吸血鬼日記

在光影世界里，人類從未孤單過。月圓之夜有狼人(werewolf)寂寞狂歡，日落西山有吸血鬼(vampire)飛檐走壁，燭光顫動的瞬間有女巫(witch)捧著古籍施展魔法，甚至還有既能與狼人和吸血鬼周旋又能讓女巫都忌憚三分的混血兒(hybrid)。狼人能用鐵鏈捆住獸性，卻無法排解變身之時的痛苦與無助；吸血鬼擁有不死之身，卻不得不在漫漫生命中忍受永恒的孤寂；女巫機智且勇敢，卻拋不開常人的傲慢與偏見；而看似能左右乾坤的混血兒也飽受著非我族類的歧視。這些超自然存在者在光影世界里與人類愛恨糾纏、命運交錯，豐富著我們日益枯竭的想象力，刺激著我們日益冷漠的心，并告訴我們如何相愛才能抵御現實的冷酷無情，如何生活才能從中汲取向上的力量。

隨著《暮光之城》(The Twilight Saga)系列圖書的暢銷及系列電影的熱映，人們對吸血鬼的鐘愛達到前所未有的高度，其他同題材影視作品也隨之火爆起來。同類美劇中，相較于《真愛如血》(True Blood)血腥陰暗的重口味，風格青春靚麗的《吸血鬼日記》(The Vampire Diaries)更受廣大青少年的青睞。《吸血鬼日記》改編自L.J. Smith的同名小說，連續榮獲多項“人民選擇獎”和“青少年選擇獎”，向我們講述了真愛在超自然的力量之下依舊可以繁衍生息，即使在黑暗籠罩的地方，我們也依舊可以選擇背向陰影，面朝陽光。

夜晚，小鎮神秘瀑布(Mystic Falls)遠郊濃霧籠罩的路上，一對駕車回家的年輕情侶慘遭不明生物襲擊，雙雙身亡。第二天即是開學第一天，對此事一無所知的高中女生Elena正陷于自己的煩惱中。自從不久前父母喪生于車禍，幸存的Elena就與正值青春反叛期的弟弟Jeremy相依為命，住在孑然一身的姨媽Jenna家。新學期臨近，Elena試圖擺脫噩夢，重新開始新生活。

Elena: Dear Diary， today will be different. It has to be. I will smile， and it will be believable. My smile will say \"I'm fine， thank you\"， \"Yes， I feel much better\". I will no longer be the sad little girl who lost her parents. I will start fresh， be someone new. It's the only way I'll make it through (承受住雙親去世的打擊).

Elena無疑是堅強的，但生活并不會等她調整好心情，各種煩惱照舊接踵而至。好友Caroline過于夸張的問候與同情提醒著她失去父母的事實，用叛逆與墮落來發泄悲傷的弟弟Jeremy讓她時時憂心不已，前男友Matt無聲的擔憂與責備讓她疲于應對，再加上伴隨一只烏鴉而來的種種令人恐慌的意外事件，想要重新開始并不容易。

Elena: Dear Diary， I made it through the day. I must have said \"I'm fine， thanks\" at least 37 times. And I didn't mean it once. But no one noticed. When someone asks， \"How are you\"， they really don't want the answer.

Elena知道，身處困境，只有心懷希望才不會錯失屬于她的那抹陽光。在閨蜜Bonnie盯著一個新來男生Stefan高大帥氣的背影大為驚嘆的時候，Elena并沒有特別關注，而是匆匆跑到男洗手間把偷偷嗑藥的弟弟痛斥了一番。此時的她并不知道，幾分鐘后在洗手間門口與Stefan的相遇會讓自己陷入一場甜蜜而又不安的戀愛，也會將自己卷入一個神秘的黑暗世界。接下來的歷史課上，Stefan的目光一直追隨著她；她在受到墓地里突如其來的濃霧和烏鴉的驚嚇時，莫名地又遇到了他；夜晚，他專程送還她驚慌中落在墓地的日記本；他迫不及待地接受她的邀請，與她一起參加party……一切來得那么出乎意料。或許，他就是Elena一直期待的美好。雖然痛苦還在，但或許快樂已經來臨。

Elena Stefan: Dear Diary， I couldn't have been more wrong. I thought that I could smile， nod my way through it， pretend like it would all be ok. I had a plan. I wanted to change who I was; create a life as someone new， someone without the past， without the pain， someone alive. But it's not that easy. The bad things stay with you. They follow you. You can't escape them， as much as you want to. All you can do is be ready for the good. So when it comes， you invite it in， because you need it. I need it. (編者注：這段話包含Elena和Stefan各自的敘述，二者互為說明，互為補充，巧妙地融合在一起，反映了兩人的共同心聲。)

新生活對Stefan來說更顯艱難，作為一個跨世紀的吸血鬼，要想重返故鄉與心愛的女孩廝守并不容易。盡管他能永遠17歲，盡管他能用催眠術強迫學校批準手續不全的他入學，可還是麻煩不斷。要克制吸血鬼的嗜血本能本來就艱難，而近期發生的多起不明生物殺人事件更是給他帶來了難以預料的危險。親戚Zach告誡他回到神秘瀑布是個錯誤，可是他還是回來了，為了Elena——這個與他1864年的女友Katherine擁有同樣容顏的女孩。

Stefan: For over a century， I have lived in secret， hiding in the shadows， alone in the world. Until now. I'm a vampire. And this is my story. I shouldn't have come home. I know the risk. But I had no choice. I have to know her.

