第46章ATougStory
Anonymous
ShewassixyearsoldwhenIfirstmetheronthebeaearwhereIlive。Shewasbuildingasahingandlookedup，hereyesasblueasthesea。
“Hello!”shesaid。Iahanod，hemoodtobotherwithasmallchild。“I'mbuilding，”shesaid。“Iseethat。Whatisit?”Iasked，n。“Oh，Idon'tknow，Ijustlikethefeelofthesand。”Thatsoundsgood，Ithought。Asandpiperglidedby。“That'sajoy，”thechildsaid。“It'swhat?”“It'sajoy。Mymamasayssausjoy。”Thebirdglideddownthebeach。“Good-byejoy，”Imutteredtomyself，“hellopain，”aowalkon。Iressed;mylifeseemedpletelyoutofbala'syourname?”Sheos;tgiveup。“Robert，”Ianswered。“I'mRobertPeterson。”“Mine'sWendy。。。I'msix。”“Hi，Wendy。”Shegiggled。“You'refunny，”shesaid。InspiteofmygloomIlaughedtooandwalkedon。Hermusicalgigglefollowedme。“eagain，Mr。P，”shecalled。“os;llhaveanotherhappyday。”
Thedaysafollowedbelohers:PTAmeetings，andanailihesunwasshiningasItookmyhandsoutofthedishwater。“Ineedasandpiper，”Isaidtomyself。Thebreezewaschilly，butIstrodealtorecapture①theserenityIneeded。
Ihadfottenthedwasstartledeared。“Hello，Mr。P，”shesaid。“Doyoulay?”“Whatdidyouhaveinmind?”Iasked，withatwingeofannoyanp;apos;tknow，yousay。”“Howaboutcharades?”Iaskedsarcastically。Thetinklifain。“Idon'tknowwhatthatis。”“The'sjustwalk。”Lookiicedthedeliessofherface。“Wheredoyoulive?”Iasked。“Overthere。”Shepoiowardarowofcottages。“Wheredoyougotoschool?”“Idon'tgotosysaysos;reonva。”Shechatteredlittlegirltalkaswestrolledupthebeach，butmymiherthiforhome，Wendysaidithadbeenahappyday。Feelingsurprisier，Ismiledatherandagreed。
Threeweekslater，Irushedtomybeaastateofnearpanic。IwasinnomoodtoeveWendy。“Look，ifyoudon'tmind，”Isaidcrosslywhenwithme，“I'dratherbealooday。”Sheseemedunusuallypaleandoutofbreath。“Why?”sheasked。Ituroherandshouted，“Becausemymotherdied!”andthought，“MyGod，whywasIsayingthistoalittlechild?”“Oh，”shesaidquietly，“thenthisisabadday。”“Yes，”Isaid，“aerday，andthedaybeforeandohjustgoaway!”“Didithurt?”sheinquired。“Didwhathurt?”Ierated②withher，withmyself。Istrodeoff。
Amonthorsoafterthat，wheothebeach，sheos;tthere。Feelingguilty，ashamedandadmittingtomyselfImissedher，wentuptothecottageaftermywalkahedoor。Adrawnlookingehedoor。
“Hello，”Isaid。“I'mRobertPeterson。Imissedyirltodayandwonderedwhereshewas?”“Ohyes，Mr。Peterson，pleaseein。Wendyspokeofyousomuch。I'mafraidIallowedhertobotheryou。Ifshewasanuisance，pleaseacceptmyapologies。”“Notatall—she'sadelightfulchild，”Isaid。“Weweek，Mr。Peterson。Shehadleukemia③。Maybeshedidn'ttellyou。”Struckdumb，Igropedforachair。Ihadtocatchmybreath。“Shelovedthisbeach;sowheoe，wep;apos;tsayno。Sheseemedsomuchbetterhereandhadalotofwhatshecalledhappydays。Butthelastfewweeks，shedeedrapidly。。。”Hervoicefaltered，“Sheleftsomethingforyou。。。ifonlyIdit。CouldyouwaitamomentwhileIlook?”Iupidly，mymindraething，tosaytothislovelyyoungwoman。Shehandedmeasmeared④ehMR。Pprintedinboldchildishletters。Insidewasadrawinginbrightofayellowbeach，abluesea，andabrownbird。Uhrinted。ASAYOUJOY。
Tearswelledupiookos;smotherinmyarms。“I'msosorry，I'msosorry。I'msosorry，”Imutteredoverandover，aher。
Thepreciouslittlepictureisframednowandhangsinmystudy。Sixwordsoneforeachyearofherlife—thatspeaktomeofharme，andundemafromachildwithsea-blueeyesandhairthecolorofsand—whotaughtmethegiftoflove。Lifeissoplicated，thehustleandbustleofeverydaytraumas⑤makeuslosefocusaboutwhatistrulyimportant。Thisweek，besuretogiveyourlovedorahug;andbyallmea，evenifitisoostopaheroses。