女儿13年暑假在杜克Tip夏令营写作课堂上的一篇练习作文，得到了老师的好评。文章有真实经历。女儿的姨姥那时候刚刚乳腺癌去世不久，她一生生活不幸，早年离婚，多年来一直独身把儿子抚养长大，而儿子在结婚后也不太认她。女儿在很小时候由她姨姥带过一段时间，有点印象，后来的许多事情都是经我们经常叙说，给她可能留下很深印象。她的题目和内容意境挺好，想表达的是人的一生尽管有酸有苦，但也有非常美好的东西令人难忘。后来她查阅了一些当年反右运动和文革的历史资料又重新以此创作了更长篇的一个故事，名字叫Wilted Flowers枯萎的花，并加进了产生她姨姥不幸命运的背景原因，一些和她姨姥的父亲一个被关牛棚二十年的老知识分子右派的故事，来反映那一段给很多家庭带来痛苦磨难的不幸日子。
Sweet Lemons
When life gives you lemons, sometimes they never go away.
My great aunt had never had an easy life. She was born the second child of a family of five kids, and she never went to bed with a full stomach. When she was barely ten, her father was forced by the government to do military service.
He tearfully left his kids and wife. None of them knew they wouldn’t see their father again for twenty years.
“Of course, it was hard when my husband left,” said her mother. “But it didn’t mean we weren’t a family anymore. I still have five kids I can be proud of.”
For the rest of her childhood, my great aunt was raised by her mother, who scraped an earning working at the local bank. She worked hard for her mother at part time jobs, often in late hours. Because of that, she was bullied in school for her dirty clothes, and she struggled to keep up with her homework. Still, she didn’t give up for her loving family, pledging to be there for them no matter what happened to her.
“She’s just…really kind,” said one of her brothers when they were younger. “She would always give us her meal first, and she worked through entire nights for us.”
When her mother could no longer support her, my great aunt married her childhood sweetheart at a young age. However, her mother never approved of the marriage.
“He isn’t the right man for my daughter,” she used to say. “I don’t trust him.”
But my great aunt stubbornly refused to listen.
“I love him,” she had insisted. For the first couple months, she lived her fairy tale, touring China with her new husband. But over time, resentment grew between them. They had a bitter divorce, and he left soon after, leaving her with her newborn son.
For years afterwards, she raised her son alone in a small apartment. Even as she struggled financially, she never failed to visit me, always bringing a huge packet of snacks and toys along with her.
“I love you.” There was a recording of me saying. “You bring me lots of stuff!”
The next time I saw her, her hair had turned snowy white and she had lost weight. Her mind had also changed, finally wearing down from years of heartbreak and difficulties.
“There’s a man following me,” she always whispered, looking nervously over her shoulder.
The sight of her saddened me. This was no longer the lively woman I knew when I was little, carefree and loving, never worrying about anything. Her old self was almost gone now, leaving only her bitter memories of her old husband and her grown son that abandoned her.
Still, she brought me the same snacks and toys she had over six years ago, this part of her never changing.
Just a year later, I found out my great aunt had gotten breast cancer.
“We can’t help her,” said my relatives in China. It shocked me that they barely tried, barely wanted to help. She passed away alone and isolated in the apartment she lived in most of her life.
It hurt that I was too far away to help, but also comforting that she was in a better place. I hope she still remembers the words I said when I was young, that she will always remember. “I love you.”
Maybe lemons can be sweet, after all.
甜柠檬
当生活给你柠檬时，有时它会永远会伴随着你的一生。
我的姨姥就是这样，一生中永远都生活的不容易。她是家里五个孩子的第二个孩子，她小时候从来没有在上床前吃饱过肚子。当她差不多十岁的时候，她的父亲被政府送到农村去劳动改造。她父亲流着眼泪离开了妻子和孩子们，没人想到这一去他们竟然二十年都没有见到父亲。
“当然，当我丈夫离开的时候，我们生活非常艰难”，她母亲说。“但是那并不意味着我们再不是一个家庭了，我依然为我的五个孩子骄傲。”
在我姨姥随后的童年时期，她是她的妈妈在一家当地银行零星打工把她和其他孩子抚养大的。她也抽时间非常努力的帮助她妈妈
工作，经常忙到深夜。她经常因为在学校穿的很脏而受到嘲笑和欺负，但她依然努力的完成她的家庭作业。是的，她依然没有放弃她心爱的家庭，尽力和他们在一起，无论发生什么事情。
“她的确非常...好”，她的一位弟弟回忆起当时年轻时的情景说。“她总是在吃饭时先让我们吃，而她为了我们常常忙碌一个晚上。”
当她的妈妈不能在支持他们的时候，我的姨姥和她童年时的甜心结婚了，这时她还很年轻。然而，她的母亲从来都不同意那门婚姻。
“他不是我女儿所应该要的男人，”，她母亲常常这么说。“我根本就不信任他。”
但是我姨姥听不进去母亲的的意见，固执地拒绝了她母亲的反对。
“我爱他，” 她坚持说。在开始的几个月里，她过着童话般的生活，和他的新婚祝福周游全国。但慢慢地，他们之间产生了相互的不满。然后，她就痛苦的开始离婚，而他丈夫很快就离开了她，留给她刚刚出生不久的儿子。
在随后的日子里，她住在一个小小公寓里，含辛茹苦的抚养她的孩子。即使在她经济最困难的时候，她从来没有说不来看我。每次她来的时候，总给我带一包小吃和玩具。
“我爱你。” 我的脑海里总记得我对她这样说。"你又给我带来了这么多东西！“
后来又一次见她的时候，她的头发已经变得雪白了，还瘦了许多。终于，经历多年的伤心痛苦和艰难生活，她的精神好像也出来问题。
”总有人在我背后跟着我“，她开始常常低声的说，不时精神紧张地往后看。
她的情景使我非常难过。她已经不再是我小时候所认识的那个活泼的女人了。她一下子衰老了许多，她的前夫给她留下了痛苦的回忆，她慢慢长大的儿子也抛弃了她。
然而，她依然每次来看我时给我带来同样的小吃和玩具，前后六年多，重来没有改变。
一年后，她被查出了乳腺癌。
”我们帮不了她。”，她中国的亲戚们都说。我很震惊他们中没有人尝试着帮她。不久，她孤独地在她住了大半生的公寓里面去世。
我非常伤心，我离的太远了，帮不上忙。但我总是心里安慰自己说她到了一个更好的地方。我希望她一直记得我小时候给她说的她永远不会忘记的话。“我爱你！”
也许，柠檬也有甜味。
