海边观日落

我十六岁那天，哥哥带我一同去波德申海边野餐。我们早上一直忙着准备食物、草席之类的物品。下午一点时才从家门出发。

            一路上，我与哥哥回顾以前到别的地方看日出，例如：三保山、阿里山等等。曾经有去过波德申海边看日出，但这次我想看日落，而且那天毕竟是我最重视的生日，所以哥哥听从我的愿望。

            一到达海边，处处都有人影，我有点感到不自在。挺幸运地，哥哥找到一个较少人以及大树下阴凉的地方。铺了草席，摆好带来的午餐后，我们便开动了。吃完了美味可口的三文治，我沿着海边散步。只听见海浪起伏声与游客玩乐的欢呼声，不久天色也渐渐地暗了，人潮也慢慢地减少了。

            坐在柔软金黄色的沙滩上，我望着太阳公公缓缓下落，把蓝天染成暮色苍茫，实在是太美丽了，如毕加索的画品一样完美…

“我一直都很喜欢看日落，”哥哥走到我身边说道。

我非常好奇，也感到意外。“为什么？”

“过了黄昏，仿佛就进入了另一个境界。”

哥哥的脸露出陶醉的笑容。我把视线再次转移到已沉到地平线的太阳公公，宛若告别的身影。在那一瞬间，我突然想起我幼小的记忆。

当时，有人抱着矮小的我在海边奔跑。他那既清亮又纯粹的笑声牵动了我的心。真没想到我小时候并没有注意到多么美丽的风景，明媚及温暖的阳光照射我们兄妹的身影。

太阳下山了，我意识到我还不是非常了解自己的亲哥哥，从未想过与哥到海边观日出、日落带着的含意。每次观日出，虽是相似的情景，却能够引起不同的情绪。哥哥的一番话，使我反省光阴荏苒了这些年，我所观察学到的。

日落的晚霞依然丰富多彩。那一年与哥哥到海边观日落是我最有意义的生日礼物，而那天晚霞的画面已经深深烙印在我的心中。

That silver lining

“Behind every dark cloud, there is a silver lining…”

           Lying down on the hospital’s white bed, De’Alizea ruminated about the ominous overcast that seemed more threatening every minute. She was scarred to the point of no return by hardships that had blighted her innocent childhood since that fateful day. The world around her had turned indescribably darker since she was diagnosed with cancer and she was constantly battling this inescapable rage for two years. Sitting on a plastic chair beside her was her mother, who must have wept herself to sleep.

Her still-awake sister offered her a weak smile, “How was your nap, Liz?”

“I’m fine, Chelsea.”

That was an obvious lie. She knew Dr. Martin would announce the results of her surgery soon. She prayed hard that there was a miracle solution to all this.

The door slid open, indicating the doctor’s arrival. His face was neutral as he recounted her progress, but became solemn when he reported the results.

“I’m really sorry… we’ve done all we could. De’Alizea may only have another few hours at most.”

Her depressed mood switched to full-blown shock. Another few hours... at most? Her mind was in a frenzy, trying to accept her imminent demise.

Chelsea could sense her panic and moved in closer to her, squeezing her arm comfortingly. Only when the aftershock had receded did De’Alizea realise how much time had gone wasted while she was in denial.

Her intense fear propelled her to seek comfort online, where she could remain anonymous. She posted her worry onto the outside world, hoping to spread love to others before the end engulfed her.

A message popped up, from Heaven’s Child:

“If you feel the need to share something with someone, don’t hold it back.”

Those kind words aroused in me a poignant response, so I told her my story. As my consciousness faded, I marvelled at how the power of empathy can surrealistically bond two strangers. If that message were from heaven, delivered through a human soul, I feel blessed by that silver lining in my last minutes among the dark clouds.