When my husband,Bob,died very suddenly in January 1994，I received condolences from people I hadn't heard from in years:letters,cards,flowers,visits.I was overwhelmed with grief,yet uplifted by this outpouring of love from family,friends and even mere acquaintances.

One message touched me profoundly.I received a letter from my best friend from sixth grade through high school.We had drifted apart since graduation in 1949，as she stayed in our home town and I had not.But it was the kind of friendship that could quickly resume even if we lost touch for five or ten years.

Her husband,Pete,had died perhaps 20 years ago at a young age,leaving her with deep sorrow and heavy responsibilities:finding a job and raising three young children.She and Pete,like Bob and I,had shared one of those rare,close and "love-of-your-life-you-can-never-forget" relationships.

In her letter she shared an anecdote about my mother（now long deceased）.She wrote,"When Pete died,your dear mother hugged me and said，‘Trudy,I don't know what to say...So I'll just say I love you.’"

She closed her letter to me repeating my mother's words of so long ago,"Bonnie,I don't know what to say...So I'll just say I love you."

I felt I could almost hear my mother speaking to me now.What a powerful message of sympathy!How dear of my friend to cherish it all those years and then pass it on to me.I love you—perfect words,a gift,a legacy.

隔世的饋贈

1994年1月，我的丈夫鮑勃突然去世。我收到多年沒有書信往來的人們的吊唁：書信、卡片、鮮花、拜訪。我悲痛欲絕，而這來自家人、朋友，甚至是泛泛之交對我傾注的愛使我振作了起來。

有一個問候深深觸動了我。我收到中學六年級我最好朋友的一封信。我們從1949年畢業開始漸漸疏遠，因為她留在了我們家鄉，而我卻沒有。但是，我們的友誼正是那種能夠迅速恢復的友誼，不論我們失去聯系已是五年還是十載。

她的丈夫皮特大概20年前年紀輕輕就去世了，留給她深深的悲痛和沉重的負擔：找工作還要撫養三個年幼的孩子。她和皮特，跟鮑勃和我一樣，擁有的是一份那種珍貴親密、永世難忘的愛情。

信中，她告訴我一段有關我母親的故事，我母親現在早已不在了。她寫道：“皮特去世時，你善良的媽媽抱著我說：‘特魯迪，我不知道該說些什么……那我就說句我愛你吧?！?

她在信的結尾處不停重復我母親很久以前說的話：“特魯迪，我不知道該說些什么……那我就說句我愛你吧?！?

我覺得我幾乎能夠聽到母親此時此刻正在對我講話。這是多么富有同情心的問候?。∥业呐笥咽嵌嗝瓷屏迹龑⑦@句話珍藏這么多年，然后將它傳遞給我。我愛你——這至善至美的言語，是一份禮物，是一份隔世的饋贈。