Location: USA
Interests: I love kickboxing and aerobics~I teach both~along with my poetry~they are my passions

Extra Info: I love making new friends... Come dream with me~ The words written on these pages are words from my mind, soul, heart, they are me, I am them.. we are one, no one can take who I have become, nor take what I write, and make it the same thought... I can

''She Was His Greatest Gift''
by LynnDakota

She slept beside him, quietly breathing a soft sigh followed by a
little whimper. 'She must be in pain,' he thought. 'She tries so hard to hide it from me.' How peaceful she looks, then just as suddenly her face would tighten, and a small little tear would fall from the corner of her eye. Six months ago, a year, this was unreal... a doctor's visit for a knawing stomach ache. She hid it well for months, and then couldn't hide it any longer after passing out on the kitchen floor while making his favorite dinner. They were celebrating a two-year anniversary of cohabitating together.
Their romance was such a beautiful stroke of luck. They'd both signed up for a literature course, an evening class at the near by college. Both with a yearning desire to write, and a way to polish up on their writing skills.
Her name was Colleen; she was 5'5 tall, long brown hair, dark brown eyes that sparkled when she smiled, she wasn’t beautiful, just pretty in a plain, simple way.
She was always five minutes late for class, thus he noticed her right away. Loved the way she bounced into the room as if the professor was her father, and he would forgive her anything.
He loved the way she nodded her head at the class, saying she was sorry she was late, …..again, then almost laughing at herself.
The professor was always allowing it, which was strange because he was a crass man, very blunt, very dignified. Yet when she smiled at him, he too seemed to melt.
He guessed her to be about 32 to 38 years of age, sharp, always a quick study in class.

One night the professor had them break into groups, they were to write an interview of a famous poet. One person would play the poet, trying to keep in mind the poets background, and answer questions as he or she would, or as they already had information on. The other student would do the interviewing. They were to number off 1 ... 2... 1... 2 and that would be their partner. They would have two weeks to turn in their interviews, and the one that played the poet was to grade the interviewer for thoroughness, and the professionalism of it’s content.
Tapping the person in front of him, he managed to get himself situated to be her number one. Just as he wanted to do, in every sense of the word.
'Now students,' the professor spoke loudly, 'You should make arrangements tonight, for getting together with your partner.'
Turning around to look at her, he smiled, extended his hand out, and spoke, 'Hi, my name is Andrew, Andrew Brooks.”
'Yes, I know,' she answered back, 'My name is Colleen Collins.'
Giving his hand a hard squeeze.
Surprised he paused in the middle of a sentence, then continued, 'Hello, Colleen, when could we get together?'
'How about coffee at the Chalet Coffee House; say tomorrow night at eight?'
'Wonderful, shall I pick you up somewhere?' he asked.
Hoping to find out where she lived.
'I'll meet you there, Andrew.' She stood to leave, and he wanted to grab her, keep her there, but before he could react, she was bouncing out the door. He smiled inside out; this lady was such a breath of fresh air!
He thought about her face, her neck.. dreamed about making love to her. He was completely captivated by her voice, loved the way her jeans seem to make her look so feminine and the way she dressed so simply. He closed his eyes, remembering her fragrance, like a clean, delicate, vanilla lace. Much like smelling mother's cookies baking on a Saturday afternoon, in a warm, cozy kitchen, when he was young.
His heart raced, as he thought of tomorrow night's meeting.
Andrew arrived early to get a table towards the back, where they could have a little more privacy. Asking the waiter for a small appetizer plate of cheese, and crackers, some fresh shrimp, and cocktail sauce, and a touch of fresh fruit to give the plate color. Then thinking wine would be nice, but maybe she didn't drink... no better stick to coffee, and see where this goes.

