The Remembrance of Lilacs
淡紫色的回憶
The family had just moved to Rhode Island, and the young woman was feeling a little melancholy on that Sunday in May. After all, it was Mother's Day -- and 800 miles separated her from her parents in Ohio.
一家人剛移居羅德島。５月的那個星期天, 年輕女人感到有點兒憂傷。畢竟, 這一天是母親節─而她卻與俄亥俄州的父母親遙距800英里。
She had called her mother that morning to wish her a happy Mother's Day, and her mother had mentioned the colorful yard filled with purple lilacs.
她那天早上給母親打去電話, 祝母親節日愉快。隨後, 她的母親向她提起臨, 所以院子裡的紫丁香色彩是多麼絢麗。
Later, when she mentioned to her husband how she missed those lilacs, he popped up from his chair. "I know where we can find you all you want, "he said. "Get the kids and come on. "So off they went.
後來, 她向丈夫說起她是如何懷念那些紫丁香時, 他突然從椅子上躍起。"我知道在哪兒能找到你想要的東西, "他說, "帶上孩子, 走吧。"於是, 他們就出發了
Before they got halfway up the hill, the fragrance of the lilacs drifted down to them, and the kids started running. Soon, the mother began running, too, until she reached the top. There were the towering lilacs bushes, so laden with the huge flower clusters.
還沒等他們到達半山腰, 紫丁香的芬芳已經向他們飄了過來。於是, 孩子們開始奔跑。不久, 那位母親也開始跑起來, 直至到達山頂。那裡高聳的丁香花叢開滿了碩大的圓錐形的串串花束。
Carefully, the young woman chose a sprig here, another one there. Finally, they returned to their car for the trip home.
她小心翼翼地從這兒摘一枝, 那兒挑一束。他們終於還是返回了汽車, 走上了回家的路。
When they were within three miles of home, she suddenly shouted to her husband, "Stop the car. Stop right here!" the woman was out of the car and hurrying up a nearby grassy slope with the lilacs still in her arms. At the top of the hill was a nursing home and the patients were outdoors strolling with relatives or sitting on the porch.
當他們離家不足３英里時, 她突然向丈夫大聲喊道："停車, 就在這裡停車！"女人就已經下了車, 匆匆走向附近的草坡, 懷裡仍抱著紫丁香。山頂上是一家療養院所以病人正在室外和親友溜達或坐在門廊上。
The young woman went to the end of the porch, where an elderly patient was sitting in her wheelchair, alone, head bowed. Across the porch railing went the flowers, in to the lap of the old woman. She lifted her head, and smiled. For a few moments, the two women chatted, both aglow with happiness, and then the young woman turned and ran back to her family.
那個年輕女人走到門廊的盡頭, 只見那裡有一個上了年紀的病人正坐在輪椅裡, 獨自一人, 低著頭。年輕女人越過門廊欄杆,將鮮花放在了老太太的膝間。老太太抬起頭, 露出了笑臉。兩個女人聊了一會兒, 都興高采烈。隨後,那個年輕女人轉身跑回到家人的身邊。
"Mom, "the kids asked, "who was that？Why did you give her our flowers？ "The mother said she didn't know the old woman. But it was Mother's Day, and she seemed so alone, "Besides, "she added, "I have all of you, and I still have my mother, even if she is far away. That woman needed those flowers more than I did. The next day the husband purchased half a dozen young lilac bushes and planted them around their yard.
"媽媽, "孩子們問, "那人是誰呀？你為什麼把我們的花送給她?"他們的母親說, 她不認識那個老太太, 但今天是母親節, 她看起來是那麼孤獨, "再說, "她補充道, "我擁有你們, 而且我還有自己的母親, 即使她離我很遠。那個女人比我更需要那些鮮花。"第二天, 丈夫買了半打紫丁香幼苗, 栽到了院子四周。
I was that man. The young mother was, and is, my wife. Now, every Mother's Day our kids gather purple bouquets. And every year I remember that smile on a lonely old woman's face, and the kindness that put the smile there.
我就是那個男人, 那個年輕母親是我妻子。如今,每逢母親節,我們的孩子都要採擷紫丁香花束。而且每年我都會記起一位孤獨的老太太臉上露出的笑容, 以及笑容裡呈現出的那種慈祥。
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