姐妹共讀書

風(fēng)目

一起讀書時(shí)，你我雖相對(duì)無(wú)言，但其實(shí)千言萬(wàn)語(yǔ)早已袒露于心間。

就想這樣和你肩并著肩，一起讀書，一起坐看云卷云舒……

The sun is setting. Its heart-warming rays peek shyly through the half-open blinds1） in the dim living room. The jabber2） of the TV gently melts into the atmosphere. I， an 11-year-old girl， lie idly on a couch， carelessly resting my head on its arm as I indulge in a book.

The couch lightly bounces as someone sits on the other end. Lowering my book， I find my little sister， in her thick glasses， with a book from the same series. She lies down， too， and shuffles3） through the pages. Our feet meet in the middle， and a warm， fuzzy4） feeling slowly spreads through my body. We grin at each other and continue reading.

My sister was always shy as a child. When a stranger from church asked her name， she hid behind me. At McDonald's， she couldn't order unless I helped. During her first months at preschool5）， she didn't say a word to anyone. They thought she didn't know English， and were shocked that she spoke it flawlessly at home.

Most of the time I have spent with my sister was in total silence. We were never the talkative type. While other sisters played with dolls and gossiped， we spent time doing what we loved most： reading. This was the glue that linked us and gave us both a sense of belonging. Lying side by side and holding up our books with aching arms， we would silently share wonderful moments in the world of novels. An observer might think we were lacking in communication. But， reading was our communication. Frequently we let out sighs of devastation6） or gasps7） of delight. This magical experience was our surreptitious8） medium of fellowship.

We particularly enjoyed the Harry Potter series. Hand in hand， we delved into9） Harry's adventures， entranced10） and bewildered11）. When he raced the wind to catch the Golden Snitch12）， we cheered together. When he was trapped in the Ministry of Magic13） by the Death Eaters14）， we froze in terror. When Professor Snape betrayed Dumbledore and drove him to death， we shuddered15） in rage together.

In the blink of an eye， the clock would point to ten and Mother would intrude on the silence that had filled our room. She would give us hugs and put us to bed. We would sigh and reluctantly let go of our books. We thought this special habit of ours would last forever.

But at some unknown point， we started to grow apart16）. I prepared for high school and a hectic17） academic schedule. Reading for hours became a luxury， and so I read less and less—until I forgot the last time I indulged in a book.

My sister began to read alone. She went out in the garden and read in the sun. I enviously watched from my window， and then forced my attention back to my enormous load of homework.

Once created， our distance18） grew like bamboo sprouts after the rain. I was so busy that we hardly saw each other， and I forgot the plots of Harry Potter. Soon， I was in a school dormitory， miles away from the special times we once shared. Everything raced by in a blur19）. The once-cherished times with my sister faded.

At some point I realized that my sister was not taking my phone calls anymore. Mother always picked up the phone， saying she was off at parties. On the rare occasion that my sister picked up， it was not the same. She had grown from the timid， reserved20） girl who depended on her big sister. Mother and I were proud， but part of me missed the girl who needed me.

...

I stand in the dim hall outside my sister's bedroom. I open the door， and cozy rays of sun fill my eyes. She is sitting on her bed， immersed in a book. Her thin back seems lonely. She looks up as I enter. A quizzical21） "what are you doing here？" look appears on her face. I throw her an uneasy smile. We both stare silently at the bookshelf.

I break the stillness.

"You've got a whole lot of books here."

"Yeah， I guess."

"I should read more too. Which is the best novel you have？"

"I don't know. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's22） Stone， maybe？"

We exchange smiles. I take the ragged23）， yellow-paged book in my hand. Shuffling through the pages， I close my eyes and unpack the memories that I had neatly folded into the corners of my mind， neglecting it for years. Scenes from Harry Potter flash by. Behind Harry clutching a snitch in glory， at the very back of the audience， are two young sisters holding hands， bouncing up and down in ineffable24） joy. Among the marvels of the Ministry of Magic， these sisters are curled up， embracing each other and trembling as they watch Hogwarts students face the Death Eaters. As Dumbledore encounters death， they weep among the crowd of students.

I lie down next to my sister and open the first page of an old but new book.

