時(shí)間之手

Ｉｄａ?。汀。遥铮鳎欤幔睿洌?/p>

甘美好 譯

A grandmother teaches her child a little about

¹⁾adversity by explaining to him how her hands became so tired and worn.

The old woman sat rocking²⁾back and forth in front of the fire. Her grandson, who was a virtual³⁾clone of his dead daddy, stood at her elbow, staring thoughtfully up into a face that had long since seen⁴⁾the blush of June.

“⁵⁾Gamma, why are your hands all⁶⁾curled up like that?” There is no⁷⁾rancour in the question, just a childs curiosity. The old woman eyes soften and she gathers him to her bony breast. For a brief second, she cannot find her voice as her thoughts⁸⁾wander to a place far away and long ago.A tiny tear forms in the corner of her eye as she glances down at her hands; hands that were once so powerful and strong, now⁹⁾withered and¹⁰⁾gnarled with age, the¹¹⁾knuckles¹²⁾bumpy and¹³⁾misshapen. Never one to¹⁴⁾succumb to self-pity, she lifts her head and begins to speak, gazing lovingly into the oh-so-familiar eyes of the child of her son.

“Ah, my pet, when I was a young woman and my body not yet my enemy, I¹⁵⁾toiled¹⁶⁾from dawn to dusk. Do you see those shelves over there? They hold all your mamas¹⁷⁾fancy china and crystal now, but once they were filled with jars of food prepared by these old hands. Hard work and I were constant companions. Your grampa and I built this very house,¹⁸⁾beam by beam, brick by brick.”

The childs eyes widen as he studies the heavy, overhead wooden beams that run the length of the room; he¹⁹⁾screws up his face in²⁰⁾consternation. It is inconceivable to him that this tiny,²¹⁾frail woman could possibly lift anything heavier than a cup. Why, didnt he have to carry her plate over to her chair at suppertime? Gamma was very unsteady on her²²⁾spindly legs and sometimes she dropped things or spilled something on Mamas spotlessly clean floor. Whenever that happened, Mama would roll her eyes and her lips would form a thin, hard line, like a²³⁾crack in²⁴⁾cement; and though she never said a word, Mama would always give a tiny, disapproving²⁵⁾sniff. Gamma always pretended not to notice, but Seamus wasnt fooled. He knew Mamas impatience and²⁶⁾fussiness made the old woman feel embarrassed and upset. He²⁷⁾adored his Gamma and was happiest when he looked up into her warm, smiling eyes and then felt her touch? gentle and soft as silk?as she²⁸⁾fleetingly brushed the hair from his eyes whenever he brought her meal or her tea.

“Gamma,” the childs voice raises an²⁹⁾octave higher, “how ever did someone so small ever lift those heavy beams?” The old woman smiled, the lines on her face softening as she gently patted his head.

“There was a time, a long time ago when I was healthy and very strong. Love is a strong and committed power and it can create miracles. My love for your grampa and for our life together made even the most³⁰⁾gruelling task a joy. And with your grampas strength and our mutual love and determination we were able to build this house and our future together.”

“My hands were pretty then, the skin as soft as a powder puff. Your dear grampa often told me he fell in love with me from the instant he first held them. And from that very first moment, I loved him too. Before too long your grampa and I joined our hands and our hearts. Though my heart³¹⁾soared through life with the ease of a dove, my hands were grounded to the earth and they³²⁾weathered many a task over the years. They sawed wood in the morning and³³⁾suckled your father at night. Winters, they cracked and bled from the cold and in summers they were³⁴⁾stained with dirt from the garden, the fingers dyed red from all the berries they ³⁵⁾crushed. They sewed clothes, cooked meals and pushed the plough. Your grampa adored these old hands and he³⁶⁾clutched them tightly until he drew his last breath. When he went on to heaven he took their beauty and softness with him?a gift I gave willingly with eagerness and joy. And so, little one, my hands, once my pride and joy,³⁷⁾shrivelled with sadness at his passing?becoming bent and misshapen?with skin like³⁸⁾parchment?a constant reminder of how dry and³⁹⁾fragile my heart has felt without him by my side.”

“Oh,” the child said with an understanding far beyond his years, “that sounds more like the truth.” Glancing around to make sure Mama couldnt hear, he whispered⁴⁰⁾conspiratorially into the old womans ear,“Mama said it was⁴¹⁾art-er-itis.”

The unfamiliar sound of the old womans musical laugh brightened the room. It reminded the boy of the melody of water⁴²⁾gurgling over rocks in the creek out back. His own smile reflected her joy at their shared confidence and he gazed lovingly into her gentle,⁴³⁾rheumy eyes as she drew him close and ran her fingers softly through his hair.

Sighing with contentment, the small lad reached down and gently clasped his Grandmothers thin, bony hands and folded them warm and safe within his own.

