Stell1男孩小星

A dying boy finds his answer to peace.

男孩临终寻得安眠。

“What if Death forgets to come for your soul？ What happens then？”

“要是死神忘记来带走一个人的灵魂怎么办？会出什么事吗？”

“Death always finds you. He is not forgetful...”

“死神总能找到那个人的。他的记性很好……”

“How do you know？ What if your soul waits and he never comes？”

“您怎么知道呢？如果人的灵魂一直等着，结果死神一直没来呢？”

“Let me tell you a secret. The more a person has lived their life with passion and good will， the more their soul glows bright. It is a beacon2 for dear Death to find you.”

“我告诉你个秘密吧。一个人越热爱生活、心怀善念，灵魂就越明亮，像座灯塔指引死神找到他。”

“Really？”

“真的吗？”

“Yes... Stell， do you think your grandmother is a good person？”

“真的……小星，你觉得奶奶是好人吗？”

“Yes！”

“当然！”

“Ah... Good. Then I have nothing to worry about. I won’t be lost.”

“啊……那就好。那我就没什么好担心的了。我不会迷路了。”

Stell sat outside on the porch staring at the starry sky remembering the last conversation he had with his grandmother.

小星坐在屋外门廊上，凝望繁星点点的夜空，回想着自己和奶奶的最后一次聊天。

“Any day now，” he whispered to himself.

“没几天了。”他小声对自己说。

“Stell！ Why are you outside？ You should not be moving on your own！” he heard his mother say as she held him with his arms helping him move inside.

“小星！你怎么走到外面去了？你不该自己乱动的！”他听见妈妈说。妈妈边说边搀起他的手臂，帮他走回屋里。

He lay there on his bed and could not sleep. Did he hear his mother crying again？ He felt sorry for his parents. They only had one son. Stell felt his body get cold and weak.

他躺在床上，毫无睡意。他刚才是不是又听见妈妈哭了？他对父母充满了愧疚，毕竟他们只有他一个儿子。小星感觉身体发冷、发虚。

“Will it be today？” he wondered.

“会是今天吗？”他想。

He slowly sat up and looked out the window. It had a beautiful view of the firefly forest. When he was younger， he would go there with his grandmother. There would be fireflies dancing all around them.

他缓缓坐了起来，往窗外望去，入眼是萤火虫森林的美丽景色。他小时候会和奶奶一起去森林里玩，那里会有许多萤火虫围着他们翩翩起舞。

“I guess it’s time.”

“我想是时候了。”

Stell slowly walked out of their hut3， being careful not to wake up his parents. The moon was shadowed by clouds. He slowly started walking towards the forest.

小星慢慢走出自家棚屋，小心翼翼地，生怕惊醒父母。云朵遮住了月亮。他缓缓迈步，向森林走去。

“Grandma… what if your soul does not glow brightly？”

“奶奶……要是人的灵魂不够明亮怎么办？”

“Then you will have to wait awhile...”

“那就得等上一会儿了……”

“Do you think my soul would glow enough for Death to find me？”

“您觉得我的灵魂够不够明亮，能让死神找到我吗？”

Stell slowly walked through the trees in the forest. He looked up at the trees and saw there were not that many fireflies. Soon his back was against a tree for support. He slowly breathed in the air and again started walking.

小星在林中慢慢走着，走过了一棵又一棵树。他抬头看向树上，发现萤火虫并不多。不一会儿，他背靠上一棵大树，想歇歇脚。小星缓缓吸了口气，又迈出了脚步。

“Where are you going， Stell？”

“你要去哪儿呀，小星？”

He heard a small voice in his head ask. It sounded like his grandmother.

他听见自己脑海里有个微弱的声音在发问，这声音像是奶奶。

“To look for the fireflies...” he replied.

“去找萤火虫……”他回答道。

“Why？”

“为什么呢？”

“You know why...”

“您知道的……”

Stell looked around and saw that there were more fireflies.

小星环顾四周，看见了更多萤火虫。

“I am getting closer...”

“我离得越来越近了……”

“Closer to what？”

“离什么越来越近了？”

He remembered what she had said， “If it does not glow brightly enough， the fireflies in our forest will add to the light of the soul. You will never be lost. If my soul needs a little more light， you will be there to help too.”

小星想起奶奶说过的话：“要是灵魂不够明亮，我们这片森林里的萤火虫会为它增添光彩。你永远也不会迷路。如果我的灵魂需要再亮一点，你也会到那里帮我。”

He could not walk anymore. Stell slowly sat under a tree and wondered how far he had walked. Did he walk for a few minutes or hours？

小星再也走不动了。他缓缓坐到一棵树下，想着自己到底走了多远。是走了几分钟还是几小时？

“I hope there are enough fireflies here to make up for my soul’s light.”

“希望这里的萤火虫够多，能补足我灵魂的光亮。”

“Why？”

“为什么这么说？”

It wasn’t a voice in his head. He looked to his right to see a figure but he could not make out the face.

这声音并非来自他的脑海。他转头向右看去，看到一个人影，但他看不清那张脸。

“Who are you？”

“你是谁？”

“A wanderer. I was guided here by the fireflies.”

“哪儿都去的人。我是被萤火虫吸引到这儿来的。”

“Ah...if you came to be here then maybe Death will find me too.”

“啊……既然你能找到这里，那死神没准儿也能找到我了。”

“Why do you think Death will need fireflies to find you？”

“你为什么觉得死神需要萤火虫的指引才能找到你？”

“Because my soul won’t burn bright.”

“因为我的灵魂肯定不够亮。”

“Why？”

“为什么？”

“I lived my life without changing much in the world. I don’t think I made people as happy as I should have. I don’t think I was as good a person. I know that what my grandmother told me was probably made up. I don’t know if Death exists or if my grandmother ever found her way. I have no idea how the world works. I will die not knowing much of anything. A boy who only lived till 19. Lived in a small village and died leaving his parents alone， old and lost.”

“因为我这一生没为世界做过什么贡献。我本来应该给他人带来欢乐，但我觉得我没有做到。我想我这个人不够好。我知道奶奶告诉我的那些可能只是编的。我不知道死神是否存在，也不知道奶奶究竟有没有找到离去的路。我甚至不知道这个世界是怎么运转的。我会一无所知地死去。一个只活到19岁的男孩，在小村庄里生活了一辈子，最后只留下无依无靠、年迈无望的双亲。”

Stell felt his tears dripping down his cheeks.