Years ago, when I was working as a psychologist¹ at a children's institution in England, an adolescent² boy showed up in the waiting room, it was David.

许多年前，我是英国一所儿童机构的心理医生，有一天，一个十几岁的男孩出现在候诊室，他叫大卫。

David wore a black raincoat that was buttoned all the way up to his neck. His face was pale, and he stared at his feet while wringing³ his hands nervously⁴. He had lost his father as an infant⁵, and had lived together with his mother and grandfather ever since. But when David turned 13, his grandfather died and his mother was killed in a car accident. He was very depressed⁶， refusing to talk to others.

大卫穿着一件黑色的雨衣，扣子一直扣到脖颈。他脸色苍白，眼睛紧盯着自己的双脚，同时还紧张地揉搓着双手。大卫很小的时候就失去了父亲，一直同母亲和祖父生活在一起。在13岁那年的时候，他的祖父去世了，母亲也在一次车祸中丧生。他情绪低落，不跟任何人说话。

The first two times we met, David didn't say a word. He sat in the chair and only looked up at the children's drawings on the wall. As he was about to leave after the second visit, I put my hand on his shoulder. He didn't shrink⁷ back, but he didn't look at me either.

在我们头两次见面时大卫一句话也没说。他坐在椅子上，抬起头时也只是看着我身后墙上孩子们画的画。他第二次来后，在他将要离开的时候，我将手放在他的肩上，他没有退缩着躲开，也没有看我一眼。

"Come back next week," I hesitated⁸ a bit. Then I said, "I know it hurts."

"如果愿意，下周还来吧。"我犹豫了一下说我知道你很难过。"

He came, and I suggested we play a game of chess. He nodded. After that we played chess every Wednesday afternoon

in complete silence and without making any eye contact. It's not easy to cheat in chess, but I admit that I made sure David won once or twice.

他的确来了，我提议两人下象棋，他点头同意了。之后，我们每周三下午下棋——但都不说话，他也从不和我对视。下棋时作弊并不容易，不过我得承认，我的确有意让大卫赢过一两次。

It seemed as if he enjoyed my company. But why did he never look at me? "Perhaps he senses that I respect his suffering." I kept wondering and playing with him, until some months later, suddenly, he looked up at me, "It's your turn," he said.

看上去他，很喜欢和我在一起，但是为什么他从不看我眼呢?"也许他只是需要有人为他分担痛苦我想也许他觉得我尊重他的苦楚。"与他下棋时我一直带着这样的疑问，直到几个月后，突然，大卫抬头看着我，说道该你了。"

After that day, David started talking He got friends in school and joined a bicycle club. He wrote to me a few times, after that the letters stopped. Now he had really started to live his own life.

自那天起，大卫开始说话了。他在学校里有了朋友，并加入了一个自行车俱乐部。他给我写过几次信，在那之后，他就不再写信了。现在他已经真正开始了自己的生活。

Maybe I gave David something. At least I learned⁹ a lot from him. I learned how time makes it possible to overcome what seems to be an insuperable pain. I learned to be there for people who need me. And David showed me how one - without any words - can reach out to another person. All it takes is a hug, a shoulder to cry on，a friendly touch, a sympathetic¹⁰ nature - and an ear that listens.

也许我给予过大卫某种东西，至少我从他，那里学到了很多。我懂得了时间如何使人克服看上去无法逾越的痛苦，我学会了帮助需要我帮助的人。大卫还使我明白，一个人怎样才能不通过语言而去帮助他人。所需的只是一个拥抱，一个痛哭时可以依依的肩头，一次友好抚慰，一种同情的本性，以及一双聆听的耳朵。