A Game of Light and Shade
It was a sunny day. I had gone up and down the tower when, outside the door at the foot, a blind man came toward me. In a moment, he disappeared up the stairs. I looked at the sign that said "To the Tower", and decided to1him.
I caught up with him in the ticket office. There I was2to see the attendant (工作人员) selling him a ticket as if he were any other visitor. Then, with the ticket in one hand and3the wall with the fingers of the other, the blind man reached the stairs4to the hallway.
"That man is blind. What would a blind man climb up the tower for?" I said to the attendant, expecting him to show some5, but he didn't answer.
"Not the6certainly," I said. "Perhaps he wants to7."
I bought a ticket and8up the stairs. The man hadn't gone as far as I9. A third of the way up the tower, I heard his10. I slowed down and followed him at a little11. He stopped from time to time. When he got to the balcony (阳台), I was a dozen steps12. As I reached it, I saw him at the corner of the tower.
At last, after ten minutes, I13him. "Excuse me," I said as politely as I could, "but I am curious to know14you came up."
He smiled. "Coming up the stairs, you will notice how not just light but sun 15into the tower through the narrow windows here and there, so that you can feel the16—the cool stairs suddenly become quite warm—and how up here behind the wall there is17, but as soon as going opposite a window you can find the sun. There is no18so good as this for feeling the difference between light and shade. It is not the first time I've come up."
The blind man seemed quite19, just like a child who was enjoying his favorite games. He told me the truth that blind men can also find the beauty in life20 they cannot enjoy the sights of the world.
