A Stranger at the Escalator 樓梯上的陌生人
A Stranger at the Escalator 樓梯上的陌生人
◎ Margery Guest
A brief act of kindness brings an unexpected insight.
一次簡單的善舉卻帶來了意想不到的領(lǐng)悟。
I was shopping at a department store and had just boarded the down escalator when I noticed a woman standing to the side. She looked about 65, and her expression told me she was scared.
我到一家百貨商店買東西，就在我踏上自動扶梯剛要下樓時，突然注意到旁邊站著一位婦女。她看上去差不多有65歲，她臉上的表情告訴我她嚇壞了。
I turned toward her and asked, “Do you need help?”
我轉(zhuǎn)過身向她問道：“需要幫忙嗎？”
As the escalator continued moving I heard the woman replies softly, “I’m afraid.” There was a hint of incredulity in her voice.
自動扶梯載著我繼續(xù)向下移動，我只聽到她溫和地低聲回答說：“我很害怕。”聲音中流露出一絲遲疑。
“Want me to come back and get you?” I called to her. She nodded. But by the time I reached her, the woman had reconsidered. “I don’t think I can do it.” she said.
“要我回來幫你嗎？”我沖著她叫道。她點了點頭。我又回到了樓上，可那個女人卻改變了主意。“我不行。”她說。
I was suddenly aware that I had made a far greater investment than I expected. “I know we can do it,” I said. “I can hold on to you.”
直到這時，我才突然意識到這件事并不像我原想的那樣簡單。“我知道我們能行，”我說，“我會攙扶著你。”
She looked down at the beast. Then her eyes came back to mine, looking doubtful. “This has never happened to me before,” she said, as much to herself as to me.
她低下頭，看著那個龐然大物，然后她轉(zhuǎn)回頭來看著我，目光中滿是疑慮。“我以前從未遇到過這種情況。”她說道，既像是在對我說，又像是在自言自語。
I felt that her sudden fear had to do with the escalator’s mechanical nature, its basic inhuman untrustworthiness. I took her arm. “Shall we?” She made a little sound of alarm as we stepped on, but we’d passed the point of no return.
我覺得她這種突如其來的恐懼與自動扶梯的機械性質(zhì)有關(guān)——它歸根結(jié)底是非人性的東西，很難給人以安全感。我拉起她的胳臂，問道：“可以嗎？”我們邁上扶梯時，她輕輕地尖叫了一聲。然而，既然我們已踏上了扶梯，也就不能再回頭了。
She relaxed slightly as the stairs moved us downward. “I don’t understand this at all.” she said. As we neared the bottom, her grip tightened again, but we did fine. “I’m so grateful...”she began. “It was nothing,” I said. “I was happy to do it.”
直到扶梯載著我們下行了一段，她才略微放松下來。“我一點也不明白這種東西。”她說。我們接近扶梯底部時，她又一次緊緊握住我，但我們順利走下了扶梯。“我不知怎么謝你才好……”她開口說道。“這沒什么，”我說，“我很高興這樣做。”
Happy, yes. I do very little to help others. I am busy caring for a family and working full time. For a brief moment, I had a flash of insight into why someone would become a nurse or a social worker or a minister. When I helped the woman, I felt pure and whole, purposeful. It was a happier moment than I’d had in weeks.
我很高興，的確如此。平時我很少幫助別人，整日忙于工作和照顧家庭。就在這一瞬間，我突然明白了為什么有人會去做護士、社會工作者或者牧師。當(dāng)我?guī)椭@位婦女的時候，我感到我的生活是純粹、完整和有意義的。這是我?guī)字芤詠碜羁鞓返臅r刻。
