加布里爾·加西亞·馬爾克斯小說家，寫作語言為西班牙語。作為一個天才的、贏得廣泛贊譽的小說家，加西亞·馬爾克斯將現實主義與幻想結合起來，創造了一部風云變幻的哥倫比亞和整個南美大陸的神話般的歷史。

以下這封信據傳是加布里埃爾·加西亞·馬爾克斯（Gabriel García Márquez，1928年3月6日－，哥倫比亞人，1982年因《百年孤獨》獲諾貝爾文學獎），得知自己身患絕癥（1999年得淋巴癌）后對人生的感言。

(圖片為《百年孤獨》作者加西亞·馬爾克斯）

If God, for a second, forgot what I have become and granted me a little bit more of life, I would use it to the best of my ability. I wouldn't possibly, say everything that is in my mind, but I would be more thoughtful of all I say.

如果有一剎那，上帝忘記我是一只布偶并賦予我片刻生命，我可能不會說出我心中的一切所想，但我必定會思考我所說的一切。我會評價事物，按其意義大小而非價值多少。

I would give merit to things not for what they are worth, but for what they mean to express. I would sleep little, I would dream more, because I know that for every minute that we close our eyes, we waste 60 seconds of light. I would walk while others stop; I would awake while others sleep.

我會少睡覺，多思考。因為我知道，每當我們閉上一分鐘眼睛，我們也就同時失去了60秒。當他人停滯時我會前行，當他人入夢時我會清醒，當他人講話時我會傾聽，就像享受一支美味的巧克力冰激凌！

If God would give me a little bit more of life, I would dress in a simple manner, I would place myself in front of the sun, leaving not only my body, but my soul naked at its mercy.

如果上帝賞我一段生命，我會簡單裝束，伏在陽光下，袒露的不僅是身體，還有我的魂靈。

To all men I would say how mistaken they are when they think that they stop falling in love when they grow old, without knowing that they grow old when they stop falling in love. I would give wings to children, but I would leave it to them to learn how to fly by themselves. To old people I would say that death doesn't arrive when they grow old, but with forgetfulness.

對于大人，我會向他們證明，那種認為因衰老而失去愛的想法是多么錯誤，我們是因為失去愛而衰老而不是與之相反。對于孩子，我會給他們插上翅膀而讓他們自己學會飛翔；對于老人，我會教給他們死亡的來臨不是因為衰老而是因為遺忘。

I have learned so much with you all, I have learned that everybody wants to live on top of the mountain, without knowing that true happiness is obtained in the journey taken & the form used to reach the top of the hill. I have learned that when a newborn baby holds, with its little hand, his father's finger, it has trapped him for the rest of his life.

人呀，我從你們身上學會了太多的東西... ...我知道，人們都想佇立在顛峰上，殊不知，真正的幸福恰恰就在于攀登險阻的過程。我懂得，當嬰兒用小拳頭第一次抓住爸爸的手指時，他也就永遠地抓住了它。

I have learned that a man has the right and obligation to look down at another man, only when that man needs help to get up from the ground.

我明白，一個人只有在幫助他人站起時才有權利俯視他。我能夠從你們身上學到的東西是如此之多，可事實上已經意義寥寥，因為當人們將我斂入棺木時，我正在死去。

Say always what you feel, not what you think. If I knew that today is the last time that I am going to see you asleep,

I would hug you with all my strength and I would pray to the Lord to let me be the guardian angel of your soul. If I knew that these are the last moments to see you, I would say "I love you".

永遠說你感到的，做你想到的吧！如果我知道今天是我最后一次看你入睡，我會熱烈地擁抱你，祈求上帝守護你的靈魂。如果我知道這是最后一次看你離開家門，我會給你一個擁抱一個吻，然后重新叫住你，再度擁抱親吻。如果我知道這是最后一次聽到你的聲音，我會錄下你的每個字句，以便可以一遍又一遍永無窮盡地傾聽。如果我知道這是看到你的最后幾分鐘，我會說"我愛你"，而不是傻傻地以為你早已知道。

There is always tomorrow, and life gives us another opportunity to do things right, but in case I am wrong, and today is all that is left to me, I would love to tell you how much I love you & that I will never forget you.

永遠有一個明天，生活給我們另一個機會將事情做好，可是如果我搞錯了，今天就是我們所剩的全部，我會對你說我多么愛你，我永遠不會忘記你。