The Lychee Tree

Story 7. The Lychee Tree.

故事7 荔枝树

In our backyard there is a lychee tree. Spring comes and it's full of beautiful white flowers. They smell sweet, says my brother. I look at my mother. She says nothing. I know she must be missing Grandma.

我们家后院有一棵荔枝树。 春天来了，树上开满了好看的白色小花。 “这些花闻起来甜甜的。”我弟弟说道。 我看向妈妈，她什么话也没说。 我知道她肯定是想外婆了。

We once had another tall lychee tree. Grandma planted it in the backyard when mother and father got married. It came from Grandma's house. Grandma lived in a town far away. She had to take one bus and then transferred to another bus just to see us.

我们以前还有另一棵高高的荔枝树，是爸爸妈妈结婚的时候外婆在后院种的，那棵树是从外婆老家带来的。 外婆住在很远的镇上，她得先坐一趟公交车，再转另一趟车才能来看我们。

Every May when the lychee's got ripe, Grandma would come. Each time Grandma would fry lychee balls for us and make lychee wine for my father. Sometimes Grandma would dry lychee fruits. That was Mother's favourite snack since her childhood. Mother put them in a glass jar so even in winter we could eat dried lychee fruits.

每年五月荔枝熟了的时候，外婆就会来。每次来外婆都会炸荔枝 丸子给我们吃，还会给爸爸酿荔枝酒。有时候外婆还会晒荔枝干。 那是妈妈从小就最爱吃的小零食，妈妈会把荔枝干放进玻璃罐里 这样就算是冬天，我们也能吃到荔枝干啦。

Sometimes my brother and I climbed up and sat in the lychee tree. Grandma and mother sat under the lychee tree and chatted. When I was in grade three, Grandma passed away.

有时候我和弟弟会爬到荔枝树上坐着。 外婆和妈妈就坐在荔枝树下聊天。 我上三年级的时候，外婆去世了。

Mother hurried back to Grandma's house. When she came back, she didn't say anything, but looked at the lychee tree. I thought, Grandma was not just Grandma, she was also my mother's mother. A few days later, the lychee tree was blown down in a typhoon, Mother gazed at the fallen tree for a long time.

妈妈匆匆赶回了外婆家。 她回来的时候，什么话也没说， 只是一直望着那棵荔枝树。 我心里想，外婆不只是我的外婆， 她也是妈妈的妈妈呀。 几天之后，那棵荔枝树被台风吹倒了， 妈妈盯着倒下的树看了好久好久。