文字难度：★★☆
小说的故事梗概如下:任职于《芝加哥论坛报》的专栏作家特瑞莎刚从一段失败的婚姻中走出来,一日在海边慢跑时,无意发现了一个埋在白沙中的玻璃瓶,瓶内装着一封署名“G”的信。特瑞莎反复看了又看,深深被信中G的热情及真爱所打动。而这封捡来的瓶中信阴错阳差地被刊登在报纸上,并得到读者热烈的回响。于是特瑞莎被指派去寻找这个情感炙热的G,了解他伤痛的理由。她积极细心地搜寻一切蛛丝马迹,从瓶子、信纸、打字机等线索终于寻得了信的出处。她整理行囊,来到了美国北卡罗来纳州靠海的小镇。在那里,特瑞莎如愿遇见了帆船建造师盖瑞特。英俊多情的盖瑞特和妻子凯瑟琳如同一对神仙眷侣,感情甚笃。但自从凯瑟琳因病过世后,盖瑞特一直无法走出悲伤的阴影。当特瑞莎闯进他的生活后,盖瑞特慢慢发现自己爱上了特瑞莎……最后,盖瑞特决定听从内心的感觉和特瑞莎一起生活,但命运难料,就在他出海要对凯瑟琳的爱挥别之时,他遭遇了意外,再也没回来……因篇幅所限,本文仅节选了该小说最后一章中男女主人公通过书信来表达浓浓爱意这一精彩片段,值得细读品味。
Dear Theresa,
Can you forgive me?
In a world that I seldom understand, there are winds of destiny that blow when we least expect them. Sometimes they 1)gust with the fury of a hurricane; sometimes they barely 2)fan one’s cheek. But the winds cannot be denied, bringing as they often do a future that is impossible to ignore. You, my darling, are the wind that I did not anticipate, the wind that has gusted more strongly than I ever imagined possible. You are my destiny.
I was wrong, so wrong, to ignore what was obvious, and I beg your forgiveness. Like a cautious traveler, I tried to protect myself from the wind and lost my soul instead. I was a fool to ignore my destiny, but even fools have feelings, and I’ve come to realize that you are the most important thing that I have in this world.
…
亲爱的特瑞莎:
你能原谅我吗?
在这个我不怎么能理解的世界里,命运之风总是会出其不意地吹向我们,时而如暴风来袭,时而如轻风拂面。但是不管什么样的风,人们是无法拒绝的,随之带来的还有让人无法忽视的未来。亲爱的,你是让我始料不及的那股风,那股甚至比我能够想象到的还要强烈的风。你就是我的“命运”。
我错了,错得如此厉害,不该忽视如此显而易见的东西,我请求得到你的原谅。我就像一个谨慎的旅行者,努力避免受到风的吹袭,却反而失去了自己的灵魂。我太傻了,竟忽视了自己的命运。但是,即使傻子也是有感情的,所以我开始认识到,你是我在这个世界上遇到的最重要的人。
……
For the first few days after you left, I wanted to believe that I could go on as I always had. But I couldn’t. Every time I watched the sun go down, I thought of you. Every time I walked by the phone, I yearned to call. Even when I went sailing, I could only think of you and the wonderful times we had. I knew in my heart that my life would never be the same again. I wanted you back, more than I imagined possible, yet whenever I 3)conjured you up, I kept hearing your words in our last conversation. No matter how much I loved you, I knew it wasn’t going to be possible unless we—both of us—were sure I would devote myself fully to the path that lay ahead. I continued to be troubled by these thoughts until late last night when the answer finally came to me. Hopefully, after I tell you about it, it will mean as much to you as it did to me:
在你离开后的最初几天里,我曾想相信自己能够像以往那样继续生活。但是,我做不到。每次看到夕阳西下,我就想起你。每次经过电话机旁,我都禁不住想打电话给你。甚至出海航行的时候,我脑海里也都只想着你,以及我们曾经一起度过的美好时光。我打心底里明白到我的生活不可能再像以前那样了。我想要你回到我身边,这种渴望程度已经超乎了我的想象。然而,每次想起你的时候,我耳边总是会响起最后一次谈话时你所说的那些话。无论我有多爱你,我知道,除非我们——我们双 方——都确信我能够全心全意地投身于面前的这条路,否则一切都不可能实现。一直以来我都被这些想法困扰着,直到昨天晚上,终于有了答案。希望当我告诉你之后,你会跟我一样欣喜。
In my dream, I saw myself on the beach with Catherine; in the same spot I took you after our lunch at Hank’s. It was bright in the sun, the rays reflecting brilliantly off the sand. As we walked alongside each other, she listened intently as I told her about you, about us, about the wonderful times we shared. Finally, after some hesitation, I admitted that I loved you, but that I felt guilty about it. She said nothing right away but simply kept walking until she finally turned to me and asked, “Why?” “Because of you.”
