双语 ● A Promise of Spring　春天的承诺

A Promise of Spring　春天的承诺

◎ Kathy England

Early in the spring, about a month before my grandpa’s stroke, I began walking for an hour every afternoon. Some days I would walk four blocks south to see Grandma and Grandpa. At eighty-six, Grandpa was still quite a gardener, so I always watched for his earliest blooms and each new wave of spring flowers.

早春时节，也就是爷爷中风前的一个月，我开始每天下午散步一小时。有时，我会步行向南走过四条街去探望爷爷奶奶。爷爷86岁了，可还是一个杰出的花匠。所以，我常常观察他种的最早盛开的花，还有春日里的一片片花海。

I was especially interested in flowers that year because I was planning to landscape my own yard and I was eager to get Grandpa’s advice. I thought I knew pretty much what I wanted—a yard full of bushes and plants that would bloom from May till November.

那年，我打算好好整理一下自己的小花园，所以对花特别感兴趣，希望爷爷能给我一些建议。我以为自己清楚究竟想要什么——满院子的花草树木，一直从5月开到11月。

It was right after the first rush of purple violets in the lawns and the sudden blaze of forsythia that spring that Grandpa had a stroke. It left him without speech and with no movement on his left side. The whole family rallied to Grandpa. We all spent many hours by his side. Some days his eyes were eloquent—laughing at our reported mishaps, listening alertly, revealing painful awareness of his inability to care for himself. There were days, too, when he slept most of the time, overcome with the weight of his approaching death.

那年春天，就是在草丛中的第一株紫罗兰和连翘出现后，爷爷得了中风。他没法开口说话了，左半边身体也无法动弹。家里所有人都来看望爷爷。我们都花了好几个小时陪在他身边。有几天，他的眼睛炯炯有神的——笑着听我们说不幸的事，听的时候表情十分机警。他表示自己不能自理，心里感觉很痛苦。也有些时候，他一整天都处于昏昏欲睡的状态，体重也在增加，好像随时都会有危险。

As the months passed, I watched the growing earth with Grandpa’s eyes. Each time I was with him, I gave him a garden report. He listened, gripping my hand with the sure strength and calm he had always had. But he could not answer my questions. The new flowers would blaze, peak, fade, and die before I knew their names.

时间过得很快，几个月过去了，我就像爷爷那样望着地里长出来的东西。每次我和他待在一起的时候，都要向他汇报花园里的情况。他一边听着，一边用和往常一样的力气紧紧握着我的手。可他无法回答我的问题。因此，很多绽放、憔悴、凋谢和死亡的花，我甚至都不知道它们的名字。

Grandpa’s illness held him through the spring and on, week by week, through summer. I began spending hours at the local nursery, studying and choosing seeds and plants. It gave me special joy to buy plants I had seen in Grandpa’s garden and give them humble starts in my own garden. I discovered Sweet William, which I had admired for years in Grandpa’s garden without knowing its name. And I planted it in his honor.

爷爷的疾病从春季开始就一直折磨着他，一直持续到夏季。我开始在当地的花圃里帮忙，学习选种和种植。我买了一些曾在爷爷花园里见过的植物，并悉心把它们种在我自己的花园里，这对我来说就是一件乐事。我在爷爷的花园里发现了我十分喜欢的美洲石竹，在这之前我并不知道它的名字。现在，我将它种在自己的花园里，以表示对爷爷的敬意。

As I waited and watched in the garden and by Grandpa’s side, some quiet truths emerged. I realized that Grandpa loved flowers that were always bloom; he kept a full bed of roses in his garden. But I noticed that Grandpa left plenty of room for the brief highlights. Not every nook of his garden was constantly in bloom. There was always a treasured surprise tucked somewhere.

当我守在爷爷身边、望着花园的时候，真理不断在我眼前涌现。我意识到爷爷喜欢盛开的花朵。在他的花园里，他种了整整一片玫瑰。可我也注意到，爷爷留了好多空地，只是为了让光线照进来。爷爷花园里并不是每一个角落都有盛开的鲜花。但惊喜总会一个接一个的从那儿冒出来。

I came to see, too, that Grandpa’s garden mirrored his life. He was a hard worker who understood the law of the harvest. But along with his hard work, Grandpa knew how to enjoy each season, each change. We often teased him about his life history. He had written two paragraphs summarizing fifty years of work, and a full nine pages about every trip and vacation he’d ever taken.

我也发现，爷爷的花园就像一面镜子，映照着他的一生。他一生勤勤恳恳，因为他懂得“一份耕耘，一份收获”的道理。可他除了懂得辛勤劳作，他也懂得享受四季的变迁。我们常常拿他的生活史开玩笑。他写了两段文章以总结他50年的工作，另外还有九页纸写着关于他的旅游经历。

In July, Grandpa worsened. One hot afternoon arrived when no one else was at his bedside. He was glad to have me there, and reached out his hand to pull me close.

7月的时候，爷爷的病情恶化了。一个炎热的中午，没有人陪在他身边。只有我在，他很高兴，于是伸出手把我抱得紧紧的。

I told Grandpa what I had learned—that few flowers last from April to November. Some of the most beautiful bloom for only a month at most. To really enjoy a garden, you have to plant corners and drifts and rows of flowers that will bloom and grace the garden, each in its own season.

