来自纽约街头陌生人的琴声 A NYC Street Stranger's Music Gift By YUAN

原文链接 https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/k0v_fOJYNzWBiiFUlsuckg

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5 years passed. Now I am back in New York. A city where I used to live and study at. A city that I used to hate and love at the same time.

5年过去了，如今我又回到了纽约，一个我过去生活和学习过的城市，一个曾让我欢喜让我忧的城市。

Despite many life changes I've gone through, the Big Apple remains the same: imposing skyscrapers, comings and goings of New Yorkers of different races, and their aloofness mixed with occasional friendliness. As an outsider, you can sense such a paradox from just their eyes even though most parts of their faces are covered by a mask in COVID time.

尽管我的生活发生很多变故，“大苹果城”一点都没变：壮观的摩天大楼，来来去去、不同肤色的纽约客，以及他们时而友善，时而冷淡的气场。作为外来者，通过他们的眼神你就能感受到他们矛盾的性格，尽管在疫情期间，他们的脸上都被口罩遮住了。

In this era of the pandemic, most have hidden their adventurous spirits in the closet of their hearts and international travels become a rarity. So my visit to New York against this backdrop had my family worried especially when the Omicron of COVID was hitting the Big Apple.

在疫情的年代，大多人都把探险的热情藏在了心中的角落，跨国旅行也不再常见。所以这次我来纽约让我的家人十分担忧，尤其是纽约正在经历着新冠的变种病毒——奥密克戎的侵袭。

Yet, I still chose to come to New York. An omen directed me here. It'd told me I should come here to find a hidden "treasure".

但是，我仍然来到了纽约。一个征兆将我带到了这里。它告诉我应该来到这去找到一个隐藏的“宝藏”。

As for whether I've found the treasure or not here, it is another story. Maybe I'll turn into a story into my first fiction. Today's protagonist is not me. It's Carlos.

至于我是否找寻到了宝藏，那是另外一个故事。可能我会把它写成我的第一部小说。但今天故事的主角不是我，是卡洛斯。

Though it was mid-December in New York, the city was still in the colors of fall. The Ginko trees alongside the narrow street of Manhattan were still dotted by their last canary leaves. Hudson River under sunset was like a crumpled napkin, showing wrinkles of orange and navy blue. New Yorkers, donning colorful garments—some even wore shorts and short skirts in day time—constituted the most lively colors in this metropolis painting. And of course, my friend and I were also fortunate dots in this picture as well.

虽然纽约已经进入十二月中旬了，但城市仍然保留着秋天的颜色。曼哈顿岛狭窄街道两旁的银杏树仍旧被金色的叶子装饰着。夕阳下的哈德逊河像一张褶皱的餐巾纸，有些褶皱挂着橘色，有些挂着深蓝。纽约客打扮各异，有些甚者白天还穿着短裤和短裙，是这一幅城市画布中最活跃的颜色。当然，我和我的朋友也有幸成为这幅画卷中的两个墨点。

It was a Friday morning. We were walking in Central Park. I was still quite spent from the recent long international flight from China to New York. Such a man-made forest in the middle of the busiest and crowded city in the world was a perfect place to forget all my traveling fatigues and sorrows in my life. My rooted shyness was defrosted a little thanks to the good company of my friend and children's laughter in the park.

那是一个周五的早上，我们在中央公园散步。由于中美的长途飞行，我的身体依旧疲惫。在世界上最繁忙和拥挤的城市中央有这样一片人工森林，对我来说，这简直是让我让忘记所有旅行疲惫和生活悲伤的完美之地。住在我心里的羞涩也因为我朋友的陪伴和公园里孩子们的笑声解冻了一些。

Then my friend decided to take me to a place in the park. Her secret go-to place. Knowing my friend well, I knew I'd be regular at this place as well even though I had no idea what'd happen and whom we'd meet in this secret spot.

我的朋友决定带我去公园的一个地方，她经常去的一个秘密地方。因为我们的熟络，她知道这个地方也会是我很喜欢去的角落，虽然我并不知道后面会发生什么，我们会碰到谁。

It was an underground hallway under a bridge. The mosaic roof and wall tiles and the Roman columns would fool you to believe that you were in Europe. In the middle of the spacious hallway sat an empty chair.

我们来到了一个桥下的地下大厅。大厅屋顶和墙壁的马赛克瓷砖以及罗马柱可能会让你以为这是在欧洲。在大厅的中央，是一张空的椅子。

"Oh, nooooo... He's not here today." My friend broke the silence in the hallway.

"Who's not here?"

"The guitarist. I take you here to listen to him." A disappointment showed in her voice.

"Aw...It's ok. We will come back for another day."

“噢，不。他今天没来。”我的朋友打破了大厅的沉默。

“谁没来？“

“弹吉他的人。我带你来就是来听他的。”她的声音中略显失望。

“哎呦。没事儿的。我们改天再来。”

We walked inside and ar