Mandarin lesson in hong kong – She

Mandarin Lesson

She

 I heard her sing when I opened the door but did not want to interrupt the beautiful song by yelling I had arrived, so I just tiptoed to the living room. I looked at how her still-lean body bent beautifully, her arms greeting the sunlight that was pouring through the window. And her legs… Those legs that had stiffly walked, aided with a cane, insensible shoes as long as I could remember. Now she was wearing beautiful dancing shoes and her legs obeyed her perfectly. No limping. No stiffness. Just beautiful, fluid motion. She was the pet of the dancing world. And then she’d had her accident and it was all over. I had read that in an old newspaper clipping.

She turned around in a slow pirouette and saw me standing in the doorway. Her song ended, and her beautiful movements with it, so abruptly that it felt like being shaken awake from a beautiful dream. The sudden silence rang in my ears. Grandma looked so much like a kid caught with her hand in a cookie jar that I couldn’t help myself, and a slightly nervous laughter escaped. Grandma sighed and turned towards the kitchen. I followed her, not believing my eyes. She was walking with no difficulties in her beautiful shoes. We sat down by the table and cut ourselves big pieces of her delicious peach pie.

當我推門進屋的時候,我聽到了她在唱歌,但我不想大喊自己回來了,不想打斷那美妙的歌聲,於是我踮著腳尖走到客廳。我看著她那依然消瘦的身體優雅地彎下,她的手臂迎向從窗口傾瀉而入的陽光。而她的腿……自我能記事以來,她總是拄著拐杖,穿著便鞋,走起路來腿腳僵硬。可現在,她正穿著美麗的舞鞋,而她的雙腿完全聽從著她的支配。不再蹣跚,不再僵硬。只有優美、流暢的動作。她曾是舞蹈界的寵兒。可是後來她遭遇了一場意外,舞蹈生涯因此而結束。我是從一張老舊的剪報中讀到這個的。

她緩緩地轉身做了一個足尖旋轉,見到我站在門口。她的歌聲嘎然而止,還有她那優美的動作,一切停止得如此突然,感覺像是從一場美夢中被人搖醒了。突如其來的寂靜衝擊著我的耳朵。祖母看起來很像是一個伸手從餅乾罐裡偷吃卻被抓了個正著的小孩,我不禁發出了一陣略帶一絲緊張的大笑。祖母嘆了口氣,轉身走向廚房。我跟在她身後,還是不敢相信自己的眼睛。她穿著那雙美麗的舞鞋,行走自如。我們坐在了桌邊,從她那美味的蜜桃派中切出了大大的幾塊,倆人一起吃。

Dāng wǒ tuī mén jìn wū de shíhou, wǒ tīng dàole tā zài chànggē, dàn wǒ bùxiǎng dà hǎn zìjǐ huíláile, bùxiǎng dǎ duàn nà měimiào de gēshēng, yúshì wǒ diǎnzhe jiǎojiān zǒu dào kètīng. Wǒ kànzhe tā nà yīrán xiāoshòu de shēntǐ yōuyǎ de wān xià, tā de shǒubì yíng xiàng cóng chuāngkǒu qīngxiè ér rù de yángguāng. Ér tā de tuǐ……zìwǒ néng jìshì yǐlái, tā zǒng shì zhǔzhe guǎizhàng, chuānzhuó biànxié, zǒu qǐ lù lái tuǐjiǎo jiāngyìng. Kě xiànzài, tā zhèng chuānzhuó měilì de wǔ xié, ér tā de shuāng tuǐ wánquán tīngcóngzhe tā de zhīpèi. Bù zài pánshān, bù zài jiāngyìng. Zhǐyǒu yōuměi, liúchàng de dòngzuò. Tā céng shì wǔdǎo jiè de chǒng’ér. Kěshì hòulái tā zāoyùle yī chǎng yìwài, wǔdǎo shēngyá yīncǐ ér jiéshù. Wǒ shì cóng yī zhāng lǎo jiù de jiǎnbào zhōng dú dào zhège de. Tā huǎn huǎn dì zhuàn shēn zuòle yīgè zú jiān xuánzhuǎn, jiàn dào wǒ zhàn zài ménkǒu. Tā de gēshēng gā rán’ér zhǐ, hái yǒu tā nà yōuměi de dòngzuò, yīqiè tíngzhǐ de rúcǐ túrán, gǎnjué xiàng shì cóng yī chǎng měimèng zhōng bèi rén yáo xǐngle. Tūrúqílái de jìjìng chōngjízhe wǒ de ěrduo. Zǔmǔ kàn qǐlái hěn xiàng shì yīgè shēnshǒu cóng bǐnggān guàn lǐ tōu chī què bèi zhuāle gè zhèngzháo de xiǎohái, wǒ bùjīn fāchūle yīzhèn lüè dài yīsī jǐnzhāng de dà xiào. Zǔmǔ tànle kǒuqì, zhuǎnshēn zǒuxiàng chúfáng. Wǒ gēn zài tā shēnhòu, háishì bù gǎn xiāngxìn zìjǐ de yǎnjīng. Tā chuānzhuó nà shuāng měilì de wǔ xié, xíngzǒu zìrú. Wǒmen zuò zàile zhuō biān, cóng tā nà měiwèi de mì táo pài zhōng qiè chūle dàdà de jǐ kuài, liǎ rén yīqǐ chī.