2010-03-27 12:18:09Martin.H
給 安娜 ~ 高中日記
這是篇真實故事, 寫給高中學妹.
當年在我在巴拉圭唸高中,
還沒回台灣.
這學妹是我學弟的妹妹.
由於她父親是南非大使館的官員,
而我家的背景是一般老百姓,
有點懸殊.
雖然對方很大方的願意交朋友,
但我發現自己去愛到了.
因看不到什麼未來, 我們高中畢業後都會各自離開巴拉圭,
所以也沒繼續發展下去.
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Life's many firsts are so memorable, so endearing.
Do you remember your very first formal dance party?
The very first time in your life you ask a girl out?
The pounding of your racing heart in your ears.
Everything blurred and seemed to happen in slow motion.
And there she was, strolling gracefully through the courtyard,
her red locks flowing in the gentle breeze.
She is my good friend's younger sister.
Is she even acquainted with me? I wasn't that sure!
Hopefully she'd seen me hang around with her brother.
A deep breath I took, and stepped forward to propose
if she'd like to go to this school dance with me.
I think she said "yes", because for the next few seconds,
a silent mushroom cloud had gone off in my head.
Time seemed to have slowed its pace.
_ . _ . _ . _ . _ . _ . _ . _ . _ . _ . _ . _ . _ . _ . _ . _ . _ . _
She was a princess that night.
The thought of "Am I good enough for her?" ran
as I watched her walk towards me at her mansion's gate.
Lionel Ritchie's "Hello" sounded so romantic that night,
and the evening slipped by so fast, dance after dance.
The fragrance from her hair forever etched into my memory,
for so, so many years since then.
A ripple had been set off in my emotional lake that night.
How I longed to see her again!
When "The Return of The Jedi" premiered here,
I asked her out on my first movie date.
I had to see the movie again many years later,
because I kept looking to the side at her.
Had I known how to speak any Afrikaans then,
I would have said "Ek is lief vir u" to her.
Lack of self-confidence kept me from calling more on her.
If she was a princess to me, then I was the Aladdin in this story.
But I didn't have a genie to turn me into a prince.
You know when you start to dislike yourself for someone's sake,
then it's something special.
They loomed like dark clouds,
those thoughts of having to leave Asuncion upon graduation,
of unavoidable separation, should we move down that path.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Graduation did come, and I had to go back to Taiwan for college.
There I was, feeling pretty lonesome being the only one from Paraguay
in the whole student body; and out of the blue, I got a letter from her!
Somehow, she had gotten my address.
It was so warm. How I wished I hadn't been so timid back then!
We kept up correspondence until after she'd joined the South African Army.
One time her unit moved and we lost contact, just like that.
It wasn't until many, many years later,
that we linked up through our common friend.
As the years wore on and we all enter middle stage of our lives,
those sweet first memories and thoughtful letters will always be cherished.
Take care, Anna, wish you the best!
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