mandy自从和老朋友们重新见面后，整个人陷入了一种迷幻状态，似乎她虽然在这个世界上好好地活着，但似乎有一半魂魄留在了某个遥远的，偏僻的，古早的，隔离的，陌生的，熟悉的时空里。

    洛可嘉第一个察觉到她的迷离疑惑，似乎她总是在问，“我是谁”、“我为什么在这里”、“这是哪里”、“这些人都是哪来的”、“原来的我呢？”

    走丢了……

    她的每一个微笑都在说，“我好困惑”、“我错了吗”、“我怎么办”……

    在孙先生拜访后第二天，mandy摔了nichole心爱的大熊猫勺子，第三天她忘了去接oscar放学，第四天她忘了烧饭，那两天洛妈和洛老爹由热旺陪着去费城玩儿了。

    洛可嘉忍无可忍，决定跟mandy好好谈谈。

    “youarenotyourselfthesedays.”saidlock，lookingdirectlyintohereyes.

    “idon‘tquietfollowyou.”returnedmandy，turningthepagesinfrontofherratherrampantly.

    “youwantedtofindyourlostselfasateenager，didn‘tyou”lockwasruthless.

    “that‘ssountrue.”mandywouldnotlookatherhusbandintheeye.

    “wannaatalk”lockretreatedalittlebitbuthisgroundswerefirmlyheld.

    “theyhaven‘tchangedmuchsincewelastsawoneanother.”atlastmandydecidedtospilloutallthatwaslingeringonhermind——bearingtheweightiswearisome.

    “theywhomintheworlddoyoureferto，thosewhoarenotennabledtoloveoracquireafamily”lockdemanded.

    “don‘tbesorude.”mandywasfinallycheeringupalittlebit.

    locklaughed，“ibetmostofthemwouldtradewhattheypossessforthelifeyouareliving，evenifthereisahandicappedmaninthepicture.”

    mandysmiledforthefirsttime，“nonsense.howdareyou.....”

    lockpickeduphismobile，“minerva，howmanyphotosofthekidshavewegot”

    theaipoppedupfromnowhereonthescreen，“sinceyouaskedsir，thefamilyalbumhastakenupatleastthreequartersofthestorage，whichmeansthereareoveronethousandphotostotally，andthatseriouslylaggestheprocessingspeedofthemobile.that‘swhyisuggestdeletinghalf......”

    “thanks，minerva.that‘swhatineedtolearnforthemoment.”locknoddedtotheai，asifshecouldsee.actullyshedidnoticethat，shewavedbackhappilyandwasoff.

    locksaidtomandyassincerelyaspossible，“ibelievewhatyouhavealreadyownedweighsmuchmorethanwhatyouthoughthadlost.”

    mandylamented，“howdoyouknowthisisthebestformeicouldhaveledanotherlife.....”l

    “idon‘tthinkit‘stherightattitudeforlife.itseemsyouwillalwaysberegrettingoveryoureachandeverychoiceordecision.”therewasanedgetohisvoice，buthestayedcool，“stopcomparingwithothers‘livesandstopmoaningformore.thefishermanandhiswifeshouldhavebeencontentedwithwhattheyhavereceivedfromthegoldfishandthey‘dbetternotbegformorethantheydeserved.”

    mandyremarkedwithadangeroustone，“areyoutellingmeidon‘tdeservethebestoflife”

    locksensedsomething，“don‘ttwistit.youknowwhatimeant.youwouldneverbeabletofigureoutwhatthebestiswhenyouweresixteen.”

    mandymurmuredasifshehadbeeninadream，“howiwishtobesixteenagain，carefree.”

    lockcamenearertoher，andhuggedher，leavinghiswheelchairbehind，“thepointis，whateverhappenstoyou，fromnowontosixtyorninety，youwillalwayshaveus.”

    mandyburstintotears，“ihavenothingexceptyouandthekids.ifeelcold.thisworldlooksatmewithviciouseyes.”

    “youcanalwayscountonus，”lockpromised，“igiveyoumyword.there‘snopartingofusuntilonedies.staypositiveandcherisheveryminute.”

    mandyleanedagainstlock‘sshoulder，totallyforgettingheshouldnothavestoodupandsupportedherweight.“iwon‘tfallforit.theylookasifworriedformebutiguesstheyreallyenjoyedthemselvesseeingmealmostcrashed.”

    shelookedatlockandwassuddenlystartled，“iwasalmosttakenin.......ishouldn‘thavetoldthemhowibrokedown......iwouldneverletthemreceivethewrongmessageasifmylifewereajoke.”

    “don‘toverrespond.”locksaid，“theyareyourfriends，andtheyshowedconcernsaboutourlife.themorepatheticwelook，thefunnieritwouldbewhentheyknowwhatwe‘rereallylike.”

    “yes，someofthemdidtrytoruinmyself-esteemandnearlyconvincedmetopitymyself.howcanonebesomean”

    locksuggested，“i‘vecomeupwithanidea.whydon‘tweholdaparty”hehesitated，“doesanyofthemhaveafamily”

    “no，noneofthemdo.peopledon‘tgetmarriedthesedays，iguesstheyareafraidtogivecommitments.”mandyformedasmileasthoughshefeltsorryforherfriends.

    “so，thatsettleseverything.”locksmiledback，“weinviteabunchofkids.”

    “doweknowotherkidsbesidesthoseinoscar‘skindergarten”mandyasked.

    “oh，ofcoursewedo，”announcedlock，“thereareplentyofkids，asian，latino，andblackinthechildren‘shospital.thiswillbeafund-raisingpartyfordisabledchildren，andmeaswell.”locksatbackintothewheelchairasquicklyashiskneesallowedtocarryhim，whichamusedmandylikehell.

    “sincetheyaresokind，suretheydon‘tminddonatingsomedollarsforthegoodcourse”lockquestioned.

    “that‘sreallyniceofyou.allofmyfriendswouldbeverythankfuliftheyareofferedachancetoshowthattheyreallycareforthehandicapped.”mandybitherlips，tryinghardnottolaugh.

    “isuddenlyrememberihaveoneortwoacquaintancesonthepress.”locksneered，“theywoulddietoseemeonthemoveagain.”