Friendship lives on
友誼長存
by Karen Del Tufo
Twenty-one years ago, my husband gave me Sam, an eight-week-old schnauzer, to help ease the loss of our daughter. Sam and I developed a very special bond over the next fourteen years. It seemed nothing that happened could ever change that.
21年前為了幫助我減輕失去女兒的悲痛，我丈夫給了我山姆。那是條才8周大的德國髯狗。在以後的14年間，山姆和我形成了一種十分特殊的親密關係。似乎無論發生什麼事情都無法改變這種關係。
At one point, my husband and I decided to relocate from our New York apartment to a new home in New Jersey. After we were there awhile, our neighbor, whose cat had recently had kittens, asked us if we would like one. We were a little apprehensive about Sam's jealousy and how he would handle his turf being invaded, but we decided to risk it and agreed to take a kitten.
有一年我和丈夫決定從紐約的公寓搬到新澤西州的新家。住下一段時間後，鄰居的貓下了小貓，問我們想不想要一隻。我們有點擔心山姆會嫉妒，會因領地被侵佔而有何舉措。不過我們還是決定冒冒風險，答應養一隻。
We picked a little, gray, playful ball of Fur. It was like having a roadrunner in the house. She raced around chasing imaginary mice and squirrels and vaulted from table to chair in the blink of an eye, so we named her Lightning.
我們挑了隻毛茸球似的愛玩的小灰貓。家裡像是添了只跑得飛快的走鵑。她到處追逐想象中的老鼠和松鼠，一眨眼的工夫就從桌子上跳到椅子上。所以我們管她叫“閃電”。
At first, Sam and Lightning were very cautious with each other and kept their distance. But slowly, as the days went on, Lightning started following Sam--up the stairs, down the stairs, into the kitchen to watch him eat, into the living room to watch him sleep. As time slept, it was always together; when they ate, it was always next to each other. When I played with one, the other joined in. If Sam barked at something, Lightning ran to see what it was. When I took either one out of the house, the other was always waiting by the door when we returned. That was the way it was for years.
一開始，山姆和閃電互相戒備，保持一定距離。後來閃電逐漸開始跟著山姆，上樓、下樓、進廚房瞧它吃東西、進起居室看它睡覺。隨著時光的流逝，它們倆成了形影不離的朋友。總是在一起睡覺、一塊兒吃東西。我逗一個玩時，另一個也隨之參與。如果山姆衝著什麼東西吠叫時，閃電就會跑去看個究竟。我帶一個出門，回家時另一個總會在門前等著。多年來始終如此。
Then, without any warning, Sam began suffering from convulsions and was diagnosed as having a weak heart. I had no other choice but to have him put down. The pain of making that decision, however, was nothing compared with what I experienced when I had to leave Sam at the vet and walk into our house alone. This time, there was no Sam for Lightning to greet and no way to explain why she would never see her friend again.
然而，有一天，事先毫無任何預兆，山姆開始出現痙攣。經診斷是心力衰竭。我別無選擇只有讓它毫無痛苦地死去。我做這個決定是痛苦的，然而，這與我把山姆留在獸醫診所獨自一人走人家門時的'痛苦卻是無法相比的。這一回，再沒有讓閃電迎接的山姆了，我也無法跟她解釋為什麼她永遠見不到她的朋友了。
In the days that followed, Lightning seemed heart-broken. She could not tell me in words that she was suffering, but I could see the pain and disappointment in her eyes whenever anyone opened the front door, or the hope whenever she heard a dog bark.
在以後的日子裡，閃電像是心碎了。她無法用言語向我們傾訴她的悲痛，但每當有人開啟前門時，我從她的眼神可以看到她的痛苦與失望，每當她聽到狗叫時，我從她的眼神也可以看到她的希望。
The weeks wore on and the cat's sorrow seemed to be lifting. One day as I walked into our living room, I happened to glance down on the floor next to our sofa where we had a sculptured replica of Sam that we had bought a few years before. Lying next to the statue, one arm wrapped around the statue's neck, was Lightning, contentedly sleeping with her best friend.
日子一週周過去，貓的悲痛似乎也逐漸減輕。有一天我走進起居室，無意中朝沙發旁的地板看了一眼，那裡擺著幾年前買的山姆雕塑複製品。閃電一隻前腿纏著它的脖子，心滿意足地躺在雕像旁邊，和她最好的朋友睡在了一起。