在我梦里,我看见自己与凯瑟琳走在沙滩上,跟那次在汉克家吃完午饭后我带你去的是同一个地方。那时阳光很明媚,光线折射在沙滩上,很耀眼。我们肩并肩地走着,她专心地听着我讲述你,讲述我们,以及我们一起分享的那些美好时光。最后,几经犹豫,我终于向她承认了我对你的爱,同时却又为此而愧疚。她没有马上回答我,只是一直走,最后转向我,问道:“为什么觉得愧疚?”“因为你。”
Upon hearing my answer, she smiled at me with 4)patient amusement, the way she used to before she died. “Oh, Garrett,” she finally said as she gently touched my face, “who do you think it was that brought the bottle to her?”
听了我的回答后,她理解地向我报以微笑,正如她去世前那样。“噢,盖瑞特,”最后,她温柔地抚摸着我的脸,答道,“你觉得是谁把瓶子带给她的呢?”
Theresa stopped reading. The 5)faint hum of the refrigerator seemed to echo the letter’s words: Who do you think it was that brought the bottle to her? Leaning back in her chair, she closed her eyes, trying to hold back the tears.
特瑞莎停下,不再读信。房内电冰箱那微弱的制冷杂音似乎在重复着信中的这些话语:你觉得是谁把瓶子带给她的呢?她靠在椅子上,闭上眼睛,试图抑制住眼中的泪水。
“Garrett,” she murmured, “Garrett…” Outside her window, she could hear the sounds of cars passing by. Slowly she began reading again.
“盖瑞特,” 她喃喃低语,“盖瑞特……”窗外,她能听到往来车辆的声音。慢慢地,她又开始接着往下读了。
When I woke, I felt empty and alone. The dream did not comfort me. Rather, it made me ache inside because of what I had done to us, and I began to cry. When I finally 6)pulled myself together, I knew what I had to do. With shaking hand, I wrote two letters: the one you’re holding in your hand right now, and one to Catherine, in which I finally said my good-bye. Today, I’m taking 7)Happenstance out to send it to her, as I have with all the others. It will be my last letter—Catherine, in her own way, has told me to go on, and I have chosen to listen. Not only to her words, but also to the 8)leanings of my heart that led me back to you.
我醒来时,感到空虚而孤单。这场梦没有给我带来安慰,相反却使我内心感到痛楚,因为我对我们关系的处理方法错了,我开始哭泣起来。当我最终振作起来,我知道自己该去做什么了。我用颤抖的手写了两封信:一封就是你现在手中拿的这封,另一封是给凯瑟琳的。在给她的信中,我终于向她说出了“再见”。今天我要驾驶“意外号”出海,把信送给她,就像以往我给她的所有其他信件那样。这将是我给凯瑟琳的最后一封信。凯瑟琳以她的方式告诉我要继续走下去,我决定听从她的意见。不止是她的劝告,还有我的心,都指引着我回到你身边。
Oh, Theresa, I am sorry, so very sorry, that I ever hurt you. I am coming to Boston next week with the hope that you find a way to forgive me. Maybe I’m too late now. I don’t know.
噢,特瑞莎,我很抱歉,非常抱歉,我曾伤害了你。下个星期我要来波士顿,希望你能考虑原谅我。我不知道,也许现在才这样说有点太迟了。
Theresa, I love you and always will. I am tired of being alone. I see children crying and laughing as they play in the sand, and I realize I want to have children with you. I want to watch Kevin as he grows into a man. I want to hold your hand and see you cry when he finally takes a bride, I want to kiss you when his dreams come true. I will move to Boston if you ask because I cannot go on this way. I am sick and sad without you. As I sit here in the kitchen, I am praying that you will let me come back to you, this time forever.
