啟程
2027年12月25日，星期日，霧
薄霧籠罩下的城市如仙境般，靜謐而圣潔。而與之反襯的，是城里人們飛快的節(jié)奏——有人打著電話安排著一天的工作任務(wù)，有人用著微信查看新收到的99+條消息，有人踏著急匆匆的腳步奔向公司……
而對于我來說，這是再平常不過的一天。起床，洗臉刷牙，跟家人說早安，吃飯，下樓，向地鐵站走去。每日的活動早已成了Routine，有時候腦海中會響起猜火車中耐人尋味的臺詞——
“選擇生命，選擇工作，選擇職業(yè)，選擇家庭，選擇可惡的大彩電，選擇洗衣機、汽車、雷射碟機，選擇健康、低膽固醇和牙醫(yī)保險，選擇樓宇按揭，選擇你的朋友，選擇套裝、便服和行李，選擇分期付款和三件套西裝，選擇收看無聊的游戲節(jié)目，邊看邊吃零食......選擇你的未來，選擇生命……太多選擇，你選擇什么，我選擇不選擇。”
而這個想法，也不過是一閃而過而已。畢竟這一切，都是無法逃避的命運。
到了地鐵站，只見有一個排隊口一個人都沒有。我心中閃過一絲疑慮，但也沒再多想，順理成章地走到了那。上車后，只見這節(jié)車廂里依然只有我一個人?！霸趺椿厥?？”我心想，事情似乎有些不對勁。這時候，有一個小男孩走了過來，驚奇的是，我似乎在哪看過這張臉，但又想不起來。
小男孩對我說:"你好，我叫Charles，我可以坐你旁邊嗎？"
“當(dāng)然可以” 我不假思索地答道。
“大哥哥，你就是Eric吧？”
霎時，無數(shù)疑惑涌進我的腦海——他是誰？為什么知道我的名字？為什么他的臉看起來有種莫名的熟悉感？為什么這一節(jié)車廂會只有我和他兩個人？
“呃...沒錯，我英文名是叫Eric，你是怎么知道的？”我驚訝地望著眼前這個貌不驚人的小孩。
“哈哈，就不告訴你。有人要我來跟你聊聊天，你現(xiàn)在一天都是咋渡過的？”
“呃...老樣子吧。每天7點起床，搭地鐵去到公司。完成一天的任務(wù)，回家后看看美劇，有時候娃不聽話還需要教育下他?！蔽液唵蔚卮鸬?。
“噢，這樣啊。那你今年的計劃是啥？”
“計劃？我早就不做那種東西啦?？赡苣氵€小，遇到的事情還不多。但是當(dāng)你長大以后，你會發(fā)現(xiàn)，大多數(shù)情況下你的計劃都只是你的幻想而已。這個世界上有太多的變數(shù)，一個人要堅持追求自己認為對的東西太難了。還不如放棄那些無謂的執(zhí)念，過好當(dāng)下的生活多好？”
……
……
……
場面靜了下來，半晌不見Charles的回話。
“你變了?！?/b>Charles低聲說到。
“哈？？”我睜大雙眼望著眼前這個小男孩，感覺越發(fā)不可思議。我變了？意思是他知道我以前是怎樣一個人？但這不可能啊，我應(yīng)該沒見過他，難道他是我某個哥們的小孩？
Charles站了起來，手放到我肩膀上，對我說到：“我給你看些東西吧”
星夜
我不知怎么地被傳送到了一個森林里。頭頂是皎潔的月亮和漫天的繁星，空氣異常地清新。耳邊時不時傳來陣陣鳥叫聲，與溪流的聲音混雜在一起，構(gòu)成了一幅完美的自然畫作。感嘆之余，看見前面有火光?！坝腥?！”作為Discovery迷的我腦中第一反應(yīng)便是這個，隨即跨著大步跑向光源處。
走到火堆旁時，眼前的場景令我的下巴幾乎掉了下來！面前坐著的這兩人正是《飛屋環(huán)游記》里的Carl和Russell.我結(jié)巴地說到：“Hey,guys! I'm Eric.I accidentally run into this forest,could I share the fire with you?”
"Of course.It's really surprise to see someone else in this forest."Carl回答道。
而正如在小說里面描述的場景一樣，Carl和Russell說到了各自的身世。但是，實景遠比文字來得震撼地多。我看見了Russell提及爸爸時臉上帶有希冀而又略顯失望的表情，看見了Carl聽后若有所思地盯著火堆中搖曳的火星，眼中透露出萬般錯綜復(fù)雜感。
似乎想到了什么，我走到Russell面前，問道：“Russell.If I tell you that there would be far more danger than you could imagine in the following adventure, would you still stick to your heart and keep going?”
