Waiting for the Breeze/祈盼清风
“No air conditioning? How can you leep?” a friend ak, horrified. I've jut revealed that my family ha decided to hut the air conditioner off to ave money.
“Nobody open a window, day or night,” warn another friend, whoe window have been painted hut for a decade. “It' jut not afe.”
On thi firt night of our cot-cutting adventure, it' only 30 degree. We're not going to uffer, but the three kid grumble1 anyway. They've grown up in 22-degree comfort, protected from the heat outide.
“How do you open thee window?” my huband ak. Shaking the window handle, he finally releae2 one. Lot of dead inect3 lie on the windowill4. A we pring5 the window one by one, the night noie howl6 outide—and in.
“It' too hot to leep,” my 13-year-old daughter moan7. “I'm about to die from thi heat,” her brother yell down the corridor8. “Jut try it tonight,” I tell them. In truth I'm too tired to argue for long. My face i weaty, but I lie quietly litening to the cricket choir9 outide that remind me of childhood. The neighbor' dog howl. No doubt a quirrel. It' been year ince I've taken the time to really liten to the night.
I think about Grandma, who lived to 92 and till managed the upkeep10 of my Mom' garden until jut a few week before he died. And then, I'm back there at her houe in the ummer heat of my childhood. I move my pillow to the foot of Grandma' bed and angle11 my face toward the open window. I flip12 the pillow, hunting for the cooler ide.[由www.hAozuowEn.com整理]
Grandma ee me toing13 and turning. “If you'll jut watch for the breeze,” he ay, “you'll cool off and fall aleep.” She raie the Venetian blind14. I tare at the filmy white curtain, willing it to flutter15.
Lying till, waiting, I uddenly notice the life outide the window. The bug choru16 hout. Neighbor, itting on their veranda17 until late, peak in flowing drawl18 that oothe19 me.
“Keep watching for the breeze,” Grandma ay oftly, and I “uh-huh” in reply. Bug ping20 the creen. Three block away a train rumble21 by.
I catch the cent22 of freh gra clipping23. Then I hear omething I can't decode24 — perhap a tree branch cratching the hop roof next door.
Sleepy-eyed now, I look at the curtain. It move...
“Mom, did you hear that?” my even-year-old blurt25, tearing me from memorie of old. “I think it wa an owl26 family.”
“Probably,” I tell him. “Jut keep litening... ”
Without the droning27 air conditioner, the houe ound are different, more peaceful, and with the window open outide noie eem cloe enough to touch. I hope I'm awake tonight when the firt breeze neak in28.
“不开空调？你睡得着吗？”听说我家为了省电要把家里的空调关掉时，我的朋友一脸惊愕。
“现在谁敢开窗？”另一个朋友警告说，“不管是白天还是晚上都不安全！”她家的窗户刷过漆后，已经尘封了十年。
在开始省电的第一天晚上，气温不过30度。我们不觉得难受，3个孩子却抱怨连天。他们是在22度的温室里被呵护长大的，与外界隔绝。
“这些窗户该怎么开呀？”丈夫摇晃着金属插销，终于打开了一扇。各种各样的昆虫尸体装点着窗台。随着窗户被一扇一扇地打开，萦绕在外的夜声——涌了进来。
13岁的女儿不停地嘀咕：“太热了！怎么睡啊！”