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蓝色的玻璃珠
这几天我放学回家，都发现妈妈的行为有点古怪。 她总是匆匆忙忙的在厨房中炖一碗鸡蛋，然后又匆匆忙忙的用袋子带?那碗蛋出门去。 我问妈妈︰「你去哪儿啊？」 「小孩子别多事！」她说?就走了。五点多出门，八时多才回家煮饭。 For the last few days, I found Mom acting rather strange. Every day when I returned home from school, I would see her making some egg custard in the kitchen. When it was done, she would put it in a bag and go out in a hurry. I asked her, "Where are you going?" She would say, "Children should mind their own business," and then went out. She would leave the house at about five o'clock, and did not return until after eight.
我已经不小了，十二岁啦！我很想知道妈妈这段日子为了甚么而瞒?我帮别人煮鸡蛋；又为了甚么而少了跟我说话，甚至我肚子饿了，还未见她回来煮饭。 周五的一天，我决定跟踪妈妈。见到妈妈走上一座离家不远的商住楼宇，我悄悄的在后面跟了上去，只见妈妈走进一家幼儿园，把一个大约三岁的小朋友带出来。 离开幼儿园的时候，幼儿园职员对她说︰「欣欣的学费到期要交了，你带了钱来吗？」妈妈显得有点突然︰「啊，忘了带，明天交，明天交！」 我在楼梯处躲?，看到这情形十分愕然，这小孩子是妈妈的甚么人呢？难道是我从来未见过的私生妹妹？ I was not a child - I was twelve already. I really wanted to know why she had been making egg custards when I was not home, why she seldom talked with me these days, and why I had to stay hungry until she came home to cook dinner. So on Friday, I decided to tail her when she went out. She went into a building where there was a mix of commercial and residential units. I followed her, and saw her going into a nursery. She came out with a little girl of about three years old. As she left, a staff of the nursery said to her, "Yan Yan's fees for the month have not been paid. Did you bring any money?" Mom was obviously taken aback, and she stammered, "Oh, sorry I forgot. I'll bring it tomorrow." I hid in the staircase and saw all these. I was very surprised and became suspicious - who was this child? Was she my half-sister that I had never met?
正想着，妈妈已带着欣欣走出门来，我一下子来不及躲避，被妈妈碰?了！ 我和妈妈都一下子怔?，谁也不知道先说些甚么好。 妈妈定了定神，把欣欣抱了起来，对?欣欣说︰「来来来，我帮你介绍，这是你的姐姐丽仪，叫丽仪姐姐啊！」 欣欣有点陌生地叫︰「丽仪姐姐！」那小脸蛋叫完我后就红得像熟透的苹果，我一下子就喜欢了她。 妈妈看出我的神情，说︰「反正你来了，就不如跟我一起送欣欣回家吧！」 到了欣欣的家，妈妈就把炖蛋分给她和她十岁的哥哥吃，然后又匆匆忙忙为两人煮饭炒菜。妈妈煮饭的当儿，我很快就跟欣欣玩熟了。我问︰「你的妈妈呢？」 欣欣说︰「病了，在医院。」 「爸爸呢？」 「爸爸走了，再也不理我们了。」欣欣说。 Just at that moment, Mom came out with Yan Yan and walked right into me. She was just as surprised as I was, and we looked at each other, stunned. Mom was the first to recover. She picked Yan Yan up and said, "Here, let me introduce you. This is Lily, say 'Li-ly' !" Yan Yan greeted me shyly, and immediately was blushing all over. She looked so cute I felt immediately drawn to her. Mom saw through me, and said, "Since you're here, come let us take Yan Yan home." When we arrived at Yan Yan's place, Mom let her and her older brother share the custard, then went into the kitchen and busily started preparing meals. While she was in there, I played with Yan Yan and she soon overcame her shyness. I asked her, "Where is your mommy?" "She's sick. She's in hospital." Yan Yan said. "Then what about Daddy?" "Daddy's gone away. He doesn't care about us anymore."