他回到：“Why not? I wanna be a?senior?wilderness?explorer, and explorer will never be afraid of danger!”
我欣慰地笑了，想起了曾經(jīng)的自己——那個永遠懷揣夢想，誓言有再大困難也不慫的自己。
“You'll make it. Trust me!”我對Russell說到。
只見不遠處出現(xiàn)一個人影，仔細一看，竟是Charles。他揮手示意讓我過去，我意識到是時候走了。于是對兩個人說：“Thanks,you two really gave me a good lesson.”
廢墟
這一次，我被傳送到了Memory Dump.然而奇怪的是，沒見到Bing Bong，相反，有一個房子建在廢墟的正中央，沐浴著廢墟之頂灑下的唯一一束光。我走向前敲門，只聽見“咚咚咚”的腳步聲傳來。果然，開門的正是Bing Bong,它長的還是跟之前一樣，甚至更為精神了。
“Who are you?”Bing Bong驚奇地看著我。
"uh..It's actually hard to explain, but you can think of me as a sort of special memory created by accident."機智的我臨時編了個假話……
“Oh,so you just come from the upside?”
“Yeah,by the way, Riley really misses you.” 我回答到。
"Hah,I know.It's been 10 years since I fell from the upside.However, the good thing is that I can still watch her through the mirror in my home.During all those years,she met lots of obstacles, some of which really caused great pain..."
"But that's called growing."我打斷道.
"Yeah,you got my point.In her young and more vulnerable years, Riley talked to me every time she felt sad.After I fell to this dump,however,she can no longer rely on me just like before.What she needed to do since then was to think independently and deliver the right solution of every single problem she encountered.You know what, I can go back to the upside at any time I want.But actually if I do that,Riley can never grow up, which is exactly what I don't wanna see.It is true that growing always comes with pain,but that's what life is all about——Saying goodbye and be a better person."
頓時，我明白了。其實每個人這一生都在不斷地告別，無論是和我們童年時的幼稚告別，與過去的自己告別，亦或是與自己珍視的人告別，這些事情都無法避免。但或許這未必是壞事——告別幼稚，走向成熟；告別錯誤的習(xí)慣，找到更優(yōu)秀的自己；告別自己重視的人，從傷心中孕育出更堅強、更獨立的自己……
門外又傳來了敲門聲，我意識到我又需要走了。我對Bing Bong說：“It's really nice to hear your mindful sharing. I believe all those memories you made with Riley will never fade away. They are like flames glittering in the darkness,lighting up the right path when she lost her way.”
大學(xué)
這次來到的是Mike的宿舍。Charles對我說：“為了防止你嚇到Mike，我暫時把你變成Scott的樣子?！蔽尹c頭同意。
Mike看到我時很熱情：“Hey,Scott,how you doing?”
我答到：“Great,uh...Mike,actually I come here to ask you a few questions,would you mind?”
"Of course not,what do you wanna know?"Mike干脆地回答道。
"You know,you've read a lot of books,right? Do you think they really have helped you? I mean,many successful monsters do not read at all,but they still succeeded. Don't you think reading is some sort of useless thing?"
"Well,Scott,I really did not expect this.I thought you know me well. "Mike臉上露出驚訝而失望的神情?！?/p>
"No,no,no,Mike,don't get me wrong.It's nothing personal. Actually I'm also reading lots of books these days,but I don't know whether it'll work out fine.Sometimes I feel I'm like an idiot,learning in the library instead of playing with our friends."我解釋到。
"I got your point,Scott. I know how you feel. Remember the final exam? I passed the test in that Sully did some tricks on the measuring device,otherwise I must had failed. I admit that there are something innate that you can't change whatever you tried.For example, I'm not scary.No matter how many tactics I learned from books,I cannot change the fact."
“So,why are you still……”
“Here's the point” Mike很快地打斷了我，“But,if I do not read,how do I know how to lead my team? If I do not read, how can I come up with the idea to scare those human adults at the critical moment? If I do not read, what else can I do to make me a qualified monster?”
