圈外闲人
Amazon专栏作家 http://www.amazon.com/Jennifer-Fu/e/B004Y218FQ
我们到达纽约的时候，机场的上空下着暴风雨，没有空闲的降落跑道，飞机在乌云中颠簸着盘旋。安全带的橙色标志刺眼地亮着，机舱内一片寂静无声，生命的游丝在空气中寻找着牵挂。哇的一声，女儿吐了，秽物进了飞行垃圾袋。然后是一阵掌声，如雷贯耳，在机舱内经久不息。我们终于脱险了，感谢上帝，感谢技艺高超的机组人员。
女儿写了《云中的狮鹫骑士》，算是她东部之行的第一感。
我翻译的中文
狮鹫骑士是英雄、外交官和世界的拯救者，维罗拉国的许多人，在某个时刻或另一个时刻，希望自己是狮鹫骑士精英中的一部分，所有年幼的孩子都梦想着被选入其中......但是即使是这些被选中的人，也不能保证成为一个狮鹫骑士。
扎克肯定他命中注定会成为一个半拉子骑士，能够与狮鹫相互结盟，却在其它方面都惨遭失败。当然，人们向他保证，他勇敢、善良、机警，具有一个优秀狮鹫骑士的所有素质，但他们忘了一件事：他患有强烈的恐高症，对于与狮鹫结盟的人来说，那就等于麻烦。
坚硬的喙执意扎入扎克的手掌，忧虑着，扎克笑了。 “尖啸，这跟你有什么关系。”
尖啸撕心裂肺地叫了一声，用头轻轻地顶了顶扎克。拥有鹰鹫一般的头和翅膀，狮子一般的身体，尖啸对于一般人来说是一个可怕的怪物。扎克叹了口气说：“我只是担心与你的第一次飞行，我真的不认为...... ” 鹰鹫将长满羽毛的头埋进扎克的手，扎克轻柔地抚弄着，松了一口气，他找到了停止说话的理由。在尖啸出生的那一天，扎克就与他相互结盟。在一年的时间里，尖啸已经长大得像一匹高大的小马 - 而且他还在不断地长大。扎克的思绪被尖啸的一声长叹打断，“我的食物在哪里？”他哀怨地问。
正在那时，骑士教练出现了，她的身旁是一头魔鬼般巨大的鹰鹫。身材高大，肌肉发达，挥舞着大砍刀，她是一个完美的狮鹫骑士形象。在所有的狮鹫骑士之中，她是最著名的，已经当了20年的狮鹫骑士。在她的旁边，扎克觉得自己很失败，他可能就是一个失败者。
“扎??克，我今天来帮助你与尖啸的第一次飞行。如果你害怕也没关系，大家都会害怕...... ” 骑士教练快速地念了一通按部就班的狮鹫骑士宣言，然后说： “我们去训练场。”
她没有提到的是那些没有完成第一次飞行的人通常被踢出狮鹫骑士学院，冠冕堂皇的理由是不能信任自己狮鹫的人不可能成为狮鹫骑士精英团队中的一员，不管怎样，结果是一样的。
过了不久就到达了训练场。设置在悬崖的边缘，这是狮鹫骑士学会如何骑狮鹫的地方。扎克抵制住从边缘看下去的诱惑，他不想万一呕吐在骑士教练身上。
扎克偷偷地瞥了她一眼。“嗯......”他停顿了一下，“尖啸，呃，我要骑上你。不要 - 不要突然移动或做这类事情。”
尖啸用头顶了顶扎克，受到伤害似地嚎了一下，“我不会让你掉下去。”
扎克笨拙地爬到尖啸的背上。这是令人惊讶的柔软，仿佛尖啸所有的羽毛为扎克组成了一个巨大的气垫。他移动了一下，并不是那么糟糕，是吗？骑士教练带着鼓励，微笑地看着他。
突然，尖啸撕心裂肺地叫了一声，节节向上，用不稳定的翅膀推进着。扎克抓住尖啸的羽毛，紧紧地闭上了眼睛。他不想往下看，他可以听到尖啸用力拍打翅膀的力度。
过了一会儿，扎克感到尖啸平稳了，拍打翅膀不再那样的震耳欲聋了，并且很少有或者说几乎没有突然移动。他慢慢地睁开了眼睛。
景色是惊人的，高度也是惊人的。远远的低于他，扎克可以看到狮鹫骑士的基地，在一座大山的 边上。云朵在扎克身边浮动，他的胃部立刻开始收紧。扎克不得不再次闭上了眼睛，只是为了确保他不呕吐。如果他从这个高度掉下去......