Garrett
…
特瑞莎,我爱你,并将永远爱你。我厌倦了孤独的生活。我看到孩子们在沙滩上玩耍,喊叫并嬉笑着。这时,我意识到我想要有属于我们的孩子;我要看着凯文长成一个男子汉;当他娶新娘时,我要拉着你的手,看着你哭泣;我要在他梦想成真的时候亲吻你。只要你提出来,我就搬到波士顿来,因为我无法再像现在这样继续生活下去。没有你我会感到厌烦和悲哀。我坐在厨房里,祈祷你能让我回到你身边,之后,永不分离。
盖瑞特
……
My Darling,
Of course I forgive you. I forgive you now, and I forgave you the moment I read your letter.
I loved and lost. I now understand more fully the difficulties you were going through, and I realize how painful it must have been for you to move on. Sometimes my grief is overwhelming, and even though I understand that we will never see each other again, there is a part of me that wants to hold on to you forever. It would be easy for me to do that because loving someone else might diminish my memories of you. Yet, this is the 9)paradox: Even though I miss you greatly, it’s because of you that I don’t dread the future. Because you were able to fall in love with me, you have given me hope, my darling. You taught me that it’s possible to move forward in life, no matter how terrible your grief. And in your own way, you’ve made me believe that true love cannot be denied…
I don’t know if spirits do indeed roam the world, but even if they do, I will sense your presence everywhere. When I listen to the ocean, it will be your whispers; when I see a dazzling sunset, it will be your image in the sky. You are not gone forever, no matter who comes into my life. You are alongside my soul, helping to guide me toward a future that I cannot predict.
This is not a good-bye, my darling, this is a thank-you. Thank you for coming into my life and giving me joy, thank you for loving me and receiving my love in return. Thank you for the memories I will cherish forever. But most of all, thank you for showing me that there will come a time when I can eventually let you go.
I love you,
T
After reading the letter for the last time, Theresa rolled it up and 10)sealed it in the bottle. She turned it over a few times, knowing that her journey had come full circle. Finally, when she knew she could wait no longer, she threw it out as far as she could.
When the bottle vanished from sight a few minutes later, she started back to the car. Walking in silence in the rain, Theresa smiled softly. She didn’t know when or where or if it would ever turn up, but it didn’t really matter. Somehow she knew that Garrett would get the message.
亲爱的:
我当然会原谅你。我现在就原谅你了,我一读你的信就马上原谅你了。
我爱过,也失败过。现在我完全理解你所经历的重重难关,也明白到继续往前生活对你来说曾经是一件多么痛苦的事情。有时候,我的悲伤压倒一切,纵使我明白我们彼此不会再相见,但心中仍存一丝念头想永远抓住你。这对我来说是很容易做到的,因为爱上其他人或许就可以让我不再那么经常想起你。然而,这又是自相矛盾的:即使我非常想念你,但正是因为你,我才不畏惧将来。亲爱的,那是因为你能够全心全意地去爱我,同时给予我希望。你教导我无论有多悲伤,仍可以继续往前走。你以你自己的方式,让我相信真爱是不容否认的……
我不知道灵魂是否会在人世间游荡,若然,无论在何处我都可以感应到你的存在。当我聆听大海时,会发现那是你的低声细语。当我看着耀眼的日落时,天空将浮现你的样子。无论谁走进我的生活,你都永远不会离开。你会一直陪伴着我的灵魂,帮助指引我走向一个我无法预测的未来。
亲爱的,这不是道别,这是对你的感谢。谢谢你曾走进我的生活,带给我欢乐,谢谢你爱过我并且接受我对你的爱。谢谢你给予我得以一生珍藏的回忆。最重要的是,谢谢你向我证明我终有一天能够放手让你离去。
我爱你,
T
最后一次读完信之后,特瑞莎将它卷好,然后将其密封在瓶子里。她将瓶子转了几次,明白到她的旅程已经回到原处。最后,她知道不能再等了,便使劲把它扔了出去。
数分钟后,当瓶子消失在视野里的时候,她开始走回车里。特瑞莎在雨中静静地走着,脸上带着温柔的微笑。她不知道瓶子会在何时何地出现,甚至不知道它是否会出现,但这真的不重要。总之,她知道,盖瑞特会收到的。
Nicholas Sparks(尼古拉斯·斯帕克思,1965— )是当今享誉世界的畅销小说家。他的作品曾七次登上《纽约时报》畅销书排行榜第一名,全世界总销量超过5000万册,并已被译成40多种语言。另外,他的作品中已有四部被搬上了电影荧幕,分别是《瓶中信》、《罗丹岛之恋》、《初恋的回忆》和《恋恋笔记本》,纷纷轰动一时。