True to her nature, Colleen was ten minutes late. 'I'm so sorry, Andrew... I'm always late, I just can't seem to finish things I start and then I loose track of time, and I'm late!'
'No problem... I hope you don't mind, I ordered a appetizer platter?'
'Oh how lovely.' she said with a sweet sexy grin.
They worked on the interview for three hours, in between laughing about his mis-pronouncing words, and her constant questions about his life. He was amazed how she drew things out of him, so easily without trying hard at all! No woman had ever made him feel so comfortable, so relaxed.
She talked of her family, her mother's death a year ago, and a failed marriage. She explained she was a kindergarten teacher, and that her ex-husband traveled, and eventually found someone else.
No children though so at least there wasn't that to deal with, but still she was devastated, she hadn’t even thought about dating again, it was just too painful of an experience, and it had been two years since her divorce. She grew quiet with that confession, seeing the pain on her face, Andrew fought back the urge to hold her hand.

After about two hours, they finally picked a poet to interview. Both discovering they loved poetry, they picked Emily Dickinson, Colleen of course would be Emily.
Discovering the lateness of the hour, and wanting to extend the assignment so as to get to know Colleen better, Andrew looked at his watch, and claimed an early meeting at work in the morning, and could they please meet again this week?
Colleen pulled out her pocket calendar, and smiling asked if Friday night would be out of the question? Andrew jumped at the chance, and then feeling a little foolish, he declared,
“I guess my life hasn’t been so great in the last few years either.” They both laughed, and she grabbed his hand, jolting him with the element of surprise. He jumped, but luckily didn’t pull away. For a few brief seconds they looked into each other’s eyes. Then as Colleen stood to leave. Andrew stood up, asking to walk her to her car. Saying their good nights there, under a dim-glowing street light, Andrew fought back the urge to kiss her.

They had six more meetings after that first night. Each time Colleen was at least ten minutes late, till the seventh night, when she was fifteen minutes early, and he was late.
Andrew arrived to her sitting at a small table in the coffee house, looking at her watch.
“Well hello,” he said, “What’s wrong?”
“Wrong, nothings wrong….why?” she asked.
“Your early…” he explained.
“oh yeah… well today was weird… I.. I… I missed you.” She said blushing.
Andrew smiled.
“Really?” he replied. “How wonderful, taking her hand and kissing it lightly.
From that night on, they were inseparable, till finally they moved in together.
Love seemed to find them at last, and they took it and ran.

He’d grown to love her like no other woman he had ever known. She was so different, so sweet, and she made him feel like a real man, made him glad to come home at night once again.
Married and divorced when he was twenty years old, he’d found his wife cheating on him, since then he had been in and out of relationships for years. Never seeming to find that one woman, that he could be loyal to, that one woman that could keep him satisfied. She did that and more.
This last month they’d been together for three years! The night she passed out, he was going to ask her to marry him, but instead they ended up in the emergency room, and then spending the night in the hospital. He never got to ask her then, she was just too stressed, too sick. After two weeks of tests, the doctors finally told her… ovarian cancer.
Their lives went from happy, ecstatic, euphoria… to hellish days of chemo, and radiation therapy. To days of throwing up, Andrew holding her hair, as she lost the contents of her stomach yet again. Putting cool washrags on her forehead, and rubbing her back.
Till finally one day things seem to improve, and they had hope again!
Colleen was like her old self she smiled again!

