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Childhood Friends The first time I lost my best friend, I thought it was the end of the world. I don’t mean that he died, he just went away, but I still measure all pain by how hurt I was when Danny left. I was blessed with a happy childhood, one that most people would want to have. We lived in a small bungalow in a tiny village in Scotland and we were a very close family. Our neighbours next door had a son named Danny, and we grew up together. We spent long summer evenings in the pine forests, digging up worms for fishing, and collecting feathers left by the birds in the cages where they had been kept for the hunters. It was here that I discovered that I was allergic to the tiny flies which bit me and made my face swell. There were a few walnut trees above the village and we would chase the squirrels away and wait for them to ripen. Of course, it was too far north for a proper harvest. On windy days we’d slide down the stony slopes to the loch and feel the spray of the sea in our faces. Danny was a good carpenter too, and we made brooms out of branches, which we tried to sell in the village shop. We built a tree house, where we smoked our first cigar, and I was sick! Once I slipped on some damp leaves, fell out, scratched my arms and cut the heel of my foot, so he washed my wounds in the stream. He was a very considerate boy for someone so young. My mother simply scolded me for tearing my underwear. We were on good terms with everyone in the village, and we even gave a salute to the local policeman as he passed on his bicycle. But in our imagination, he was an enemy soldier, and we were two spies looking for secrets. It was the finest friendship anyone could have, and life seemed perfect. And then at the age of 14, his parents moved to London, over 400 kilometres away. The pain was acute, and I couldn’t forgive Danny for leaving me. I felt he had betrayed me. It was the worst loss I have ever experienced. I’m now back in touch with Danny, and it’s a privilege to call him my friend. We’re both much more mature now, and we’re still very alike. But while I’m nostalgic for the happy times we spent together many years ago, I’m ashamed of my feelings, and I don’t want to rewind the recording of my life and remember my loss and my pain. Childhood Friends 童年好友 我第一次失去至交时，我以为那是世界末日。我不是说他死了，他只是走了，可我仍然依据丹尼离开时我的伤心程度来衡量全部痛苦。 我很幸运，有一个快乐的童年，一个大多数人渴望的童年。我们住在苏格兰一个小村庄的一所小平房里。我们是一个亲密的家庭。我们隔壁邻居家有个叫丹尼的孩子，我们一起长大。 我们在松树林里度过漫长的夏日黄昏，挖虫做鱼饵，收集鸟儿掉的羽毛，那些鸟儿曾被关在笼中，已备打猎之用。就是在这里，我发现我对一些小飞虫过敏，它们咬我，我的脸就会肿起来。村子上有一些胡桃树，我们会赶走松鼠，等待胡桃的成熟。当然，那里太靠北了，很难完全收获的。有风的日子，我们就顺石坡滑到海边，任凭水中的浪花溅到脸上。 丹尼还是个好木匠，我们把树枝做成扫帚，想方设法卖给村里的店铺。我们盖起一件树屋，在那里我们抽了第一支烟，我一点儿都不喜欢！有一次我在湿树叶上滑了一跤，摔了出去，擦破了胳膊，划伤脚后跟，于是他在小溪里帮我清洗伤口。对于一个还那么小的孩子来说，他非常会照顾人。我妈妈只是责怪我撕破了内衣。 我们个村里的每一个人都相处得很好，连当地的警察骑着自行车经过时，我们都会向他敬礼。但在我们的想象中，他是敌方战士，而我们则是两个窃取情报的间谍。 然后，14岁的时候，他父亲搬到了伦敦，距村子400多公里远。那种强烈的痛苦使我不能谅解丹尼的离开。我觉得他背叛了我。这是我经历过的最严重的损失。 现在我和丹尼又恢复联系了，能够称他为我的朋友是我的荣幸。我们现在都成熟多了，而且我们很相像。 但当我回忆许多年前我们一起度过的美好时光，我就对我的一些感觉感到羞愧，我不想再重拾以前的生活，唤起我曾经的损失和痛苦。 |