夕陽(yáng)西斜。透過昏暗的起居室那半開著的百葉窗，幾縷暖人心房的斜陽(yáng)羞怯地往屋里偷看。電視里嘰里咕嚕的說話聲緩緩地融進(jìn)了室內(nèi)的氛圍。11歲的我慵懶地躺在長(zhǎng)沙發(fā)上，頭隨意地枕著沙發(fā)的扶手，沉浸于一本書中。

這時(shí)有人在沙發(fā)的另一頭坐了下來(lái)，沙發(fā)隨之輕微地彈了彈。我把手中的書往下放了放，發(fā)現(xiàn)是我的小妹妹。她戴著厚厚的眼鏡，拿著一本同系列的書。她也躺了下來(lái)，快速地翻動(dòng)著書頁(yè)。我們倆的腳在沙發(fā)中間碰到了一起，一股暖洋洋、毛茸茸的感覺逐漸蔓延至我的全身。我倆彼此咧嘴一笑，繼續(xù)看書。

我妹妹小的時(shí)候一直很害羞。當(dāng)教堂里的陌生人問她叫什么名字時(shí)，她就躲在我的身后。在麥當(dāng)勞，如果我不幫忙，她都沒法點(diǎn)餐。在她剛上幼兒園的頭幾個(gè)月里，她沒有和任何人講過一句話。他們以為她不懂英語(yǔ)，在發(fā)現(xiàn)她在家里能講一口無(wú)可挑剔的英語(yǔ)時(shí)，他們都吃驚不已。

我和妹妹在一起的大部分時(shí)間都是在寂靜無(wú)聲中度過的。我們從來(lái)都不是那種健談的人。當(dāng)別的姐妹玩娃娃、閑聊時(shí)，我們卻把時(shí)間都花在了我們最熱愛的事情上，那就是讀書。讀書就是把我們聯(lián)系在一起的黏合劑，它讓我們倆都擁有了一種歸屬感。我們會(huì)肩并肩地躺在一起，用酸痛的胳膊舉著各自的書，靜靜地分享沉浸于小說世界中的那些美妙時(shí)刻。旁人或許會(huì)覺得我們?nèi)鄙俳涣?，但閱讀就是我們的交流方式。我們常常因?yàn)闃O其悲傷發(fā)出嘆息聲或是因?yàn)槭謿g愉發(fā)出喘息聲，這種神奇的體驗(yàn)正是我們溝通姐妹情誼的秘密媒介。

我們倆都特別喜歡讀《哈利·波特》系列小說。我們一起手拉手，探索哈利的那些冒險(xiǎn)經(jīng)歷，為之深深著迷的同時(shí)充滿疑惑。當(dāng)哈利風(fēng)馳電掣想要拿到金色飛賊會(huì)兒我們一起歡呼雀躍。當(dāng)他被食死徒困在魔法部時(shí)，我們害怕得一動(dòng)不動(dòng)。當(dāng)斯內(nèi)普教授背叛了鄧布利多并將他害死時(shí)，我們一起憤怒得渾身發(fā)抖。

一眨眼的功夫，時(shí)鐘指向了10點(diǎn)，媽媽會(huì)來(lái)打破充盈在我們房間的這份寧?kù)o。她會(huì)抱一抱我們，然后安頓我們上床睡覺。我們會(huì)嘆口氣，然后不情愿地放下自己的書。那會(huì)兒我們都覺得我倆這個(gè)特別的習(xí)慣會(huì)永遠(yuǎn)地保持下去。

但不知從什么時(shí)候起，我們開始逐漸疏遠(yuǎn)了。我要為上高中以及繁忙的學(xué)業(yè)安排做準(zhǔn)備。一連讀上幾個(gè)小時(shí)成為一種奢侈，于是我讀書的時(shí)間越來(lái)越少，以至于我都想不起來(lái)自己上一次沉浸于一本書中是什么時(shí)候了。

妹妹開始獨(dú)自一人讀書了。她走到外面的花園里，在陽(yáng)光下讀書。我透過窗戶羨慕不已地望著她，然后逼迫自己將注意力重新轉(zhuǎn)回到我那無(wú)比繁重的作業(yè)上來(lái)。

我們之間的疏遠(yuǎn)一經(jīng)產(chǎn)生就像雨后竹筍一般生長(zhǎng)著。我太忙了，以至于我們幾乎很難見到彼此，而我也遺忘了《哈利·波特》里的那些情節(jié)。不久，我住進(jìn)了學(xué)校的宿舍，離我們?cè)?jīng)一同分享的別樣時(shí)光無(wú)比遙遠(yuǎn)。一切都在模糊的記憶中匆匆而過，與妹妹共同度過的那些曾令我倍感珍惜的時(shí)光逐漸逝去了。

在某個(gè)時(shí)刻，我意識(shí)到妹妹也不再接我電話了。媽媽總會(huì)接起電話，告訴我妹妹出去參加聚會(huì)了。即便是妹妹難得接我電話的時(shí)候，那感覺也和從前不一樣了。她已經(jīng)長(zhǎng)大了，不再是那個(gè)羞怯、內(nèi)向、依靠她的大姐姐的女孩了。媽媽和我都為她感到驕傲，但有時(shí)我也會(huì)想念那個(gè)需要我的女孩。

