Hospital Windows
醫(yī)院故事《病房窗外》——你是我的眼，聽你帶我看窗外的世界

There were once two men, who were both seriously ill. Hence, they were sharing the same hospital room. One man was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour each afternoon to help drain the fluid from his lungs, which also prevented him from becoming too stiff. His bed was next to the only wall in the room that had a window. The other man, with whom he shared this room, had to spend all his time lying flat on his back, staring at the white, dull ceiling.
曾經(jīng)有兩名患有重病的男子住進(jìn)了一家醫(yī)院的同一間病房。其中一名男子被允許每天下午坐在病床上一個(gè)小時(shí)，以幫助排出他肺部的液體，同時(shí)讓他活動(dòng)活動(dòng)僵硬的身體。他的病床挨著病房里唯一的窗口。與他同病房的另一名男子則必須整天平躺在床上，凝視著白色、枯燥的天花板。
The men talked for hours on end. They spoke about their wives and families, their homes, their jobs, their involvement in the military service, about where they had been on vacation. They could talk endlessly with each other about their first sweethearts, about their time as a loving husband and so on.
兩個(gè)病友每天一聊就是幾個(gè)小時(shí)。他們談到他們的妻子和家庭、他們的家鄉(xiāng)、他們的工作、他們?cè)谲婈?duì)的服役經(jīng)歷，以及他們?cè)谀睦锒冗^(guò)假。他們一聊起初戀、夫妻恩愛這樣的話題就沒完沒了。
Best of all, every afternoon when the man in the bed by the window could sit up, he would pass the time by describing all the things he could see outside the window to his roommate. The man in the other bed began to live for those one-hour periods where his world would be broadened and enlivened by all the activity and colour of the world outside.
對(duì)于他們，每天最好的時(shí)光莫過(guò)于下午靠窗的男子能夠坐起來(lái)的時(shí)候。此時(shí)，他會(huì)將他能看到的窗外發(fā)生一切描述給另一張床上的病友聽。另一張床上的男子開始期盼每天下午的這一個(gè)小時(shí)，窗外世界的形形色色、五彩斑斕，讓他的世界變得更加廣闊、生動(dòng)。

The window overlooked a park with a lovely lake. Around the lake there were couples strolling romantically arm in arm amidst flowers of every colour of the rainbow. Mothers were pushing their baby carts. Ducks and swans played on the water while children sailed their model boats and played tag in the bushes surrounding the lake. Grand old trees graced the landscape, and a fine view of the city skyline could be seen in the distance.
俯瞰窗外是一個(gè)公園，公園里有一片美麗的湖水。湖邊，一對(duì)對(duì)浪漫的情侶手挽手漫步在五顏六色的花叢中。一旁幾位孩子?jì)寢屚浦鴭雰很囋谏⒉健ｘ喿雍吞禊Z在水中嬉戲，一些孩子玩著模型船，還有一些孩子在湖周圍的灌木叢中玩著捉人游戲。高大古老的樹木讓這里的景色變得更加優(yōu)美，遠(yuǎn)處還可以看到壯麗的城市天際線。
As the man by the window described all this in exquisite detail, the man on the other side of the room would close his eyes and imagine the picturesque park and surrounding city scene. "Would the old ice-cream shop at 54 avenue still be there?" he wondered. "Would the old oak tree near my parents' house, where I used to climb in a lot as a boy, still be there?" "Would the ballroom dance school where I met my future wife for the first time still be operating?" He asked the man by the window if he could see any of these places that were so engraved in his memory. Each time he asked, the man by the window said: "Yes, nothing seems to have changed a lot, only the surrounding street scenery perhaps." Each time upon hearing this, the bedridden man closed his eyes and smiled; imagining himself being there again.
