姐妹共讀書

風目

一起讀書時，你我雖相對無言，但其實千言萬語早已袒露于心間。

就想這樣和你肩并著肩，一起讀書，一起坐看云卷云舒……

The sun is setting. Its heart-warming rays peek shyly through the half-open blinds1） in the dim living room. The jabber2） of the TV gently melts into the atmosphere. I， an 11-year-old girl， lie idly on a couch， carelessly resting my head on its arm as I indulge in a book.

The couch lightly bounces as someone sits on the other end. Lowering my book， I find my little sister， in her thick glasses， with a book from the same series. She lies down， too， and shuffles3） through the pages. Our feet meet in the middle， and a warm， fuzzy4） feeling slowly spreads through my body. We grin at each other and continue reading.

My sister was always shy as a child. When a stranger from church asked her name， she hid behind me. At McDonald's， she couldn't order unless I helped. During her first months at preschool5）， she didn't say a word to anyone. They thought she didn't know English， and were shocked that she spoke it flawlessly at home.

Most of the time I have spent with my sister was in total silence. We were never the talkative type. While other sisters played with dolls and gossiped， we spent time doing what we loved most： reading. This was the glue that linked us and gave us both a sense of belonging. Lying side by side and holding up our books with aching arms， we would silently share wonderful moments in the world of novels. An observer might think we were lacking in communication. But， reading was our communication. Frequently we let out sighs of devastation6） or gasps7） of delight. This magical experience was our surreptitious8） medium of fellowship.

We particularly enjoyed the Harry Potter series. Hand in hand， we delved into9） Harry's adventures， entranced10） and bewildered11）. When he raced the wind to catch the Golden Snitch12）， we cheered together. When he was trapped in the Ministry of Magic13） by the Death Eaters14）， we froze in terror. When Professor Snape betrayed Dumbledore and drove him to death， we shuddered15） in rage together.

In the blink of an eye， the clock would point to ten and Mother would intrude on the silence that had filled our room. She would give us hugs and put us to bed. We would sigh and reluctantly let go of our books. We thought this special habit of ours would last forever.

But at some unknown point， we started to grow apart16）. I prepared for high school and a hectic17） academic schedule. Reading for hours became a luxury， and so I read less and less—until I forgot the last time I indulged in a book.

My sister began to read alone. She went out in the garden and read in the sun. I enviously watched from my window， and then forced my attention back to my enormous load of homework.

Once created， our distance18） grew like bamboo sprouts after the rain. I was so busy that we hardly saw each other， and I forgot the plots of Harry Potter. Soon， I was in a school dormitory， miles away from the special times we once shared. Everything raced by in a blur19）. The once-cherished times with my sister faded.

At some point I realized that my sister was not taking my phone calls anymore. Mother always picked up the phone， saying she was off at parties. On the rare occasion that my sister picked up， it was not the same. She had grown from the timid， reserved20） girl who depended on her big sister. Mother and I were proud， but part of me missed the girl who needed me.

...

I stand in the dim hall outside my sister's bedroom. I open the door， and cozy rays of sun fill my eyes. She is sitting on her bed， immersed in a book. Her thin back seems lonely. She looks up as I enter. A quizzical21） "what are you doing here？" look appears on her face. I throw her an uneasy smile. We both stare silently at the bookshelf.

I break the stillness.

"You've got a whole lot of books here."

"Yeah， I guess."

"I should read more too. Which is the best novel you have？"

"I don't know. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's22） Stone， maybe？"

We exchange smiles. I take the ragged23）， yellow-paged book in my hand. Shuffling through the pages， I close my eyes and unpack the memories that I had neatly folded into the corners of my mind， neglecting it for years. Scenes from Harry Potter flash by. Behind Harry clutching a snitch in glory， at the very back of the audience， are two young sisters holding hands， bouncing up and down in ineffable24） joy. Among the marvels of the Ministry of Magic， these sisters are curled up， embracing each other and trembling as they watch Hogwarts students face the Death Eaters. As Dumbledore encounters death， they weep among the crowd of students.

