天藍(lán)色的彼岸

by Alex Shearer烏蕪 譯

天藍(lán)色的彼岸

The Great Blue Yonder

by Alex Shearer烏蕪 譯

《天藍(lán)色的彼岸》是英國著名暢銷小說家、編劇亞歷克斯·希勒（Alex Shearer）的著作，是一本溫暖、感人、引人深思的小說，講述了一個與死亡、生命和愛有關(guān)的故事。小說的主人公男孩哈利在騎單車時因被一輛卡車撞倒而喪生，他死后發(fā)現(xiàn)自己來到了一個叫“停留之地”（The Other Land）的地方，漸漸地，他發(fā)現(xiàn)所有心有牽掛的鬼魂都徘徊在這個地方，只有了無牽掛的鬼魂才能進(jìn)入“天藍(lán)色的彼岸”（The Great Blue Yonder），然后他認(rèn)識了男孩亞瑟，亞瑟帶著他偷偷溜回人間，哈利有了重新審視過去，完成心中未了之事，與朋友、家人一一告別的機會。

哈利是幸運的，在死后不久就解開了心結(jié)，而更多的鬼魂卻只能一直在“停留之地”和人間中徘徊尋覓，比如亞瑟，已經(jīng)找了他素未謀面的母親幾百年（幸而最后終于找到）；比如斯丹，一直守在電燈柱旁等他的狗，一等就是五十年；比如尤格，石器時代的原始人，只會發(fā)出“Ug”的聲音，沒“人”知道他在找什么。讀著他們的故事，總不免讓人傷感，但也啟發(fā)我們重新審視自己的生活。生活充滿變數(shù)，你永遠(yuǎn)不知道明天會發(fā)生什么，珍惜當(dāng)下，把握人生，勿留遺憾。

S he was working on some history essay. Her books were open on the2)vanity unit, and she had an A4 pad there and some pencils at the ready for taking notes.

As I watched she sat back down on her chair, and she took up her history book. But much as she tried to read it, and much as she tried to concentrate, her eyes kept glancing up at those old photographs. There were photographs of me on my own and photographs of the two of us together. There was also a photo of when Eggy was small and when I was only a baby—maybe I’d even just been born. And she was holding me, with Dad’s help, while Mum looked on, rather nervously, as if worried that Eggy might drop me on my head. (And maybe she even wanted to drop me on my head, just a bit.) Then there were later photos of her and me, both of us getting bigger and older. And she was always three years ahead of me, always my big sister, and I was always her3)pesky little brother, driving her nuts and getting on her nerves.

There were photographs of all of us too, of me and Eggy and Mum and Dad, all standing there together, smiling at the new camera with the automatic timer.

There I was. And there we were. And nothing would ever bring us back or make us whole again. I felt so sad again—but I wouldn’t give in to it. I was on a mission, like they say, and I had to see it through. I had to settle the unfnished business. I had to forgive and be forgiven. I couldn’t let Eggy go through the rest of her life remembering those last words she’d ever said to me, just before I stormed out to get run over by a truck.

“You’ll be sorry one day when I’m dead!” I’d said to her.

她正在寫一篇歷史論文。她的書在梳妝臺上打開，上面還放著一本A4紙和一些用于做筆記的鉛筆。

我看著她坐到椅子上，拿起歷史書。盡管她努力想把書讀進(jìn)去，盡管她努力集中精神，但她的視線還是不由自主地飄到那些老照片上。這是一些我的單人照和我們倆的合照。有一張艾吉還小而我只是個嬰兒時的照片——也許我才剛出生。……