一个星光闪耀的夜晚，我和病友埃里克躺在户外，仰望星空。当流星出现时，我们兴奋不已，并许下无数愿望。人的一生有许多简单的幸福，甚至奇迹的出现。所有这些美好的时刻都值得我们永远铭记。
Princess Margaret Rose Hospital For Crippled Children, Edinburgh. June, 1956.
We had spent all of that splendid summer day out of doors on the veranda[1] of Hut 1, high on the hill overlooking the rest of the hospital. In the late afternoon my friend Eric and I had asked if we might sleep out under the stars and had been granted permission by the ward Sister, a stern looking, but kindly lady of, to our eyes, uncertain age. We ate our evening meal, a light supper of cold cuts[2] and salad, just right for the end of a hot day. As the sun neared its setting and the fading light became a soft purpling where horizon met sky, we settled down, with no need of words, listening to the quietening sounds of day. On the roof above us a thrush sang its hymn of evensong, sweetly registering[3] its joy at being alive. We did not disturb its caroling with any words but lay enjoying our own oasis of peace.
As the twilight deepened, the night-staff brought extra blankets and hot-water bottles to keep us warm and large welcoming mugs of cocoa. In the gathering darkness we talked in quiet tones, somehow wary of disturbing the hush of evening. The lateness of the hour brought its own feeling of magic and though the day had been a long one, beginning for us around 5:30am, we did not allow sleep to intrude[4] and “steal” one minute of our “great adventure”. Instead we spoke of space-travel, of the science-fiction world of the fifties, of “Journey Into Space” (a radio serial of the time) and “Dan Dare, Pilot of the Future”, a heroic figure found within the pages of “The Eagle” comic and on radio.
We pondered, as so many did then and since, on the vastness of the Universe asking the age-old questions, the “who”, “when” and “why” of that most puzzling of cosmic conundrums[5]. Being but children we, somehow, expected an answer to the unanswerable, an explanation that was within our understanding, anchoring[6] firmly our belief system, justifying our place in the scheme of things. Looking back now, I can recognize so well the delightful safety net of childhood’s naivety and the belief that all could be explained somehow, somewhere.
We lost ourselves in the night sky sparkling with pinpricks of dancing light and sought out the few constellations[7] we could readily recognize, the “Great and Little Bears”, with Polaris, the “Pole Star”, ever guiding the men of the sea for many centuries past. We knew so little of our galaxy, “The Milky Way”, but our fertile, ever questing imagination ran to its limitations and to an abstract beyondness.
It must have been close to midnight when the first shooting stars appeared, arcing across a night sky already garlanded[8] with twinkling jewels of light. The sudden, brief incandescence[9] of their trails, was I remember, a thrilling, wonder-filled experience, bringing gasps[10] of delight from both of us. We made countless wishes for health and wealth and happy days, for timeless moments like this, and for lives that we hoped would be rich with such unforgettable experiences.
After what seemed an age the “cosmic light show” faded and once more we lay in quiet companionship under the vaulted canopy of the night sky. Sleep gradually claimed us and brought gentle, restful dreams. Waking to the dawn chorus was an especial joy as night faded and the sky grew light heralding a brand new day. The morning sunlight, I recall, had a splendor I shall never forget, its golden light full of beauty and promise, offering yet another day.
Life holds so many simple blessings, each day bringing its own individual wonder, our memories storing the treasure of such moments to be drawn upon in lesser days. I was so well blessed to know Eric, a friendship made through spending so many years as ward-mates dealing with our own individual experience of long-term illness. He was an unforgettable character whom I was privileged to know, remembered fondly now, down all the days, as bright as any of those splendid shooting stars seen on that long ago, but so memorable, starlit night!
爱丁堡玛格丽特•罗斯公主残疾儿童医院，1956年6月。
那个美妙的夏日，我们一直待在1号小屋外面的游廊上，小屋位于高高的山上，可以俯瞰医院的其他地方。傍晚时分，我和朋友埃里克问，可不可以到外面的星空下过夜，病房护士长答应了。她外表严厉，其实是个好心的女士，看不出有多大年纪。晚饭，我们随便吃了点冷肉片和色拉作晚饭，在一个大热天的傍晚吃这些清淡点的正合适。夕阳西斜，天地相接的地方，渐暗的光线变成柔和的紫色。这时我们舒服地躺了下来，无需任何言语，只消聆听万籁渐静的声响。上方的屋顶上，一只画眉正吟唱着自己的晚祷颂歌，甜美的歌声流露出它对活着的喜悦。我们没有出声，不想打扰到它快乐的歌唱，只是躺着，享受属于自己的宁静“绿洲”。
暮色渐深，夜班工作人员拿来了更多的毯子和热水瓶给我们保暖，还端来了几大杯可可茶，来得正是时候。在渐浓的夜色中，我们轻声交谈着，唯恐打破了这夜的寂静。夜已深，却也让人感到神奇。尽管白天对我们来说很漫长，大概从早上五点半钟就开始了，但我们并未允许睡意入侵，从我们“神奇的冒险旅程”中“窃取”哪怕一分钟的时间。相反，我们谈论着太空旅行、20世纪50年代的科幻世界、“太空之旅”(当时电台的一个连播节目)以及“大胆阿丹：未来宇航员”——一个出现在连环漫画册《鹰》以及电台节目中的英雄人物。
和同时代以及后来许多人一样，我们思索宇宙的浩瀚，问古老的问题——有关宇宙的起源的“谁”、“何时”以及“为什么”，这可是所有宇宙难题中最令人困惑和费解的。尽管我们还是孩子，在这个无法回答的问题上，我们却期待获得一个答案，一个可以理解的解释，能让我们牢固树立起自己的信仰体系，证明我们在事物发展过程中的位置正确且合理。如今，回首过去，我能清楚地看出儿童时代的天真烂漫就像一张安全网，让我们快乐，并认为一切事情都能在某个地方得到某种解释。
夜空一闪一闪，挂满了起舞的光点，我们沉浸其中，找到了能马上认出的为数不多的几个星座——“大熊和小熊星座”，以及在过去数个世纪中一直为航海家们指引方向的北极星。尽管对自己所在的星系“银河系”还知之甚少，我们的想象力却非常丰富，不断的求索让它已接近极限，却仍指向高深莫测的远方。
大概接近午夜时分，第一波流星出现了。它们沿弧线划过已有闪耀的光环妆点的夜空，扫过之处即刻发出耀眼的光芒，不过转瞬即逝。我仍记得那是一次多么激动人心的神奇体验，让我俩赞叹欣喜不已。我们许下了无数的愿望，祈祷健康、富有、快乐，希望这样的时刻变得永恒，并希望生命里充满这样令人难忘的体验。
似乎过了很久，“宇宙之光演出”才渐渐谢幕。我们又静静躺着，相互为伴，头顶夜空苍穹。睡意渐浓，安睡后，我们做了不少愉快的美梦。当夜色褪去，醒来就听到清晨鸟语是一件特别快乐的事。天空放亮，预示着崭新的一天开始了。记得那天的晨曦具有一种让我永难忘怀的壮丽光辉，它那金子般的光芒美丽夺目，充满希望，带来新的一天。
生活中有如此多简单的幸福，每一天都会带来新的奇迹。我们在记忆里珍藏这些宝贵的瞬间，以便在日后不那么重要的日子里想起。我十分有幸，认识了埃里克，作为多年的病友，我们在应对各自的长期病患中结下了友谊。他是个令我难忘的人，结识他，我觉得很幸运。虽然很多年过去了，但我对他的记忆仍然像很久以前看见的那些耀眼的流星一样美好清晰。多么难忘的星夜!