《Early Autumn 》初秋

一蓑烟雨一抹尘

《Early Autumn 》初秋

是美国著名文学家，诗人，短篇小说家兰斯顿·休斯的著名短篇小说。

故事以一对昔日的恋人若干年后不期而遇为题材，通过两人极为普通的日常对话，辅以一定的情景衬托，生动而细腻地显现了两种截然不同的心态，尤其是女主人公玛丽那起伏跌宕的感情波澜，充分表现了她的怀旧心态。

全文短短的445个词，一气呵成，向我们展示了一幅平静而又波澜壮阔的感情画面，读来回味无穷……

When Bill was very young, they had been in love. Many nights they had spent walking, talking together. Then something not very important had come between them, and they didn't speak. Impulsively, she had married a man she thought she loved. Bill went away, bitter about women.

在比尔很年轻的时候，他们深深相爱着。
无数个美好的夜晚，
他们牵手在月光下漫步，欢声笑语。
不知何时，
甜蜜的爱情出现了小小的隔阂，
慢慢地他们沟通少了，
后来甚至记不清谁先开始沉默……
出乎预料地，
她竟然选择嫁给了一个她认为相爱的男人，
比尔选择了离开，
带着对爱情的失望和女人的怨。



Yesterday, walking across Washington Square, she saw him for the first time in years.

"Bill Walker," she said.

He stopped. At first he did not recognize her, to him she looked so old.
"Mary! Where did you come from?"
Unconsciously, she lifted her face as though wanting a kiss, but he held out his hand. She took it.
"I live in New York now," she said.
"Oh" -- smiling politely, then a little frown came quickly between his eyes.
"Always wondered what happened to you, Bill."
"I'm a lawyer. Nice firm, way downtown."
"Married yet?"
"Sure. Two kids.”
"Oh,” she said.

昨天，她走过华盛顿广场，熟悉的身影出现在眼前，分手后这么多年，她还是第一次看见他。
“比尔沃克，”她惊喜地叫道。
他停下脚步，但却没能一眼认出她来，对他来说，她看上去似乎很老了。
“玛丽，你从哪里来？”
记忆一下子回到相爱的多年前，
一幕幕温馨的画面，
玛丽无意识地抬起脸来，仿佛在等待着一个吻……而他却只是伸出一只手来，她握住了它。
“我现在住在纽约，”她说道。
“哦”——他礼貌性地笑了笑，接着轻轻的皱了皱眉。
“我总是在想你过得怎么样，比尔。”
“我现在是一名律师，在Nice公司工作，公司在市中心。”
“结婚了吗？”
“当然。有两个孩子了。”
“哦，”她怅然若失地说道。

A great many people went past them through the park. People they didn’t know. It was late afternoon. Nearly sunset. Cold.

"And your husband?” he asked her.
“We have three children. I work in the bursar’s office at Columbia.”
“You’re looking very…” (he wanted to say old) “…well,” he said.
She understood. Under the trees in Washington Square, she found herself desperately reaching back into the past. She had been older than he then in Ohio. Now she was not young at all. Bill was still young.

经过他们身边的人逐渐多了起来，陌生的人们。
已经接近傍晚，太阳挣扎着散发最后的惨白的余晖。
寒意袭来。
"……你丈夫呢？"他问道。
"我们有三个孩子。我在哥伦比亚财务办公室上班。"
“你看起来……气色不错，”
他咽下差点脱口而出的"很老"。
她却听出来了。在华盛顿广场的树下，
她极力地，绝望地，眺望着许多年前的，
仿佛有一大把青春可以挥霍的那个女孩。
她在俄亥俄州时就比他大。
如今她已老去，
他却该是那么年轻。

"We live on Central Park West," she said. "Come and see us sometime."

“Sure,” he replied. “You and your husband must have dinner with my family some night. Any night. Lucille and I'd love to have you.”
The leaves fell slowly from the trees in the Square. Fell without wind. Autumn dusk. She felt a little sick.
"We'd love it," she answered.
"You ought to see my kids." He grinned.

"我住在中央公园西面，"她说，"有空过来看看。"
"一定，"他回答她，"哪天晚上有空，你和你丈夫过来吃顿饭吧，随便哪晚都行。你们能来，露西莉和我会很高兴。"
树叶从树上缓缓飘落。然而却没有风。站在早秋的黄昏里，她突然有点晕。
"我们也会很高兴的。"她定了定神。
"你该来看看我的孩子们。"他微笑，露出好看的牙齿。

Suddenly the lights came on up the whole length of Fifth Avenue, chains of misty brilliance in the blue air.
"There's my bus," she said.
He held out his hand. "Good-bye."
"When..." she wanted to say, but the bus was ready to pull off. The lights on the avenue blurred. And she was afraid to open her mouth as she entered the bus. Afraid it would be impossible to utter a word.
Suddenly she shrieked very loudly, “Good-bye!” But the bus door had closed.

路灯亮了，照着整个第五大道。
清冷的空气里，绽开了一串串朦胧的晕黄。
"……我的公交车来了。"她。
他向她伸出手，"再见！"
"什么时候能……"她急急地想些说什么，
但公交车已准备驶离站台。
晕黄的街灯，在雾中，
时而清晰，时而模糊。
上公交车时，她不敢开口，
她害怕张开口，却发不出任何声音。
突然，从身体的什么地方
迸发出来很大的声音，"再见！"
车门，却已经在她身后，关上了......
………………

The bus started. People came between them outside, people crossing the street, people they didn't know. Space and people. She lost sight of Bill. Then she remembered she had forgotten to give him her address—or to ask him for his -- or tell him that her youngest boy was named Bill, too.

汽车缓缓启动。车外来往的人群隔开了她和他。
穿过广场的人群。陌生的人群。
她和他之间，隔着人群，隔着广场，也隔着一大段岁月。
他，从她的视野里，慢慢地，消失了！
她突然想起来，
她忘了给他留自己的地址，
她忘了叫他留下他的地址，
她甚至都忘了告诉他，
她的最小的儿子，名字也叫作，
比尔！