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Return to Paradise
Lisa stood facing the Caribbean Sea, feeling the faint breeze against her face; her eyes were shut and she felt the white sand warm between her bare toes. The place was beautiful beyond belief, but it was still unable to ease the grief she felt as she remembered the last time she had been here.
She had married James right here on this spot three years ago to the day. Dressed in a simple white 1)shift dress, 2)miniature white roses attempting to 3)tame her long dark curls, Lisa had been happier than she had ever thought possible. James was even less formal, yet utterly irresistible in 4)creased summer trousers and a loose white cotton shirt. His dark hair was slightly ruffled and his eyes were full of adoration as he looked at his bride to be. The [1] justice of the peace had read their vows as they held hands and laughed at the sheer joy of being young, in love and staying in a five star resort on the Caribbean island of the Dominican Republic. They had seen the years blissfully stretching ahead of them, together forever. They planned their children, two she said; he said four so they compromised on three (two girls and a boy of course); where they would live, the travelling they would do together—it was all certain, or so they had thought then.
But that seemed such a long time ago now. A lot can change in just a few years—a lot of heartache can change a person and drive a 5)wedge through the strongest ties, break even the deepest love. Three years to the day and they had returned, though this time not for the beachside marriages the island was famous for, but for one of its equally popular 6)quickie divorces.
Lisa let out a sigh that was filled with pain and regret. What could she do but move on, find a new life and new dreams?—the old one was beyond repair. How could this beautiful place, with its lush green coastline, eternity of 7)azure blue sea and endless sands be a place for the agony she felt now?
The man stood watching under the palm tree. He couldn’t take his eyes off the dark-haired woman he saw standing at the water’s edge, apparently gazing out to sea as though she was waiting for something—or someone. She was beautiful, with her slim figure dressed in a loose flowing cotton dress, her crazy hair and bright blue eyes not far off the colour of the sea itself. It wasn’t her looks that attracted him though; he came across many beautiful women through his work as a 8)freelance photographer. It was her loneliness and intensity that lured him. Even at some distance he was aware that she was different from any other woman he could ever meet.
Lisa sensed the man approaching even before she turned around. She had been aware of him standing there staring at her and had felt strangely calm about being observed. She looked at him and felt the instant spark of connection she had only experienced once before. He walked slowly towards her and they held each other’s gaze. It felt like meeting a long lost friend—not a stranger on a strange beach.
Later, sitting at one of the many bars on the resort, sipping the local cocktails they began to talk. First 9)pleasantries—their hotels, the quality of the food and friendliness of the locals. (1)Their conversation was strangely hesitant considering the naturalness and confidence of their earlier meeting. (2)Onlookers, however, would have detected the subtle flirtation as they mirrored each other’s actions and looked directly into each other’s eyes. Only later, after the alcohol had had its loosening effect, did the conversation deepen. They talked of why they were here and finally, 10)against her better judgment, Lisa opened up about her heartache of the past year and how events had led her back to the place where she had married the only man she believed she could ever love. She told him of things that had been locked deep inside her, that she had so far been able to tell no one. She told him how she had felt after she had lost her baby.
She was six months pregnant and the happiest she had ever been when the pains had started. She was staying with her mother as James was working out of town. He hadn’t made it back in time. The doctor had said it was just one of those things and that they could try again. But how could she when she couldn’t even look James in the eye? She hated him then, for not being there, for not hurting as much as her; but most of all she hated him for looking so much like the tiny baby boy that she held for just three hours before they took him away. All through the following months she had withdrawn from her husband, family, and friends—not wanting to recover from the pain she felt—that would have been a betrayal of her son. At the funeral she had refused to stand next to her husband and the next day she had left him.
(3)Looking up, Lisa could see her pain reflected in the man’s eyes. For the first time in months she didn’t feel alone, she felt the unbearable burden begin to lift from her— only a bit, but it was a start. She began to believe that maybe she had a future after all and maybe it could be with this man, with his kind 11)hazel eyes, wet with their shared tears.
They had come here to dissolve their marriage, but maybe there was hope. Lisa stood up and took James by the hand and led him away from the bar towards the beach where they had made their vows to each other three years ago. Tomorrow she would cancel the divorce; tonight they would work on renewing their promises.