一個世紀之前未盡的愛情注定了兩人的相遇。對Stefan來說，只要能看到Elena就已滿足，而對Elena來說，Stefan的到來又何嘗不是驅散陰霾的陽光呢？兩顆孤獨的心開始靠近，一顆帶著敏感與戒備，一顆藏著無法說出的秘密和難以言喻的過往。雖然Elena曾因害怕受傷而逃避，但還是勇敢地邁出了第一步。

Elena: Sorry for barging (闖) in， especially after earlier.

Stefan: No， no， no. I'm glad you're here. The way we left things ... I didn't like it.

Elena: See， the thing is， I got home tonight planning on doing what I always do: write in my diary like I have been since my mom gave me one when I was 10. But then I realized that I'd just be writing things that I should probably be telling you.

Stefan: What would you write?

Elena: I would write ... \"Dear Diary， today I convinced myself it was ok to give up. Don't take risks. Stick with the status quo (現狀). No drama. Now is just not the time. But my reasons aren't reasons， they're excuses. All I'm doing is hiding from the truth， and the truth is that ...\" I'm scared， Stefan. I'm scared that if I let myself be happy for even one moment that ... the world's just going to come crashing down， and I ... I don't know if I can survive that.

Stefan: Do you want to know what I would write? \"I met a girl. We talked. It was epic (史詩般浪漫的). But then the sun came up and reality set in (開始). Well， this is reality. Right here.\"

Stefan的溫柔、體貼和博學讓Elena找回了面對明天的勇氣和希望。隨后的日子是甜蜜的：他在課堂上幫她解圍，她鼓勵他加入橄欖球隊和同學打成一片；他一眼就洞穿她所有的悲傷，她讓他感受到生活的快樂。但是，他們的愛能夠持續下去嗎？現實中還有Stefan難以啟齒的神秘身份橫亙于他們之間，黑暗中還有未知的危險蠢蠢欲動。Stefan能否對Elena坦承一切？他又是否真能控制嗜血的本性？他們的愛情能否沖破世俗觀念的束縛？Stefan的哥哥Damon的到來讓一切都變得危險和難以預測。

Damon所到之處，必有鮮血開路，彌漫的濃霧，晦氣的烏鴉，命喪夜路的情侶，魂斷野營的夫妻，甚至Elena前男友Matt的妹妹Vicki也未能幸免。和素食(只喝動物血)的弟弟Stefan不同，Damon嗜血成性。為報Stefan奪愛之仇，Damon跟著Stefan回到了神秘瀑布。19世紀時，兩兄弟同時愛著的Katherine死于一場大火，Damon認為Stefan對此負有不可推卸的責任，從此對他仇恨了一個世紀之久。素食已久的Stefan根本不是Damon的對手，只能眼睜睜地看著他胡作非為：喚醒Vicki被Stefan抹去的咬傷記憶，催眠、虐待和利用Elena的好友Caroline，在橄欖球比賽前咬死Stefan的班主任Mr. Tanner。人類于Damon而言就是食物和玩物，他最大的快樂莫過于為Stefan制造各種麻煩，把Stefan拉進過去的黑暗之中。Damon回來了，帶來了死亡和恐怖。

然而，Damon真的一點人性也沒有了嗎？整日花天酒地的他真的是在享受復仇的快感嗎？他真的冷血到不顧親情了嗎？面對和Katherine一模一樣的Elena，他真的能無動于衷嗎？

Damon: I like you. You know how to laugh. And you make Stefan smile， which is something I haven't seen in a very long time. I'd quit cheerleading if I were you.

Elena: Why do you say that?

Damon: Oh， I saw you at practice. You looked miserable.

Elena: You saw that?

Damon: Am I wrong?

Elena: I used to love it. It was fun. Things are different this year. Everything that used to matter doesn't anymore.

Damon: So don't let it. Quit. Move on. Problem solved. Ta-da.

Elena: Some things could matter again.

Damon: Maybe. But ... seems a little unrealistic to me.

Elena: I'm sorry ... about Katherine. You lost her， too.

是的，雖然Katherine愛的是Stefan，但深愛Katherine的Damon同樣失去了自己的愛人。他內心的黑暗與瘋狂來自心底深藏的痛苦與悲傷，只要愛不滅，恨亦不滅。而Stefan看到的就是這樣一個“人”性已失的哥哥。

Stefan: I thought there was hope that somewhere deep inside something in Damon was still human， normal. But I was wrong. There is nothing human left in Damon. No good， no kindness， no love. Only a monster who must be stopped.

