . 9 . . . 8 . . . 7 . . . 6 . . . 5 . . . 4 . . . 3 . . .

我繼續(xù)算著，然后，一個影像飛快閃過我心頭：父母在我的墳墓邊哭泣，7歲的弟弟亞倫也在哭，他們悲嘆地說都是他們的錯，他們應該為我做更多。

As I counted, an image flashed in my mind of my dad and mum standing at my grave crying. I saw my seven-year-old brother, Aaron, crying too. They were all weeping, saying it was their fault, that they should have done more for me.

我無法忍受讓他們終身悔恨，覺得應該為我的死負責。

I couldn't stand the thought of leaving them feeling responsible for my death for the rest of their lives.

我太自私了。

I'm being selfish.

我又翻過身來，大大吸了一口氣。我辦不到。

I flipped back over and drew a deep breath. I couldn't do it. I couldn't leave my family with such a burden of loss and guilt.

我不能讓家人背負這種失落和內疚的重擔，但我的痛苦真的難以忍受。那天晚上，我在我們共用的房間里跟亞倫說：“我打算在21歲時自殺。”

But my anguish was unbearable. That night in our shared bedroom, I told Aaron, "I'm planning to commit suicide when I'm twenty-one."

我覺得自己可以撐過高中和大學，再往后就沒辦法了。我不覺得自己可以像其他男人一樣，找到一份工作，然后結婚。有哪個女人會想嫁給我?所以，21歲看來就是結束我生命的時候了。當然，對那時的我來說，21歲還很遙遠。

I thought I could stick it out through high school and university maybe, but I couldn't see myself beyond that. I didn't feel like I could ever get a job or get married like other men. What woman would want to marry me? So the age of twenty-one seemed like the end of the road for me. At my age, of course, it also seemed like a long time away.

“我要告訴爸爸你這樣說。”弟弟回答。

"I'm telling Dad you said that," my little brother replied.

我叫他別告訴任何人，然后就閉上眼睛睡了。接下來，我就感覺到爸爸的重量，他坐在我的床上。

I told him not to tell anyone and closed my eyes to sleep. The next thing I knew, I felt the weight of my father as he sat down on my trundle bed.

“你說要自殺?這是怎么回事?”他問道。

"What is this about you wanting to kill yourself?" he asked.

爸爸用溫暖安定的語氣，告訴我還有許多美好的事在等著我。他一邊說，一邊用手指梳理我的頭發(fā)——每次他這么做，我都好喜歡。

In a warm and reassuring tone, he talked to me about all the good things awaiting me. As he spoke, he combed my hair with his fingers. I always loved it when he did that.

“我們永遠都會和你在一起，”爸爸保證，“一切都會沒事的。我答應你，我們會一直在你身旁。你會好好的，兒子。”

"We will always be here for you," he reassured me. "Everything is going to be okay. I promise we will always be here for you. You are going to be fine, son."

有時只需要愛的碰觸與關懷的凝視，就能讓一個心亂如麻的孩子放松下來。在那個關頭，聽到爸爸保證說一切都會很順利，那就夠了。他用安撫的語調和觸摸讓我相信，他們一定會為我找到一條路。每個兒子都想信任父親，那天晚上，爸爸給了我某樣東西，讓我可以緊緊握住。

A loving touch and caring gaze is sometimes all it takes to put a child's troubled heart and confused mind at ease. My father's reassurance that things would be okay was enough in that moment. He convinced me with his comforting tone and touch that he believed we would find a path for me. Every son wants to trust his father, and that night he gave me something to hold on to.

一個父親給孩子的保證是世上最強的，在這方面，我爸爸一向非常大方，也善于表達對兒女的愛與支持。我還是不了解事情會如何發(fā)展，但因為爸爸說終究會解決，我就相信。

To a child, there is no assurance like a father's. My dad was generous with such things and good at expressing his love and support for all of us. I still didn't understand how everything would work out for me, but because my daddy told me they would, I believed they would.

和爸爸談過之后，我睡了個好覺。偶爾有些日子，我還是不太好過，但在我對未來有自己的夢想之前，我信任父母，并長久持守盼望。有些時刻，甚至是一長段時間，我會有懷疑和恐懼，但幸好我人生的最低點也就是那一次了。即使現(xiàn)在，我還是跟其他人一樣會有低潮，但我再也沒想過要自殺了。

I slept soundly after our talk. I still had occasional bad days and nights. I trusted my parents and held on to hope for a long time before I actually formed any vision of how my life might unfold. There were moments and even longer periods of doubt and fear, but fortunately this was the lowest point for me. Even now I have my down times like anyone else, but I never again considered suicide.

回首當時，并思考之后一路走來的人生，我只能感謝上帝將我從絕望中拯救出來。

When I look back on that moment and reflect on my life since, I can only thank God for rescuing me from my despair.