为你骄傲

By+Anonymous

F orty-three years seems like a long time to remember the name of a mere acquaintance. I have forgottenthenameofanoldlady， whowasacustomer on the paper route in my hometown when I was twelve. Yet it dwells in my memory that she taught mealessoninforgivenessthatIshallneverforget.

On a winter afternoon， a friend and I were throwing stones onto the roof of the old ladys house. The object was to observe how the stones changed to missiles as they rolled to the roofs edge and shot out into the yard like comets falling from the sky. I found myself a smooth rock and threw it out. It slipped from my hand as I let it go and headed straight for a window on theold ladys back porch. At the sound of fracturedglass，weturnedtailandran.

I was too scared about getting caught that first night to be concerned about the old lady with the broken window in winter. However， a few days later， when I was sure that I hadnt been discovered， I started tofeelguilty. She still greeted me with a smile each day when I gave her the paper， but I was no longerabletoactcomfortableinherpresence.

I decided that I would save my paper delivery money， and in three weeks I had seven dollars. I put the money in an envelope with a note explaining that I was sorry for breaking her window and hoped that thesevendollarswouldcoverthecostforrepairingit.

I waited until it was dark， snuck up to the old ladys house， and put the letter I didnt sign through theletterslotinherdoor.Mysoulfeltredeemed.

The next day， I handed the old lady her paper and was able to return her warm smile. She thanked me for the paper and gave me a bag of cookies she had madeherself. I thanked her and proceeded to eat thecookiesasIcontinuedmyroute.

After severalcookies， I feltan envelope. When I openedit，Iwasstunned.Insidewerethesevendollars andashortnotethatsaid，“Improudofyou.”

记住一个仅仅是认识的人的名字，43年似乎是段很长的时间。我已经忘了那位老太太的名字，她是我12岁那年在家乡送报时的一位客户。不过，她曾给我上的那堂关于“宽恕”的课却始终让我难以忘怀。

一个冬天的下午，我和一个朋友往这个老太太家的屋顶上扔石子玩。我们的目的是观察这些石子如何顺着屋顶的斜坡变成一颗飞弹，在滚落到屋顶边缘的瞬间，像滑过天空的彗星那样射入院中。我给自己找了颗光滑的石子，然后扔了出去。出手的一刹那，它偏离了方向，直接击中了老太太屋后门廊上的一扇窗户。听到玻璃破碎的声音，我们掉头拔腿就跑。

当天晚上，我太害怕被抓住，没有考虑到冬天里的破玻璃窗会给老太太带来什么样的麻烦。但是，过了几天，当确信自己没被发现时，我就开始感到内疚了。每天我给她送报纸时，她依旧笑眯眯地迎接我。不过，在她面前，我已经不像过去那样自在了。

我下定决心要把送报挣的钱都攒起来。三个星期后，我便有了七美元。我把钱装进一个信封，并附上一张纸条，解释说我对打破她家的窗户感到非常抱歉，希望这七美元足够赔付修窗户的钱。

我一直等到天黑，才悄悄走到老太太家，把这封没有署名的信从她门上的投信口投进了她家。做完这件事后，我感到自己的灵魂好像得到了解脱。

第二天，当老太太微笑着从我手上接过报纸时，我也能向她回报一个热情的微笑了。她对我的送报工作表示感谢，送了我一袋她亲手做的饼干。谢过她后，我一边吃着饼干，一边继续去给别的客户送报纸。

吃完了几块饼干之后，我摸到了一个信封。当我打开信封的时候，我不禁怔住了。信封里面有七美元和一张小纸条，上面这么写道：“我为你感到骄傲。”endprint