一位祖母給孫子講述她的雙手變得

粗糙干枯的故事，以此告訴他生活的苦難。

老太太坐在爐火前的搖椅上，來回地?fù)u動(dòng)著。她的孫子——長得和他已去世的爸爸一模一樣，正站在她身邊，若有所思地仰望著奶奶那張?jiān)?jīng)年輕的臉。

“奶奶，為什么你的雙手都卷曲成那樣??？”這個(gè)問題并非帶有惡意，不過是一個(gè)孩子的好奇提問。老太太的眼神變得柔和起來，她把孫子摟進(jìn)懷里。有那么短暫的一瞬，她陷入無語當(dāng)中，因?yàn)樗乃季w飄到了一個(gè)久遠(yuǎn)的地方。當(dāng)她低頭注視著自己的雙手，一滴淚慢慢凝聚于眼角。那雙手，曾經(jīng)是那么強(qiáng)勁有力，如今卻因經(jīng)年操勞而變得粗糙并布滿皺紋，指關(guān)節(jié)也歪曲變形了。她是從不屈服于自憐的，她抬起頭，疼愛地凝視著小孫子那熟悉的眼睛，開始講述她的故事。

“啊，我的寶貝，當(dāng)我還是一個(gè)年輕女子的時(shí)候，我的身體還不曾與我為敵，我總是從早到晚辛苦勞作著。你看到那邊的架子了嗎? 現(xiàn)在它們擺放著你媽媽喜愛的一些奇特瓷器和水晶飾品，但是，這些架子曾經(jīng)放滿了一罐罐由這雙蒼老的手制作的食物。我一直做著那些艱辛的工作。這所房子也是我和你爺爺一梁一柱，一磚一瓦地建起來的?！?/p>

當(dāng)孩子研究頭頂上那橫跨房間的沉重木梁時(shí)，他驚訝地睜大了眼睛；他驚愕得臉都扭緊了。他無法想象，這個(gè)瘦小而虛弱的婦人能夠舉起比一只杯子更重的東西。為什么呢？他不是在晚飯的時(shí)候還得把盤子給她端過去？奶奶虛弱的腿連站都站不穩(wěn)，有時(shí)候，她還把東西掉落或?yàn)R灑到媽媽打掃得一塵不染的潔凈地板上。每當(dāng)出現(xiàn)那樣的情況，媽媽總會(huì)溜轉(zhuǎn)著眼睛，嘴唇撇成一條細(xì)小卻很生硬的線，如同水泥地上出現(xiàn)了一條裂縫。盡管媽媽從來不說出口，但她總會(huì)發(fā)出一聲輕微的不滿的嗤鼻聲。對此，奶奶總是假裝沒有聽到，可謝默斯卻不會(huì)被她騙倒。他知道媽媽的不耐煩和介意使奶奶感到尷尬和不安。他愛奶奶，每當(dāng)他給她端茶送飯，她會(huì)很快地輕拂蓋在他眼睛上的頭發(fā)，而他則凝視著她那溫暖帶笑的眼睛，感受著她像絲一般溫和、輕柔的撫摸——他覺得這個(gè)時(shí)候是最幸福的時(shí)刻。

“奶奶，”孩子的聲音抬高了八度，“那么弱小的人究竟是怎樣抬起那些沉重的木梁的？”老太太微笑著，輕輕地拍了拍他的頭，臉部的線條變得很柔和。

“那是很久以前了，我那時(shí)很健康也很強(qiáng)壯。愛情是一種強(qiáng)大而堅(jiān)定的力量，它可以創(chuàng)造出奇跡。我對你爺爺?shù)膼奂由蠈ξ覀兩畹膼?，使得最繁重累人的工作也充滿了樂趣。憑著你爺爺?shù)膶?shí)力和我們之間的互愛與決心，我們一起建造了這所房子，還有我們的未來。”

“那時(shí)候我的手可漂亮了，皮膚就像粉撲那么柔軟。你親愛的爺爺經(jīng)常對我說，他第一次握住我的手的那一刻，他就愛上了我。而我也是那一次就愛上了他。不久，我和你爺爺就手牽手，心連心了。盡管我的心如鴿子般悠閑的飛翔，但我卻通過雙手腳踏實(shí)地地勞作著，這么多年來它們完成了許許多多工作。這雙手在清晨時(shí)鋸木，到了晚上給你爸爸喂奶；冬天的時(shí)候，它們因寒冷而開裂、流血，到了夏天，它們會(huì)被園子里的污泥弄臟，手指會(huì)被它們捻碎的漿果染紅。它們縫補(bǔ)衣服，烹飪飯菜，犁田耕地。你爺爺很喜愛這雙蒼老的手，他緊緊地抓住它們直到咽氣的那一刻。他把這雙手的美麗和柔韌一起帶去了天堂—那是我懷著殷切和喜悅，心甘情愿送給他的禮物。因此，小家伙，我的手—我曾經(jīng)的自豪和快樂，因他離去的悲傷而干枯卷縮了，變得彎曲、畸形；皮膚也變得像羊皮紙一樣粗糙——這不斷地提醒我，沒有他在我身邊，我的心感到如此干枯、脆弱。”

“噢，”以一種遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)超出他年齡的理解，孩子說，“這聽起來更像事實(shí)?！彼麙咭暳艘幌滤闹?，以確保媽媽不會(huì)聽見他在奶奶的耳邊秘密地低語：“媽媽說過，這是動(dòng)——脈——炎?！?/p>

老太太發(fā)出久違的如同音樂般的笑聲，房間里的氣氛頓時(shí)快活起來。這笑聲讓孩子想起了流水在小溪的石頭上汩汩穿流的動(dòng)聽旋律?？吹剿蛩麄兎窒淼男湃味械綒g樂，孩子也笑了。當(dāng)她把他拉近，用手指輕柔地?cái)n著他的頭發(fā)時(shí)，他親切地注視著她那溫柔、濕潤的眼睛。

小家伙發(fā)出滿足的嘆息，垂身輕握祖母那雙瘦骨嶙峋的手，然后用自己的雙手溫暖、小心地把它們包住。