Just A Little Smile

 

只因一个微笑

 

Mike was walking home from school one day when he noticed a boy ahead of him had tripped and dropped all of the books he was carrying, along with two sweaters, a baseball bat, a glove and a tape recorder. Mike knelt down and helped the boy pick up the scattered articles. Since they were going the same way, he helped to carry part of the burden.

 

一天，迈克从学校回家的时候，发现前面有个男孩绊了一下，男孩手里的书全都散落在地上。还有两件毛衣，一个棒球棒，一只手套和一个磁带录音机。迈克跪下来，帮男孩拾起散落的物件。因为他们要去同一个地方，他帮男孩拿了一些东西。

 

As they walked, Mike discovered the boy's name was James, that he loved video games, baseball and history, and that he was having lots of trouble with his other subjects and that he had just broken up with his girlfriend.

 

他们边走边聊，迈克知道眼前这个男孩叫詹姆斯，喜欢视频游戏，棒球和历史；除了历史，他的其他功课都不是太好；还有他刚跟女友分手。

 

They arrived at James' home first, and Mike was invited in for a Coke and to watch some television. The afternoon passed pleasantly with a few laughs and some shared small talk, then Mike went home.

 

他们先到达的是詹姆斯的家，男孩邀请迈克进屋喝杯可乐，看会电视。他们在一起嘻嘻哈哈地聊天，下午就在愉快的氛围中度过了，然后迈克回家了。

 

They continued to see each other around school, had lunch together once or twice, then both graduated from junior high school. They ended up in the same high school where they had brief contacts over the years.

 

他们后来还有一两次约在学校附近见面，聊天，开心地笑，然后同时初中毕业了。再后来，他们上了同一所高中，依旧好几年都保持频繁的联系。

 

Finally the long awaited senior year came and three weeks before graduation, James asked Mike if they coud talk.

 

最终期待已久的高中生活开始，毕业前三个星期，詹姆斯问迈克他们能否一起说会话。

 

James reminded him of the day years ago when they first met. "Did you ever wonder why I was carrying so many things?" asked James. "You see, I cleaned out my locker because I didn't want to leave a mess for anyone else. I stored away some of my mother's sleeping pills. I was going home to commit suicide. But after we spent some time together talking and laughing, I realized that if I killed myself, I would have missed that time and so many others might follow. So you see, Mike, when you picked up those booksthat day, you did a lot more for me. You saved my life."

 

詹姆斯回想起我们第一次见面的场景。“你从未想知道为什么那天我会拿那么多东西吗？”詹姆斯问。“你知道，我清理了柜子因为我不想让其他人用的时候看到柜子里一团糟。我储藏了一些我妈妈的安眠药。我当时正准备回家自杀。但是当我们在一起那么开心地交谈，我意识到如果我自杀了，将会错过那段以及可能随之而来的许多美好时光。所以迈克，你知道了吧，那天回家路上你做的不仅仅是帮我捡起散落在地上的书，对我来说那意味更多东西，是你救了我一命。”