那些花儿，随风而逝

那些花儿，那些青涩的笑容，那些稚嫩的留言，会随风而逝吗？
什么时候开始对本该厌倦的三点连线（教室——寝室——食堂）有丝丝的眷恋？
什么时候开始看着熟悉的人有流泪的冲动？是怕有一天会不记得那张面庞？是怕以后再也看不见这么亲切的笑容？
到底是什么时候，时间侵蚀了我们的记忆，那些我们以为可以珍藏久久的记忆？

It’s been seven years since it was placed here, beneath a huge stack of old newspapers on a rack loaded with books.
　　这张照片放在这里有七年了。它就在装满书的书架里那一大堆旧报纸的下面。
　　It had been seven years since it came into this world, born from the silvery solution of the photographic tray. Rediscovered from the bottom of that dirt-laden heap, it was able to see the light, still in good state. It was such a relief! Surprisingly, its co-lors had still not turned yellowish pale. 1)squinted my eyes, straining to recognize those emerging faces. Blurred images, faint, yet distinct memories.
　　这张照片从冲印盘的银色溶液中诞生已经七年了。在那一大堆布满灰尘的报纸下面被重新发现后，这张照片又重见天日了，它仍旧完好无损，这真让人舒了一口气！令人惊讶的是，照片还没有泛黄褪色。我眯起眼，努力辨认照片上的那些脸。模糊的样子，微弱但却清晰的记忆。
    There, in the background, stood that not-so-white wall of the classroom, bearing signs of the 2)onslaught of creativity, when they were present. In front of it stood a bunch of 3)bubbly, youthful adolescent teens, grinning ear-to-ear.

　　照片的背景是教室里的一面不怎么白的墙壁，上面经常画满了来不及清理的涂鸦，那是青少年创作欲漫溢的体现。墙的前面站着一群十多岁的活泼、朝气蓬勃的青少年，他们正笑得合不拢嘴。
  
　　Standing in the corner on the left was Anu, a girl with a short 4)hairdo and still shorter skirt. Shy Deepa stood next, attempting a smile, yet, unwilling to say “Cheese”. Holding her hand was Bhanu, with a 5)vivacious smile and loads of baby fat. Near her were radiant Payal and 6)unassuming Leena. Last among the girls was Sani, the one with silken voice. To the extreme right corner, was Bunty, who would 7)crack jokes anywhere and anytime. Next to him, dark and handsome, was Aashu. Along him were the chubby and mischievous Sanjoo, and the lanky Rajat, ready with his characteristic smirk. Then, 8)trespasser Dangi and sporty Raju, forced their way in, just in time. Completing the picture, brown-eyed Dwari and the baby-faced, curly-haired Paploo, were standing in the middle.
　　站在左边那个角落的是安努，一个留短发穿短裙的女孩，裙子比头发还短呢！害羞的迪芭站在她旁边，努力要挤出一个微笑，却不愿意说能装出微笑模样的字眼“茄子”。挽着她的手的是脸上带着活泼微笑且有婴儿肥的布哈努。她旁边站着光芒四射的佩瑶和朴实的莉娜。最后一个女孩叫珊妮，她有一副柔美如绸的嗓音。最右边那个角落站着随时随地都会说笑话的邦提。他旁边站着皮肤黝黑而样子很帅气的阿舒。阿舒旁边是胖胖的喜欢搞恶作剧的山乔和瘦长的随时准备露出他那标志性的傻笑的罗嘉特。接着是闯入镜头的丹吉和爱好运动的罗纪，他们刚好找到空隙挤入镜头。最后，站在中间的褐眼德瓦瑞以及长着娃娃脸和一头卷发的潘普鲁使照片完整了。

    Eighteenth February, 1993…I remembered the date, as my mind strolled down memory lane, recalling thoughts, trying to sketch some images. That was the last day at school, after the formal “FAREWELL” just ahead of those “oh-so-important and scary” 9)CBSE exams. Everyone had gathered to say “GOOD-BYE” to the place where we had spent our schooldays. After that, they were of their own, ready to enter a world with no boundaries. That empty classroom was a world within a world, which was theirs 10)in their own right. It was there when they tried and tried to solve all those tricky 11)theorems; it smiled as they read the “Love across salt desert”. It was an audience of those musical sessions at lunchtime; and a silent spectator of many fights, and of heartbreaks, too. The chatter of girls, the 12)grumbling of teachers, the rumble of feet, the colors of 13)Holi, the birthday cakes, the crushes, and blushes, too…
　　1993年2月18日……当我的思想沿着记忆的线路漫游时，我记起了那个日子，回忆着，试图捕捉到一些影像。那是我们在学校的最后一天，已经考过了那些“如此重要又如此让人恐慌的”中等教育中心委员会所规定的考试，之前也举行过了正式的道别会。所有人都聚在一起，向我们度过校园生活的地方告别。那以后，他们每个人都要到大千世界里独自闯荡了。那间空空的教室是世界里的另一个天地，属于他们，自成一体。就是在那里，他们一次又一次地努力弄懂那些棘手的数学定理。当他们读到“穿越盐漠的爱”时，教室微笑了。它是午餐时间的音乐盛会的听众，也默默目睹了上演多次的争斗和心碎。那里还留下了女孩们的喋喋不休、老师们的喃喃不平、跺脚声、胡里节的颜料、生日蛋糕、一时的迷恋和阵阵脸红……
　　It had seen all. The classroom was with them, in everything they did and whatever they had planned. It stood among their hopes, dreams, frustrations, sorrows, and happiness—almost everything. Moreover, on that day the white wall at the back of the classroom was the witness of them all, coming together, even if for a single moment only. I found myself transported back to 1993. Seven years are not that long a period, yet, much must have changed since then. All fourteen of them might have changed now, that moment long forgotten.
　　它见证了一切。他们每做一件事，每订一个计划，教室都和他们同在。它就站立在他们当中，分享他们的希望、梦想、沮丧、悲伤和快乐——几乎一切。此外，教室后面那堵白墙当天还见证了他们所有人的相聚，即使只有短短一瞬间。我发现自己被带回到1993年。七年并不是那么长的一段时间，但自那以后，很多东西肯定都已经变了。现在，他们这14个人可能全部都改变了，也早已忘了拍这张照片的那个时刻。
　　I wonder and think about them, about their faces, looks, minds and hearts; about their careers, as well.
　　我想象着他们的脸庞、外表、思想以及心灵——不知他们的职业生涯又如何呢？
　　Time changes everything. Nevertheless, for me, that moment seems as eternal as if it all happened yesterday, as nostalgia drifts in the air, with the echoes of their voices trapped inside that classroom.
　　时间改变一切。然而，对于我来说，那个时刻似乎是永恒的，彷佛就发生在昨天。怀旧之情漂浮在空气中，伴随着他们被封存在那间教室里的声音的回响。

crack 说（笑话），开玩笑
CBSE印度中等教育中心委员会，此委员会颁发的毕业证书将决定印度孩子未来的第一步，也是学生们进入大学的敲门砖
in one's own right 根据自己的能力或合法权利