Hope came tapping at my window

By Patrick Allan

疾病、寒冷使作者無心過節，看不到生活的希望。但是，寒風夾帶著樹枝敲打著窗戶，告訴作者即使在嚴寒的季節，棉白楊也會吐出新綠。這讓作者看到了生活的希望，度過了一個曼妙的復活節，感受到生命不一樣的堅韌不屈與希望。

Winters are long and unforgiving in North Dakota.The winter of 1996 was especially brutal.It was a difficult time in my own life too.A neck injury had kept me flat in bed for nearly a year. “Just in time for Easter,” my husband,Dick,was always saying so.But how could I feel the joy when the snow was four feet deep and I had months of painful physical treatment ahead?

I was doing the dishes one day,feeling hopeless when there was a tap against the glass.It was a branch of the troublesome cottonwood.

Back in the fall of 1979,it was a new subdivision then.The people who'd briefly occupied the house before us had placed the pipe from the pump next to it.The earth was so wet that the poor thing had fallen down,most of its bare root system pointing skyward,blowing hopelessly back and forth in the cold wind.Dick decided to pull it out one day,but I protested.

“Look at how hard it's trying!”I said,pointing to the way it strongly kept hold of the earth.“It is worthy of a chance.”

北內華達州的冬天漫長而難挨，1996年的冬天尤為苦寒。這是我生命中舉步維艱的一段時光——頸部的受傷讓我在床上差不多已經躺一年了。“趕上復活節就會康復的”，我的丈夫Dick總會這樣不厭其煩地告訴我。但一看到四英尺厚的積雪，想到還要經歷數月痛苦不堪的理療，我的心里怎能涌起一絲的悸動呢？

一天我正在清洗餐具，我感到萬念俱灰。此時，有一絲響聲。那是那棵棉白楊的一根樹枝輕敲窗戶發出來的聲音，這是一棵惹人心煩的棉白楊。

記得1979年的秋季，這棵棉白楊還只是一株新枝。彼時，使用我們對面房子的人已將管道從水泵上移到了與其毗鄰的地方。泥土濕漉漉的，棉白楊已經歪倒，多半的根系裸露著指向天空，在寒風中無望地往返搖曳。有一天，Dick決定把它拔掉，但我表示反對。

“看，它在多么倔強地試著活下去啊！”我這樣說道，用手指著棉白楊緊緊扎根土地的方向。“它該得到一次機會。”

Dick borrowed some tools.We packed dry soil around the tree and put up some stakes into the ground,making it stand upright.

That winter was still terrible.Several months passed before I was conscious of it.Surprisingly，when spring returned，my “rescue stick”put forth a few leaves,then with lots of branches.By the 1990s that little stick was a giant,towering over the house.

Now the tapping at the window continued,louder as the wind picked up,almost as though to remind me to look up.At last,I did.I caught my breath.In the window against the icy blue sky,thousands and thousands of fresh red buds were waving rhythmically in the wind.

I again listened respectfully to the brisk tapping at my window.What an incredible miracle of life！ I thought aloud.

That night I fell asleep peacefully and had a dream.In the dream clusters of red buds were blossoming wildly against the warm blue sky，clustering around closely and whispering to each other in the spring breeze.

The next morning when I woke up，I stood against the window.Outside the window was the tree bursting with life.

I had a wonderful Easter.

Dick借來了一些工具。我們在樹的四周培了一些干燥的土壤，在地面上楔下一些樹樁，這樣它就能筆直而立了。

冬天依然寒冷。我還沒來得及意識到，幾個月就過去了。令人驚訝的是，在春天回來的時候，我的“救命枯枝”居然吐出了幾片新葉，接著又長出了許多枝椏。到90年代末的時候，昔日的枯枝早已成長為參天大樹，高聳在房屋上。

如今，棉白楊的樹枝繼續輕敲著窗戶，風越大，聲音就愈加地脆響，似乎在提醒我抬頭仰望它。最后，我真地抬起了頭。我屏住了呼吸。在凜冽藍天映襯著的窗戶中，數不清的新鮮的紅色花蕊在風中律動。

我再次聆聽窗欞上發出的脆響。“多么不可思議的生命奇跡啊！”我自言自語道。

那一夜，我睡著了，枕著夢安然地睡著了。在夢中，一簇簇的紅色花蕊迎著溫煦的藍天肆意綻放，緊緊地簇擁著，在春風中呢喃。

第二天早晨，當我醒來的時候，我憑窗而立。窗外，棉白楊著迸發著新生。

我度過了一個曼妙的復活節。