夏天裡的春天

氣溫攀升到近三十度已有十來天，衣櫃裡的短袖T恤紛紛出爐，一度以為夏日時光就此正式展開。然而這週氣溫驟降到十幾度，清早出門披上外套還可嗅到涼意。

下班前，照例關上窗戶，望向窗外小徑，頓時回想起從前在台灣，下班後總會刻意步行一段路到台北車站搭捷運。走這段路，不但活動了久坐會議室的雙腳，釋放被關在大樓一整天的視線，還能一邊觀察夜裡的城市生息。短短十幾分鐘，卻可以抖去囤積一天的雜念，重整思緒，獲致清醒。

但自從來到荷蘭，上下班都以車代步，此刻不由想念起獨自散步的時光。於是上了車，把車窗都搖下來，一路吹著風，至少感染幾口新鮮自由的空氣。

本來應該先開車到超市採買再回家，但決定直接驅車回家將車停好，再徒步走到超市。傍晚氣溫來到十八度，既沒有前兩週的悶熱，晨間的冷意此時也換成一席清爽。我的步伐因此不見忙碌一天的疲憊，我笑著對自己說，這算不算是夏天裡的一個小春天。

採買完走出超市，門口一位女士拿著剛買的餅乾自在地吃了起來，陽光溫和底灑落在大伙兒的臉龐。突然之間，光暈裡好像漂浮著的一種淡淡的笑容。我轉個身往回家的方向走去，迎著這涼涼的空氣，憶起電影《Stranger Than Fiction》裡的最後一個場景，男主角車禍大難不死，鏡頭帶到他躺在醫院病床上，接著穿插著生活片段的剪影，電影用Emma Thompson帶著理性美口吻的那段旁白作結。

As Harold took a bite of Bavarian sugar cookie, he finally felt as if everything was going to be ok. Sometimes, when we lose ourselves in fear and despair, in routine and constancy, in hopelessness and tragedy, we can thank God for Bavarian sugar cookies. And, fortunately, when there aren't any cookies, we can still find reassurance in a familiar hand on our skin, or a kind and loving gesture, or subtle encouragement, or a loving embrace, or an offer of comfort, not to mention hospital gurneys and nose plugs, an uneaten Danish, soft-spoken secrets, and Fender Stratocasters, and maybe the occasional piece of fiction. And we must remember that all these things, the nuances, the anomalies, the subtleties, which we assume only accessorise our days, are effective for a much larger and nobler cause. They are here to save our lives. I know the idea seems strange, but I also know that it just so happens to be true. And, so it was, a wristwatch saved Harold Crick.

當然，這段漫步所帶來的清新並沒有偉大到拯救了我的一天。不過那夏天裡的春天的想法，卻已經醞釀了足夠的浪漫，教我意外尋獲了一個嶄新的夜晚。