That Time My Daughter Talked to a Stranger

⊙ By Tara Wood翻譯：思葦

That Time My Daughter Talked to a Stranger

那一天，女兒伸出了友誼之手

⊙ By Tara Wood翻譯：思葦

一個是4歲的幼兒園小妹妹，一個是82歲的孤獨老人，看似毫無交集的兩人，卻在一次購物中一見如故，成了互相關懷的忘年交。小姑娘的媽媽塔拉將這個故事分享到網上，沒想到全球大小媒體紛紛轉發，一夜爆紅——很多時候，感染人心的正能量隨處可見，它就藏在一句平常的問候或者一朵美麗的鮮花之中……

The day before my daughter Norah’s fourth birthday, she somehow foreshadowed[預示]a lovely event.

On our way back from preschool[幼兒園], she said, “I like old peoples the best ’cause they walk slow like I walk slow, and they has soft skin like I has soft skin. I’m gonna love’em all up before they are died.”

I had no idea how much she really meant it.

The following day, we went to the grocery store[雜貨店]to buy cupcakes for the whole family. While I was busy picking up bottles and cans, Norah suddenly noticed something and excitedly proclaiming[宣告], “Hi old person! It’s my birthday today!”

The man she addressed[對……說話]to was elderly and stone-faced. Before I could“Shush” Norah or ask the Earth to swallow me whole, he stopped and turned to her. To my surprise, his face softened[變柔和], “Well hello little lady! And how old are you today?”

They chatted for a few minutes. Norah asked me, “Can I take a picture with the old man for my birthday?” His expression rapidly changed from confused to stunned[目瞪口呆]to delighted.

“A photo? With me?” he asked.

“Yes, sir, for my birthday!” Norah pleaded[懇求].

And so they did. I thanked the old man, Mr. Dan, for taking the time with us. He said,“No, thank YOU. This has been the best day I’ve had in a long time. You’ve made me so happy, Miss Norah.”

Later, I was told that Mr. Dan’s wife had passed away and he had been lonely since. Norah really worried about her new friend, so we decided to make a visit.

My talkative[饒舌的], constantly-moving girl ended up having a really good time in Mr. Dan’s cozy[舒適的], tidy house. As we walked him to his front door after lunch, he picked a red rose by his porch, carefully cut every thorn[棘]off, and handed it to his little friend.She keeps that rose, now dry as a bone[干透], in a Ziploc注bag under her pillow.

Seventy-eight years separate these two people in age, yet they enjoy each other’s company. Norah and I have made a promise to see Mr. Dan every week—even if it’s only for fifteen minutes or a quick hug. I’ve invited Mr. Dan to spend the New Year with us. He’s part of our family now, and just like Norah said, “We’re gonna love him all up.”

Sometimes, a small talk with kindness can really lead to a beautiful new beginning. Give it a try.

注：密保諾，美國家用產品巨頭——莊臣父子公司旗下品牌，以密實袋系列產品著稱。

My talkative, constantly-moving girl ended up having a really good time in Mr. Dan’s cozy, tidy house.

動詞詞組end up最常見的意思就是“結束，告終”，表示事情的發展以詞組引出的內容而告終，后面常跟名詞或名詞性結構，如：Somewhat to his own surprise, he ended up designing the whole product. （結果他把整個產品都設計出來了，連他自己都有點驚訝。）

在我的女兒諾拉四歲生日前一天，她仿佛知道接下來會發生的溫馨故事。

從幼兒園回家的路上，她說：“我最喜歡老人了，因為他們像我一樣，走路慢悠悠的，皮膚軟軟的。我要在他們去世之前好好地愛他們。”

我當時并沒有意識到她是認真的。

第二天，我們去雜貨店給全家人買紙杯蛋糕。我在忙著挑選各種瓶瓶罐罐，諾拉突然注意到了什么，她興奮地喊了起來：“老人家你好啊！今天是我的生日！”

諾拉打招呼的是一位面無表情的老人。我還沒來得及讓她趕緊閉嘴，或者求大地趕快開個洞讓我鉆進去，他已經停下了腳步，轉頭看著她。讓我吃驚的是，他的臉色頓時變得非常柔和：“喔，小姑娘你好啊！你今天多少歲啦？”

他們倆聊了一會兒，諾拉問我說：“我能和這位老人家來個生日合影嗎？”老人剛開始還是一臉困惑，一下子變得目瞪口呆，又從震驚變成了快樂。

“合影？和我嗎？”他問道。

“是的，先生，生日合影！”諾拉懇求著。

于是他們一起合影了，我向這位丹先生表示感謝，謝謝他肯陪我們鬧騰，他卻回答道：“不，該是我謝謝你們。我很久很久沒像今天這么開心了。你讓我太高興了，諾拉小姐。”

后來，我才知道丹先生自從妻子去世以來一直孤零零的。諾拉很擔心她的新朋友，所以我們決定登門拜訪。

結果我那個喋喋不休、活潑好動的女兒在丹先生舒適整潔的小屋里玩得非常開心。用過午飯之后，我們陪著丹先生走到門口。他在門廊邊摘了一朵紅玫瑰，細心地剪掉所有的棘刺，然后送給他的小朋友。那朵玫瑰如今早已干枯，諾拉用密實袋將它裝起來，壓在自己的枕頭底下。

這兩個人相差78歲，但他們都很喜歡和對方一起玩。諾拉和我約好每周都要去探望丹先生——哪怕只是15分鐘的短暫會面，或者簡單地擁抱一下。我邀請老先生和我們一起過新年，他現在已經是這個家的一分子了，就像諾拉說的那樣：“我們要一起好好愛他。”

有時候，一次友善的閑談確實會帶來一個美好的新開始，你也試試吧。