The girl on the train 火车上的女孩
I had the compartment on the train to myself up to Rohana, and then a girl got on. The couple seeing her off were probably her parents, they seemed very anxious about her comfort, and the woman gave the girl detailed instructions as to where to keep her things, when not to lean out of windows, and how to avoid speaking to strangers.
As I had become blind by then, I could not tell what the girl looked like, but I knew she wore slippers from the way they slapped against her heels, and I liked the sound of her voice.
"Are you going all the way to Dehra Dun?" I asked her as the train pulled out of the station.
I must have been sitting in a dark corner, because my voice startled her. She gave a little exclamation, and said, "I didn't know anyone else was here."
Well, it often happens that people with good eyesight fail to see what is right in front of them. They have too much to observe, I suppose, whereas those who cannot see take in what registers most telling on their remaining senses.
"I didn't see you either at first," I said. "But I heard you come in." I wondered if I would be able to prevent her from discovering that I couldn't see. I thought, provided I keep to my seat, it shouldn't be too difficult.
"I'm getting down at Saharanpur," the girl said. "My aunt is meeting me there. Where are you going?"
"To Dehra Dun, and then to Mussoorie," I replied. "Oh, lucky you! I wish I were going to Mussoorie. I love the mountains. Especially in October."
"Yes, this is the best time." I said, calling on my memories when I could see. "The hills are covered with wild dahlias, the sun is delicious, and at night you can sit in front of a log fire and drink a little brandy.
Most of the tourists have gone, and the roads are quiet and almost deserted."
She was silent, and I wondered if my words had touched her, or whether she thought me a romantic fool. Then I made a mistake. "What is it like outside?" I asked.
She seemed to find nothing strange in the question. Had she noticed already that I could not see? But her next question removed my doubts.
"Why don't you look out of the window?" she asked quite naturally.
I moved easily along the berth and felt for the window ledge. The window was open and I faced it, making a pretense of studying the landscape. In my mind's eye, I could see the telegraph posts flashing by. "Have you noticed," I ventured, "that the trees seem to be moving while we seem to be standing still?"
"That always happens," she said.
I turned from the window and faced the girl, and for a while we sat in silence. "You have an interesting face," I commented. I was becoming quite daring, but it was a safe remark, few girls can resist flattery.
She laughed pleasantly, a clear, ringing laugh. "It's nice to be told that," she said. "I'm so tired of people telling me that I have a pretty face."
Oh, so you do have a pretty face, thought I, and aloud I said, "Well, an interesting face can also be pretty."
"You are very gallant," she said. "But why are you so serious?"
"We'll soon be at your station," I said rather abruptly0. "Thank goodness it's a short journey. I can't bear to sit in a train for more than two or three hours."
Yet I was prepared to sit there for almost any length of time, just to listen to her talking. Her voice had the sparkle of a mountain stream. As soon as she left the train, she would forget our brief encounter, but it would stay with me for the rest of the journey, and for some time after.
The engine's whistle shrieked, the carriage wheels changed their sound and rhythm. The girl got up to collect her things. I wondered if she wore her hair in a bun, or if it hung down loose over her shoulders, or if it was cut very short.
The train drew slowly into the station. Outside, there was the shouting of porters and vendors and, near the carriage door, a highpitched female voice that must have belonged to the girl's aunt. "Goodbye," said the girl.
She was standing very close to me, so close that the perfume from her hair was tantalizing. I wanted to raise my hand and touch her hair, but she moved away, and only the perfume still lingered where she had stood.
There was some confusion in the doorway. A man getting into the compartment, stammered an apology. Then the door banged shut, and the world was closed out again. I returned to my berth. The guard blew his whistle and we moved off.
The train gathered speed, the wheels took up their song, the carriage groaned and shook. I found the window and sat in front of it, staring into daylight that was darkness for me. Once again I had a game to play and a new fellow traveller.
"She was an interesting girl," I said. "Can you tell me -- did she keep her hair long or short?" "I don't remember," he replied, sounding puzzled. "It was her eyes I noticed, not her hair. She had such beautiful eyes, but they were of no use to her -- she was completely blind. Didn't you notice?"
-
无相关信息
- Beauty 美丽人生 记住美妙的时刻美好的感觉
- 双语:以色列研究 中国长城并不全是用来防御
- 双语:欧洲博物馆很多文物是从非洲抢来的,非洲想要回去
- 双语:疫情之下,印度出现各种防疫智商税
- 双语阅读:必胜客和肯德基都要卖人造肉产品
- 双语美文阅读:人类首次造出六边形的盐
- 双语美文:无家可归的大学生活 是命运对我最好的赏赐
- 双语美文:深呼吸,然后相信
- 双语美文:简单的赞美 好过一切套路!
- 双语:日本陷入经济衰退了
- 双语:星巴克的瓶装星冰乐,一直被误解了
- 双语美文:有时候,快乐不必舍近求远
- 科学家创造出一种新植物,一辈子都会发光
- 双语美文:坐在我身后的那家人 谢谢你们
- 双语美文:做自己就好
- 肯德基新推出人造素食炸鸡,大受好评
- 养蜂是个不环保的产业,对人类和蜜蜂都有害
- 新研究:女人在职场中更需要被人喜欢
- 双语美文:生命是一场荣耀的冒险
- 双语美文:仰望日出的鹿
- 黄庭坚《水调歌头·游览》我欲穿花寻路 直入白云深处
- 黄庭坚《品令·茶词》恰如灯下 故人万里 归来对影
- 杜荀鹤《溪兴》山雨溪风卷钓丝 瓦瓯篷底独斟时
- 储光羲《张谷田舍》一径入寒竹 小桥穿野花
- 赵嘏《寒塘》晓发梳临水 寒塘坐见秋
- 蔡确《夏日登车盖亭》纸屏石枕竹方床 手倦抛书午梦长
- 李峤《书》河图八卦出 洛范九畴初
- 刘长卿《饯别王十一南游》长江一帆远 落日五湖春
- 韦庄《章台夜思》芳草已云暮 故人殊未来
- 卢纶《宿澄上人院》竹窗闻远水 月出似溪中
- 孟浩然《留别王侍御维》只应守寂寞 还掩故园扉
- 苏轼《南乡子·送述古》归路晚风清 一枕初寒梦不成
- 王维《木兰柴》秋山敛馀照 飞鸟逐前侣
- 王维《栾家濑》跳波自相溅 白鹭惊复下
- 苏轼《少年游·润州作代人寄远》对酒卷帘邀明月 风露透窗纱
- 苏轼《行香子·过七里濑》一叶舟轻 双桨鸿惊 水天清 影湛波平
- 王维《汉江临泛》江流天地外 山色有无中
- 柳宗元《溪居》晓耕翻露草 夜榜响溪石
- 杜牧《赠宣州元处士》蓬蒿三亩居 宽于一天下
- 项鸿祚《清平乐·池上纳凉》水天清话 院静人销夏