我把所学到的东西告诉爷爷——很少有花能从4月开到11月。那些最美的花最长也只能开一个多月。想要真正欣赏花园里的美景，你必须在每个角落里种上鲜花。朵朵盛开的花把花园装扮得更加美丽了，每朵花都有属于自己的季节。

His eyes listened to every word. Then, another discovery: “If I want a garden like yours, Grandpa, I’m going to have to work.” His grin laughed at me, and his eyes teased me.

他的眼睛仿佛也在认真听着我说的每个字。然后，我又有了一个新发现：“爷爷，如果我想让我的花园变得跟你的花园一样，我必须辛勤劳作。”他咧开嘴对我笑着，连他的眼睛都在嘲笑我。

“Grandpa, in your life right now the chrysanthemums are in bloom. Chrysanthemums and roses.” Tears clouded both our eyes. Neither of us feared this last flower of fall, but the wait for spring seems longest in November. We knew how much we would miss each other.

“爷爷，菊花开了，菊花和玫瑰花都开了。”我们的眼眶里噙满泪水。我们不怕最后一朵花的凋零。可从11月就开始等待春天，好像有点漫长。我们会想念彼此的。

Sitting there, I suddenly felt that the best gift I could give Grandpa would be to give voice to the testimony inside both of us. He had never spoken of his testimony to me, but it was such a part of his life that I had never questioned if Grandpa knew. I knew he knew.

静静地坐在那，我突然想到自己能给爷爷的最好礼物——说出我们之间的承诺。他从未跟我提过他的承诺，可我从来没有怀疑过那就是他生活的一部分，这一点爷爷是知道的。他所知道的我都知道。

“Grandpa,” I began—and his grip tightened as if he knew what I was going to say—”I want you to know that I have a testimony. I know the Savior lives. I bear witness to you that Joseph Smith is a prophet. I love the Restoration and joy in it.” The steadiness in Grandpa’s eyes told how much he felt it too. “I bear witness that President Kimball is a prophet. I know the Book of Mormon is true, Grandpa. Every part of me bears this witness.”

“爷爷，”我开始说——可他的双唇紧闭，仿佛知道我想说什么——“我想告诉你，我有一个承诺。我知道救世主是存在的。我向你保证，约瑟夫·史密斯是一位预言家。我喜欢王政复辟时代和那个时代的趣事。”爷爷坚定的眼神告诉我，他也深有同感。“我向你保证金博尔总统是一位预言家。爷爷，我知道《摩门经》是真的。我用自己做担保。”

“Grandpa,” I added quietly, “I know our Father in Heaven loves you.” Unbidden, unexpected, the Spirit bore comforting, poignant testimony to me of our Father’s love for my humble, quiet Grandpa.

“爷爷，”我轻声补充道，“我知道上帝是爱你的。”我为一生谦逊、平静的爷爷许下这个承诺。对我而言，这是一个未经允许、突如其来的承诺。它令人欣慰又让人心碎。

A tangible sense of Heavenly Father’s compassionate awareness of Grandpa’s suffering surrounded us and held us. It was so personal and powerful that no words were left to me—only tears of gratitude and humility, tears of comfort.

上帝十分同情爷爷的遭遇——这个想法一直围绕并支撑着我们。这个自我意识的力量强大得让我无法用言语形容——我只能用感激之泪、谦恭之泪、宽慰之泪来表达。

Grandpa and I wept together.

我和爷爷相拥而泣。

It was the end of August when Grandpa died, the end of summer. As we were choosing flowers from the florist for Grandpa’s funeral, I slipped away to Grandpa’s garden and walked with my memories of columbine and Sweet William. Only the tall lavender and white phlox were in bloom now, and some baby’s breath in another corner.

8月底，夏末之际，爷爷去世了。当大家在花农那儿为爷爷的葬礼挑选葬花时，我偷偷跑到爷爷的花园里。我一边走一边回忆着耧斗菜和美洲石竹。如今花园里只有薰衣草、白色夹竹桃和另一个角落里绽放的满天星。

On impulse, I cut the prettiest strands of phlox and baby’s breath and made one more arrangement for the funeral. When they saw it, friends and family all smiled to see Grandpa’s flowers there. We all felt how much Grandpa would have liked that.

一时心血来潮，我摘下几朵最美的夹竹桃和满天星，为爷爷的葬礼增添一份新的装扮。亲朋好友看到这些花时，他们都笑了，因为他们看到了爷爷亲手种的花。我们都觉得爷爷一定会很喜欢那些花。

The October after Grandpa’s death, I planted tulip and daffodil bulbs, snowdrops, crocuses, and bluebells. Each bulb was a comfort to me, a love sent to Grandpa, a promise of spring.

爷爷走后的10月，我种下了郁金香、水仙、雪莲花、番红花和蓝铃花。在我眼中，每一朵含苞待放的花就是一份安慰，就是一份送给爷爷的爱，就是一份春天的承诺。

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