仁善心

    Mandy自从和老朋友们重新见面后，整个人陷入了一种迷幻状态，似乎她虽然在这个世界上好好地活着，但似乎有一半魂魄留在了某个遥远的，偏僻的，古早的，隔离的，陌生的，熟悉的时空里。

    洛可嘉第一个察觉到她的迷离疑惑，似乎她总是在问，“我是谁”、“我为什么在这里”、“这是哪里”、“这些人都是哪来的”、“原来的我呢？”

    走丢了……

    她的每一个微笑都在说，“我好困惑”、“我错了吗”、“我怎么办”……

    在孙先生拜访后第二天，Mandy摔了Nichole心爱的大熊猫勺子，第三天她忘了去接Oscar放学，第四天她忘了烧饭，那两天洛妈和洛老爹由热旺陪着去费城玩儿了。

    洛可嘉忍无可忍，决定跟Mandy好好谈谈。

    “Youarenotyourselfthesedays.”saidLock，lookingdirectlyintohereyes.

    “Idon‘tquietfollowyou.”returnedMandy，turningthepagesinfrontofherratherrampantly.

    “Youwantedtofindyourlostselfasateenager，didn‘tyou”Lockwasruthless.

    “That‘ssountrue.”Mandywouldnotlookatherhusbandintheeye.

    “Wannaatalk”lockretreatedalittlebitbuthisgroundswerefirmlyheld.

    “Theyhaven‘tchangedmuchsincewelastsawoneanother.”atlastMandydecidedtospilloutallthatwaslingeringonhermind——bearingtheweightiswearisome.

    “TheyWhomintheworlddoyoureferto，thosewhoarenotennabledtoloveoracquireafamily”Lockdemanded.

    “Don‘tbesorude.”Mandywasfinallycheeringupalittlebit.

    Locklaughed，“Ibetmostofthemwouldtradewhattheypossessforthelifeyouareliving，evenifthereisahandicappedmaninthepicture.”

    Mandysmiledforthefirsttime，“Nonsense.Howdareyou.....”

    Lockpickeduphismobile，“Minerva，howmanyphotosofthekidshavewegot”

    TheAIpoppedupfromnowhereonthescreen，“Sinceyouaskedsir，thefamilyalbumhastakenupatleastthreequartersofthestorage，whichmeansthereareoveronethousandphotostotally，andthatseriouslylaggestheprocessingspeedofthemobile.That‘swhyIsuggestdeletinghalf......”

    “Thanks，Minerva.That‘swhatIneedtolearnforthemoment.”LocknoddedtotheAI，asifshecouldsee.Actullyshedidnoticethat，shewavedbackhappilyandwasoff.

    LocksaidtoMandyassincerelyaspossible，“Ibelievewhatyouhavealreadyownedweighsmuchmorethanwhatyouthoughthadlost.”

    Mandylamented，“HowdoyouknowthisisthebestformeIcouldhaveledanotherlife.....”l

    “Idon‘tthinkit‘stherightattitudeforlife.Itseemsyouwillalwaysberegrettingoveryoureachandeverychoiceordecision.”Therewasanedgetohisvoice，buthestayedcool，“Stopcomparingwithothers‘livesandstopmoaningformore.Thefishermanandhiswifeshouldhavebeencontentedwithwhattheyhavereceivedfromthegoldfishandthey‘dbetternotbegformorethantheydeserved.”

    Mandyremarkedwithadangeroustone，“AreyoutellingmeIdon‘tdeservethebestoflife”

    Locksensedsomething，“Don‘ttwistit.YouknowwhatImeant.Youwouldneverbeabletofigureoutwhatthebestiswhenyouweresixteen.”

    Mandymurmuredasifshehadbeeninadream，“HowIwishtobesixteenagain，carefree.”

    Lockcamenearertoher，andhuggedher，leavinghiswheelchairbehind，“Thepointis，whateverhappenstoyou，fromnowontosixtyorninety，youwillalwayshaveus.”

    Mandyburstintotears，“Ihavenothingexceptyouandthekids.Ifeelcold.Thisworldlooksatmewithviciouseyes.”

    “Youcanalwayscountonus，”Lockpromised，“Igiveyoumyword.There‘snopartingofusuntilonedies.Staypositiveandcherisheveryminute.”

    MandyleanedagainstLock‘sshoulder，totallyforgettingheshouldnothavestoodupandsupportedherweight.“Iwon‘tfallforit.TheylookasifworriedformebutIguesstheyreallyenjoyedthemselvesseeingmealmostcrashed.”

    shelookedatLockandwassuddenlystartled，“Iwasalmosttakenin.......Ishouldn‘thavetoldthemhowIbrokedown......Iwouldneverletthemreceivethewrongmessageasifmylifewereajoke.”

    “Don‘toverrespond.”Locksaid，“Theyareyourfriends，andtheyshowedconcernsaboutourlife.Themorepatheticwelook，thefunnieritwouldbewhentheyknowwhatwe‘rereallylike.”

    “Yes，someofthemdidtrytoruinmyself-esteemandnearlyconvincedmetopitymyself.Howcanonebesomean”

    Locksuggested，“I‘vecomeupwithanidea.Whydon‘tweholdaparty”Hehesitated，“Doesanyofthemhaveafamily”

    “No，noneofthemdo.Peopledon‘tgetmarriedthesedays，Iguesstheyareafraidtogivecommitments.”Mandyformedasmileasthoughshefeltsorryforherfriends.

    “So，thatsettleseverything.”Locksmiledback，“Weinviteabunchofkids.”

    “DoweknowotherkidsbesidesthoseinOscar‘skindergarten”Mandyasked.

    “Oh，ofcoursewedo，”announcedLock，“Thereareplentyofkids，Asian，Latino，andblackinthechildren‘shospital.Thiswillbeafund-raisingpartyfordisabledchildren，andmeaswell.”Locksatbackintothewheelchairasquicklyashiskneesallowedtocarryhim，whichamusedMandylikehell.

    “Sincetheyaresokind，suretheydon‘tminddonatingsomedollarsforthegoodcourse”Lockquestioned.

    “That‘sreallyniceofyou.Allofmyfriendswouldbeverythankfuliftheyareofferedachancetoshowthattheyreallycareforthehandicapped.”Mandybitherlips，tryinghardnottolaugh.

    “IsuddenlyrememberIhaveoneortwoacquaintancesonthepress.”Locksneered，“Theywoulddietoseemeonthemoveagain.”