I was sure that I was to be killed. I became terribly nervous. I fumbled1 in my pockets to see if there were any cigarettes, which had escaped their search. I found one and because of my shaking hands, I could barely get it to my lips. But I had no matches. They had taken those. I looked through the bars2 at my jailer3. He did not make eye contact with me4. I called out to him “Have you got a light?” He looked at me, shrugged and came over to light my cigarette. As he came close and lit the match, his eyes inadvertently5 locked with mine. At that moment, I smiled. I don't know why I did that. Perhaps it was nervousness6, perhaps it was because, when you get very close, one to another, it is very hard not to smile. In any case, I smiled. In that instant, it was as though a spark jumped across the gap between our two hearts, our two human souls. I know he didn't want to, but my smile leaped through the bars and generated a smile on his lips, too. He lit my cigarette but stayed near, looking at me directly in the eyes and continuing to smile.
I kept smiling at him, now aware of him as a person and not just a jailer. And his looking at me seemed to have a new dimension7 too. “Do you have kids?” he asked.“Yes, here, here.” I took out my wallet and nervously fumbled for the pictures of my family. He, too, took out the pictures of his family and began to talk about his plans and hopes for them. My eyes filled with tears. I said that I feared that I'd never see my family again, never have the chance to see them grow up. Tears came to his eyes, too. Suddenly, without another word, he unlocked my cell8 and silently led me out. Out of the jail, quietly and by back routes, out of the town. There, at the edge of town, he released me. And without another word, he turned back toward the town.
“My life was saved by a smile.” Yes, the smile—the unaffected9, unplanned, natural connection between people. I really believe that if that part of you and that part of me could recognize each other, we wouldn't be enemies. We couldn't have hate or envy or fear.
一想到自己就会没命，我不禁陷入极度的惶恐中。我翻遍口袋，看看有没侥幸没被他们搜走的香烟。总算找到一支，但我的手在不停发抖，连把烟送进嘴边都成问题，而且火柴也被搜走了。我透过铁栏望着外面的看守，他并没有注意到我在看他，我叫了他一声：“能跟你借个火吗？”他望着我，耸了耸肩，然后走了过来，为我点上烟。当他走拢来帮我点火时，他的眼光无意中与我目光相接触，这时我突然冲着他微笑。我不知道自己为何有这般反应，也许是过于紧张，也许是当你如此靠近另一个人，你很难不对他微笑。不管是何理由，我对他笑了。就在这一刹那，这抹微笑如同火花，跨过了两颗心、两个灵魂间的鸿沟。我知道他并不想笑，但我的微笑跨栏而出，触发了他唇边的微笑。他点完火后并没立刻离开，两眼盯着我瞧，脸上仍带着笑。
我也以笑容回应，现在他只是个常人，而不仅仅是个看守。他看着我的眼神也似乎有了新的内容。“你有孩子吗？”他问道。“有，你看。”我拿出皮夹，手忙脚乱地翻出我的全家福。他也掏出了自己家的照片，并且开始讲述他对家庭的计划与希望。我眼中充满泪水，我说我害怕再也见不到家人，我害怕没机会看着孩子们长大。他眼里也涌出了泪水。 突然，他二话不说打开牢门，悄悄地带我从后面的小路逃离了监狱，出了小镇。就在小镇的边上，他放了我，便转身回去，不曾留下一句话。
“一个微笑救了自己一命。”是的，正是这种真挚、毫不做作、发自内心的微笑维系着人与人之间的关系。我想如果我们能用微笑认同彼此，我们就不会成为敌人，也不会心生仇恨、嫉妒或恐惧。
1． fumble v． 摸索
2． bar n． 栅栏
3． jailer n． 狱卒
4． make eye contact with sb． 与某人眼神交流
5． inadvertently adv． 无意地
6． nervousness n． 过度紧张
7． a new dimension 此指新的方面
dimension n． 尺寸
8． cell 此指单人牢房
9． unaffected adj． 真挚的，自然的