十三岁生日那年，因着放风筝冠军的荣耀，父亲邀请了四百多人，在自己的大豪宅里为Amir举办了盛大的生日party， 并送给他一只高档手表。被愧疚心、自卑心折磨得无地自容无法逃脱的他，却把手表和收到的一些现金偷偷放在Hassan的席子下面，以此栽赃Hassan，达到撵他走的目的。Hassan明知是栽赃陷害，为了Amir却承认了下来。Hassan的爸爸知道内情后，执意要离开了主人家。一个大雨如注的早晨，父子俩离开了这个他们视之为家的地方，离开了喀布尔，投奔乡下亲戚家。 一个为你(Amir)千遍万遍也愿意( For you, a thousand times over")的Hassan从此远走他乡，不再相见。
故事讲到这里，却只有小说的一半，高潮还在下面。不久，俄国军队入侵阿富汗。Amir父子不得已背井离乡，从阿富汗逃亡到巴基斯坦，又辗转到了美国。后来父亲得癌症去世了。二十年后，38岁的Amir应约再次赴阿富汗，却得知了一个天大的秘密: Hassan是他的half brother, 同父异母的兄弟。Amir这才回想起父亲对Hassan的种种关怀和爱抚，同时也想起父亲曾经告诫过他的一句话，这世界上唯一的罪是偷窃: "When you kill a man, you steal a life. You steal a wife's right to a husband, rob his children of a father. When you tell a lie, you steal someone's right to the truth. When you cheat, you steal the right to fairness. There is no act more wretched than stealing."当你杀害一个人，你偷走一条性命，你偷走他妻子身为人妇的权利，夺走他子女的父亲。当你说谎时，你偷走别人知道真相的权利。当你欺骗时，你偷走公平的权利。没有比偷窃更罪大恶极令人痛心疾首了的。
I woke up to a warm and muggy morning. Having accustomed to the dry and mild summer here in southern CA, I know that an autumn morning like this is a barometer of another sweltering day. After breakfast was served and done, I entered the closet for the change. A striped dress of white and black came to my sight. For the whole summer, dresses have been hanging idly in the closet, as wearing them in the cool weather is an option, plus most daytime is spent in an air-conditioned office. But today may be the day to put it on, I told myself.
The morning breeze caressed my naked arms, fluttering the skirt hem as I walked towards the office building. It will be another workday, not much to look forward to. But a change of attire somehow brought forth a change of mood, not just the feel of lightness. Some kind compliments added on that. For a moment, I was reminded of the summers in China, where girls are more dressed up in skirts or dresses, floral or solid color, with myriad patterns and styles. Thanks to them, my youth and summers were remembered as colorful.
After lunch, I was about to rest in the car for a while. The scorching sun, with the moist in the air, turned the parking lot to a sizzling ground. The car, after being baked in the sun for a morning, was like an oven now. I moved it to a shady spot under a tree and rolled down all the windows. The wind from the street dispersed the heat a little bit, but it was far from enough to keep me in the car. I got out and walked back in the heat to the office without a desired nap.
As I hit the keyboard to unlock the screen, the beautiful desktop picture beckoned me welcomingly. It's a new one today, equally breathtaking as the last one. These wonderfully imbedded photos, periodically changing and alternating, transport me to the distant land, where flowers bloom next to the crimson-colored soaring stones or the undulating mountains, as shown here. Unknown the places are to me and most of which I may never physically be able to step on in my life, viewing it alone gives me a getaway and some imaginations. My eyes lingered as I relished at the scenes.
I had my second tooth crown yesterday. The first one was done a couple of months ago, as a root- canaled tooth asked for it. But this one has an option of being filled or crowned. The dentist suggested a crown, of course, and I did not question it. Hopefully the crown protects the tooth as he claimed, and that the crown could last at least ten years before it wears out.
It is September now, three more months to go before the year draws to a close. Then it will be another year……
回复 '7grizzly' 的评论 : Welcome back, my friend. Right, the hierarchy is appalling. Even though the dad knew that Hassan is his son, he let him serve Amir, and left him uneducated. This is Not friendship or brotherhood we would aspire at all.Thanks for coming to see me. Glad you are back!
7grizzly 发表评论于
That was a great story and you shared in such a memorable way. It showed the ugliness of a tribal and hierarchic society in an individualistic and flatter one. Maybe that partly explained its popularity.