One evening as he was preparing dinner; (he had come to take over many things he’d once taken for granted,) he noticed her staring out into the night skies with a look of a heavy burden on her face.
Suddenly she turned to him and said, “Andrew, I’ve decided to move out.”
Andrew dropped the spoon he was stirring the rice with. “What?” he asked.
“I can’t expect you to live like this, can’t make you happy when I’m so sick I can’t even make love to you.” She was crying now, wringing her hands as she spoke. He tried to speak, but she put her hand up to stop him. “Please Andrew hear me out…. I’ve applied for an assisted living apartment, and I’ve been accepted, I move tomorrow.”
Andrew flew to the table, and down on his knees. “No way!” he shouted. “No way are you leaving me… to live alone in a strange place!” she looked at him with love, and a look of pleading in her dark, dull eyes. “Andrew… she started, stopping her with his fingers across her lips he said, “Colleen, in the last two years, I have realized I have always been meant for you, that I never knew what love was all about till you… I have grown as a man, as a person, and it is all because of you… I won’t give you up, I can’t give you up!” he was shaking, holding her hands tightly. “You woman are my life, you are the reason I go on, I love you… the night you passed out… I was going to ask you to marry me, and now lovely, beautiful woman… I’m asking… Colleen Collins, will you do me the honor of marrying me?”
She looked at him, tears falling in soft, gentle puddles on her hands, and his.
“Andrew… oh Andrew… I love you, but, she stopped; taking a deep breath, then continuing I can’t ask you to live like this, I’m in remission now, but we both know, I know, I won’t live beyond a year… we both know it.”
Andrew pulled her from the chair, took her into his arms, and carried her to the bedroom.
They made love very slowly, twice that night, each time she whimpered, and he asked if he was hurting her, she answered, “No…oh no, you could never hurt me Andrew, it’s just that I want to remember this wonderful feeling, keep it forever… and no one has ever made me feel so alive as you have.”
Falling asleep in each others arms, Andrew didn’t notice when she slipped from their bed at three A.M., going to the bathroom, taking a bottle of sleeping pills from the medicine cabinet, (ones that she had since her divorce,) swallowing them down all at once, then returning to their bed, she kissed his lips lightly, as he turned over. She lie there staring at him, stroking his arm, tracing his face, as he half awake, smiled at her, pulling her into his arms, kissing her gently on the cheek as she told him she loved him.
He held her till she moved away, thinking she was in pain he stroked her hair, her cheeks, noticed her face tighten and release…. till he thought at last she looked at peace, sleeping.. now, he remembered she never answered his marriage proposal, but then he thought, they would have tomorrow, and tomorrow… till there were no more tomorrows, and he would be left alone once again… but he would never forget this lady, this woman… he loved so much, and he was given over to tears of sadness, yet still he wasn’t bitter he knew in his heart, God had some how given him the greatest gift, he would ever have,
and he would cherish her memory till he too went home, and they could be together once more.~

本文作者：林恩-达科他 (Lynn Dakota美国)

作者自述：我热爱并且传教跆拳道和增氧健身，同时写诗，

诗篇就是我的激情。

我喜欢结识新朋友与我共进梦境，这些诗篇的文字都出自我的内心和灵魂，诗句就是我。我和诗融为一体。任何人也不可能带走现在的我，也不可能带走我写的一切。

金玉良缘

作者：林恩-达科他(Lynn Dakota，美国)

翻译：应中革

她睡在他的身边，轻轻地叹一声，接着是一阵抽泣声。“她肯定非常痛苦”他想，“她想掩饰，瞒着我。”看上去她非常安详，但是，本来好好的，转眼她就绷紧脸孔，眼泪就从她的眼角滚下来。6 个月以前，一年前，这不是真的…一次医生来查胃痛病情。她隐瞒了好几个月。一天他们庆祝同居十周年，她为他做他最喜欢吃的晚餐时昏倒在厨房地板上。从此，她再也无法隐瞒下去了。

他们的浪漫史是极其幸运的美事。他俩都在大学附近的夜校报名选修文学课，都有一个强烈的写作愿望和提高写作能力。

她叫科莉，身高5’5吋，一头棕色长发，深棕色的双眼在微笑时光彩照人。她算不上美丽，只是一般的漂亮。她上课总是迟到5 分钟，所以他很快就注意到她。

她总是蹦蹦跳跳冲进教室，仿佛讲课的教授是他的父亲，会原谅她的一切过错。他喜欢她这种样子。

她向全班点点头，说一声对不起又迟到了，接着象是在笑自己。他喜欢这种样子。

很怪，教授一向非常粗鲁，生硬和威严，却一直都允许她迟到。而且，当她向他微笑时，教授显得非常宽容。他推测，她32-38 岁。他认为她思维敏捷，在班上学得很快的一员。

一天晚上，教授把他们分成小组，要大家采访一位著名诗人。一人扮演诗人，熟记诗人的背景，要能回答别人提出的各种问题。其它学生已经掌握了一些信息资料，并且将进行采访。学生按照报数1--- 2 ；以1--- 2 俩人组成一对搭档。学生要在两星期内上交采访报告，扮演诗人的学生要按照内容的完整性和专业性给采访者打分。

他将排在他前面的人挤了出去，于是占领了她的1号数的位置。不管怎么说他一定要这样做.

