The Legacy
When my husband， Bob， died very suddenly in January 1994， I received condolences from people I hadn't heard from in years： letters， cards， flowers， calls， visits. I was overwhelmed with grief， yet uplifted by this outpouring of love from family， friends and even mere acquaintances.
One message touched me profoundly. I received a letter from my best friend from sixth grade through high school. We had drifted somewhat since graduation in 1949， as she stayed in our hometown and I had not. But it was the kind of friendship that could quickly resume even if we lost touch for five or ten years.
Her husband， Pete， had died perhaps 20 years ago at a young age， leaving her with deep sorrow and heavy res- ponsibilities： finding a job and raising three young children. She and Pete， like Bob and I， had shared one of those rare， close， "love-of-your-life-you-can-never- forget" relationships.
In her letter she shared an anecdote about my mother （now long deceased）。 She wrote， "When Pete died， your dear mother hugged me and said， 'Trudy， I don't know what to say… so I'll just say I love you.'"
She closed her letter to me repeating my mother's words of so long ago， "Bonnie， I don't know what to say … so I'll just say I love you."
I felt I could almost hear my mother speaking to me now. What a powerful message of sympathy！ How dear of my friend to cherish it all those years and then pass it on to me. I love you. Perfect words. A gift. A legacy.
當我的丈夫鮑勃在1994年1月突然去世時，一些多年沒有聯系的朋友紛紛通過信件、卡片、鮮花、電話和拜訪等方式表示吊唁。雖然我沉浸在無限的悲傷之中，但這些來自親朋好友，甚至只是相識的人們的愛，使我受到了極大的鼓舞。
其中一封信深深地觸動了我。那是我從六年級到高中時代最要好的朋友寄來的。自從1949年我們畢業后，大家都各奔東西了。她留在了家鄉，而我卻沒有。然而，我們是那種即使五年甚至十年沒有聯系，友情卻能迅即恢復的朋友。
她的丈夫皮特英年早逝，已經離開人世20多年了。留給她的是深深的悲痛和沉重的責任：她必須找份工作，并撫養三個年幼的孩子。她和皮特之間的感情就像我和鮑勃之間的一樣，是那種世間罕有的、親密的、“一生無法忘記”的感情。
在信中她告訴我一件有關我那已經去世很久的母親的軼事。她寫道：“皮特去世的時候，你那親愛的母親擁抱著我說：”特魯迪，我不知道該說些什么……我只想說，我愛你。'“
她在寫給我的信的結尾引用了我母親多年前說過的那句話：“邦妮，我不知道該說些什么……我只想說，我愛你。”
那一刻，我覺得我幾乎能夠聽見母親正在對我說這句話。這是一句多么富有同情心的話語啊！我的朋友將它珍藏了這么多年，此時又將它傳遞給我，她是多么真誠啊！我愛你。多么完美的語言！一份愛的遺贈。
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