我一時語塞……是啊，對于Mike來說，讀書是他唯一可走的走向成功的道路。確實，這世上很多人并不需要讀多少書也能夠成功，但是那又有多少呢？幸存者偏差造成的認知陷阱使很多人認為“讀書無用”，甚至譏諷那些高學(xué)歷的讀書人。現(xiàn)在想來，是否也是有幾分荒謬？
盡管一部分疑惑解決了，但是還是覺得有啥沒完，我繼續(xù)問到：“Oh,Mike,what you said really impressed me. But I still have some doubt. You know, there are many people read as much books as you do. However, they ended up knowing nothing more than mere 'knowledge' in their head. I mean, they can't actually apply what they learned to deal with practical things such as scaring people or leading a team. Why would this kind of phenomenon exists?"
Mike思考了一會兒，笑著對我說："Scott, do you remember the first time I lead you guys across the ground full of toxic urchin? At that time, the only thing in my mind is TO WIN, regardless of any tactics employed. To be honest, knowledge without practicing is mere rubbish that could even do harm to you. So you can see, I carefully designed every course of action based on my knowledge ever since the "sewer nightmare" happened. So, do you know what I mean?"
"Of course"我答到，感覺醍醐灌頂。“I got your point. Knowledge and action form one thread. If someone only learn knowledge without wielding it, what he/she did was just a waste of time. Thanks, Mike. Really thank you, I think I've already found the exact answer I want!”
我看了門外的Charles一眼，發(fā)現(xiàn)他會心地笑著。哈，想必這也是他想要我知道的東西吧！
城堡
這一次，我來到了野獸的城堡。我算是見過很多華麗場所的人，但是此般富麗堂皇的宮殿我還是首次見到。這次，Charles把我變成了一個水杯。我走進野獸的房間里，發(fā)現(xiàn)他正隔著窗眺望遠方。
“看來現(xiàn)在的情節(jié)是發(fā)展到Belle剛走那會。”我心想。
我走向前問道：“Master, could I ask you a question?”?
野獸轉(zhuǎn)過身來，他的眼中透露出對Belle的無盡思念，巨大的身體之下藏著的是一顆與凡人無異的心。他說：“Go ahead.”
我整理了下思路，說到：“You love Belle,right? We all know. But why did you let her go? Wouldn't it be better if you to ask her to stay, and then we could all be turned back to normal again?”
野獸沉吟了片刻，說：“Some things are best left unsaid.”
"Why?Now the only thing you need is time, which is exactly what we lack. Since the enchanted rose is reaching the end of its life……"我追問到。
“I know. The fundamental problem is——I really love her. Belle's mother died when Belle was just a child, after that Belle was raised by his father. She doesn't have many friends at her villages because of her "weird habits".So her father means everything to her. Now what she needs to do is to save his father, rather than to stay here with a beast. If you really love someone, but you can't be with her, it is better to let her go."
想必野獸說出這一番話也很不容易吧……我心想。他的眼神中顯露出那種愛卻觸不可及的無奈。也許很多人都有過這樣的經(jīng)歷，愛過一個人，但是卻知道永遠無法和他/她在一起。而這時也許最該做的事，便是放手了。
“Now I understand, master. You did a right thing.”
他笑了笑，沒有露出鋒利的獠牙。繼續(xù)走向窗邊，向遠方看去……
Charles拍了拍我的肩，霎時場景再度切換——
“回家”
終于，我們又回到了地鐵上。
Charles對我說：“你現(xiàn)在知道我想說啥了吧？”
我微笑地點點頭。周圍的一切還是那么熟悉，12月凌冽的冬風(fēng)從列車縫里吹進，直往人骨子里鉆。但是那么多年來第一次，我感覺到實實在在的存在感。
我對Charles說："這么多年來，我變得越來越不像自己了。當(dāng)年那個滿懷夢想的自己消失了，我變得膽小、世俗。我害怕改變，害怕走出自己的舒適圈。我不再看書，覺得那只是虛無的安撫自己心靈的東西而已。我不再嘗試新鮮事物，認為‘傳統(tǒng)’永遠是最好的……"
“那如果給你一個再來一次的機會呢？”
“我會過一個令自己無悔的人生！”我堅定地答到。話畢，突然，我總算想起來了在哪兒見過這張臉。
“你就是我吧？”
Charles笑了，眼前的景象開始破碎，空間開始扭曲。他的臉也變得模糊起來，最后伴隨著一聲巨響——
……
……
……
耳邊響起熟悉的鐘聲，我抬頭驀然發(fā)現(xiàn)自己坐在圖書館里。窗外的樹影在搖曳，棲在樹上的鳥兒嘰嘰喳喳地叫著。斜陽灑在桌上，反射出略微刺眼的光芒。看了一下電腦上的時間——
“2017年11月19號”
（完）
