翟 爽 甄春亮
水靜靜地向東流淌,上面浮動的霧氣緩緩地向四處打散著,整個河岸像一只大船,朝著反方向游移。河邊的垂柳,還有那一片老槐,蕩在空氣中的是甜甜的蘭花香。是她教我辨出這種氣味,伴隨著,伴隨著,我無法不想起她。
散落的花瓣撒在草叢間,有的則飄零于水中,那時她總說:“落花有意,流水無情。留下的花待明年重生,離開的花隨水流向未知的世界。”花如果永不凋謝該有多好!如今我獨自來此欣賞海河,沒有人與我同行。
看著那兒時玩過的淺灘,仿佛上面還浮現著她坐在那等我的背影,而淺灘上空,又回蕩起我童年的嬉笑聲。那時我總是突然不知去向,她焦急地四處尋找,尋到后就把我摟在懷里,輕輕地說:“乖!在河邊可不能亂跑,在我能看見你的地方玩不好嗎?”我頑皮地沖她點頭,可轉眼間就又不見了。如今我來此拾回灘邊往事,而她已不在這里等待。
陽光開始照耀,水面波光粼粼,我又看見魚兒雀躍起來,遠遠的小船上飄來悠悠笛聲,隱隱看到漁人在撒網。曾經,是她在此背影下靜靜陪在我身邊,看我寫生,那爬滿滄桑的手總是為我提著畫夾、水壺,而我每每抬眼望她,她那執著而慈祥的目光總會落在我稚嫩的臉龐上。
我知道,只要沿著河邊走下去,我就可以找到所有關于她的記憶。
又見這晃眼的石榴花,經風吹過,便留下滿地的落英。尤記得那時,她總是彎下腰將此收集,待我盥洗時,便把它們悄悄放入水中,那殘留在身上的花香正是這幽幽的芬芳,如今她的愛,我再也不能忘。
這片天地被我模擬成那時的樣子,光陰成了一名過客。我就這樣迎著記憶向前走,漸漸的我開始傷感了。我追問自己:“是什么造就了你今日的傷感?而為什么這些傷感又會令你感到無盡的蒼桑?”后來,我終于有了答案:是時間、是分離、是愛。很久以來她的愛都不曾離開過我的心,我知道美好的東西只需穩妥地把它藏在心里就好了,而在這些離別的苦痛過后,能讓人懂得的應該還有珍惜。
The river flows down quietly eastward. Morning mist that shrouds the waters is slowly scattering in different direction. The bank seems to be a large boat that sails up westweard. Weeping willows stoop over the river and there are a number of locust trees that have grown there for ages. A sweet scent of the orchid is wafted in the air. It is she who told me how to recognize itsunique fragrance. Immersed in the pervasive aroma of the flowers, bit by bit I cannot but recall her.
When she saw withered flowers fallen on the grass or floating in the waters, she would say with emotion, "Shedding petals, the waterside flower pines for love, while the heartless brook babbles on. The living orchid will blossom next year but the dead flowers are carried away by the waters to the unknown world." How I wish flowers would never wilt! But now I am roaming along the Haihe River alone without companions.
At sight of the ford where I used to play in my childhood, I feel as if the inverted image of her sitting near it is still reflected in the shallow water, and the air over it is again resonant with shouts and peals of merry laughter. In those days I used to run out of her sight all of a sudden. She, anxious and worried, would look for me everywhere until she found me, and she would wrap me in her arms and say gently, "Honey, you must not run about by the riverside. Play where I can spot you, won't you? I would nod with a naughty expression but disappear in the twinkling of an eye. Now I come back to the dried riverbed to recollect the past events but she is not waiting for me there.
The sun shines. The water shimmers in the sun-light. Again I see fish jumping out of waters. From a distant fishing boat comes the delightful melody someone plays on his flute and an indistinct shadow of a man is casting net into the river. It is she who once quietly sat beside me, watching me paint the view from the bank and carrying my painting folder and a bottle of water in her wrinkled hands. Each time when I raised my head to look at her, she was eying me with a benign smile, revealing her confi-dence in me.
I know if I walk along the riverbank, I will bring all the recollections of her.
Again I see the dazzling pomegranate flowers. A gust of wind sends them falling everywhere on the ground. I still remember she bent down to pick up the fallen petals and quietly put them into the warm water when I took a bath so that I faintly smelt of the sweet-smelling flower. Now I shall never forget her love for me.
I imagine that time passes but the whole place I stand in at present is exactly the same to that many years ago. As I roam along the river and more and more events in the past are brought to mind, a sense of sorrow arises in me. I ask myself, "Where does your sorrow come from? Why does it make you feel you have experienced so much?" Later on I get the answer: The very things that cause endless grief in me are passage of time, the final separation and her eternal love. Her love has never deserted me for many years. Once I thought it enough to safely bury those dear memories in my heart. However after the painful experience of our final separation it dawns on me I should also cherish those dear memories.