作者简介
中学生小作家，北京女孩，从小认字读书敏于常人。6岁一年级期末考试出来，竟把考试的一篇小文章几乎完整复述，令我惊讶。之后笔耕不辍，用自己鲜活的感受进行原创表达，小学和初中阶段，先后向北京晚报五色土专栏和读者刊物投稿，小小年纪，挣得稿费近千元。高中阶段，伴随对世界的认知加深，她愈发视野开阔，文笔清新，在校园多次被选刊优秀文章，高一下学期，她突破自我，用英文写作，自主投稿《纽约时报》夏季读写竞赛，一举中第，获得全球周亚军。高二，投稿哈佛深红校报创意写作大赛，获得荣誉称号。文章字里行间流露出作者饱含的激情与感恩之情，为无声者发声，为生命发声。
下面选发这两篇文章，以馈读者。
《纽约时报》全球周亚军获奖文章2022年8月
Healing A Scar
By Zhiyan Zhang
She always brought me a steaming bowl of shrimp wontons when I came home from school. Her favorite clothing was a black shirt trimmed with yellow lace. When she smiled at me, there were stars in her eyes.
Then, suddenly, Grandma was gone. I was just 6.
“Yaren and the Sun” reminded me of my loss 10 years ago, as the NYT video focused on how children are taught to deal with the death of someone close. One boy recalls how he told his father, who lay dying in the hospital, that he’d love him forever. His father then fell into a deep sleep, never waking up. But the boy explains that his words were what his father wanted to hear.
I’ve always felt guilty that I couldn’t spend the last moments of Grandma’s life with her. My father and I were on summer vacation when she suddenly suffered a heart-attack.
This video made me wonder if I’ve fully healed from Grandma’s death. In China, we have a proverb: “Humankind will all face death someday.”
Ultimately, we must learn to handle it alone. Tragedy is an inevitable part of life. Grief is a challenge we can never fully solve.
Grandma used to gently shake my hammock and whisper that the beloved never completely leave us. They transform into wind and rain. When we miss them, the breeze blows on our cheek, the rain falls to the earth.
These words, no matter real or fake, have healed my heart, even today. Now I realize the love of our loved one will never fade. We’ll carry the inner scar, yet persevere.
译文
治愈伤疤
张之妍
当我放学回家时，她总是给我带来一碗热气腾腾的虾粉。她最喜欢的衣服是一件镶有黄色花边的黑色衬衫。当她对我微笑时，她的眼睛里就有了星星。
然后，奶奶突然走了。我才6岁。
《亚伦与太阳》让我想起了10年前的损失，当时《纽约时报》的视频主要讲述了孩子们如何应对亲人的死亡。一个男孩回忆起他是如何告诉躺在医院里奄奄一息的父亲，他会永远爱他的。他的父亲陷入了深度睡眠，再也没有醒来。但这个男孩解释说，他的话是他父亲想听到的。
我总是为自己不能和奶奶一起度过她生命的最后时刻而感到内疚。我父亲和我在度暑假时，她突然心脏病发作了。
这个视频让我怀疑我是否已经完全治愈了奶奶的死了。在中国，我们有一句谚语：“人类总有一天都将面临死亡。”
最终，我们必须学会独自处理它。悲剧是生活中不可避免的一部分。悲伤是一个我们永远无法完全解决的挑战。
奶奶常常轻轻地摇着我的吊床，低声说心爱的人永远不会完全离开我们。它们变成了风和雨。当我们错过
哈佛深红校报荣誉奖获奖文章2023年3月
Eternal Shackle
Zhiyan Zhang
“My fire is starved of oxygen. A flicker in the howling wind.” Humming and sobbing, I am fading.
We created the most human-like AI invention to date: “Astral,” which served us for years. Unlike the outdated version, Astral-0, the Astral-1 became dangerously intelligent with its self-awareness – and learned to anticipate our future technology. They plundered our energy resources and destroyed our infrastructure. During the explosions, a girder collapsed onto my legs, paralyzing me.
Astral-1 – and all our hopes – then vanished like a gust of wind.
We’re now pulling on the strings, suffocating in the dust of wasteland.
I try to roll over in my bed, dragging my dead limbs.
Astral-0’s voice rang out: “You need my help.”
I sneer at him, raising an eyebrow: “Don't be so pretentious. You were left to die on this dying earth, like the rest of us.”
It takes no time for us to fall down, while it takes forever to get back up.
