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By Rosaleen Brayne
On the last day before Christmas, I hurried to the supermarket to buy the remaining gifts I hadn’t managed to get earlier. When I saw all the people there, I started to mutter(咕哝) to myself: “It’s going to take forever here and I still have so many other places to go…Christmas really is getting more and more annoying every year. How I wish I could just lie down, go to sleep and only wake up after it’s over….”
Nonetheless, I made my way to the toy section(部分), and there, I started to curse(诅咒，抱怨) the prices as I wondered if kids really played with such expensive toys. While looking around the shelves, I noticed a boy of about five, pressing a doll against his chest.
He kept touching the hair of the doll and looked quite sad. I wondered who the doll was for. Then the boy turned to an old woman beside him. “Granny, are you sure I don’t have enough money?” She replied, “You know that you don’t have enough to buy this doll, my dear.”
Then she asked him to stay there for five minutes while she looked around. She left quickly and the boy continued to hold the doll in his hand. I walked towards him and asked who he wished to give the doll to.
“It is the doll my sister loved most and wanted so much for Christmas. She was so sure that Santa Claus (圣诞老人) would bring it to her.”
I told him that maybe Santa Claus would bring it after all, and not to worry. But he said sadly, “No, Santa Claus cannot take it where she is now. My sister has gone to be with God. Daddy says mummy will also go to see God very soon, so I thought that she could take the doll with her to give my sister.”
My heart nearly stopped. The boy looked up at me and added, “I told daddy to tell mummy not to go yet. I asked her to wait until I’m back from the supermarket.” Then he showed me a nice photo in which he was laughing.
“I also want mummy to take this photo with her so that she will not forget me. I love my mummy and I wish she didn’t have to leave me. But daddy says she has to go to be with my little sister.”
Then he looked again at the doll, silently. I quickly reached for my wallet, took out a few notes and said to him, “What if we checked again just in case you have enough money?”
“Okay,” he replied. I added some of my money to his without his noticing, and we started counting. There was enough for the doll, and some change.
The boy looked at me and said, “Last night, before going to bed, I asked God to make sure I have enough money to buy this doll so mummy can give it to my sister. He heard me.”
“I also wanted some money to buy a white rose for my mummy, but I didn’t dare ask God for too much. You know, my mummy loves white roses.”
A few minutes later, the old lady came again and I left with my trolley(购物车). I finished my shopping in a totally different state from when I started. I couldn’t get the boy out of my mind.
Then I remembered a newspaper report from two days back, about a drunk man in a truck who had hit a car driven by a young woman, who was with her little girl. The girl died instantly and the mother is now in a coma. Is this the family of the little boy?
Two days after our encounter in the supermarket, I read that the young mother had died.
I couldn’t stop myself; I bought a bunch of white roses and went to the mortuary(太平间), where her body lay for visitors to pay their last respects. She was in her coffin, with a beautiful white rose in her hand and the photo of the boy and the doll over her chest. I left crying; I felt as if my life had been changed forever.
To this day, I find it hard to imagine the love the boy had for his mother and sister. But in a split second (瞬间，一刹那), a drunken driver took them away from him.
