2023年ARAYOFSUNSHINE缕阳光.docx

天道酬勤 A,Ray,of,Sunshine,一缕阳光 By+Vijaya+Khisty+Bodach It was Ray who told me that I wasn"t fat. She said， "You"re not fat. You"re tall and curvy. Rubenesque1〕." It was Ray who told me that I could do anything I wanted. She said， "You can be a scientist， an artist， or a designer." It was Ray who told me to follow my heart. She said， "Know yourself." I met Ray the year I started high school. Our class had settled down for algebra when there came a knock at the door. "Come in，" said Mrs. Hatch， our teacher. A dark brown girl wearing a costume out of a foreign movie stepped into the room. She was very， very thin. "I am sorry to be late. I got lost，" she said， dark eyes drinking in2〕 everything in our classroom. "Please take a seat." Ray took the chair beside me. Chairs next to me were always empty. Nobody liked to sit by me. I was fat and unfashionable. I wore comfortable clothes that I had sewn myself. "Please introduce yourselves，" said Mrs. Hatch. She looked at me to begin. "Hi， I"m Katie，" I said. Mrs. Hatch nodded to Ray. She stood up and said， "My name is Reshma， but you can call me Ray. I come from India. I am happy to be here， in this land of opportunity." Someone snorted. Mrs. Hatch smiled and said， "You may sit down. In this country you do not have to stand up when you answer questions." Ray sat down and adjusted her flowing， swishing3〕， silky clothes while the other kids introduced themselves. Ray chose to sit with me during lunch. I had a juicy hamburger with fries. Ray had a bowl of vegetable soup. She said， "I only eat things that are renewable from animals — like milk and eggs. Once you eat the animal， poof —gone." The kids at the next table waved chicken drumsticks at her. Ray looked away from them. I didn"t tell her that my hamburger was a dead cow. She"d figure it out eventually. The next day， Ray brought strange-smelling food. I gasped from pain when I tasted it. "My mouth is on fire. My tongue is tingling. I"m sweating，" I howled. "I hate it." I gulped down4〕 a glass of milk. Ray laughed and said， "My mouth is on fire. My tongue is tingling. I"m sweating." She smacked her lips. "I love it." She devoured5〕 puffy， white rice cakes called idlis6〕 and a spicy lentil stew called sambar7〕. She ate raita8〕—yogurt with shredded cucumbers. "If the idli-sambar is poison，" Ray said， "then raita is the antidote9〕." Ray was my antidote—my best friend. The poison I had built up inside myself about being fat began to fade. Weeks later， on the school bus， Ray slumped in her seat and said， "I miss home." "So， how did you end up living here？" I asked. I couldn"t even imagine visiting a different country， away from all that I was used to. "I came with my mother，" Ray said. "She is trying to discover how proteins fold into their final shape. They have to be folded just right to do their job." I understood. A piece of cloth is just that until you fold， cut， twist， and stitch it —to be a shirt， a skirt， or pants. Ray continued， "My mother"s work will one day cure diseases like mad-cow disease." "Wow！" I believed her. "I"m going to study hard and be a doctor，" Ray said. "Then I"ll return to India to help the street people." I knew she"d do it someday. "What will you do？" she asked me. "You must have goals." "I want to be thin，" I said， thinking how popular I"d be. "But what would that accomplish？" Ray asked. I wondered， too. Being stick-thin hadn"t helped her. She was probably the least popular girl in the school. So I began to think about what I"d really like to do. "I"m good at sewing. Maybe I will become a dress designer，" I said. That afternoon， we went to the library and studied books about design. Ray pulled down a huge book with the paintings of Peter Paul Rubens in it. The figures in the paintings were lush10〕 and beautiful. And for the first time， I felt beautiful， too. Ray was here for a short time—just a year. But she changed my life. Now， when my mouth is on fire and my tongue is tingling and I sweat， I love it. I even learned to make idli-sambar and raita at home， because Ray won"t be here to fix11〕 those dishes for me. Her mom got a job in England working on mad cows， so they moved away. I"m still here. I"ll never have the waif12〕 look —I"m sturdy and solid， like a good wooden fence. But I don"t mind. I try to look at myself the way Ray saw me， tall and curvy. Rubenesque. After meeting Ray， who was like a ray of sunshine in my life， I know who I am. I"m a person who could be a scientist， an artist， or a designer. Right now， I"m making matching red dresses for Ray and me， and flannel13〕 pajamas just for Ray. She says she"s freezing in England. 友情是一縷阳光洒下的温暖，照亮你的内心，陪你坚决前行。 是瑞告诉我我并不胖。她说：“你不胖。你长得高，还有曲线美，有如鲁本斯〔编注：即后文的彼得·保罗·鲁本斯〕画笔下红润迷人的女子。〞 是瑞告诉我我可以做任何我想做的事。她说：“你可以成为一个科学家、一个艺术家或者一个设计师。〞 是瑞告诉我我要听从自己内心的声音。她说：“你要了解你自己。〞 我是在刚上高中那一年遇到瑞的。当时我们全班已经坐好准备上代数课了，突然传来了敲门声。 “请进。〞我们的老师哈奇夫人说。一个深棕色皮肤的女孩走進了教室，她穿着一身外国电影里常见的那种衣服，非常非常瘦。 “不好意思我迟到了。我刚刚迷路了。〞她说道，乌黑的眼睛细细打量着教室里的一切。 “请坐。〞瑞在我旁边的椅子上坐下