可是，當Stefan在日記里為這樣的Damon唏噓不已時，他并不知道Damon看著睡夢中的Elena眼神有多溫柔。我們不知道一臉壞笑卻不失風度的Damon會帶來怎樣的故事，是殘忍的殺戮還是迷途知返的感動，也無法預測他和Elena之間會上演怎樣的糾葛，但毫無疑問的是，Damon來了，有著悠久吸血鬼歷史的神秘瀑布再也無法平靜了。

Wounds will be healed over time. 事實或許如此，可療傷是個漫長的過程。Elena有Stefan陪伴，而她的弟弟Jeremy卻什么也沒有。Jeremy視為女神的Vicki卻是個只知道嗑藥、私生活混亂的不良少女。正如Mr. Tanner所說，現在的Jeremy是個“moody， withdrawn， argumentative hungover”。Jeremy翹課跑去嗑藥，努力討Vicki歡心，卻總是看到她和鎮長之子Tyler混在一起。他用飽含擔憂與愛意的眼神注視著Vicki，默默守護著她，卻始終不被她接受。這個痛苦的少年沉浸于自己的悲傷，不愿和Elena溝通，也不屑于向姨媽Jenna敞開心扉。他的自閉和消沉無疑是對這個家庭的二次傷害。

Elena: You ok? I called Jenna; she's on her way. Those people in uniforms， last time I checked they're the police. People are going to stop giving you breaks (給……特別關照)， Jer. They just don't care anymore. They don't remember that our parents are dead， because they've got their own lives to deal with. The rest of the world has moved on. You should try， too.

Jeremy: I've seen you in the cemetery (墓地) writing in your diary. Is that ... is that supposed to be you moving on?

Elena: Mom and dad wouldn't have wanted this.

挫折和失去是每個人必須面對的難題。Elena有自己的煩惱，而幼時父母就已離異的Caroline也在經歷認同危機。Caroline是校花級人物，因得不到Stefan的偏愛很是失落，這為她被Damon催眠埋下禍根。

Bonnie: Are you sober (清醒的) yet?

Caroline: No.

Bonnie: Keep drinking. I gotta get you home. I gotta get me home.

Caroline: Why didn't he go for me? You know， how come the guys that I want never want me?

Bonnie: I'm not touching that (拒絕討論此事).

Caroline: I'm inappropriate. I always say the wrong thing. And ... Elena always says the right thing. She doesn't even try! And he just picks her. And she's always the one that everyone picks， for everything. And I try so hard， and ... I'm never the one.

Bonnie: It's not a competition， Caroline.

Caroline: Yeah， it is.

Bonnie對Caroline的想法不以為然。身為女巫后裔的她最近正因自己日漸顯示出的超能力而感到困惑。在與Stefan偶然的接觸中，Bonnie感受到了死亡的氣息。此后，奇怪的現象常常發生。她連日來不斷看到的三個數字見證了Mr. Tanner的死亡；在Elena家聚餐時她竟能準確地感知到湯勺和蠟燭放在哪個抽屜；她可以用意念點燃蠟燭，也可以用意念熄滅大火。這樣的發現令她害怕不已。

每個人都掙扎在自己的煩惱中，或沉浸于過去，或徘徊于現在，或猶疑著邁向未來。Tyler的沖動和花心會在日后種下深重的苦果，Matt要忍受妹妹Vicki的放縱和母親的毫無責任心而獨自養家，而Vicki還意識不到自己正游走在毀滅的邊緣……不平凡的一學期就這樣開始了。但不管現實如何殘忍，生活卻還要繼續，活在當下比什么都重要。橄欖球賽、啦啦操、篝火晚會，一切正在按部就班地進行；Elena氣色越來越好，被咬傷的Vicki漸漸恢復健康，Caroline總有一天會清醒，Bonnie將成為杰出的女巫，生活仍舊充滿希望。前進的方式有很多，在混亂中前行算是其中之一。

Bonnie: Well， I was talking to Grams， and she said the comet (彗星) is a sign of impending (即將發生的) doom (厄運). The last time it passed over Mystic Falls there was lots of death. So much blood and carnage (大屠殺)， it created a bed of paranormal (超出科學可知范圍的) activity.

Caroline: Yeah， and then you poured Grams another shot (一小杯酒) and she told you about the aliens. So then what?

Elena: So then nothing.

人們慶祝百年難遇的彗星奇觀，并不知道災難也許就要降臨。Damon的游戲才剛剛開始，他能制造的混亂遠遠不止于此，只是下一個被他把玩的棋子會是誰呢？Stefan和Elena又會怎樣應對？神秘瀑布的人們何時會發現曾引起混亂的吸血鬼已再次回歸？生活將會更加艱難，未來也將更加難以預測，而這群比誰都渴望得到認可和關愛的青少年們將在日后的相處中因友情、親情和愛情緊緊地團結在一起。

“永遠面朝陽光，陰影自然會落在你身后。”沃爾特·惠特曼如是說。所以，生活總在向前，生活總有希望。