「晚上谁跟你睡觉？」我又问。 「姐姐，她上班，很晚才回来。」她十岁的哥哥说。 妈妈很快就为哥妹俩煮了饭，喂完欣欣，才跟我回家。 回家的路上，妈妈说︰「想问我欣欣跟我们有甚么关系，是吗？她是我同事王阿姨的女儿，王阿姨病了，没有人照顾她和欣欣，我就做她几天的母亲，就这么简单。」 我说︰「可你之前为甚么要瞒?我呢？」 妈妈说︰「我怕你爸爸不高兴，他的收入很低，照顾家庭已经很勉强，我怕他知道我出钱出力帮补别人，他不同意，所以就瞒?你和你爸爸。也许我多心了。」 "Then who sleeps with you at night?" I asked. "Our older sister. She's at work and does not come home until very late at night," her brother, who was ten, replied. Soon dinner was cooked. Mom finished feeding Yan Yan before we left for home. On the way, Mom said, "Want to know who Yan Yan is to me? She's the daughter of Auntie Wong, my colleague, who is ill. There's no one to take care of Yan Yan and her brother, so I played mom to take care of the children. Just for a few days, that's all." "But why did you not tell me before?" I said. "I don't know if your daddy would approve. He is having a hard time bringing home money these days, and I'm afraid that if he knows I spend so much time and money to help other people, he would not like it. That's why I did not want you or your daddy to know. But then I may be worrying too much."
我像忽然间大了很多，我说︰「我也很想帮你出一分力，我帮你接欣欣。」 没想到这句话成了事实。妈妈由于太累，结果也病倒了。我去幼儿园接了欣欣回家，又在街上买了两个饭盒给她和她的哥哥。 欣欣问︰「宝姨姨呢？」她挂念我妈妈。 我说︰「宝姨姨也病了。」 欣欣说︰「欣欣很想宝姨姨。」说?，她从口袋里掏出两颗玻璃珠子，一个红色，一颗蓝色，看样子她很喜欢这玻璃珠子。她交出其中一颗蓝色的给我︰「送给宝姨姨的。魔术珠子，宝姨姨吃了，病就好了！」 I felt as if I had grown up all of a sudden. So I said, "I want to help you. Let me help you take Yan Yan home from the nursery." It turned out to be exactly the case a couple of days later. Mom fell ill from the exhaustion, and I was the one to go and pick up Yan Yan from school. I bought two lunch boxes for her and her brother on the way. Yan Yan asked, "Where's Auntie Polly?" Obviously she missed my mother. I said, "Auntie Polly is sick, too." "Yan Yan misses Auntie Polly," she said. Then she took out from her pocket two glass beads, one red and one blue. They must be her favourite. She picked the blue one and gave it to me, "This is for Auntie Polly. It's a magic bead. When she ate it, she would become well again."
回家我把蓝色的玻璃珠子交给妈妈，妈妈起初很开心，精神也像好了很多。但听到欣欣说吃玻璃珠子医病，她忽然跳下床来，说︰「扶我到欣欣家去！」 到了欣欣家，她千劝万劝，让她哥哥把那红色的玻璃珠子锁了起来，又请她吃了几颗朱古力豆，这才放心地离开欣欣的家…… 几天后，欣欣妈妈出院了；我妈妈也病好了，她的生活也回复了正常。但欣欣送给她的蓝色玻璃珠，却像珍珠一样被她用盒子装起，摆在饰柜上，每天看看，嘴唇就泛出笑意。 我望?那蓝色的玻璃珠子，却像看到蓝色的海洋-那是我妈妈像海一般的无边的爱！ When I got home, I gave Mom the blue bead. She was very happy at first, and seemed to recover a lot. But when she heard what Yan Yan said about 'eating' the glass bead in order to become well, she immediately jumped out of bed, and said, "Take me there. Hurry!" As soon as she arrived, she persuaded with much effort Yan Yan to allow her brother to lock the glass bead up. In return, she gave her a few chocolate beans to eat. When all that was done, she felt relieved enough to go home...... A few days later, Yan Yan's mother returned home from hospital. My mom also recovered, and life went back to normal. As for the blue glass bead that Yan Yan gave her, she put it in a jewellery case and displayed it inside our glass cabinet, just like it was a precious pearl. And every time she looked at it, there would be the shadow of a smile on her face. And every time I looked at the blue glass bead, I seemed to see an ocean - an ocean of all-embracing love from my dearest mother.