这时教授大声地吩咐，“同学们，你们要在今天晚上做出安排，与你的搭档约定进行采访准备。”

他转身朝她一笑，把手伸过去，说，“你好，我叫安德鲁，安德鲁-布鲁克斯。”

“我知道，”她回答说，“我叫科莉-康丽。”同时使劲握了一下他的手。

一阵惊喜，他话说了一半，停了一下又说，“你好，科莉，什么时间我们可以聚一下？”

“在葜莱馆喝咖啡吧，明天8 点行吗？”

“好极了，我开车到什么地方接你？”他有心要知道她的住处。

“我在葜莱咖啡馆等你，安德鲁。”她起身要走，而他想拦住她。但是，说时迟，那时快，他还来不及反应，她已连蹦带跳到了门外。这个女人就是这样一阵清风。

他在回想她的脸蛋，脖子，.幻想与她相爱。他完全被她的声音迷住了，喜欢看她穿着牛仔裤的身段，喜欢看她那朴素的打扮。他闭上眼睛，回味她的芬芳，就像欣赏一朵洁白，优美的香花，就像在他年轻时，在星期六下午，在暖和惬意的厨房里闻到母亲焙烤甜饼的香味一样。

当他想到明天下午的约会时，心跳加快。

安德鲁很早到，找了一张桌子，靠后朝向后墙，这里可以私下多做点隐私的事。他叫服务员拿来一小盘乳酪，一些脆饼、海鲜、开胃沙司和一点儿水果以点缀盘菜的色美。接着，考虑选什么美酒，又担心她不喝酒，还是只选咖啡为好，到时候见机行事。

出于她的秉性，科莉迟到十分钟。“对不起，安德鲁，我老迟到。一着手干活，我就好象怎么也没法结束，时间抓不紧，迟到了!”

“没事…，请不要介意，我已经叫了开胃菜。”

“哦，真好吃!”她说着，脸上露出迷人的笑容。

他们就采访方案研讨了三个小时，期间他俩为他失误的措辞而发笑，她则对他生活不断地提问。她竟然能够不费吹灰之力就从他嘴里掏出大量的材料。为此，他大为惊奇。 以前，没有任何女人会使他感到如此随意和放松。

她谈了自己的家庭，她母亲一年之前的死，她的不幸婚姻。她说自己原是幼儿园老师，她的前夫出走了，最后又找了另外一个女人。尽管没有生过孩子，没有什么瓜葛，但是，她被毁了。她根本不想约会交友。经历太痛苦，离婚已经两年。说完往事，她沉默了。看到她脸上的阴沉的痛苦，安德鲁克制住要去拉她的手的欲望。

两个小时后，他们终于选了一位要采访的诗人。双方都发现自己热衷于做诗，他们选的是埃米莉-迪肯森。科莉自然扮演埃米莉。

安德鲁发现时候不早了，又想延伸这个课后作业，于是声称明天一早上班就要开会，问科莉是否本周可以再聚一次。

科莉从口袋里取出日历一看，微笑地问，星期五晚上是否合适。安德鲁一听，乐得跳了起来。感觉一到自己有点傻，他表白，近年来我的生活从来都没有像现在这样快活过。俩人都笑了，当她握住他的手的时候，他象像被触电一样震惊。他从椅子上跳跃起来，还好没将她的手推开。此时，两个人目光正对凝视一阵。科莉起身要走，安德鲁站起来，要求送她上车。在她的小车边，他们说晚安告别时，在昏暗的路灯下，安德鲁强忍上前吻她的欲望。

以后，他们又有六次约会。每次，科莉都迟到十分钟以上。到第七次，科莉提早15分钟到，安德鲁晚到。

“你好，”他说，“出事啦？”

“出事？没有啊，怎么啦？”

“你早到…”他想解释。

“哦，是的，今天有点怪。我…我想你了。” 她忸怩地说。

安德鲁喜出望外。

“是吗？”他回答说，“太好了。”一边拉住她的手，在手上轻轻地吻了一下。

从那个晚上起，两个人形影不离，最后搬到一起住了。他们找到了爱，接受了爱，跳进爱河。他对她的爱胜过对任何别的女人。她与众不同，楚楚动人，使他感到自己是一个真正男人，每天晚上高高兴兴回家来。

