Chapter1.9 创伤在时间中愈合|Time heals most wounds 2

Further along the main road toward Mianzhu, beyond Quake Noodles, loomed several buildings encased in scaffoldings — Hanwang New Town.

离开“地震面馆”，前往绵竹的路上，几座包裹在脚手架里的楼房标志着我们已经到达汉旺新城。

Once these apartments were completed, residents lingering in the old town would move into their new homes and new futures.

这些公寓楼建成后，还住在老城里的居民就可以搬进新家，开始新的生活。

That is, except for 72-year-old He Beiyuan and his wife, Chen Dahui, who I first met months after the disaster.

但这些乔迁新居的人当中可能不会有72岁的贺贝远（音译）和他的妻子陈达辉（音译），震后几个月时我曾经采访过这老两口。

His first son, a local schoolteacher, and 8-year-old grandson had died when the school collapsed.

学校倒塌时，他们在本地当老师的大儿子和一个8岁的孙子不幸遇难。

“I cry every night when I think of them,” he told me, seated on a wooden chair in front of his drooping apartment building next to the clock tower in 2008.

“每天晚上一想起他们我就流眼泪。”2008年贺贝远告诉我。他坐在歪斜的公寓楼前的一把木椅上，旁边就是汉旺钟楼。

Then, he cried.

然后，他哭了起来。

“Five days after the earthquake, we went to the school to dig for their bodies. We buried them behind this hill,” he said, gesturing toward the knoll behind his building.

“地震5天以后，我们去学校挖尸体。后来把他们埋在这座山后。”他说着，指了指公寓楼后的小山丘。

He spoke in cracked whispers interrupted by abrupt shouts as he relayed his trauma. I could barely hear his murmurings. His yells echoed through the ruins. They assumed a phantasmal quality.

回首沉痛的往事，他模糊不清的低语不时又被他的一声大喊打断。我几乎听不清他在说什么。这喊声久久回荡在废墟上空，带着一种幽灵般的质地。

Echoing screams weren’t uncommon in 2008. I’ll never forget the howls of a woman describing the death of her daughter as she returned from picking wild vegetables from a nearby mountainside to feed her remaining children.

2008年时，类似的哭喊并不鲜见。我们还遇到过一位痛失爱女的母亲，她刚从附近山上采野菜回来，准备给其他子女做饭。谈起死去的女儿，她不禁放声痛哭。

I still remember them when trying to fall asleep in the dark.

至今每当我在黑暗中试图入睡时，耳边似乎还会传来他们的哭声。

“I can’t stand this world!” she howled with a voice that seemed otherworldly as it ricocheted off the surrounding distance and bounced back as echoes.

“我受不了这个世界了！”她哭道。这声音传得很远，引起了回声，仿佛是来自另一个世界的应答。

“What is this life?”

“这是什么生活呀！”

I’ll never forget her.

我永远也不会忘记她。

Technician Li Zhongyu used to return to his native Hubei province during the memorial period to visit his father’s grave but had spent the mourning periods in Hanwang since the quake.

技术员李忠宇（音译）以前清明节时总要回湖北老家给父亲扫墓，自从地震后，他一直留在汉旺过清明节。

“I lost a lot of colleagues and friends,” he said. “I want to commemorate them.”

“我失去了很多同事和朋友。”他说，“我想要纪念他们。”

Much had changed for Li and his coworkers since May 12, 2008, when he saw part of the factory explode and went searching the ruins for his wife in Hanwang.

自2008年5月12日之后，李忠宇和他的同事们经历了巨大的变化。那一天，他目睹工厂部分爆炸，然后赶回已成废墟的汉旺家中寻找妻子。

The 29-year-old Hubei native had married her the previous year. She was staying in their new home in Bajiao, caring for their newborn son, while he worked in Hanwang New Town.

这个29岁的湖北人刚刚在前一年结婚。他在汉旺新镇上班时，妻子留在八角的新家照看他们刚出生不久的儿子。

Dongfeng Qilun machinery plant crane operator Wen Rui also spent that Tomb-Sweeping Day in Hanwang, rather than her hometown, Chengdu.

同样留在汉旺过清明的还有在东方汽轮机厂担任塔吊驾驶员的文瑞（音译）。

“I’ll honor those people I knew who didn’t make it,” the 38-yearold said.

“我要纪念那些没能挺过来的朋友。”这位38岁的成都人说。

Surviving the quake and relocating to Bajiao had transformed Wen’s life.

地震后她搬到八角，生活发生了巨大的变化。

Her salary had more than doubled to about 3,000 yuan ($427) a month, and the factory was more advanced, she said.

她的工资翻了一倍还多，每个月收入大约3000元。她说，工厂也比以前先进。

“The big city brings new conveniences but also demands,” she said.

“大城市更方便，但也有更多需求。”她说。

Her 15-year-old daughter’s education was then her greatest concern.

最让她操心的是15岁女儿的教育。

But the girl’s informal learning experiences had broadened, Deng explained.

不过女儿的课余学习面已经比原先广得多。

“Here, we can have a car and take our daughter around on weekends,” Wen said.

“周末我们可以开车带女儿到处逛逛。”

“The city offers more to stimulate her development. She can go to more places, meet more people, see more things. It expands her horizons.”

“城市可以提供更多促进她发展的东西。她可以去更多地方，见更多人，见识更多东西。她的眼界更广了。”

Hanwang resident Jiang Mei said much had changed for her family since the day of the temblor, when she sprinted to her 9-year-old daughter’s school.

另一位汉旺居民蒋梅（音译）说，地震发生时，她立刻跑到9岁女儿的学校，自那时起，生活已经有了很大变化。

“Life’s better than before the quake,” the 36-year-old told me.

“生活比地震前好多了。”这位36岁的女士说。

“We cried then. Now, we’re thankful for what we have. My heart is full of love.”

“那时候我们哭啊，现在我们很感谢拥有的一切。”

She was particularly grateful to have a new home after spending the first night in a tent in the rain.

地震当晚，他们一家在帐篷里过了一夜，天还下起了雨。能有一个新家她特别感激。

“Not only do we have a house, but we also have electrical appliances,” she said.

“我们不光有了家，还有各种电器。”蒋梅说。

But the changes hadn’t merely been material.

变化也不仅发生在物质方面。

“The disaster showed we should teach our daughter to love and help others, and be grateful for the help she receives,” Jiang said.

“这场灾难告诉我们，应该教会女儿去爱别人、帮助别人，对她得到的帮助要感恩。”

“The disaster showed me we should all live this way. Our town has learned this lesson.”

“地震告诉我，我们都应该这样生活。我们全镇都学到了这一课。”

It was a lesson learned over time.

这是通过时间学到的一课。