My Box of Memories

By Robert H. Gilbert 阿蠻 選注

打開這個記憶的盒子，就像萬縷花香飄散開來，沁人心脾;又像一瓶塵封多年的老酒，香醇與苦澀，美在其中。

One day, an older woman was sitting on her bed, packing some things, in boxes, to put in her closet. She rubbed her forehead with her hand and thought of her terrible migraine headache, brought on by all this packing.1

As she sat there, she looked at an empty box in front of her. Next, she looked around, wondering what she might pack in that box. Then, she said to herself, "If I get rid of some of these memories, that have been in my head all these years, maybe my head would not hurt as bad.2"

She put the tip of her finger between her lips. Then, her mind started wondering back, back, and back into her younger years.

She remembered her first puppy love3. Boy, was he handsome and strong for his age of 11. He looked even bigger in his elementary football uniform. "Guess, I will keep that memory," she said. So, she quickly put that in the box.

Then, she began to think a little bit harder, now. "Oh, Yes, I surely remembered my first kiss. He was such a good kisser, too." She, quickly, put her hand over her heart and could feel it beating faster and faster. She opened her eyes and said, "If I keep having memories like this, I will need something to take for high blood pressure." She gasped4, then put that memory, definitely, into the box.

Then, she remembered the last spanking she got from her dad. As she remembered this, she rubbed her bottom. It was as if she, still, felt the burning.5 She would keep that memory, as it taught her to be nice to others.

Her memory took her forward ?to her high school prom6. She remembered the beautiful pink dress that her father had bought her. At the prom, she recognised a boy that she really liked. However, her sister had the same feelings. When her sister saw her looking at that boy, she walked over and (accidentally) spilled chocolate ice cream all over the front of her dress.7 She grabbed that memory and threw it in the trash.

Though her memory started moving through the years, it stopped at meeting her husband. One night, she had gone out with her girlfriends and, upon returning home, there was an insurance salesman there. Her parents introduced them and, when she looked into his eyes, she knew she was in real love. Three months later, they were married.

She went out at night with him, to go to several appointments. She soon realised that most of the late night meetings were with young women. She threw that memory in the trash, too.

About a month later, she told her husband that he needed to stay home and find another job. He did. He became a CPA8. Little did she know that her husband and her puppy love were best of friends.

She, then, began to think of their first child, then becoming a grandmother. She remembered her first diaper change9, too. (Poop.) She still remembered the stink10, held her nose shut, and put that thought in the trash, too. (She had to remember to take the trash out, when this was over.)

When she realised that the box was full, she took some tape and tape the lid shut11. She took the box into the dining area and sat the box in a chair. Then, she went into the kitchen to fix supper for her husband.

As she was preparing supper, the doorbell rang. There stood her puppy love. She could not turn him away, as they were friends now.

He walked into the dining area and looked at the box in the chair. He picked it up and shook it. He asked her, "What's in the box?"

"My box of memories," she answered.

"Can I look in it?" he asked.

"Sure, but don't spill12 anything."

He opened the box and it was empty. Either I am blind or she is going insane. He looked at her and said, "There is nothing in here."

She turned toward him, with her hands on her hips, and said, "Well, does that tell you something? It means that you were not in my thoughts long enough to be in my memories."

1. 她用手揉了揉額頭，想起了自己那惱人的偏頭痛，由于整理東西又發作了。rub：按摩，揉擦;migraine headache： [醫]偏頭痛; bring on：使出現，引起。

2. 要是我能忘掉一些在腦海里停留多年的記憶，或許我的頭就不會痛得那么厲害了。

3. puppy love：少男少女之間短暫的愛情。亦指此類愛情的戀愛對象。

4. gasp：倒抽氣。

5. 她想起爸爸最后一次打她屁股(的情形)。她一邊回憶，一邊不由自主地揉了揉屁股，似乎依然能感覺到那種火辣辣的疼痛。spanking: 打屁股;一頓揍。

6. prom：<美口>(大學、高中等的)班級舞會。

7.妹妹看到她注視著那個男孩，就走過來，(意外地)把巧克力冰淇淋全都灑到了她裙子的前擺上。

8. CPA：注冊會計師，Certified Public Accountant的縮寫。

9. diaper change：換尿布。

10. stink：惡臭，異味。

11.她拿出膠帶，把蓋子封好。句中第一個tape是名詞，意為“膠帶”，第二個tape為動詞，意為“用膠帶固定，用膠帶封住”。

12. spill：使灑落，使潑出。