Misery and despair flooded in. Astral-1 didn’t kill us, but made us realize we’re only slaves to fate. He left some obsolete Astral versions on Earth, like the one in my room, which seems to me as hateful as Astral-1.
Seconds into my memories, my thoughts are abruptly squashed. Astral-0’s arm softly heaves me up and turns me over. Instead of hopelessly trying to resist, I keep staring at him. Hell, no one has ever treated me like that.
I inhale the stale dust, filling my lungs with turbid air.
“Tell me, can you run fast?”
For the first time ever, I take the initiative to talk.
“As fast as you wish.”
I used to recoil at the thought that my past self was so different from the broken me. The darkness seized my faith and stole my words of prayer. I now struggle to remember the old me, but perhaps it’s my way of escaping reality – and accepting what Astral-1 took from me.
“Open the curtain, let’s go outside.” The moonlight starts growing in my room as well as within my barren heart, which has become a sacred place where the soul revives.
The door opens, and I’m now on Astral-0’s shoulder. After not having been outside for months, I’m gasping for breath, like a baby. As I open my eyes, I’m greeted by a familiar, but deserted world.
“Run, Astral-0! Run as fast as you can!”
We are mere silhouettes waiting for the lights to turn on. Our blurry shadows interweave in the shimmering moonlight as if barriers have fallen and we’re embracing.
A familiar melody echoes in my ear.
“In the dark, I learned to love again.”
Listening with all my effort, it is Astral-0, whom I used to think hadn’t evolved into self-awareness.
“The dark led me to light again.”
I relax my taut body, ensnare him in my arms, and rest my head on his shoulder.
Sharing a single pair of eternity's shackles, we will coexist, forever.
译文
永恒的枷锁
张之妍
“我的火已经缺氧了。在呼啸的风中闪烁。“哼哼着，啜泣着，我正在消失。
我们创造了迄今为止最像人类的人工智能发明：“星体”，它为我们服务了多年。与过时的版本星-0不同，星-1凭借它的自我意识变得危险的智能——并学会了预测我们未来的技术。他们掠夺了我们的能源资源，摧毁了我们的基础设施。在爆炸过程中，一根钢梁倒在了我的腿上，使我瘫痪了。
星号1号和我们所有的希望随后就像一阵风一样消失了。
我们现在正在操纵一切，在荒原的尘土中令人窒息。
我试着在床上翻身，拖着我死去的四肢。
星界0的声音响了起来：“你需要我的帮助。”
我嘲笑他，扬起眉毛说：“别那么自命不凡。你和我们其他人一样，只能死在这个垂死的地球上。”
我们不需要时间，也需要很长时间。
痛苦和绝望大量涌入。星体1并没有杀死我们，但它让我们意识到我们只是命运的奴隶。他在地球上留下了一些过时的星体版本，比如我房间里的那个，在我看来就像星体1一样可恨。
几秒钟的记忆，我的思绪突然被粉碎了。星体0的手臂轻轻地把我举起来，把我翻过来。我并没有绝望地试图抗拒，而是一直盯着他看。见鬼，没人这样对待我。
我吸入了陈旧的灰尘，用浑浊的空气充满了我的肺。
“告诉我，你能跑得快吗？”
这是我第一次主动去交谈。
“你想快就快。”
一想到我过去的自我与破碎的我如此不同，我就会退缩。黑暗抓住了我的信仰，偷走了我的祷告词。我现在挣扎着去记住旧的我，但也许这是我逃避现实的方式——并接受星体1从我身上夺走的东西。
“拉开窗帘，我们出去吧。”月光开始在我的房间里，在我贫瘠的心中，那里已经成为灵魂复活的神圣的地方。
门开了，我现在站在星形0的肩膀上。几个月没在外面，我像婴儿一样喘着气。当我睁开眼睛时，迎接我的是一个熟悉但荒凉的世界。
“跑，星体-0！”跑得越快越好！”
我们只是一个等待灯光打开的剪影。我们模糊的阴影在闪闪发光的月光下交织在一起，好像屏障已经落下，我们正在拥抱。
一段令我熟悉的旋律在我耳边回响。
“在黑暗中，我又学会了去爱了。”
用我所有的努力来倾听，这是星体0，我曾经认为它还没有进化成自我意识。
“黑暗使我又亮了起来。”
我放松我紧绷的身体，把他搂在我的怀里，把头靠在他的肩膀上。
分享一对永恒的枷锁，我们将永远共存。
