It suddenly came to me the awareness of another meaning of life. Once I had thought that Granny sitting in the solitude was waiting silently for her death to come and had no any expectation. I had also considered how bored and bitter she would feel in her loneliness and darkness. But, actually she was spending her days under the sunlight in so calm a mood. Before her eyes the hands of the clock turned backward. The lives of the past were coming back nearer and nearer. She found the lost years and got from them new comfort and pleasure. The real life is the life in one?s memory, and the life in the memory is more vivid than it is in reality. Life lasts forever in the memory.
　　
　　 One day Granny fell ill and was sent to the hospital; I felt very sorry. People said that perhaps she could not get over such an illness, and perhaps she would never be back to the courtyard. When I was alone in the courtyard I always recalled the days when there had been Granny, the black dog and me. I felt lonely and sad. Everyday I asked the one who sent food to the hospital about the condition of Granny. One day someone told me that Granny could eat again, and when she opened her eyes she could clearly tell the stories of her ancestors and perhaps she would come back soon.
　　
　　 Granny did come back to the courtyard again and I was deeply moved by her strong vitality. I then highly valued each day I spent with her in the courtyard. Each day Granny sat there bathing in the warm sunshine and pondering over her past with her head leaned low as before.
　　
　　 That autumn she was visibly weakened and sat fewer and fewer hours in the courtyard. One day she told me, I knew I would come back; I must be back and wait for him at home. She said it was an autumn day, a day like today, leaves fell rustling everywhere, when my husband left early in the morning. He was a good ironsmith, and wore a coat and carried a cloth-wrapper on his back. At the door he said, you?d better not go out of the courtyard, for the baby?s just a month old. When I earn money I?ll surely be back. He said if he could not earn money he would be back before the end of the year. I made a new cotton coat for him, but he hasn?t come back yet. Since that day I
　　
　　 made a new cotton coat for him every autumn, but he still hasn?t come back. Now, I cannot make a coat; I can?t see anything, and if he comes back I cannot make out what he is really like...
　　
　　 I caressed Granny?s hands lightly; they were very cool. A few dead leaves came whirling from the bare trees and threads of cold rain of late autumn fell from the sky. Granny suddenly shivered with cold and her hands shook a little. She said, I feel bad today. It is getting colder again, but why hasn?t he come back yet? In murmuring so, tears rolled slowly down from her dim eyes.
　　
　　 The next day Granny was gone. People of her family said that she got up in the middle of the night and made her way to the middle of the cabinet, and rummaged out of it the coat she had made for her husband. She said it was cold, and she should go and send it to him. She then fell asleep with the coat in her arms. She looked very calm, and people said she had gone
　　
　　 without any suffering.
　　
　　 That left only the black dog and me in the courtyard. It snowed heavily that winter. The white snow buried Granny?s long and persevering expectations. In my obscure meditation there was often a quiet and a bit harsh voice leisurely telling a long story, which had no ending. The figure of Granny had gone with the wind, but her memory still lives on in the green leaves of life.What can I recall when I am old with my hair silver, I asked myself.
　　 我住在小城里一个非常大的院子里，这院子大的几乎叫人很难想象它的尺寸。它就像是两个足球场那么大。我们两家人所住的是那一排孤零零的房子。我们的院子总是沐浴在阳光之中，所以我的邻居们会种植各种各样的蔬菜：黄瓜、茄子、 豆角、西红柿，还有一种很辣的绿色的胡椒。到了夏天，敞开的院子变得五颜六色，红的、绿的、紫的、橘黄的……构成一幅美丽的图画。我们那红色屋顶上尖尖的塔式建筑，反射着太阳的光芒，与被染成天蓝色的门窗相呼应，使人仿佛置身于美丽的童话世界。
　　 通常我们的院子是安静的， 有时候安静得你都能感觉得到它是如此的宽敞，甚至是空旷。我喜欢在这院子里，一边沐浴着阳光、呼吸着新鲜的空气，一边读书。我坐在一棵大树下，闻着树叶间嫩嫩绿绿的芬芳。
　　 这儿有一只黑狗，一只很大的看家狗。对于我来说，他倒是友好的，当我读书的时候，他总是静静地趴在我的轮椅旁边。有时候我会觉得书中的内容太枯燥，我会抬起头来想和谁说说话，但是这种时候没有人陪我交谈。当傍晚夕阳西下的时候，小院被涂上一层金红的颜色，人们下班归来，开始了各自在小院中的生活，大家边打着水，边交谈着。已经放学的孩子们互相追逐着，跑着笑着，连大黑狗也跟在孩子们的后面欢快地叫着。日复一日，人们重复着相同的生活。
　　 突然有一天，院子里不再是只有我和大黑狗，还有一位80多岁的老奶奶，那是我的邻居。老奶奶已经完全失明了。绝大多数情况下，老奶奶是呆在自己的房间里，坐在一把很久的扶手椅上，有时候她会把扶手椅移动到门前，然后安静地坐在那里整整一个下午。我经常会忘了她的存在，在我的意识里，只有我和大黑狗在院子里，但是实际上，院子里有我，有大黑狗，还有一位老奶奶。
　　 一天，我又坐在了大树下，读一位德国生物学家所著的《宇宙奥秘》，我正读的这一章提及了人类发展的历史，作者说，自然界中人类的演进就像是奔腾不息的河流，熊熊燃烧的烈火，正在喷发的火山，或者是山间崩塌的岩石。我其实不能理解作者所说的，我把眼神和思绪转向老奶奶，我看见她就在离我不远的的地方，双手把龙形拐杖放在胸前，低着头，露出脸上那已松弛的肌肉。老奶奶的眼睛轻轻地闭着，静静的，就仿佛她已经睡着了。老奶奶总是这样安静而慈祥。她在想什么呢？她思维的河流仍旧在流淌吗？我想知道她的内心是否孤独，或者是还有别的什么感受？
　　 我把轮椅摇到她的身边，大声地问她：“奶奶，您睡着了么？”
　　 “没有啊，我不困。”老奶奶回答。
　　 “那么，您在想什么呢？”
　　 “我在回忆我年轻的时候和我刚刚结婚时候的事呢。”
　　 我感到很惊讶，我把眼睛睁得大大的就好像是我看到了一弯彩虹。
　　 老奶奶的眼睛仍旧轻轻地闭着，她说：“我年轻的时候，很多的媒人来我家提亲。我的长相一般，总是穿着花色的棉大衣，我的腰却很细，我的头发很漂亮，我总是用芝麻花粉和鸡蛋清洗我的头发，当我走路的时候，我那又黑又粗的辫子就在我的背后摇摆，最后我的辫子达到了五英尺长，我就用一个红绳扎了起来……”
　　 多么不可思议啊！一位80多岁的老奶奶在回忆她年轻时候的事情！我真是不敢想象。其实，老年人一直在保存着他们年轻时候的记忆，这是年轻人无法想象的。
　　 在大树下，我仍旧读着我的《宇宙奥秘》，悄然来临的黄昏遮住了太阳的余晖，这时，我几乎忘记了大黑狗，忘记了老奶奶，也忘记了我自己。