Remembrance of Things Past
追忆似水流年
Can it really be sixty years ago that I first saw you?
我们的初次相遇,难道真的是60年前吗?
It is really a lifetime, I know. But as I gaze at your eyes now, it seems like only yesterday that I first saw you, in that cafeteria adjacent to Hanover Square.
年华似水,倏忽间我们已相携一世。望着你的眼睛,当年的邂逅历历如在昨昔,就在汉诺威广场附近的那个自助餐厅里。
From the moment I saw you, as you walked down from the spiral staircases, holding my whisky, my intuition elicited that you were the eligible person I longed for in my life.
从见到你的那一刻起,那一刻你正从餐馆螺旋形的楼梯走下来,我举着威士忌酒杯,直觉告诉我,你就是我合意的人,是我寻求的终身伴侣。
From time to time, I still recall how intently I gazed at you at first sight. I remember watching your fair rosy complexion, your short dark hair, colorful cape, your orange coat with delicate (exquisite) laces and your beautiful skirt with linear patterns. I was immensely absorbed by your glamour.
我仍然不时地想起,那天情不自禁怔征地望着你,望着你白里透红的脸庞、短短的黑发、彩色的披肩,精致花边的橘色外衣和优美线形图案的裙子。我被你的魅力深深地吸引了。
One year later, we held our engagement party at Easter Day and we got married on Thanksgiving Day.
一年后的复活节那天,我们举行了订婚晚会,同年的感恩节,我们举行了结婚仪式。
During the warfare I missed you; I missed you so much that you were the spiritual brace and intrinsic motivation of my void life, encouraging me to contend for victory. Even when I crept in the siren of battle, I thought as if I had heard your feminine voice; even when I tramped in the hails of bullets and missiles, I thought as if you were smiling at me.
在那场战争中,对你的思念成了我空虚生活的精神支柱和内在动力,激励着我为胜利而奋战。即使战场上空袭警报轰鸣,我也仿佛能听到你柔美的声音。即使战场上硝烟弥漫,我也仿佛看到你在我面前盈盈浅笑。
I still recall vividly when an array of troops in armors made a strong assault to us, my thigh was stabbed, I slumped and stunned in trench. I thought you were calling me at that bleak night and I at length reviveds on the brink of death. Suffering from the torments of the wound, I called your name again and again and stumbled to the orientation of home.
我还能清楚地记得,当一支装甲军队向我们发起进攻时,我的大腿被敌人刺伤,晕倒在战壕里。在寒冷的夜里,仿佛听到你的呼唤,处在死亡边缘的我终于苏醒过来。忍受着伤口的剧痛,我一次次地喊着你的名字,向着家的方向踉跄前行。
Half a year later I was exempted from military service because of the disabled thigh tissue. The picture was clearly carved in my mind that I couldn't withhold my tears any longer when you darted to me in the station.
半年后,我因伤残的大腿被免除了军役。我还清楚地记得,当你在火车站飞奔向我的时候,我忍不住泪如泉涌。
As we grew old together all the 60 years, romance permeated in our marital life without any strife or tiny rupture. Hitherto, the scene of the day we married recurred in my mind time and time again. I could still recollect that we were standing with rings on the step of the church, as intimate as a pair of loving birds; I could still recite the oath I made in front of you; I could still recall the wedding dress your mother sewed for you with splendid rubies and pearls.
60年来我们的婚姻生活一直保持着浪漫色彩,几乎没有任何争吵和破裂的痕迹。至令我们结婚的场景时常会在我的记忆里重现。我仍然能记得我们戴着戒指站在教堂的台阶上,亲密得像一对恩爱的鸳鸯。我仍然能记得我对你说过的誓言。我仍然记得你母亲为你做的那件新娘礼服,那些漂亮的珠饰。
My dear, I also want to tell you that I see our naive and lovely grand-daughter today. She looks beautiful in her pretty dress and red shiny shoes. She evokes my memories of you that first day we met. She has her hair cut short now, having a strong resemblance with you. When I meet her at the door, her smile wraps around me like a warm glove, just as you used to be.
亲爱的,我还想告诉你,今天我又见到我们天真可爱的孙女了。她穿着漂亮的裙子,闪亮的红色小鞋,让我立刻想起当年相遇时的你。她把头发剪短了,连她的短发也像极了年轻时的你。当我在门口看到她的时候,她的笑容暖人心脾,这竟然也和你一模一样。
I know you are tired, my darling, and I should let you go. Burial ceremony in the cemetery will begin at 12 sharp. The elapsing epoch can't be duplicated. Henceforth, you will live in my deep heart until the day I am with you, and then I should be smiling as brightly as I did the day we married.
我明白,亲爱的,你累了,我应该平静地让你离开了。墓场的葬礼仪式12点钟就要开始了。过去的时代已经一去不返了。从此以后,你将时刻活在我的心里,直到有一天当我随你而去的时候,我的嘴角一定会挂着甜蜜的微笑,就像我们结婚那天一样。