2019-11-09

【Aiden in English】

        Men are driven to a Light. It glistens.

        A man cannot hold the Light. He who does hold the Light will be consumed by it. It burns, from inside out. 

        A stranger claims to have held the Light. He is a stranger, in strange lands. His claims are even stranger. Strangeness scares people. But not having the Light scares people more. 

        The stranger claims to be enlightened. He says to have touched the Light with his own, mortal hands. He walks with a limp and an old wooden cane. He is blind. 

        “Why should we believe you,” people ask. “Even the strongest man, the bravest soul, the smartest minds cannot achieve the Light.”

        He does not answer and simply asks shelter. 

        No one believes him. No one follows him. He sleeps under a tree for the night. 

        The next morning the stranger is gone. He leaves without a sound. All that remains is a trail of footsteps and his cane.

        The villagers approach the cane. It faintly glows in the morning haze. Then, in a bright flash, it vanishes.

        The witnesses are stunned.

        The village men scramble in the direction of the footsteps. They are shallow, uneven, steps of a cripple. Suddenly, the steps make a sharp turn into a thicket of trees, having a dramatically increased pace. Surprised, the villagers desperately rampage through the forest, clearing patches of grass in search of tracks, but to no avail. One by one, each searcher dropped to the ground in despair and tiredness, and eventually all returned to the village.

        A year passes, and the search for the old man has been given up. The village is peaceful, but the urge for light is still present. Hardly anyone has the will to search for it anymore.

        A young man with aspiring dreams takes to the forest. He was present during the cane’s disappearance. His eyes still shine with the same glow. He has not given up on his search.

        He approaches the forest. Once trampled and smothered, the thicket has regrown. The young man fearlessly plunges into the branches alone. The shadows enclose him. 

The vines and branches scrape his arms. The air grows thin. The young man struggles to breathe. He pushes onwards.

        The ground trembles and quakes. Tree roots twist and churn, rolling under the young man’s feet. He persists forward.

        A flood of bats storms into the young man’s body. They scratch and bite, tearing at flesh. He battles through.

        The young man bursts into a clearing. The trees dispersed, as if allergic to something in the clearing. It is a man. A cripple, the same cripple from a year ago. His eyes, blind to light, curiously scans over the young man.

        He laughs. “Oh, finally. A man worthy of the Light.”

        The young man, gasping, replied, “Oh yes, the Light. I am here for the Light. Please grant me its grace.”

        The old man gazes into the forest. The shadows darken. “You know, I’m not blind.”

         “I know.”

        The old man smiles. “I used to be, many, many years ago.”

        “But the Light granted you sight, correct?”

        “Yes, and I am grateful.” He takes to breathe. “But by then I had already grown accustomed to being in the dark. I had no use for sight.”

        The old man gingerly touches the young man’s heart. “Oh, what a strong heart. Oh, the wonders it can achieve.”

        He smiles.

        “The Light is not a reward that can be sought after. Nor does it hold the purpose of gold or wealth. It can only be given.” The old man sighs. “Those who seek the Light all their lives eventually lost themselves in darkness.”

        To this, the young man grows outraged. He weeps. 

        The old man sadly smiles. He raises his hand, a bright flash of Light consumes him. It blinds the young man. 

        The old man, like his cane, disappears. 

        The young man has lost his sight.

【红霞译文】

        人爱追光，因为光璀璨生辉。

        人抓不住光，即使捕捉到的光芒也将转瞬即逝，消耗殆尽。

        陌生人声称抓住了光。他初来乍到，说话不着边际。陌生固然可怕，但没有光更让人恐惧无度。

        陌生人宣告憬然有悟。他亲手触摸过光，尽管腿瘸跛行，拄着一根旧的木拐，是个盲人。

        “我们为啥相信你？”人们质疑：“即使最强壮的力士、最勇敢的灵魂、最睿智的思维都无法获取光芒。”

        他没作答，仅要求有一处立身之地。

        没人理睬他，没人跟随他，他只好在树下过夜。

        第二天早上，陌生人走了，悄然无声，身后只留下一串串脚印及其拐杖。

        老乡们走近拐杖，它在晨曦中微微发光，随之放出一道闪电便消失不见。

        目击者难以置信。

        大家赶紧朝陌生人离去的方向追去，跛足深一脚浅一脚，突然急转进入密林深处，脚步明显加快。出乎意料地，老乡们纷纷涌向林区，为寻找踪迹而去清理草地，但始终未果。出外搜寻的人一个个陷入绝望，身心俱疲，最后全都返回村子。

        一年过去了，人们已经停止寻找老头，村子固然宁静，但对光的渴望依旧存在，只不过极少有人提及搜索罢矣。

        一位有抱负的小伙子决定到森林开启梦想。拐杖失踪的时候他恰好在场，因此眼里依旧闪烁着曾经的光芒，而且从未打消过搜索的念头。

        他走进森林，立刻淹没在茫茫林海之中。小伙子披荆斩棘，身陷树荫重重包围，手臂被藤枝树杈刮伤，周围空气也越来越稀薄，累得气喘吁吁，他全然不顾。

        地面颠簸颤动，树木盘根错节，脚下到处盘曲乱植，他坚持向前。

        成群结队的蝙蝠朝小伙子俯冲过来，歇斯底里地又抓又咬，他奋战到底。

        小伙子闯入一片空地，树木好像讨厌这里，长得稀稀拉拉。只见那老头，跛脚，与一年前一模一样，看不到光，却好奇地打量小伙子。

        他笑道：“哦，终于来了，你配得上光”

        小伙子喘着粗气说：“对呀，光，我为光而来，请赐予我。”

        老头凝视着森林，树荫变暗。“你知道，我不是瞎子。”

        “我知道。”

        老头笑道：“很多很多年以前，我曾经是。”

        “但光让你恢复视力，对不？”

        “没错，我十分感激。” 他呼了口气，“但那时，我早已习惯黑暗，用不着眼睛。”

        老头小心翼翼地抚摸小伙子的心脏，“多么强有力的心啊，它能让奇迹发生。”

        他笑了。

        “光既不是被追捧的奖品，也不能当成黄金或财宝，仅为上天赐予而已。”老头叹了口气：“那些毕生寻求光的人最终在黑暗中迷失了自己。”

        听到这里，小伙子恼羞成怒，抽噎落泪。

        老头一脸苦笑，举起手，一道闪电夺走了自己的生命，并让小伙子变成盲人。

        像拐杖一样，老头自此消失。

        小伙子失明了。

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Crosslink(相关博文):

11th Grade(高中三年级)