When she returned to her room late that afternoon， on her chest was an expanse of billowing white bandage placed by a surgeon’s hands with a precision and delicacy she would have admired. I was reminded of the coverlet she had appliquéd for our children’s cradle when they were infants. The bandage looked gentle and protective—reassuring and not as harsh as I had expected.
Sitting beside her in a dimly lit room that smelled sharply of disinfectant， I realized that because my life was so intertwined with hers， I， too， was a patient. I felt depleted and wrecked as I stared blankly out the window at pink-gray clouds slowly traversing the afternoon sky.
It was almost 7p. m. before she stirred. I heard her moan， and moved to the edge of the bed. I lightly touched her lips with an ice chip from the pitcher on her bedside table， and brushed the gray-flecked hair across her sweaty brow.
“I love you， ”I said.
At these words， her eyes opened hesitantly. At first her gaze seemed confused and unfocused， but for an instant her eyes sharpened with recognition， and a gentle smile lifted the edges of her mouth.
“I love you too， ”she whispered， and then her eyelids shut. I was close to exhaustion and dislocated in time as I recalled the moment I first saw her. It was as if I was young again and the sun was resplendent in the morning sky. She is the one， I said once more in my mind’s voice. She is the one.
第一次见到她时，她正在校园的操场上漫步。我站在那里，目光追随着她的倩影，呆住了。她就是我的至爱，我对自己说。
那正是开学的第一天，我向同学问起她，他们说她已经有男朋友了，让我忘了她。
几个月后，听说她跟男朋友分手了。但是，至少过了半年后，我才向她提出约会的请求。我打电话到寝室找她，紧张得吐字不清，甚至把她的前后名字都说反了。“周六晚上请你吃晚饭，好吗？”提议完，我尴尬极了，害怕她会拒绝。“乐意之至。”她的声音听起来似乎很开心。