雙語(yǔ) ● 愛(ài)只是一根線　Love Is Just a Thread

■ 愛(ài)只是一根線　Love Is Just a Thread

◎ Cathyma

Sometimes I really doubt whether there is love between my parents. Every day they are very busy trying to earn money in order to pay the high tuition for my brother and me. They don’t act in the romantic ways that I read in books or I see on TV. In their opinion, “I love you” is too luxurious[47] for them to say. Sending flowers to each other on Valentine’s Day is even more out of the question. Finally my father has a bad temper. When he’s very tired from the hard work, it is easy for him to lose his temper.

有時(shí)候，我真懷疑父母之間是否還有愛(ài)。他們每天都忙著給我和弟弟掙那高昂的學(xué)費(fèi)。他們從未像我從書(shū)中讀到，或在電視上看到的那樣互訴衷腸。在他們看來(lái)，“我愛(ài)你”太奢侈了，他們說(shuō)不出口。在情人節(jié)給彼此送一束花就更不可能了。我的父親脾氣不好，他常常會(huì)在勞累一天之后亂發(fā)脾氣。

One day, my mother was sewing a quilt[48] . I silently sat down beside her and looked at her.

一天，母親正在縫被子。我靜靜地坐在她旁邊，看著她。

“Mom, I have a question to ask you,” I said after a while.

“媽?zhuān)矣袀€(gè)問(wèn)題想問(wèn)你?！边^(guò)了一會(huì)兒，我說(shuō)道。

“What?” she replied, still doing her work.

“什么？”她一邊繼續(xù)縫著，一邊答道。

“Is there love between you and Dad?” I asked her in a very low voice.

“您跟爸爸之間還有沒(méi)有愛(ài)情啊？”我低聲問(wèn)她。

My mother stopped her work and raised her head with surprise in her eyes. She didn’t answer immediately. Then she bowed her head and continued to sew the quilt.

母親停下手中的活，滿眼詫異地抬起頭。她沒(méi)有立刻回答，而是低下頭繼續(xù)縫被子。

I was very worried because I thought I had hurt her. I was in a great embarrassment and I didn’t know what I should do. But at last I heard my mother say the following words:

我擔(dān)心我傷害了她。我尷尬極了，不知道該如何是好。不過(guò)，隨后我聽(tīng)見(jiàn)母親說(shuō)：

“Susan,” she said thoughtfully, “Look at this thread. Sometimes it appears, but most of it disappears in the quilt. The thread really makes the quilt strong and durable. If life is a quilt, then love should be a thread. It can hardly be seen anywhere or anytime, but it’s really there. Love is inside.”

“蘇珊，”她若有所思地說(shuō)道，“看看這些線。有的時(shí)候，你能看得見(jiàn)它們，但大多時(shí)候它們都隱藏在被子里。這些線的確讓被子變得更加耐用。如果生活是床被子的話，那么愛(ài)就是其中的線。你不可能隨時(shí)隨地看到它，但它卻是真實(shí)存在的。愛(ài)是內(nèi)在的。”

I listened carefully but I couldn’t understand her until the next spring. At that time, my father suddenly got sick seriously. My mother had to stay with him in the hospital for a month. When they returned from the hospital, they both looked very pale. It seemed both of them had a serious illness.

我聽(tīng)得很仔細(xì)，但直到來(lái)年春天，我才真正理解她的這番話。那時(shí)，我的父親突然得了重病，母親需要在醫(yī)院里照顧他一個(gè)月。當(dāng)他們從醫(yī)院回家時(shí)，兩個(gè)人看上去都十分蒼白，好像他們倆都得了重病一樣。

After they were back, every day in the morning and dusk, my mother helped my father walk slowly on the country road. My father had never been so gentle. It seemed they were the most harmonious couple. Along the country road, there were many beautiful flowers, green grass and trees. The sun gently glistened[49] through the leaves. All of these made up the most beautiful picture in the world.

他們回來(lái)之后，每個(gè)清晨和黃昏，母親都要攙扶著父親在鄉(xiāng)間小路上散步。我的父親從未如此溫柔過(guò)。他們就像是天作之合。小路兩旁點(diǎn)綴著許多美麗的鮮花、綠草和樹(shù)木。陽(yáng)光透過(guò)樹(shù)葉的縫隙，溫柔地灑在地面上。這一切組成了一幅世間最美好的畫(huà)。

The doctor had said my father would recover in two months. But after two months he still couldn’t walk by himself. All of us were worried about him .

醫(yī)生說(shuō)父親將在兩個(gè)月內(nèi)康復(fù)?？蓛蓚€(gè)月后，他仍然無(wú)法獨(dú)立行走，我們都很替他擔(dān)心。

“Dad, how are you feeling now?” I asked him one day.

“爸爸，你現(xiàn)在感覺(jué)怎么樣？”一天，我問(wèn)他道。

“Susan, don’t worry about me.” he said gently. “To tell you the truth, I just like walking with your mom. I like this kind of life.” Reading his eyes, I know he loves my mother deeply.

“蘇珊，別為我擔(dān)心?！彼麥睾偷卣f(shuō)，“實(shí)話告訴你吧，我只是喜歡和你媽媽一起散步的感覺(jué)。我喜歡這種生活?！睆乃难凵窭?，我讀到他對(duì)母親深深的愛(ài)。

Once I thought love meant flowers, gifts and sweet kisses. But from this experience, I understand that love is just a thread in the quilt of our life. Love is inside, making life strong and warm ...

曾經(jīng)我認(rèn)為愛(ài)情就是鮮花、禮物和甜蜜的親吻?？蛇@件事讓我明白，愛(ài)就像是隱藏在生活這床被子里的線。愛(ài)是內(nèi)在的，它讓生活變得更加堅(jiān)固和溫暖……

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