I hurried into the local department store to grab1 some last minute Christmas gifts. I looked at all the people and grumbled 2 to myself. I would be in here forever and I just had so much to do. Christmas was beginning to become such a drag3. I kind of wished that I could just sleep through4 Christmas. But I hurried the best I could through all the people to the toy department. Once again I kind of mumbled 5 to myself at the prices of all these toys. And wondered if the grandkids would even play with them.
I found myself in the doll aisle6. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a little boy about 5 holding a lovely doll. He kept touching her hair and he held her so gently. I could not seem to help myself. I just kept looking over at the little boy and wondered who the doll was for. I watched him turn to a woman and he called his aunt by name and said, “Are you sure I don't have enough money?” She replied a bit impatiently7, “You know that you don't have enough money for it.” The aunt told the little boy not to go anywhere, that she had to go get some other things and would be back in a few minutes. And then she left the aisle.
The boy continued to hold the doll. After a bit I asked the boy who the doll was for. He said, “It is the doll my sister wanted so badly for Christmas. She just knew that Santa would bring it.” I told him that maybe Santa was going to bring it. He said, “No, Santa can't go where my sister is. I have to give the doll to my Momma to take to her.” I ask him where his sister was. He looked at me with the saddest eyes and said, “She has gone to be with Jesus. My Daddy says that Momma is going to have to go to be with her.” My heart nearly stopped beating. Then the boy looked at me again and said, “I told my Daddy to tell Momma not to go yet. I told him to tell her to wait till I got back from the store.” Then he asked me if I wanted to see his picture. I told him I would love to. He pulled out some pictures he'd had taken at the front of the store. He said,“I want my Momma to take this with her so she won't ever forget me. I love my Momma so much and I wish she did not have to leave me. But Daddy says she will need to be with my sister.”
I saw that the little boy had lowered 8 his head and had grown so very quiet. While he was not looking I reached into my purse and pulled out a handful of bills. I asked the little boy, “Shall we count that money one more time?” He grew excited and said, “Yes, I just know it has to be enough.” So I slipped9 my money in with his and we began to count it. And of course it was plenty for the doll. He softly said, “Thank you Jesus for giving me enough money.” Then the boy said, “I just asked Jesus to give me enough money to buy this doll , so Momma can take it with her to give to my sister. And he heard my prayer10. I wanted to ask him for enough to buy my Momma a white rose, but I didn't ask him, but he gave me enough to buy the doll and a rose for my Momma. She loves white roses so much.”
In a few minutes the aunt came back and I wheeled my cart away. I could not keep from thinking about the little boy as I finished my shopping in a totally different spirit than11 when I had started. And I kept remembering a story I had seen in the newspaper several days earlier about a drunk driver hitting a car and killing a little girl and the Mother was in serious condition. The family was deciding on whether to remove the life support. Now surely this little boy did not belong with that story.
Two days later I read in the paper that the family had disconnected12 the life support and the young mother had died. I could not forget the little boy and just kept wondering if the two were somehow connected. Later that day, I could not help myself13 and I went out and bought some white roses and took them to the funeral home14 where the young mother was. And there she was holding a lovely white rose, the beautiful doll, and the picture of the little boy in the store.
I left there in tears, my life changed forever. The love that little boy had for his little sister and his mother was overwhelming15. And in a split second16 a drunk driver had ripped17 the life of that little boy to pieces.