【注释】：
1) shift dress: 一种宽松的礼服，从肩膀直垂下去，没有腰身。
2) miniature adj. 微型的
3) tame v. 使变得驯服
4) crease v. 折，弄皱
5) wedge n. 使分裂的东西,侵入并引起分裂或崩裂的东西
6) quickie adj. <俚> 简短的，速成的
7) azure adj. 蔚蓝的
8) freelance 自由劳动者：一类人，尤指作家或艺术家为雇佣者服务但对他们不负有任何长期的义务
9) pleasantry n. 幽默，开玩笑
10) against one’s better judgement 明知不可取地, 明知不适当地
11) hazel adj. 榛树的, 淡褐色的
【中文译文】：
莉萨伫立在加勒比海边，面向着大海，感受微风轻拂脸颊——她闭上双眼，裸露的脚趾间拥满了温暖的沙粒。这个地方美得简直令人难以置信，但回忆起上次在这的情景时,此般美景依然无法抚慰心中的伤痛。
三年前的今天，莉萨就是在这里和詹姆斯结婚的。她身着简洁的白色长礼裙，小小的白玫瑰服贴、点缀着她又黑又长的卷发，如此的幸福感是她从未企及的。詹姆斯的装扮更休闲，一条带摺的清凉夏裤和一件宽松的白色棉质衬衫，配上一头稍稍凌乱的黑发，然而他看上去依然是魅力不可挡，当他凝视着自己的准新娘时，眼神里写满了爱意。他们手牵手，聆听太平绅士宣读他们的誓言。他们为年轻而欢呼，为爱情而雀跃，为身处多米尼加共和国加勒比岛屿的五星级胜地而陶醉。他们似乎看到未来的幸福之路在眼前展开，直至相携到老。他们商量着生孩子的事，她说要两个，他却想要四个，最终各退一步，决定生三个（当然是两女一男）。他们计划着安居的地方，计划着一起旅游——所有事情都显得顺理成章，或者大约他们当时便想到这些。
然而这一切似乎是许久以前的事了，短短几年时间就可能发生许多变故。太多的伤痛可以改变一个人，可以破坏最牢固的关系，甚至可以摧毁最刻骨的爱情。三年后的今天，他们又回到了这个岛上，但并非因为此地闻名的海滨婚礼，而是因为此地同样闻名的闪电离婚。
莉萨深深地叹了一口气，带出了心中的痛苦和悲伤。除了继续前行，寻找新生活和新梦想她还能做什么呢?——毕竟旧的已经无法弥补。这里有繁茂的绿色海岸线、无边的蔚蓝大海和绵延的沙滩，可是现在如此美丽的地方怎么就成了她心中无法隐忍的痛？
一个男子站在棕榈树下，目不转睛地注视着这位黑发女子：她伫立在水边，凝望着大海，显然像是在等待什么——或是某人。她很美，身段修长，一袭宽松的棉质裙与头发在风中起舞，那双明亮的蓝眼睛，美得简直可以与大海的颜色相媲美。然而吸引他的并非她的容貌，作为一名自由摄影师，因为工作上的关系，他见过的美女无数。吸引他的是她的落寞和深情。尽管隔着一些距离，但是他仍能感觉到她是不同于他所见过的任何其他女性的。
未曾转身，莉萨便察觉到了男人在靠近。她早已发觉他站在远处盯凝着她，奇怪的是，她并没有因为被注视而感到不自在。她看着他，瞬间闪过一丝心灵相通的火花，这样的碰撞以前只有过一次。他慢慢地向她走近，两人的目光胶着了。他们就像见到一个失去联络很久的朋友——而不是在陌生的地方遇见一个陌生人。
过了一会儿，他们在附近林立的酒吧里找了一间坐了下来。啜饮着当地的鸡尾酒，开始交谈。最初是谈论一些有趣的事——聊他们住的酒店，食物的品质以及当地人的友好热情。然而再深入下去时，相比之前见面的自然和从容，他们的谈话便莫名地犹豫不前了。尽管如此，从他们端详对方的举止和直视对方眼睛的神态中，旁观者还是能洞悉到些许微妙的暧昧。直到酒精逐渐发挥了让人放松的效力，谈话才继续深入下去。他们谈论着来此地的原因，最后，虽然明知不太适宜，莉萨仍将她去年所经历的痛苦尽数道出，以及是什么事情让她又回到了这里——在这儿，她嫁给了一个曾以为会深爱一生的男人。她将一直锁在心底、至今仍无法向他人启齿的话倾吐了出来，并向他倾诉失去宝宝后悲痛的心情。
那时她已怀孕六个月，还是世界上最幸福的人。直到事情发生的前一刻。当时她和母亲待在一起，詹姆斯在郊外工作，没能及时赶回来。医生说这是很平常的事情，他们还有机会。然而她无法做到，她连正视詹姆斯的眼睛都办不到。她恨他，恨他当时不在身边，恨他没有自己那么伤心，更恨他和仅仅在自己怀里躺了三个小时就被抱走的儿子如此相像。接下来的几个月，她远离了丈夫、家庭和朋友，不愿从伤痛中走出来——她觉得那样做是对儿子的背叛。在葬礼上，她拒绝站在丈夫旁边。第二天，她便离开了他。
抬起头，莉萨读出自己的伤痛映满了男人的双眼。几个月来，她第一次不再感到孤独，她感到压得她喘不过气来的担子开始减轻，尽管只有一点点，但起码这是个开始。她开始相信自己还是有未来的，也许是和眼前这个男人、也许是和他这双温柔的淡褐色眼睛——里面噙着他们共同的泪花。
他们来此本为结束他们的婚姻，但也许事情还有转机。她站起身，牵起詹姆斯的手，领着他走出酒吧，走向他们三年前互相许下诺言的沙滩。明天，她会取消离婚，今晚，他们将重续承诺。
小资料
[1] Justice of the Peace,（太平绅士J.P.），原称治安委员，是一种源于英国，由政府委任民间人士担任维持社区安宁、防止非法刑罚及处理一些较简单的法律程序的职衔。成为太平绅士无须任何学历或资格认证要求。现时英国的英格兰与威尔士、澳大利亚、马来西亚、美国、新加坡、香港等国家、地区皆有太平绅士制度，但各地区对太平绅士的定义和要求皆有分别。
温馨提示
(1) Their conversation...meeting.
刚刚在沙滩上两人见面时比较自然，甚至女主角心里有一丝碰撞的火花，considering在这的意思是较之前的见面，两人的谈话就没有那么自如了。本文前面部分制造了一个悬念，原来此男子就是她要离婚的丈夫James。
(2) Onlookers, however...other’s eyes.
这句话作者暗示了两人微妙的夫妇关系。
(3) Looking up,...man’s eye.
这句话可以有两个意思，一是她在男人眼睛反射的影像里看到了自己的样子，另一个是她看到了这个男人的痛苦，和自己的一样深。从后面一句For the first time in months she didn’t feel alone, she felt the unbearable burden begin to lift from her, only a bit but it was a start。可以看出，此男主角内心也痛苦，从而分担了女主角的忧愁，也暗示了两人共同经历的事情。 |
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