My Darling Wife

佚名/Anonymous

第一次見到你，真的已經(jīng)是62年前的事了嗎？我明白，這是一生的緣分。但此時，當(dāng)我凝望著你的雙眸時，一切又都像是就發(fā)生在昨天，在漢諾威廣場的那間小咖啡店里。

當(dāng)時，你正在為一位年輕的母親和她的新生寶貝開門，就在那一瞬間，我看到了你的微笑；從那一刻開始，我就知道，我要與你共度我的余生。

時至今日，我仍然覺得，初次遇到你時，我凝望你的眼神看起來一定很愚鈍。我記得，當(dāng)時我呆呆地望著你摘下帽子，用手指輕柔地撫弄著你的黑發(fā)。

你把帽子放在桌上，雙手捧一杯熱氣騰騰的茶，嘟著嘴輕輕地吹開熱氣，那一刻，我感覺自己已經(jīng)完全沉醉在你的一舉一動中了。

從那時起，每一件事對我來說都好像是有意義的。咖啡店里的人們，以及行走于匆忙的街道上的人們頓時都消失在了迷霧之中。我的眼中只有你。

在我的一生之中，那次的初遇曾多次在我的腦中重現(xiàn)。一次又一次，我坐在那里，回味著當(dāng)時的情形，感受歲月如梭，再次體味著你我初遇時的那份真愛。令我感到欣慰的是，多年以后的今天我仍然能夠重拾那份感覺，我知道這是我生命中永遠的慰藉。

即使我在戰(zhàn)壕中不由自主地戰(zhàn)栗和發(fā)抖時，我也沒有忘記你的容顏。我蜷縮在潮濕的泥漿中，恐懼和槍林彈雨包圍著我。我握著步槍，將其緊緊地貼在胸口，再次回想起我們的初遇。當(dāng)戰(zhàn)爭的號角吹響時，我在恐懼中大叫。但是當(dāng)我想到你，看到你在我的背后微笑，周圍的一切頓時便陷入沉寂，我與你在這寶貴的時刻里相遇，暫時遠離死亡和毀滅。直到我再次睜開雙眼，我才又看到周圍的戰(zhàn)火，聽到屠殺的聲音。

九月，我回到了你身邊，那時的我，因受傷痛的折磨而變得脆弱不堪，我無法告訴你我對你的愛是多么的強烈。我們彼此緊緊擁抱，仿佛想融入對方的身體，就在那一天，我向你求婚。當(dāng)你注視我的雙眼，說“我愿意”時，興高采烈的我興奮得大叫。

此時，我正看著我們的結(jié)婚照，我一直把它放在梳妝臺上——你的首飾盒旁邊。那時的我們是多么年輕和天真啊！我記得你說我穿制服很神勇英俊，而那時我正站在教堂的臺階上，咧著嘴笑得像只柴郡貓。這張照片已經(jīng)有些泛黃和褪色，但是每當(dāng)我看到它，眼里卻只有我們年輕時燦爛的容顏。

一年后，你輕輕地將我的手放在你的腹部，悄悄地告訴我，我們有孩子了。那一刻，我記得我?guī)缀醣贿@突如其來的幸福所擊倒！

我知道我們的兩個孩子都深深地愛著你，此時，他們就在門外等候著。

你記得嗎？喬納森出世時，我是多么慌張！我還記得，當(dāng)我第一次把他抱在懷中，你含笑望著我時的表情。微笑中，你的眼淚奪眶而出，我望著他，也流下了開心的眼淚。

薩拉和湯姆今天早上帶著小泰西來了。你還記得我們初次看到我們的小孫女時，曾緊緊地擁抱在一起嗎？

親愛的，我知道你很累，我必須要放你走。但我是如此愛你，讓你離開，我好難過。

親愛的，我必須得走了，孩子們正在外面等我，他們也希望能同你道別。

你要離開我了，我很悲痛，但是請不要擔(dān)心，只要一想到我很快就能去陪你，我就感到欣慰。我知道，不久之后，我們就會在漢諾威廣場上的那間小咖啡店里再次相聚。

Can it really be sixty-two years ago that I first saw you？

It is truly a lifetime， I know.But as I gaze into your eyes now， it seems like only yesterday that I first saw you， in that small cafe in Hanover Square.

From the moment I saw you smile， as you opened the door for that young mother and her newborn baby， I knew that I wanted to share the rest of my life with you.

I still think of how foolish I must have looked， as l gazed at you， that first time I remember watching you intently， as you took off your hat and loosely shook your short dark hair with your fingers I felt myself becoming immersed in your every detail， as you placed your hat on the table and cupped your hands around the hot cup of tea， gently blowing the steam away with your pouted lips.

From that moment， everything seemed to make perfect sense to me.The people in the cafe and the busy street outside all disappeared into a hazy blur.All I could see was you.

All through my life I have relived that very first day.Many， many times I have sat and thought about that the first day， and how for a few fleeting moments I am there， feeling again what is like to know true love for the very first time.It pleases me that I can still have those feelings now after all those years， and I know I will always have them to comfort me.

Not even as I shook and trembled uncontrollably in the trenches， did I forget your face.I would sit huddled into the wet mud， terrified， as the hails of bullets and mortars crashed down around me.I would clutch my rifle tightly to my heart， and think again of that very first day we met.I would cry out in fear， as the noise of war beat down around me.But， as I thought of you and saw you smiling back at me， everything around me would be silent， and I would be with you again for a few precious moments， far from the death and destruction.It would not be until I opened my eyes once again， that I would see and hear the carnage of the war around me.

I cannot tell you how strong my love for you was back then， when I returned to you on leave in the September， feeling battered， bruised and fragile.We held each other so tight I thought we would burst.I asked you to marry me the very same day and I whooped with joy when you looked deep into my eyes and said"yes"to being my bride.

I'm looking at our wedding photo now， the one on our dressing table， next to your jewellery box.I think of how young and innocent we were back then.I remember being on the church steps grinning like a Cheshire cat， when you said how dashing and handsome I looked in my uniform.The photo is old and faded now， but when I look at it， I only see the bright vibrant colors of our youth.

I remember being so over-enjoyed，when a year later， you gently held my hand to your waist and whispered in my ear that we were going to be a family.

I know both our children love you dearly； they are outside the door now， waiting.

Do you remember， how I panicked like a mad man when Jonathon was born？ I can still picture you laughing and smiling at me now， as I clumsily held him for the very first time in my arms.I watched as your laughter faded into tears， as I stared at him and cried my own tears of joy.

Sarah and Tom arrived this morning with little Tessie.Can you remember how we both hugged each other tightly when we saw our tiny granddaughter for the first time？

I know you are tired， my dear， and I must let you go.But I love you so much and it hurts to do so.

I must go now， my darling.Our children are waiting outside.They want to say goodbye to you.

I am sad that you had to leave me， but please don't worry.I am content， knowing I will be with you soon.I know it won't be long before we meet again in that small cafe in Hanover Square.