……

我站在妹妹臥室外那昏暗的走廊里。我推開門，暖和、舒適的陽(yáng)光照進(jìn)了我的雙眼。妹妹正坐在她的床上，沉浸于一本書中。她那瘦削的背影看起來(lái)有些孤獨(dú)。當(dāng)我走進(jìn)去時(shí)，她抬起頭來(lái)，一種“你來(lái)這兒干嗎？”的詫異神情浮現(xiàn)在她的臉上。我朝她不自在地笑了笑，我們倆都靜靜地盯著書架。

我打破了沉默。

“你這兒有整整一書架的書呢！”

“嗯，我想是的?！?/p>

“我也應(yīng)該多讀點(diǎn)書。你的哪本小說最好看？”

“我不知道?？赡苁恰豆げㄌ嘏c魔法石》吧？”

我們彼此相視一笑。我把那本書頁(yè)泛黃、磨損不堪的書拿到自己手里。我快速翻動(dòng)著書頁(yè)，閉上了眼睛，那些被我整齊地疊放在自己內(nèi)心角落里的、被我忽略多年的回憶漸次展開?！豆げㄌ亍防锏囊荒荒婚W現(xiàn)。在無(wú)比榮耀地手握金色飛賊的哈利身后，在觀眾的最后面，有兩個(gè)年幼的姐妹，她們手拉著手，在難以言喻的快樂中跳上跳下。在魔法部各種奇異的事物當(dāng)中，這對(duì)姐妹蜷縮成一團(tuán)，彼此擁抱著，并在看到霍格沃茨學(xué)校的學(xué)生們面對(duì)食死徒時(shí)渾身顫抖不已。在鄧布利多面臨死亡的那一刻，她們和那群學(xué)生一起落淚。

我挨著妹妹躺了下來(lái)，翻開了書的第一頁(yè)，這是一本舊書，此刻卻煥發(fā)著新顏。

1.blind [bla?nd] n. 百葉窗；窗簾；卷簾

2.jabber [?d??b?（r）] n. 嘰里咕嚕的說話聲

3.shuffle [???fl] vi. 馬虎地（或匆忙地）做（多與through連用）

4.fuzzy [?f?zi] adj. 覆有絨毛的；毛茸茸的

5.preschool [?pri?sku?l] n. 幼兒園；幼稚園

6.devastation [?dev??ste??n] n. 極度的憂傷；極度的震驚

7.gasp [ɡɑ?sp] n. （尤指因驚訝或疼痛而引起的）喘氣；喘息

8.surreptitious [?s?r?p?t???s] adj. 秘密的；私下的

9.delve into： 探索；鉆研

10.entranced [?n?trɑ?nst] adj. 狂喜的；著迷的

11.bewildered [b??w?ld?（r）d] adj. 不知所措的；迷惑的

12.Golden Snitch： 金色飛賊，《哈利·波特》中的一個(gè)魔法物件，也是魁地奇（Quidditch）比賽中最重要的球。它是一個(gè)胡桃大小的金色金屬球，球身還有一對(duì)不斷飛舞的小銀翅膀，飛行極快，很難被抓到。

13.Ministry of Magic： 魔法部，《哈利·波特》系列作品中虛構(gòu)的一個(gè)政府部門，掌管英國(guó)魔法界的所有事務(wù)。

14.Death Eaters： 食死徒，是《哈利·波特》系列作品中大反派伏地魔所有黨羽的統(tǒng)稱。

15.shudder [???d?（r）] vi. （因寒冷、害怕或激動(dòng)）打顫，戰(zhàn)栗，發(fā)抖

16.grow apart： （在思想、感情等方面）逐漸疏遠(yuǎn)，漸漸產(chǎn)生隔閡

17.hectic [?hekt?k] adj. 繁忙的；忙碌的

18.distance [?d?st?ns] n. 冷淡；不友好；（親屬關(guān)系的）疏遠(yuǎn)

19.blur [bl??（r）] n. 模糊的記憶；記不清的事情

20.reserved [r??z??vd] adj. 內(nèi)向的；寡言少語(yǔ)的；矜持的

21.quizzical [?kw?z?kl] adj. 詫異的；感到好笑的

22.sorcerer [?s??s?r?（r）] n. 男巫；術(shù)士，魔法師

23.ragged [?r?ɡ?d] adj. （邊緣或表面）粗糙的，參差不齊的

24.ineffable [?n?ef?bl] adj. （美好得）難以形容的，不可言喻的