My Eternal Butterfly1永远的蝴蝶

陈启佑　吴欣欣/译

It was raining then. Wet and chilly， the asphalt pavement was flickering with lights in green， yellow and red. We were taking shelter under an arcade， staring at the lonely green mailbox across the street. In the big pocket of my white windbreaker was a letter to my mother living in the south.

那时候刚好下着雨，柏油路面湿冷冷的，还闪烁着青、黄、红颜色的灯火。我们就在骑楼下躲雨，看绿色的邮筒孤独地站在街的对面。我白色风衣的大口袋里有一封要寄给在南部的母亲的信。

Yingzi said that she could drop the letter for me. I nodded and handed over the letter.

樱子说她可以撑伞过去帮我寄信。我默默点头，把信交给她。

“Well， it seems to be the only option，2 since weve only brought one small umbrella，” she smiled and said. Opening the umbrella， she got ready to cross the road and deliver the letter for me. Little raindrops trickled down from the frame of her umbrella， spattering on my glasses.

“谁叫我们只带来一把小伞哪。”她微笑着说，一面撑起伞，准备过马路去帮我寄信。从她伞骨滑落下来的小雨点溅在我眼镜玻璃上。

With the screech of braking， Yingzis entire life lightly fluttered3 away and then gently perched on the wet and chilly pavement， like a butterfly in the evening.

随着一阵拔尖的刹车声，樱子的一生轻轻地飞了起来。缓缓地，飘落在湿冷的街面上，好像一只夜晚的蝴蝶。

Although it was spring， I suddenly felt like it was late autumn4.

虽然是春天，好像已是秋深了。

All she did was crossing the street to drop a letter for me！ Such an ordinary act， yet so unforgettable for the rest of my life. Slowly， I opened my eyes. Vacantly， I stood under the arcade， with hot tears stinging my eyes. All the cars in the whole world seemed to have stopped. Throngs of people surged to the middle of the street， but none of them knew that the one lying there was my butterfly. At that moment， a longest distance seemed to have spread between her and me instead of mere five meters.5 Bigger raindrops began to spatter on my glasses， all the way into my life.

她只是過马路去帮我寄信。这简单的行动，却要叫我终身难忘了。我缓缓睁开眼，茫然站在骑楼下，眼里裹着滚烫的泪水。世上所有的车子都停了下来，人潮涌向马路中央。没有人知道那躺在街面的，就是我的蝴蝶。这时她只离我五公尺，竟是那么遥远。更大的雨点溅在我的眼镜上，溅到我的生命里来。

Why？ Why havent I brought one more umbrella？6

为什么呢？只带一把雨伞？

Then I saw Yingzi again in her white windbreaker， holding the umbrella， crossing the street silently. She was to drop a letter for me， a letter to my mother living in the south. I stood under the arcade， completely at loss. I saw Yingzi again—she was eternal7 and she was walking to the middle of the street. The rain was not heavy actually， but there would never again be a rain as heavy as that one. Did young Yingzi know what was written in the letter？

然而，我又看到樱子穿着白色的风衣，撑着伞，静静地过马路了。她是要帮我寄信的，那，那是一封写给在南部的母亲的信。我茫然站在骑楼下，我又看到永远的樱子走到街心。其实雨下得并不大，却是一生一世中最大的一场雨。而那封信是这样写的，年轻的樱子知不知道呢？

“Dear Mom， I am going to marry Yingzi next month.”

妈：我打算在下个月和樱子结婚。

（选自《大学语文新教程》，浙江大学出版社，2015）