I lie down next to my sister and open the first page of an old but new book.

夕陽西斜。透過昏暗的起居室那半開著的百葉窗，幾縷暖人心房的斜陽羞怯地往屋里偷看。電視里嘰里咕嚕的說話聲緩緩地融進了室內的氛圍。11歲的我慵懶地躺在長沙發上，頭隨意地枕著沙發的扶手，沉浸于一本書中。

這時有人在沙發的另一頭坐了下來，沙發隨之輕微地彈了彈。我把手中的書往下放了放，發現是我的小妹妹。她戴著厚厚的眼鏡，拿著一本同系列的書。她也躺了下來，快速地翻動著書頁。我們倆的腳在沙發中間碰到了一起，一股暖洋洋、毛茸茸的感覺逐漸蔓延至我的全身。我倆彼此咧嘴一笑，繼續看書。

我妹妹小的時候一直很害羞。當教堂里的陌生人問她叫什么名字時，她就躲在我的身后。在麥當勞，如果我不幫忙，她都沒法點餐。在她剛上幼兒園的頭幾個月里，她沒有和任何人講過一句話。他們以為她不懂英語，在發現她在家里能講一口無可挑剔的英語時，他們都吃驚不已。

我和妹妹在一起的大部分時間都是在寂靜無聲中度過的。我們從來都不是那種健談的人。當別的姐妹玩娃娃、閑聊時，我們卻把時間都花在了我們最熱愛的事情上，那就是讀書。讀書就是把我們聯系在一起的黏合劑，它讓我們倆都擁有了一種歸屬感。我們會肩并肩地躺在一起，用酸痛的胳膊舉著各自的書，靜靜地分享沉浸于小說世界中的那些美妙時刻。旁人或許會覺得我們缺少交流，但閱讀就是我們的交流方式。我們常常因為極其悲傷發出嘆息聲或是因為十分歡愉發出喘息聲，這種神奇的體驗正是我們溝通姐妹情誼的秘密媒介。

我們倆都特別喜歡讀《哈利·波特》系列小說。我們一起手拉手，探索哈利的那些冒險經歷，為之深深著迷的同時充滿疑惑。當哈利風馳電掣想要拿到金色飛賊會兒我們一起歡呼雀躍。當他被食死徒困在魔法部時，我們害怕得一動不動。當斯內普教授背叛了鄧布利多并將他害死時，我們一起憤怒得渾身發抖。

一眨眼的功夫，時鐘指向了10點，媽媽會來打破充盈在我們房間的這份寧靜。她會抱一抱我們，然后安頓我們上床睡覺。我們會嘆口氣，然后不情愿地放下自己的書。那會兒我們都覺得我倆這個特別的習慣會永遠地保持下去。

但不知從什么時候起，我們開始逐漸疏遠了。我要為上高中以及繁忙的學業安排做準備。一連讀上幾個小時成為一種奢侈，于是我讀書的時間越來越少，以至于我都想不起來自己上一次沉浸于一本書中是什么時候了。

妹妹開始獨自一人讀書了。她走到外面的花園里，在陽光下讀書。我透過窗戶羨慕不已地望著她，然后逼迫自己將注意力重新轉回到我那無比繁重的作業上來。

我們之間的疏遠一經產生就像雨后竹筍一般生長著。我太忙了，以至于我們幾乎很難見到彼此，而我也遺忘了《哈利·波特》里的那些情節。不久，我住進了學校的宿舍，離我們曾經一同分享的別樣時光無比遙遠。一切都在模糊的記憶中匆匆而過，與妹妹共同度過的那些曾令我倍感珍惜的時光逐漸逝去了。

在某個時刻，我意識到妹妹也不再接我電話了。媽媽總會接起電話，告訴我妹妹出去參加聚會了。即便是妹妹難得接我電話的時候，那感覺也和從前不一樣了。她已經長大了，不再是那個羞怯、內向、依靠她的大姐姐的女孩了。媽媽和我都為她感到驕傲，但有時我也會想念那個需要我的女孩。

