Run through the Rain

lyws519

　She had been shopping with her Mom in Wal-Mart. She must have been 6, a beautiful brown-haired, freckle-faced girl. It was pouring outside. The rain was in a hurry to hit the Earth; it has no time to flow out the spout.

　　We all stood there under the awning and just inside the door of the Wal-Mart. We waited. Some patiently, others irritated because nature messed up their hurried day. I am always mesmerized by rainfall. I get lost in the sound and sight of the heavens washing away the dirt and dust of the world. Memories of running, splashing so carefree as a child come pouring in as a welcome reprieve from the worries of my day. Her voice was so sweet as it broke the trance we were all caught in.

　　\"Mom, let's run through the rain,\" she said.

　　\"What?\" Mom asked.

　　\"Let's run through the rain!\" she repeated.

　　\"No, honey. We'll wait until it slows down a bit,\" Mom replied.

　　This young child waited about another minute and repeated: \"Mom, let's run through the rain.\"
\"We'll get soaked if we do,\" Mom said.

　　\"No, we won't, Mom, That's not what you said this morning,\" the young girl said as she tugged at her Mom's arm.

　　\"This morning? When did I say we could run through the rain and not get wet?\"

　　\"Don't you remember? When you were talking to daddy about his cancer, you said, 'we can get through anything!'\"

　　The entire crowd stopped dead silent. I swear you couldn't hear anything but the rain. We all stood silently. No one came or left in the next few minutes. Mom paused and thought for a moment about what she would say. Now some would laugh it off and scold her for being silly. Some might even ignore what was said. But this was a moment of affirmation.

　　\"Honey, you are absolutely right. Let's run through the rain. If we get wet, maybe we just need washing.\" Mom said. Then off they ran. We all stood watching, smiling and laughing as they darted past the cars and yes through the puddles.

　　They held their shopping bags over their heads just in case. They got soaked. But they were followed by a few who screamed and laughed like children all the way to their cars. And Yes, I did. I ran, I got wet. I needed washing.

精美译文：
  她和妈妈刚在沃尔玛购物广场购完物。这个漂亮的小女孩应该有6岁了，一头棕色的头发，脸上长着雀斑。外面大雨瓢泼，雨水来不及从落水管排出，迫不及待地扑向大地的怀抱。

  我们都站在沃尔玛门口的雨篷下。大家都等待着，有的人颇有耐心，也有人烦躁不安，因为老天把他们本已忙碌的一天给搅乱了。雨天总会让我浮想联翩。我出神地听着、看着老天涤荡着这世间的污垢，孩提时代无忧无虑地在雨中奔跑嬉戏的记忆如潮水般涌来，暂时缓解了这一天的焦虑。小女孩甜美的声音惊醒了昏昏欲睡的我们。

  “妈妈，我们冒雨跑过去吧。”她说道。

“什么？”妈妈问。

  “我们冒雨跑过去吧！”她重复道。

  “不，亲爱的，我们等雨小点再走。”妈妈回答说。

  又等了一会，小女孩又说：“妈妈，我们冒雨跑过去吧。”

  “那样，我们会淋成落汤鸡的，”妈妈说。

  “不，我们不会的，妈妈。你今天早上可不是这样说的。”小女孩使劲拽着发妈的胳膊央求道。

  “今天早上？我什么时候说过我们冒雨奔跑不会淋湿啊？”

  “你忘了吗？你和爸爸说他的癌症时，你不是说‘我们能闯过一切难关！’吗？”

  整个人群鸦雀无声。我发誓，除了雨声，你什么听不到。我们都一声不响地站在那里。接下来的几分钟里，没有一个人来或离去。那位母亲一时语塞，琢磨着该如何回答。有人也许会对此一笑了之，批评孩子不懂事，也有人甚至可能不去理睬孩子的话。但却是一个孩子人生中需要被肯定的时刻。

  “亲爱的，你说的对极了。我们冒雨跑过去吧。如果我们淋湿了，那也许是因为我们的确该冲洗一下了。”妈妈说道。然后她们就冲了出去。我们都站在那里，开心的笑着看她们飞快地奔过汽车，当然了，还有水坑。

  虽然她们购物袋举到头顶凑合挡挡雨，但还是被淋成了落汤鸡。有几个人孩子般地尖叫着，大笑着，然而也跟着冲了出去，一路奔向自己的汽车。当然了，这其中也有我。我跑了出去。我淋湿了。我需要冲洗。