《瓶中信》節選

Nicholas Sparks(尼古拉斯·斯帕克思,1965— )是當今享譽世界的暢銷小說家。他的作品曾七次登上《紐約時報》暢銷書排行榜第一名,全世界總銷量超過5000萬冊,并已被譯成40多種語言。另外,他的作品中已有四部被搬上了電影熒幕,分別是《瓶中信》、《羅丹島之戀》、《初戀的回憶》和《戀戀筆記本》,紛紛轟動一時。

現在流行的漂流瓶，似乎有將素昧蒙面的人，千里一線牽進行到底!一起來欣賞這封瓶中信吧……

Dear Theresa,

Can you forgive me?

In a world that I seldom understand, there are winds of destiny that blow when we least expect them. Sometimes they 1)gust with the fury of a hurricane; sometimes they barely 2)fan one’s cheek. But the winds cannot be denied, bringing as they often do a future that is impossible to ignore. You, my darling, are the wind that I did not anticipate, the wind that has gusted more strongly than I ever imagined possible. You are my destiny.

I was wrong, so wrong, to ignore what was obvious, and I beg your forgiveness. Like a cautious traveler, I tried to protect myself from the wind and lost my soul instead. I was a fool to ignore my destiny, but even fools have feelings, and I’ve come to realize that you are the most important thing that I have in this world.

…

親愛的特瑞莎:

你能原諒我嗎?

在這個我不怎么能理解的世界里,命運之風總是會出其不意地吹向我們,時而如暴風來襲,時而如輕風拂面。但是不管什么樣的風,人們是無法拒絕的,隨之帶來的還有讓人無法忽視的未來。親愛的,你是讓我始料不及的那股風,那股甚至比我能夠想象到的還要強烈的風。你就是我的“命運”。

我錯了,錯得如此厲害,不該忽視如此顯而易見的東西, 我請求得到你的原諒。我就像一個謹慎的旅行者,努力避免受到風的吹襲,卻反而失去了自己的靈魂。我太傻了,竟忽視了自己的命運。但是,即使傻子也是有感情的,所以我開始認識到,你是我在這個世界上遇到的最重要的人。

……

For the first few days after you left, I wanted to believe that I could go on as I always had. But I couldn’t. Every time I watched the sun go down, I thought of you. Every time I walked by the phone, I yearned to call. Even when I went sailing, I could only think of you and the wonderful times we had. I knew in my heart that my life would never be the same again. I wanted you back, more than I imagined possible, yet whenever I 3)conjured you up, I kept hearing your words in our last conversation. No matter how much I loved you, I knew it wasn’t going to be possible unless we—both of us—were sure I would devote myself fully to the path that lay ahead. I continued to be troubled by these thoughts until late last night when the answer finally came to me. Hopefully, after I tell you about it, it will mean as much to you as it did to me:

在你離開后的最初幾天里,我曾想相信自己能夠像以往那樣繼續生活。但是,我做不到。每次看到夕陽西下,我就想起你。每次經過電話機旁,我都禁不住想打電話給你。甚至出海航行的時候,我腦海里也都只想著你,以及我們曾經一起度過的美好時光。我打心底里明白到我的生活不可能再像以前那樣了。我想要你回到我身邊,這種渴望程度已經超乎了我的想象。然而,每次想起你的時候,我耳邊總是會響起最后一次談話時你所說的那些話。無論我有多愛你,我知道,除非我們——我們雙 方——都確信我能夠全心全意地投身于面前的這條路,否則一切都不可能實現。一直以來我都被這些想法困擾著,直到昨天晚上,終于有了答案。希望當我告訴你之后,你會跟我一樣欣喜。

In my dream, I saw myself on the beach with Catherine; in the same spot I took you after our lunch at Hank’s. It was bright in the sun, the rays reflecting brilliantly off the sand. As we walked alongside each other, she listened intently as I told her about you, about us, about the wonderful times we shared. Finally, after some hesitation, I admitted that I loved you, but that I felt guilty about it. She said nothing right away but simply kept walking until she finally turned to me and asked, “Why?” “Because of you.”

在我夢里,我看見自己與凱瑟琳走在沙灘上,跟那次在漢克家吃完午飯后我帶你去的是同一個地方。那時陽光很明媚,光線折射在沙灘上,很耀眼。我們肩并肩地走著,她專心地聽著我講述你,講述我們,以及我們一起分享的那些美好時光。最后,幾經猶豫,我終于向她承認了我對你的愛,同時卻又為此而愧疚。她沒有馬上回答我,只是一直走,最后轉向我,問道:“為什么覺得愧疚?”“因為你。”