我匆忙赶往当地一家百货商店，抢购一些最后时刻的圣诞礼物。看着周围的人群，我心里嘀咕开了：我这要呆多久啊，可我要做的事还多着呢。圣诞节开始变成了我的一种负担。我真有点希望一觉就把圣诞节睡过去。但我还是使尽全力，挤过人群，来到玩具柜台。看到这些玩具的价格，我心里又犯嘀咕了。也不知道孙儿孙女们是不是真的会去玩这些玩具。
我不知不觉来到了卖洋娃娃的过道，眼角瞟到一个约摸5岁的小男孩抱着一个可爱的洋娃 娃。他不停地用手抚摸洋娃娃的头发，轻轻地抱着她。我忍不住多看了两眼这个小男孩，心想这洋娃娃是给谁买的呢？我看到他转向一个女人，嘴里叫着婶婶的名字说：“你肯定我的钱不够吗？”婶婶有点不耐烦地回答：“你明知道你没有足够的钱买下这个娃娃。”接着婶婶告诉小男孩哪儿都不要去，她得去买些别的东西，马上就回，然后离开了过道。
小男孩继续抱着娃娃。过了一会儿，我问孩子这娃娃是为谁买的。他说：“我妹妹圣诞节特别想要这个娃娃。她就知道圣诞老人会送她一个的。”我告诉他也许圣诞老人真打算送她这个娃娃呢。他说：“不，圣诞老人去不了我妹妹呆的地方。我只能把娃娃交给妈妈捎给她。”我问他妹妹在哪儿？他看着我，满眼悲伤地说：“她走了，和耶蘇在一起。爸爸说妈妈也要去陪她了。”我的心几乎停跳。这时小男孩又看着我说：“我让爸爸跟妈妈说现在不要走。我让爸爸告诉她等我从商店回去后再走。”接着他问我是否要看他的照片。我告诉他我很乐意。他掏出一些在商店门口照的照片，说：“我要让妈妈把这些照片带着，这样她永远也不会忘掉我的模样了。我非常爱妈妈，真希望她不用离开我。但爸爸说她需要去陪伴妹妹。”
小男孩低下头，沉默不语。趁他没注意的时候，我把手伸进钱包掏出一把票子，问小家伙：“我们要不要把钱再数一遍？”他兴奋起来，说：“好啊，我就知道钱应该够的。”于是我把我的钱和他的钱悄悄放到一起开始数起来。当然买娃娃的钱足够了。他轻轻地说：“谢谢老天给了我足够的钱。”然后他接着说：“我刚才还在祈祷上帝给我足够的钱买下这个娃娃，这样妈妈就可以把它拿去给妹妹，他听到了我的祈祷。我还想求他给我足够的钱为妈妈买一支白玫瑰，但我还没开口，他给的钱还是足够买下这个洋娃娃和一支白玫瑰了。妈妈太喜欢白玫瑰了。”
没过不久，那位婶婶回来了，我推着车走了。买完东西，我的精神全然不同于进店时的状态，脑子里不断在想那个小男孩，并且想起了几天前在报纸上看到的一个故事，讲的是一个酒后开车的司机撞上了一辆小汽车，撞死一个小女孩，母亲情况也很危急。当时全家人要拿定主意是否拿掉维持生命的医疗器械。当然这个小男孩与那个故事没有关系。
两天以后，我在报上读到那家人最终还是拿掉了维持生命的医疗器械，那位年轻的母亲死了。我总也忘不了那个男孩，始终在怀疑二者之间有什么联系。后来，我鬼使神差，出去买了一些白玫瑰，带着它们去了停放那位年轻母亲的殡仪馆。她躺在那里，怀里抱着一支白玫瑰，一个漂亮的娃娃，还有商店里遇到的那个小男孩的照片。
我流着泪离开了殡仪馆，我的生命从此发生了改变。那个小男孩对小妹妹和母亲的爱令人为之动容。而一个酒后驾车的司机却在瞬间把小男孩的生活撕成了碎片。
1. grab v． 抢夺，攫取
2． grumble v． 抱怨，发牢骚
3． drag n． 累赘
4． sleep through 睡着没被唤醒或惊醒
5． mumble v． 喃喃而语，咕哝
6． aisle [ail] n． 走廊，过道
7． impatiently adv． 不耐烦地； 急躁地
8． lower v． 放下，降下
9． slip [slip] v． 滑动
10． prayer n． 祈祷
11． different than (美)＝different from 与……不同
12． disconnect v． 断开， 切断
13． can not help myself 情不自禁
14． funeral home ＜美＞殡仪馆
15． overwhelming adj． 势不可挡的，压倒的
16． split second 刹那间
17． rip [rip] v． 扯裂，撕裂