爱的礼物
圣诞节的前一天，我匆匆到超市去买早些时候还没买上的礼物。当我看见很多人在那时，我咕哝着对自己说：“在这还要呆很长时间，而我还有很多地方要去……每年的圣诞节真是越来越烦人，我多么希望我能躺下来睡觉，等到它结束了我再醒来……”
尽管如此，我还是挤着走到玩具部，在那儿，我又开始抱怨价格，我怀疑小孩根本就不会真的玩这些昂贵的玩具。我顺着货架到处看的时候，发现一个5岁的小男孩把洋娃娃紧紧抱在胸前。
他不停地摸洋娃娃的头发，看起来很伤心。我很好奇他会把洋娃娃送给谁。男孩转过身对旁边的老妇人说：“奶奶，你确定我没有足够的钱吗？”奶奶说：“亲爱的，你知道你没有足够的钱买这个洋娃娃的。”
于是她叫他在这呆5分钟，她四处再去看看。她很快离开了，男孩还是把那个洋娃娃握在手中。我向他走过去，问他想把洋娃娃送给谁。
“这是我妹妹最喜欢的洋娃娃，圣诞节她想要。她相信圣诞老人会给她的。”
我告诉他说圣诞老人最终会给她的,不用担心。但是他伤心地说:“不，圣诞老人不能送到她现在所在的地方。我妹妹随着上帝走了。爸爸说妈妈也将很快去见上帝，我想我妈妈可以把这个洋娃娃带给我妹妹。”
我的心几乎停止了跳动。小男孩看着我接着说：“我叫爸爸告诉妈妈先不要去，等我从超市回来。”接着他给我看了一张漂亮的照片，照片上他笑得很灿烂。
“我还想让妈妈把照片带着，那样她就不会忘记我了。我爱妈妈，不希望她离开我，但是爸爸说她要去陪我妹妹。”
他又看了一眼洋娃娃, 没做声，我马上伸手去拿我的钱包，拿出几张钱后对他说：“我们再来数数，看你的钱够不够？”
“好的，”他说。我趁他不注意把几张钱塞进他的钱里面，然后我们开始数，这下买洋娃娃的钱够了，还有一些剩余。
男孩看着我说：“昨晚睡觉前我祈求上帝让我有足够的钱买这个洋娃娃，然后妈妈可以带给我妹妹。上帝听到了。”
“我还想有一些钱给我妈妈买一只白玫瑰，但是我没有向上帝要得更多。你知道，我妈妈喜欢白玫瑰。”
过了几分钟，老奶奶回来了。我推着购物车走了，我带着和刚开始完全不同的心情买完了东西。那个小男孩的影子始终在我脑海里，挥之不去。
然后我记起了前两天在报纸上看过的一则报道，说是一个卡车司机酒后驾车，撞了一辆小汽车，车上是一位年轻的妈妈和她的小女儿。小女孩当场就死了，妈妈现在处于昏迷状态。她们会不会就是这个小男孩的家人呢？
在超市遇到小男孩的两天后，我在报纸上看到年轻的妈妈去世了。
我不能自已，买了一束白玫瑰来到她的灵堂，在那里来访者向死者做最后的道别。她躺在棺材里，手上拿着漂亮的白色玫瑰花，胸脯上放着小男孩的照片和那个洋娃娃。我哭着离开了，感觉我的生命也从此被改变了。
直到今天，我还是难以想象小男孩对他妈妈和妹妹的爱，但始料不及的是，一个酒后驾车的司机把她们从他身边夺走了。
On the last day before Christmas, I hurried to the supermarket to buy the remaining gifts I hadn’t managed to get earlier. When I saw all the people there, I started to mutter(咕哝) to myself: “It’s going to take forever here and I still have so many other places to go…Christmas really is getting more and more annoying every year. How I wish I could just lie down, go to sleep and only wake up after it’s over….”
Nonetheless, I made my way to the toy section(部分), and there, I started to curse(诅咒，抱怨) the prices as I wondered if kids really played with such expensive toys. While looking around the shelves, I noticed a boy of about five, pressing a doll against his chest.
He kept touching the hair of the doll and looked quite sad. I wondered who the doll was for. Then the boy turned to an old woman beside him. “Granny, are you sure I don’t have enough money?” She replied, “You know that you don’t have enough to buy this doll, my dear.”
Then she asked him to stay there for five minutes while she looked around. She left quickly and the boy continued to hold the doll in his hand. I walked towards him and asked who he wished to give the doll to.
“It is the doll my sister loved most and wanted so much for Christmas. She was so sure that Santa Claus (圣诞老人) would bring it to her.”
I told him that maybe Santa Claus would bring it after all, and not to worry. But he said sadly, “No, Santa Claus cannot take it where she is now. My sister has gone to be with God. Daddy says mummy will also go to see God very soon, so I thought that she could take the doll with her to give my sister.”
My heart nearly stopped. The boy looked up at me and added, “I told daddy to tell mummy not to go yet. I asked her to wait until I’m back from the supermarket.” Then he showed me a nice photo in which he was laughing.
“I also want mummy to take this photo with her so that she will not forget me. I love my mummy and I wish she didn’t have to leave me. But daddy says she has to go to be with my little sister.”
Then he looked again at the doll, silently. I quickly reached for my wallet, took out a few notes and said to him, “What if we checked again just in case you have enough money?”
“Okay,” he replied. I added some of my money to his without his noticing, and we started counting. There was enough for the doll, and some change.
The boy looked at me and said, “Last night, before going to bed, I asked God to make sure I have enough money to buy this doll so mummy can give it to my sister. He heard me.”
“I also wanted some money to buy a white rose for my mummy, but I didn’t dare ask God for too much. You know, my mummy loves white roses.”
