The Power of Love

Liangren | English translation: Linda Yang

When Anne was two years old, she suffered from a severe case of trachoma. Left untreated due to her family’s poverty, her eyesight worsened, and so did her temper. Anne was eight years old when her mother died of tuberculosis. Her alcoholic father abandoned Anne, her brother Jimmie, and her sister Mary. Soon after ten-year-old Anne and seven-year-old Jimmie were admitted into an almshouse, living with more than 900 other people. Three months later, Jimmie died of a tubercular hip, with which he had been born. For a number of years, there was no one left in the world to assuage Anne’s sorrow and loneliness…

愛的力量

良人

安妮兩歲多的時候，罹患了很嚴重的沙眼。貧窮耽誤了治療，安妮的視力惡化，脾氣也因此變得較為暴戾。安妮八歲時，母親因肺結核去世；酗酒的父親狠心的拋棄了她和弟弟吉米、妹妹瑪麗。不久，十歲的安妮和七歲的弟弟吉米被送進了離家千里的貧民救濟院（一所容納了900多位老弱病殘人士的大雜院)。三個月後，弟弟吉米因先天帶來的臀部結核瘤病在救濟院離開人世。相當長的一段時間裡，這個世界沒有幾個人關心小安妮的悲傷和孤單……

Figs and Olive Trees: A Story

By Linda Yang

“You’re a spy for the American Empire! How can you believe in a foreign devil’s God?!” spat out the pock-faced village gossip next to her ear, as she knelt on the cold dirt floor. The jeers of the rest of the villagers who turned up were rising up in volume on the threshing ground, used for larger meetings. Tears threatened to break free, but she bit her lip and kept her head down, waiting for the participants of the “struggle session” to get tired of “re-educating” her. She began going over her favourite song in her head in an attempt to fade out the angry voices. “Even though the fig trees have no—” Suddenly, a thick wet glob fell onto her neck—someone had spat on her. This was not the first time it happened, and she knew better than to wipe it away then—it would provoke them to spit again.

無花果與橄欖樹：一個故事

原文：楊光

「你是一個美帝特務！既然還相信洋鬼子的上帝！」村子裡滿臉麻痕的長舌婦在她耳邊喊道，而她卻跪在冰冷的土地上。其他來湊熱鬧的村民們的譏笑唾罵聲也在村子裡的打谷場上越吵越大。她熱淚盈眶，卻狠狠地咬著嘴唇，把頭低著，等著這些來「批鬥」她的人「鬥」累了。她在腦海中開始唱她最喜歡的歌，試著將他們氣憤的聲音蓋住：「雖然無花果樹不——」突然，濕漉漉的一團東西掉在她的脖子上，有人向她吐了唾沫。這不是第一次了，所以她知道不能現在擦掉，這會使他們繼續向她吐唾沫。