Sometimes I really doubt whether there is love between my parents. Every day they are very busy trying to earn money in order to pay the high tuition for my brother and me. They don’t act in the romantic ways that I read in books or I see on TV. In their opinion, “I love you” is too luxurious for them to say. Sending flowers to each other on Valentine’s Day is even more out of the question. Finally my father has a bad temper. When he’s very tired from the hard work, it is easy for him to lose his temper.

有時(shí)候，我真的懷疑父母之間是否有真愛(ài)。他們天天忙于賺錢(qián)，為我和弟弟支付學(xué)費(fèi)。他們從未像我在書(shū)中讀到，或在電視中看到的那樣互訴衷腸。他們認(rèn)為”我愛(ài)你”太奢侈，很難說(shuō)出口。更不用說(shuō)在情人節(jié)送花這樣的事了。我父親的脾氣非常壞。經(jīng)過(guò)一天的勞累之后，他經(jīng)常會(huì)發(fā)脾氣。

One day, my mother was sewing a quilt. I silently sat down beside her and looked at her.

一天，母親正在縫被子，我靜靜地坐在她旁邊看著她。

“Mom, I have a question to ask you,” I said after a while.

過(guò)了一會(huì)，我說(shuō)：”媽媽?zhuān)蚁雴?wèn)你一個(gè)問(wèn)題。”

“What?” she replied, still doing her work.

“什么問(wèn)題？”她一邊繼續(xù)縫著，一邊回答道。

“Is there love between you and Dad?” I asked her in a very low voice.

我低聲地問(wèn)道：”你和爸爸之間有沒(méi)有愛(ài)情??？”

My mother stopped her work and raised her head with surprise in her eyes. She didn’t answer immediately. Then she bowed her head and continued to sew the quilt.

母親突然停下了手中的活，滿眼詫異地抬起頭。她沒(méi)有立即作答。然后低下頭，繼續(xù)縫被子。

I was very worried because I thought I had hurt her. I was in a great embarrassment and I didn’t know what I should do. But at last I heard my mother say the following words:

我擔(dān)心傷害了她。我非常尷尬，不知道該怎么辦。不過(guò)，后來(lái)我聽(tīng)見(jiàn)母親說(shuō)：

“Susan,” she said thoughtfully, “Look at this thread. Sometimes it appears, but most of it disappears in the quilt. The thread really makes the quilt strong and durable. If life is a quilt, then love should be a thread. It can hardly be seen anywhere or anytime, but it’s really there. Love is inside.”

“蘇珊，看看這些線。有時(shí)候，你能看得見(jiàn)，但是大多數(shù)都隱藏在被子里。這些線使被子堅(jiān)固耐用。如果生活就像一床被子，那么愛(ài)就是其中的線。你不可能隨時(shí)隨地看到它，但是它卻實(shí)實(shí)在在地存在著。愛(ài)是內(nèi)在的?！?

I listened carefully but I couldn’t understand her until the next spring. At that time, my father suddenly got sick seriously. My mother had to stay with him in the hospital for a month. When they returned from the hospital, they both looked very pale. It seemed both of them had had a serious illness.

我仔細(xì)地聽(tīng)著，卻無(wú)法明白她的話，直到來(lái)年的春天。那時(shí)候，我父親得了重病。母親在醫(yī)院里待了一個(gè)月。當(dāng)他們從醫(yī)院回來(lái)的時(shí)候，都顯得非常蒼白。就像他們都得了一場(chǎng)重病一樣。

After they were back, every day in the morning and dusk, my mother helped my father walk slowly on the country road. My father had never been so gentle. It seemed they were the most harmonious couple. Along the country road, there were many beautiful flowers, green grass and trees. The sun gently glistened through the leaves. All of these made up the most beautiful picture in the world.

他們回來(lái)之后，每天的清晨或黃昏，母親都會(huì)攙扶著父親在鄉(xiāng)村的小路上漫步。父親從未如此溫和過(guò)。他們就像是天作之合。在小路旁邊，有許多美麗的野花、綠草和樹(shù)木。陽(yáng)光穿過(guò)樹(shù)葉的縫隙，溫柔地照射在地面上。這一切形成了一幅世間最美好的畫(huà)面。

The doctor had said my father would recover in two months. But after two months he still couldn’t walk by himself. All of us were worried about him.

醫(yī)生說(shuō)父親將在兩個(gè)月后康復(fù)。但是兩個(gè)月之后，他仍然無(wú)法獨(dú)立行走。我們都很為他擔(dān)心。

“Dad, how are you feeling now?” I asked him one day.

有一天，我問(wèn)他：“爸爸，你感覺(jué)怎么樣？”

“Susan, don’t worry about me.” he said gently. “To tell you the truth, I just like walking with your mom. I like this kind of life.” Reading his eyes, I know he loves my mother deeply.

他溫和地說(shuō)：“蘇珊，不用為我擔(dān)心。跟你說(shuō)吧，我喜歡與你媽媽一塊散步的感覺(jué)。我喜歡這種生活?！睆乃难凵窭?，我看得出他對(duì)母親的愛(ài)之深刻。

Once I thought love meant flowers, gifts and sweet kisses. But from this experience, I understand that love is just a thread in the quilt of our life. Love is inside, making life strong and warm..

我曾經(jīng)認(rèn)為愛(ài)情就是鮮花、禮物和甜蜜的親吻。但是從那一刻起，我明白了，愛(ài)情就像是生活中被子里的一根線。愛(ài)情就在里面，使生活變得堅(jiān)固而溫暖。