A few minutes later, the old lady came again and I left with my trolley(购物车). I finished my shopping in a totally different state from when I started. I couldn’t get the boy out of my mind.
Then I remembered a newspaper report from two days back, about a drunk man in a truck who had hit a car driven by a young woman, who was with her little girl. The girl died instantly and the mother is now in a coma. Is this the family of the little boy?
Two days after our encounter in the supermarket, I read that the young mother had died.
I couldn’t stop myself; I bought a bunch of white roses and went to the mortuary(太平间), where her body lay for visitors to pay their last respects. She was in her coffin, with a beautiful white rose in her hand and the photo of the boy and the doll over her chest. I left crying; I felt as if my life had been changed forever.
To this day, I find it hard to imagine the love the boy had for his mother and sister. But in a split second (瞬间，一刹那), a drunken driver took them away from him.
爱的礼物
圣诞节的前一天，我匆匆到超市去买早些时候还没买上的礼物。当我看见很多人在那时，我咕哝着对自己说：“在这还要呆很长时间，而我还有很多地方要去……每年的圣诞节真是越来越烦人，我多么希望我能躺下来睡觉，等到它结束了我再醒来……”
尽管如此，我还是挤着走到玩具部，在那儿，我又开始抱怨价格，我怀疑小孩根本就不会真的玩这些昂贵的玩具。我顺着货架到处看的时候，发现一个5岁的小男孩把洋娃娃紧紧抱在胸前。
他不停地摸洋娃娃的头发，看起来很伤心。我很好奇他会把洋娃娃送给谁。男孩转过身对旁边的老妇人说：“奶奶，你确定我没有足够的钱吗？”奶奶说：“亲爱的，你知道你没有足够的钱买这个洋娃娃的。”
于是她叫他在这呆5分钟，她四处再去看看。她很快离开了，男孩还是把那个洋娃娃握在手中。我向他走过去，问他想把洋娃娃送给谁。
“这是我妹妹最喜欢的洋娃娃，圣诞节她想要。她相信圣诞老人会给她的。”
我告诉他说圣诞老人最终会给她的,不用担心。但是他伤心地说:“不，圣诞老人不能送到她现在所在的地方。我妹妹随着上帝走了。爸爸说妈妈也将很快去见上帝，我想我妈妈可以把这个洋娃娃带给我妹妹。”
我的心几乎停止了跳动。小男孩看着我接着说：“我叫爸爸告诉妈妈先不要去，等我从超市回来。”接着他给我看了一张漂亮的照片，照片上他笑得很灿烂。
“我还想让妈妈把照片带着，那样她就不会忘记我了。我爱妈妈，不希望她离开我，但是爸爸说她要去陪我妹妹。”
他又看了一眼洋娃娃, 没做声，我马上伸手去拿我的钱包，拿出几张钱后对他说：“我们再来数数，看你的钱够不够？”
“好的，”他说。我趁他不注意把几张钱塞进他的钱里面，然后我们开始数，这下买洋娃娃的钱够了，还有一些剩余。
男孩看着我说：“昨晚睡觉前我祈求上帝让我有足够的钱买这个洋娃娃，然后妈妈可以带给我妹妹。上帝听到了。”
“我还想有一些钱给我妈妈买一只白玫瑰，但是我没有向上帝要得更多。你知道，我妈妈喜欢白玫瑰。”
过了几分钟，老奶奶回来了。我推着购物车走了，我带着和刚开始完全不同的心情买完了东西。那个小男孩的影子始终在我脑海里，挥之不去。
然后我记起了前两天在报纸上看过的一则报道，说是一个卡车司机酒后驾车，撞了一辆小汽车，车上是一位年轻的妈妈和她的小女儿。小女孩当场就死了，妈妈现在处于昏迷状态。她们会不会就是这个小男孩的家人呢？
在超市遇到小男孩的两天后，我在报纸上看到年轻的妈妈去世了。
我不能自已，买了一束白玫瑰来到她的灵堂，在那里来访者向死者做最后的道别。她躺在棺材里，手上拿着漂亮的白色玫瑰花，胸脯上放着小男孩的照片和那个洋娃娃。我哭着离开了，感觉我的生命也从此被改变了。
直到今天，我还是难以想象小男孩对他妈妈和妹妹的爱，但始料不及的是，一个酒后驾车的司机把她们从他身边夺走了。