A Different 獨一無二的Green那抹綠

比起薪水，一份工作更讓人感到歡喜的是它帶給人的獨一無二的感覺——或許是因成就而驕傲，或許是因充實而快樂，或許是因付出而不舍。而對于下文的小作者來說，那是一種無可比擬的靜謐的美好。

It was a job， my first real job. Truth be told， I had always been puzzled and amazed by my classmates' abilities to find children to babysit， land1） positions at the local grocery for the summer， and take care of neighbors' pets.

My family lacks friends with young children， and we do not live in a neighborhood with sidewalks2）， lined houses， or leashed3） dogs. No grocery market wants to employ a girl who does not have regular transportation and is bound to4） drop a case of water on an elderly woman's foot while loading her car. （What kind of service would that be？） With all the odds against me5）， I had accepted my predestined6） fate of being broke until I turn 16 and pass my road test； this dependence had come to be all right with me.

July， however， brought something new.

For almost three weeks I was to water a recent high school graduate's garden while he and his family were away in the Adirondacks， a task I would have willingly done for free if it wasn't for his persistence. The pay was nothing compared to the joy received from climbing his hill every day to turn on the spigot7） and pick dead pieces away from tree branches. Each day I would linger around the fenced tomatoes as they were coated with pearls of water. The sprinkler8） drenched9） a good many yards of grass beyond it also， allowing my feet to dive into and recede10） from a mush11） of fertility. In and out and side to side they went， covered in water and mud whether naked or shod12）.

In the center of this Garden of Eden was a bush that bore thicker fruit than the rest and extended its branches proudly to the sky. She was my closest of all acquaintances in the garden. After caring for the plants in the garden that the sprinkler didn't reach， I sat beside her and lamented13） about the letters I was writing a fellow writer and questioned how one could be reinvented in a single summer. Somehow this bush heard me between the cricket's evening songs and a descending sun. It was the most lovely of almost-friendships （\"almost\" because one cannot really befriend a plant； I am certain that you， like I， have tried）.

The garden left in a wisp14） without a goodbye， as it was taken back from me a few nights early without warning. The family returned home from their trip before expected， leaving me to cold disappointment when I stepped out of my house to find theirs illuminated15）. A minivan16） with kayaks17） was pulled into the driveway， and laughter rippled18） from the house's hazy19） windows. Now three months later， nothing resonates the same tranquil20） chord21） of what I came to22） in that garden， the garden that fed23） me words， soft-falling tears， and lullabies.

In no way will I remember it because of the money.

這是一份工作，是我第一份真正的工作。說實話，我那些同學竟能找到需要照料的小孩，夏天的時候能在當地雜貨店謀到職位，還能去照看鄰居的寵物，這一直令我感到不解和驚奇。

我家沒有家里有小孩的朋友，我家房子附近也沒有人行道、一排排房屋或者用皮帶拴著的狗。沒有哪家食品雜貨店會愿意雇用我這樣的女孩——既沒有固定的出行工具，十有八九還會在幫老太太裝貨上車時把一箱水砸到她腳上。（那該是多么糟糕的服務啊！）既然我幾乎不可能成功，我便接受了自己命中注定身無分文的狀況，直到我16歲通過了路考；我也已經習慣了這種依賴父母的生活。

然而，這年7月給我帶來了新的轉變。

將近三個星期我都要去一個剛畢業的高中生家里給他家的花園澆水，因為在此期間他和家人要去阿迪朗達克山脈。要不是他執意給我報酬，我情愿免費做這份工作。我每天爬上他家的小山坡去打開水龍頭，并從樹枝上摘下死掉的樹葉，與從這其中收獲的快樂相比，這筆錢真算不上什么。每天，當一顆顆西紅柿綴滿晶瑩剔透的水珠時，我都會圍著柵欄里的它們流連忘返。灑水器把它澆不到的一大片草地也浸濕了，讓我的腳可以在這片濕軟的沃土里自由進出。我的兩只腳踩進去又邁出來，從一邊走到另一邊，不管穿沒穿鞋，都沾滿了水和泥。

在這個“伊甸園”的中心是一棵灌木，它比其他的結的果實更多，其枝干也傲然伸向天空。整個花園中，這棵灌木是與我關系最為親密的伙伴。打理好花園中灑水器無法澆到的那些植物之后，我就會坐在她旁邊，哀嘆一下自己寫給一個同在寫作的伙伴的那些信，并發出“人如何在一個夏天之內改頭換面”這樣的疑問。伴隨著蟋蟀的夜曲和斜下的夕陽，她不知怎的就聽到了我說的話。這是最為美好的“近似友誼”（說“近似”是因為一個人不可能真的和一株植物成為朋友，我確定你和我一樣也進行了嘗試）。

這個花園有如過眼云煙般與我不告而別了，它毫無征兆地被收回，比預計的早了幾天。這家人提前從旅游地回來了，當我踏出家門，看到他家亮起的燈光時，我的心涼了一截，失望萬分。一輛載著幾艘單人皮筏的小型貨車駛進車道，笑聲從他家朦朧的窗戶中蕩漾開來。如今，三個月過去了，沒有任何事物能像我在那座花園中的經歷一樣帶給我心靈的靜謐，那個花園賦予我語言，讓我輕輕落淚，送我進入夢鄉。

我會永遠地記住這個花園，但絕不會因為那些錢。

1.land [l?nd] vt. 獲得

2.sidewalk [?sa?dw??k] n. 人行道

3.leash [li??] vt. 用皮帶系住（狗等動物）

4.be bound to： 肯定會，極有可能會

5.with all the odds against sb.： 某人很可能失敗

6.predestined [?pri??dest?nd] adj. 命中注定的；上天安排的

7.spigot [?sp?ɡ?t] n. 龍頭

8.sprinkler [?spr??kl?（r）] n. （澆花草的）噴水器

9.drench [drent?] vt. 使濕透；使浸濕

10.recede [r??si?d] vi. 退回；后退

11.mush [m??] n. 爛糊狀東西；軟乎乎的東西

12.shod [??d] adj. 穿……鞋的

13.lament [l??ment] vi. 哀嘆

14.wisp [w?sp] n. （煙、云等的）一縷

15.illuminated [??lu?m?ne?t?d] adj. 被照亮的；發光的

16.minivan [?m?niv?n] n. 小型貨車

17.kayak [?ka??k] n. 獨木舟，單人劃子

18.ripple [?r?pl] vi. （感覺）傳開，傳遍

19.hazy [?he?zi] adj. 模糊的；看不清楚的

20.tranquil [?tr??kw?l] n. 平靜的；安寧的

21.chord [k??d] n. 心弦

22.come to： 經歷

23.feed [fi?d] vt. 提供