……

我站在妹妹臥室外那昏暗的走廊里。我推開門，暖和、舒適的陽光照進了我的雙眼。妹妹正坐在她的床上，沉浸于一本書中。她那瘦削的背影看起來有些孤獨。當我走進去時，她抬起頭來，一種“你來這兒干嗎？”的詫異神情浮現在她的臉上。我朝她不自在地笑了笑，我們倆都靜靜地盯著書架。

我打破了沉默。

“你這兒有整整一書架的書呢！”

“嗯，我想是的。”

“我也應該多讀點書。你的哪本小說最好看？”

“我不知道。可能是《哈利·波特與魔法石》吧？”

我們彼此相視一笑。我把那本書頁泛黃、磨損不堪的書拿到自己手里。我快速翻動著書頁，閉上了眼睛，那些被我整齊地疊放在自己內心角落里的、被我忽略多年的回憶漸次展開。《哈利·波特》里的一幕幕閃現。在無比榮耀地手握金色飛賊的哈利身后，在觀眾的最后面，有兩個年幼的姐妹，她們手拉著手，在難以言喻的快樂中跳上跳下。在魔法部各種奇異的事物當中，這對姐妹蜷縮成一團，彼此擁抱著，并在看到霍格沃茨學校的學生們面對食死徒時渾身顫抖不已。在鄧布利多面臨死亡的那一刻，她們和那群學生一起落淚。

我挨著妹妹躺了下來，翻開了書的第一頁，這是一本舊書，此刻卻煥發著新顏。

1.blind [bla?nd] n. 百葉窗；窗簾；卷簾

2.jabber [?d??b?（r）] n. 嘰里咕嚕的說話聲

3.shuffle [???fl] vi. 馬虎地（或匆忙地）做（多與through連用）

4.fuzzy [?f?zi] adj. 覆有絨毛的；毛茸茸的

5.preschool [?pri?sku?l] n. 幼兒園；幼稚園

6.devastation [?dev??ste??n] n. 極度的憂傷；極度的震驚

7.gasp [ɡɑ?sp] n. （尤指因驚訝或疼痛而引起的）喘氣；喘息

8.surreptitious [?s?r?p?t???s] adj. 秘密的；私下的

9.delve into： 探索；鉆研

10.entranced [?n?trɑ?nst] adj. 狂喜的；著迷的

11.bewildered [b??w?ld?（r）d] adj. 不知所措的；迷惑的

12.Golden Snitch： 金色飛賊，《哈利·波特》中的一個魔法物件，也是魁地奇（Quidditch）比賽中最重要的球。它是一個胡桃大小的金色金屬球，球身還有一對不斷飛舞的小銀翅膀，飛行極快，很難被抓到。

13.Ministry of Magic： 魔法部，《哈利·波特》系列作品中虛構的一個政府部門，掌管英國魔法界的所有事務。

14.Death Eaters： 食死徒，是《哈利·波特》系列作品中大反派伏地魔所有黨羽的統稱。

15.shudder [???d?（r）] vi. （因寒冷、害怕或激動）打顫，戰栗，發抖

16.grow apart： （在思想、感情等方面）逐漸疏遠，漸漸產生隔閡

17.hectic [?hekt?k] adj. 繁忙的；忙碌的

18.distance [?d?st?ns] n. 冷淡；不友好；（親屬關系的）疏遠

19.blur [bl??（r）] n. 模糊的記憶；記不清的事情

20.reserved [r??z??vd] adj. 內向的；寡言少語的；矜持的

21.quizzical [?kw?z?kl] adj. 詫異的；感到好笑的

22.sorcerer [?s??s?r?（r）] n. 男巫；術士，魔法師

23.ragged [?r?ɡ?d] adj. （邊緣或表面）粗糙的，參差不齊的

24.ineffable [?n?ef?bl] adj. （美好得）難以形容的，不可言喻的