第二十四章 身在异乡
第一场 纳德伦教授府邸 昼,内
纳德伦教授的女儿,埃玛(Emma),比方菲大几岁,常年卧病在床。她心灰意冷,经常有想轻生的念头。
方菲:How long have you been sick in bed? Emma?(你卧病在床多少年了?埃玛?)
埃玛:Almost 9 years.(差不多9年了。)
埃玛(皱着眉):I don't want to live. I want to die,I want to die……(我不想活,我想死,我想死……)
方菲:You should not be like this. If you choose death,how sad your father would be?(你不应该这样,你如果选择死亡,你爸爸该多难过?)
埃玛:But my life is not meaningful,It's so boring and painful.(但是我的生活没有意义,很空虚,很痛苦。)
方菲:There was a lady whose name was Margaret,she acountered a car accident. Then she became disabled. But she was strong willed and wrote a literary classics——'Gone with the wind'.(有一个叫玛格丽特的女子,她遭遇了车祸,从此残疾,但她十分坚强,创作了文学名著《飘》。)
方菲(又说):Do you know Stephen William Hawking?(你知道史蒂芬·威廉·霍金吗?)
埃玛:No,I rarely care about things outside.(不知道,我很少关注外面的事。)
方菲:Hawking, a famous scientist, he is also a handicapped, but he is so firm to finish a masterpiece——A Brief History of Time. And this book astonished the world.(霍金,著名科学家,他也是一个残疾人,但他意志力如此坚强,独自完成了震惊世界的名作——《时间简史》。)
埃玛:Thank you for your encouragement. But what can I do?(谢谢你的鼓励,但是我能做些什么?)
方菲:Maybe,you can write a biography for your father. You know,he is a famous musician. And you know him so much.(也许,你可以为你父亲写一部传记,你知道,他是一个著名的音乐家,并且你如此了解他。)
埃玛:That's a good idea. Thank you very much.(这是一个好主意,非常感谢。)
自此,埃玛开始了创作,她躺在床上口述,同时找一个朋友给她用笔记下来。
一天,纳德伦教授(对方菲):孩子,你有好多的信!
方菲(有些惊讶):是吗?
纳德伦教授把邮箱里的信交给她,她拿过来一看,全部是来自石坂墩小学的。
方菲把信一封一封拆开来:
亲爱的老师,我们都很想念你,你在国外还好吗?我们都很好,勿念。你知道吗?我们种了一年的防护林长得可好了,郁郁葱葱的,马兰花也开得很好,简直是一个西部花园!老师,你还会回来吗?我们这里很艰苦,他们说,你也许不会回来了,不管你回不回来,你永远都是我们心里尊敬的老师!谢谢你陪伴过我们,教育过我们!此致 敬礼! 你的学生:符冬
方菲感动得热泪盈眶,她在心里说:我会回来的,孩子们,等着我!