每當(dāng)靠窗的男子描述所有這些美妙的細(xì)節(jié)時(shí)，另一張床上的男子就會(huì)閉上雙眼，腦海中浮現(xiàn)著這個(gè)風(fēng)景如畫的公園，以及城市周邊的景象。“第54大街上的那家老字號(hào)冰淇淋店還在那里吧？”他好奇地問(wèn)道。“我父母家附近的那棵老橡樹還在嗎？我小時(shí)候經(jīng)常爬到那棵樹上玩。”“我和我的妻子第一次相遇的那所交誼舞學(xué)校還開著嗎？”他經(jīng)常問(wèn)靠窗的男子是否可以看到這些被深深地刻在他記憶里的地方。每次他這么問(wèn)，靠窗的男子都會(huì)回答說(shuō)：“是的，好像沒什么變化，也許只是周邊的街景發(fā)生了些改變。”每次聽到這樣的回答，他都會(huì)閉上雙眼，露出笑容，仿佛自己正身臨其境。
Days and weeks passed. One warm afternoon the man by the window described a parade passing by. Although the other man couldn't hear the band—he could see it in his mind's eye as the man by the window portrayed it with descriptive words. Musicians, dancers in colourful extravagant outfits, jugglers performing mesmerizing tricks, children waving flags and the smell of cotton candy and other sweets filled the street. The parade passed every corner of his beloved neighborhoods in the city; from the coffee store where he would get his usual cuppa Joe to the old Cinema he and his wife frequently went to. He closed his eyes, and the march of the parade never ended since that moment. He knew now for sure he had to get better, and get out there to see all the wonderful things outside again, as soon as possible!
就這樣，幾天過(guò)去了，又幾周過(guò)去了。在一個(gè)溫暖的午后，靠窗的男子描述了一個(gè)游行隊(duì)伍經(jīng)過(guò)窗外的場(chǎng)景。盡管另一張床上的男子無(wú)法聽到游行樂(lè)隊(duì)演奏的樂(lè)曲，但他可以根據(jù)靠窗男子生動(dòng)的語(yǔ)言描述，在腦海中欣賞到這一精彩的場(chǎng)景——樂(lè)師和舞者們身著五顏六色的盛裝，雜技演員展示著讓人著迷的技巧，孩子們揮舞著旗子，街道上到處彌漫著棉花糖和其他糖果的香味。游行隊(duì)伍走過(guò)城市里他摯愛的社區(qū)的每個(gè)角落——從他經(jīng)常坐下來(lái)喝杯咖啡的咖啡廳到他和他的妻子時(shí)常光顧的老式電影院。他閉上雙眼，從那一刻起，游行隊(duì)伍一直在行進(jìn)，一直在行進(jìn)……此時(shí)，他知道必須讓自己的身體盡快好起來(lái)，再去看看窗外美妙的世界！
The next morning, the day nurse arrived to bring water for their baths only to find the lifeless body of the man by the window, who had died peacefully in his sleep. She was saddened and called the hospital attendants to take the body away.
第二天早上，白班護(hù)士來(lái)到病房給他們送洗澡水，卻發(fā)現(xiàn)靠窗的男子已在睡夢(mèng)中安然死去。她很傷心，然后叫來(lái)了醫(yī)務(wù)人員把尸體抬走了。
As soon as it seemed appropriate, the other man asked if he could be moved next to the window. The nurse was happy to make the switch, and after making sure he was comfortable, she left him alone. Slowly, painfully, he propped himself up on one elbow to take his first look at the world outside. Finally, he would have the joy of seeing it for himself.
另一張床上的男子選擇了一個(gè)合適的時(shí)機(jī)，要求將自己的床位調(diào)換至靠窗的位置。護(hù)士欣然答應(yīng)并幫他調(diào)換了床位，在確認(rèn)他已舒適地躺在床上之后便離開了，將他獨(dú)自一人留在病房里。他緩慢地，忍著疼痛，用一只手肘撐起自己的身體，第一次從醫(yī)院的窗口看到了外面的世界。他終于可以體會(huì)親眼看到外面世界的喜悅。
He strained to slowly turn to look out the window besides the bed. It faced a blank wall. The man asked the nurse what could have compelled his deceased roommate who had described such wonderful things outside this window. The nurse responded that the man was blind and could not even see the wall. She said, "Perhaps he just wanted to encourage you."
他拉緊身體，慢慢地轉(zhuǎn)過(guò)身，朝床邊的窗外望去。對(duì)著窗口的是一堵空白的墻壁。男子問(wèn)護(hù)士，為什么那位已故病友能夠?qū)⒋巴獾膱?chǎng)景描述得如此美好？護(hù)士回答說(shuō)，他其實(shí)是個(gè)盲人，甚至都看不到那堵墻。她說(shuō)：“也許他只是想鼓勵(lì)你，讓你早點(diǎn)恢復(fù)健康。”