My wife and I parked at a trailhead the same time as a young man with a distorted face.

我和妻子驱车旅行，在一条小路的路口短暂停留，路边有一个小伙子，面部五官变形，十分丑陋。

He was covered in tattoos¹.

他全身都是纹身。

I assumed he was unfriendly, so we tried to distance ourselves from him.

我猜测这个小伙子可不是什么大善人，所以我们开始加速，尽力与他的车拉开距离。

But he struggled hard to catch up and wanted to talk some.

没想到他费力的赶了上来，似乎想和我们交谈的样子。

We slowed down.

我们降低了车速。

He said he was recovering from a bad time in his life.

小伙子告诉我们，他刚经历了人生中的一段黑暗时期，正在努力适应。

We politely left him in the dust, heading up river.

我们友好的甩掉了他，向河流的上游驶去。

Hour later we turned back because a flash flood had taken out the trail bridge.

几个小时之后，我们又回到了跟小伙子分手的地方，因为山洪暴发冲毁了过河的小木桥。

There he was again, laboring³ up the trail wanting to engage us.

小伙子还在那里，一看到我们他快步沿着小路走过来，想和我们攀谈。

He also turned to follow us back.

原来他一直跟在我们的车后面，我们折返之后，他也跟着回到了此地。

He shared a little more of his story.

他又分享了一些自己的经历。

He lost his mother and sister in a car accident他曾在一场车祸中失去了母亲和妹妹

and he was permanently⁴ and horribly injured too.

而他自己也落下了永久性的可怕伤痕。

We slowed down to the hobble he could manage for the whole way back to the trailhead.

我们放慢车速，一路蹒跚颠簸，好让他可以追上我们，我们同行到了小路的路口。

He continued...

他开始继续诉说

"During much surgery and pain I came to hate life for taking my good sister and mom and this painful disfigurement .

我做过许多场手术，经历了太多的痛苦，我开始怨恨生活，怨恨它夺走了我善良的母亲和妹妹，还给我留下这令人痛苦的伤痕。

Insurance money kept my livelihood⁵.

保险费让我可以维持生计。

I was about dead when this happened..."

就在我感觉自己快要死掉的时候，发生了一件事……He pulled up his shirt to show us a massive life size tattoo² from neck to waist.

他揭开自己的衬衣，让我们看他上身的巨大纹身，图案从颈部一直延伸到腰际It was two ladies in a brilliant light beckoning⁶ to him.

那是两个女士，她们身后是耀目的光辉，两个人正对他招手。

He pointed… "This is my sister and this is my mom.

他指着纹身对我们说，“这是我的妹妹，这是我的母亲 They told me to stop hating everything.

她们告诉我，不要再对一切都心怀怨恨了，

They loved me just as always had and wanted me to live in love too!"她们说，她们会一如既往的爱我，希望我也能生活在爱意里。

He excitedly explained that the brilliantly colored tattoo was the exact dream he had that day.

他兴奋的告诉我们，这幅色彩鲜艳的纹身图案就和他那天梦到的场景一模一样。

He stopped whining⁷ and started to love people more and live a good life.

于是，他不再自怨自艾，开始关爱周围的人，积极的面对生活。

My prejudice melted away.

我对这个小伙子的偏见涣然冰释。

It had painted a wrong picture of this wonderful person with a beautiful message.

我的偏见让我对他产生了误解，其实他是一个好人，有着美好的信念。

He bubbled about the magnificence of an experience he could hardly describe.

他絮絮叨叨的说着那个梦的重要性，他说他简直无法描述梦中的情景。

We had dinner together and sang songs around a warm campfire that wasn't even lit.

我们和小伙一起吃了晚餐，围坐在温暖的篝火边唱歌，虽然那篝火根本没有烧起来，却有着浓浓的暖意。

He stayed the night in our camper and we parted the next day.

当天夜晚他睡在我们借给他的帐篷里，我们第二天才道别。

I learned more than he hoped to tell….

这个小伙子给我的启示比他想要表达的还要多。

May it also warm your heart.

希望这个故事也会温暖你的心。