他20岁结婚便离婚，他发现妻子背叛。此后，他恋爱几年，没有找到他可以一心一意去爱的女人，没有使他感到满意的女人。只有她做到了，并且比他心目中想象的更好。到上个月他们生活在一起3年整了。她昏倒的那个晚上，他本来要提出与她结婚，就在这个发病的房间里，金玉良缘终成泡影。当天晚上他们在医院过夜。他再也不能提婚事，她太紧张，病情很重。经过二个星期的检查，医生最后下结论，卵巢癌。

幸福，美满，欢快的日子毁于一旦，他们就像掉到地狱里一样，又是化疗，又是理疗，过着受煎熬的日子。在呕吐的那几天，她一次又一次地将胃里食物翻出来，安德鲁托着她的头发，将湿毛巾放在她的前额，为她擦背。

科莉又开始笑了。

一天晚上，他正在做晚餐时(他答应过并且已经承担起大量的家务)，发现她凝视着夜空，脸上流露出深沉的阴影。

忽然，她转身对他说，“安德鲁，我决定搬出去。”

安德鲁，扔下粥勺问，“你怎么啦？”

“我不愿意看到你这样受苦，我病重不能让你幸福，甚至不能给你爱。”她边哭边说，泪流满面。安德鲁正想说，她举手阻止他，“请听我说完，我申请了一个护理居住房，已经同意了，我明天搬过去。”

安德鲁冲到桌前，双膝跪地。“不能啊，”他大声叫喊。“你不能离开我…一个人去陌生的地方。”她用深情的爱，以深色呆板的眼睛恳求地看着安德鲁，“安德鲁，…”她哭了。安德鲁，用手指从嘴唇边拭去她的眼泪，说，“科莉，两年来，我已经认识到我是永远属于你，有了你我才知道什么叫爱，我才成为一个真正的男人，一切多亏有了你…我不会放弃你，我不能没有你。”他紧紧地抓住她的手，全身颤动。你是我的女人，我的生命，我的依靠。我爱你…在你昏倒的那天，我本来要求你与我结婚。现在，我的可爱的，美丽的女人…我请求…科莉，行行好，嫁给我吗？”

她面对安德鲁，泪水淌到柔软而温柔的手上，她的手和他的手上。

“安德鲁，哦，我的安德鲁，我爱你，但是”她停了一会，深深地叹了一口气，继续说，“我不能让你如此爱我。我现在病情缓和。但是，我们俩都知道，我自己知道，我活不到明年了…你我都知道的。”

安德鲁将她从椅子上拉起来，抱在怀里，抱到卧室。

他们做爱非常缓和，当晚二次，每次她都低声哼叫。他问有没有刺痛她，她回答，“不，安德鲁，没有痛，永远不会。这正是我要记住的极乐的快感。除你以外，没人能让我体验这种敏感。

相互拥抱入睡。凌晨3点，她从床上下来，安德鲁没有发觉。她从药盒里拿了一瓶安眠药(她离婚后曾经服用过的)，走进了卫生间，一次全部呑了下去，然后回到床上。他翻身时，她轻轻地吻他双唇。她静静地躺，看着安德鲁，抚摩他的手臂，审视他的脸庞。他在半醒半睡中向她笑笑，把她抱在怀里。她又说爱他时，他温柔地吻了一下她的脸颊。她移开时，他才松开双臂，以为她身上痛。他抚摸她的头发和脸颊，发现她的脸绑紧而又松脱…最后觉得她又很安祥地睡着了。此时，他想起她还没有答复他的结婚请求，但是他还认为他们有明天，再明天，直至没有明天时，他愿意又一次回到单身王囯。但他永远不会忘记这个女人，这个心爱的女人。他被遗弃了，留下的是伤心的眼泪。然而，他心里知道，他无怨无悔。上帝已经赐给他最好礼物金玉良缘。他将把留在记忆中的科莉永远怀抱直到死为止，直到他们能再次聚首。