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老 爱 情

苏童

    我这里说的爱情故事也许会让一些读者失望,但是当我说完这个故事后,相信也有一些读者会受到一丝震动。

    话说20世纪70年代,我们香椿树街有一对老夫妇,当时是六七十岁的样子,妻子身材高挑,白皮肤,大眼睛,看得出来年轻的时候是个美人;丈夫虽然长得不丑,但是一个矮子。他们出现在街上,乍一看,不配,仔细一看,却是天造地设的一对。为什么这么说呢?这时老夫妻彼此之间是镜子,除了性别不同,他们的眼神相似,表情相似,甚至两人脸上的黑痣,一个在左脸颊,一个在右脸颊,也是配合得天衣无缝。他们到煤店买煤,一只箩筐,一根扁担,丈夫在前面,妻子在后面,这与别人家夫妇扛煤的位置不同,没有办法,不是他们别出心裁,是因为那丈夫矮、力气小,做妻子的反串了男角。

    他们有个女儿,嫁出去了。女儿把自己的孩子丢在父母那里,也不知是为了父母,还是为了自己。她自己大概一个星期回一次娘家。

    这是一个星期天的下午,女儿在外面“嘭嘭嘭”敲门,里面立即响起一阵杂沓的脚步声,老夫妇同时出现在门边,两张苍老而欢乐的笑脸,笑起来两个人的嘴角居然都向右边歪着。

    但女儿回家不是来向父母微笑的,她的任务似乎是为埋怨和教训她的双亲。她高声地列举出父母所干的糊涂事,包括拖把在地板上留下太多的积水,包括他们对孩子的溺爱,给他吃太多,穿得也太多。她一边喝着老人给她做的红枣汤,一边说:“唉,对你们说了多少遍也没用,我看你们是老糊涂了。”

    老夫妻一听,忙走过去给外孙脱去多余的衣服,他们面带愧色,不敢争辩,似乎默认这么一个事实:他们是老了,是有点老糊涂了。

    过一会儿,那老妇人给女儿收拾好汤碗,突然捂着胸口,猝然倒了下来,死了,据说死因是心肌梗塞。死者人缘好,邻居们听说了都去吊唁。他们看见平日不太孝顺的女儿这会儿哭成了泪人儿了,都不觉得奇怪,这么好的母亲死了,她不哭才奇怪呢!他们奇怪的是那老头,他面无表情,坐在亡妻的身边,看上去很平静。外孙不懂事,就问:“外公,你怎么不哭?”

    老人说:“外公不会哭。外婆死了,外公也会死的,外公今天也会死的。”

    孩子说:“你骗人,你什么病也没有,不会死的。”

    老人摇摇头,说:“外公不骗人,外公今天也要死了。你看外婆临死不肯闭眼,她丢不下我,我也丢不下她。我要陪着你外婆哩。”

    大人们听见老人的话,都多了心眼,小心地看着他。但老人并没有任何自寻短见的端倪,他一直静静地守在亡妻的身边,坐在一张椅子上。他一直坐在椅子上。夜深了,守夜的人们听见老人喉咙里响起一阵痰声,未及人们做出反应,老人就歪倒在亡妻的灵床下面了。这时就听见堂屋里自鸣钟“当当当”连着响了起来,人们一看,正是夜里12点!

    正如他宣布的那样,那矮个子的老人心想事成,陪着妻子一起去了。如果不是人们亲眼看见,谁会相信这样的事情?但这个故事是真实的,那时生死相守的老人确有其人,他们是我的邻居,死于20世纪70年代末的同一天。那座老自鸣钟后来就定格在12点,犹如上了锈一样,任人们怎么拔转就是一动也不动。

    这个故事叙述起来就这么简单,不知道你怎么看,我一直认为这是我一生能说的最动人的爱情故事。

(节选自《现代青年》2011年03期)

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    In recent decades, social isolation has been recognized as a major risk to our health and long life. It's twice as bad for you as being overweight and nearly as bad as smoking. The rising number of people who say they are affected, across a wide range of ages, is shocking. In reality, you can suffer the ill effects of loneliness even if you are not socially isolated.

    Comedian Robin Williams made a striking observation in 2014: “I used to think the worst thing in life was to end up all alone. It's not. The worst thing in life is to end up with people who make you feel all alone.” Tracking large groups over time indicates that perceived(感知的)social isolation carries its own risk for morbidity(发病率)and mortality.

    The perception of isolation—from others of being in the social aspect-is not only a cause of unhappiness, it also signals danger. Fish have evolved to swim to the middle of their group when predators(捕食者)approach, mice housed in social isolation show sleep disruptions and reduced slow-wave sleep and prairie voles(田鼠)isolated from their partners then placed in an open field explore their surroundings less and concentrate on avoiding predators.

    These behaviours reflect an increased emphasis on self-preservation in the social aspect. For instance, fish on the edge of a school are more likely to be attacked by predators because they are easier to isolate and prey upon. Such observations reflect a more general principle that perceived social isolation in social animals activates neural(神经系统的), neuroendocrine(神经内分泌的)and behavioural responses that promote short-term self-preservation. However, these responses bring a cost for long-term health and well-being.

    The range of harmful neural and behavioural effects of perceived isolation documented in adults include increased anxiety, hostility and social withdrawal; fragmented sleep and daytime tiredness; increased vascular resistance and changed gene expression and immunity; decreased impulse control; increased negativity and depressive symptoms; and increased age-related cognitive decline.

    Sadly, to date, attempts to reduce loneliness have met with limited success. A series of randomized controlled trials showed that they had only a small effect. Among the four types of interventions(介入)examined, talking therapy that focused on inappropriate thought processes had the largest impact. Social skills training, social support and increased opportunities for social contact were much less effective.