最后，经过了似乎是一千年，扎克感到尖啸又降落在训练场了。他再次睁开了眼睛，相比于飞行的摇摆，地面让人觉得有点太稳定了。他从尖啸的背上跳下。
扎克笑了。尽管那样的高度，飞行与尖啸是......难以形容。
骑士教练微笑着问：“你感觉怎么样？”
“我要再去飞行，”扎克宣布。
女儿的英文原稿
Griffin Riders were heroes, diplomats, saviors of worlds. Many of the people of Valora had, at one point or another, wished that they were part of the elite ranks of the Griffin Riders. It was the dream of young children to be selected to join them… but even these selected people weren’t guaranteed of becoming a Griffin Rider.
Zak was sure that he was destined to be one of those not-quite-riders, able to bond with a griffin but failing miserably at everything else. Sure, people reassured him that he was courageous, kind, valiant, and had all the qualities of a good Griffin Rider, but they forgot one thing: he had an intense fear of heights. For a person bonded with a winged creature, that spelled trouble.
A hard beak jabbed insistently into Zak’s hand. Despite his worries, Zak smiled. “Screech, its nothing to do with you.”
Screech gave a piercing cry, and head-butted Zak lightly. With the head and wings of an eagle and the body of a lion, Screech was a fearsome sight for most to behold. Zak sighed and said, “I’m just worried about my first flight with you. I don’t really think...” The griffin burrowed his feathery head into Zak’s hand, and Zak scratched it obligingly, relieved that he had an excuse to stop talking. Screech and Zak had been bonded the day that Screech was born. In one year, Screech had grown to the size of a large pony - and he was still growing. The imagery was broken when Screech let out a long-drawn sigh. “Where’s my treats?” he asked plaintively.
That was when the Ridermaster appeared with a monstrously huge griffin by her side. Tall, muscular, and wielding a big broadsword, she was the epitome of a perfect Griffin Rider. Of all the Griffin Riders, she was the most well-known, having been with the Griffin Riders for 20 years. Next to her, Zak felt like a failure. He probably was one.
“Zak, today I’m going to be watching you with your first flight with Screech today. It’s okay if you’re scared. Everyone feels scared…” The Ridermaster rattled off the time-honored speech that all Griffin Riders were supposed to say. “We’ll go to the Training Grounds.”
What she didn’t mention was that those who failed to complete their first flight often were kicked out of the Griffin Rider Academy. The rationale was that people who didn’t trust their griffins wouldn’t be able to work as the elite griffin-rider team that they were supposed to be, but the result was the same.
It took a short while to reach the Training Grounds. Set at the edge of a cliff, it was the place where Griffin Riders learned how to ride their griffins. Zak resisted the temptation to look over the edge. He didn’t want to end up vomiting on the Ridermaster.
Zak briefly glanced at her. “Um…” He paused. “Screech, uh, I’m going to ride you. Don’t - don’t move suddenly or anything.”
Screech headbutted Zak and gave a hurt squawk. “I won’t let you fall.”
Zak awkwardly settled onto Screech’s back. It was surprisingly soft, as if all of Screech’s feathers had formed a giant cushion for Zak. He shifted a bit. This wasn’t so bad after all, was it? The Ridermaster smiled encouragingly at him.
Suddenly, Screech let out a piercing cry and lurched upward, propelled by unsteady wings. Zak grabbed Screech’s feathers and closed his eyes tightly. He didn’t want to look downwards. He could hear Screech straining as the griffin flapped his wings as hard as he could.
After a while, Zak felt Screech leveling out. The wing flaps weren’t nearly as deafening anymore, and there was little to no lurching. He slowly opened his eyes.
The view was breathtaking. So were the heights. Far below him, Zak could see the Griffin Rider’s base, which was set on the side of a huge mountain. Clouds floated by Zak, and his stomach immediately started tightening. Zak had to shut his eyes again just to make sure that he didn’t throw up. If he fell from this height…
Finally, after what seemed like a millennium, Zak felt Screech land down on the Training grounds again. He opened his eyes again. Compared to the wobbles of flight, the ground felt a little too steady. He hopped off of Screech’s back.
Zak smiled. Despite the heights, flight with Screech was… indescribable.
The Ridermaster smiled and asked, “How do you feel?”
“I’m going again,” Zak declared.
