So far they have each received two messages from their mother. There are also a couple more cards in their sad little boxes. These are from their father Alan， sent while he， too， was in hospital. Too weak to write， he just managed to gather the strength to sign a faltering“Daddy”.
The girls， who now live with their grandparents， carefully store the cards back in their boxes and put them away. They each have my mummy& Me and My Daddy & Me photo albums， which they scan while trying to grasp any fresh insight into their parents， or recall the lives they had as a family.
The cards Debra has left them contain a mixture of practical advice for growing girls and simple statements of a mother’s love for her children. Reading those words， the sisters feel， was to discover， that their mother seems to be still with them.
Both often think of what their mother has said in her card“I want you to know that you have always been very special and I have and always will love you dearly…”
After writing to Charlotte about growing up and the change from being a girl to a young woman， Debra adds：“Please have fun on your 11th birthday and remember Mummy and Daddy are always with you.”
Both girls have written letters to their parents in reply. Charlotte telling them about how she went bowling and about a trip to London Zoo. Katie has written how she will never forget her Daddy.“I know he‘s still with me.”
Writing about womanhood. Debra said：“I remember howembarrassed I was at the time， just remember that every single 10 to 14- year-old has gone through these changes， so don’t be afraid and don‘t be embarrassed.”
Charlotte puts the card down.“There are times when I’d like to be able to ask Mummy things.”she says.“Just things about life and what to do in a difficult situation at school or whatever.”
But she knows there are more cards to come. She doesn‘t know when or how many， but Debra has given a far greater legacy than her will could ever provide.“A present doesn’t say what you think.”Charlotte says，“but a card does.”
And then she reads the words that echo more powerfully than any. “You are a wonderful girl and remember what Mummy and Daddy have taught you. Look after one another. Lots of love， as always， Mummy.”
我们深爱和爱我们的那些人离去了，但他们的爱会一直在我们的生命中延续。
参考译文（刘文馨）
夏洛特和凯蒂的父母在一个月内相继去世，但是姐妹俩每次过生日的时候都能收到来自母亲的信，并且字字句句都是感人肺腑的人生忠告。
卡片和生日礼物虽然并不多，但是夏洛特玛塔伦却给每一个礼物和卡片都做了一个特别的小盒子来盛放，像收藏珍宝一样每天放在床边。
她拿起一张落款日期为1996年的卡片，上面的字句已经深深地印在了她的心底，“亲爱的夏洛特，我写这个卡片是因为我最近得知我没办法陪你度过10岁生日了……”
夏洛特的母亲德布拉·玛塔伦在写下这些令人悲伤的只言片语的六周后，就因患乳腺癌而去世了。当时她仅仅只有35岁，却留下了独一无二的宝贵遗产。
德布拉在去世前就为她的两个女儿--11岁的夏洛特和10岁的凯蒂写好了所有的生日卡片，让她们在每一个生日到来的时候都能够收到父母的礼物。而正是这些礼物帮助姐妹俩度过了那个最艰难最漫长的悲伤时期。
到现在为止，她们已经分别收到了两份来自母亲的信笺，还有一些卡片装在她们小小的盒子里。而这些盒子正是她们的父亲埃伦在住院期间送给她们的。他当时实在太过虚弱，所以只能使出浑身的力气在盒子上颤颤巍巍地写下“爸爸”两个字。
姐妹俩现在和祖父母住在一起，她们小心翼翼地将那些卡片收藏在盒子里安放起来。她们每个人都有一本“妈妈和我”以及“爸爸和我”的相册，试图借此来捕捉对父母的新的认知，并回忆曾经美满的家庭生活。
德布拉在信件中给予了姐妹俩非常多的生活建议，还饱含着一位母亲对孩子们最纯粹的爱。每每读到这些字句，姐妹俩就会觉得母亲似乎一直从未离开。
她们常常想起母亲在卡片里说过的话“我要你们明白你们一直都是那么的与众不同，我将永远深深地爱着你们直到永远……”
德布拉在写给夏洛特的信中说到了成长以及由女孩蜕变为女人的奇妙过程，她还说：“请一定要开开心心地度过你的11岁生日，记住，爸爸妈妈永远都陪伴在你们身边。”
姐妹俩也都给父母写了回信。夏洛特告诉他们第一次打保龄球和去伦敦动物园游玩的经历；凯蒂则写到她永远也不会忘记爸爸，“我知道他一直和我在一起。”
在谈及女性话题时，德布拉说：“我还记得那个时候我有多么尴尬，不过你们只要记着每一个10到14岁的女孩子都要经历这样的转变，因此，你们不要害怕，更不要觉得尴尬哦。”
夏洛特放下卡片，“有时候我真希望能够问妈妈一些问题，关于人生，关于在学校遇到困难的时候该如何面对这样类似的问题。”
尽管如此，她依然坚信她还会收到更多的卡片，尽管她不知道会是在什么时候或是有多少，但德布拉留给她们的遗产比任何东西都要宝贵和伟大。夏洛特说：“一个礼物无法表达内心的想法，但是母亲送给我们的卡片能够做到。”
接着她读了一段深深萦绕在心头的话语：“你是一个非常优秀的女孩儿，记住妈妈和爸爸教给你们的东西，好好照顾妹妹。永远爱你们的妈妈。”
Letter to His Son 给儿子的信
F.D.Stanhope
Dear boy，
The art of pleasing is a very necessary one to possess， but a very difficult one to acquire. It can hardly be reduced to rules； and your own good sense and observation will teach you more of it than I can.“Do as you would be done by.”is the surest method that I know of pleasing. Observe carefully what pleases you in others， and probably the same things in you will please others. If you are pleased with the complaisance and attention of others to your humors， your tastes， or your weaknesses， depend upon it， the same complaisance and attention on your part to theirs will equally please them.
Take the tone of the company that you are in， and do not pretend to give it； be serious， gay， or even trifling， as you find the present humor of the company； this is an attention due from every individual to the majority. Do not tell stories in company； there is nothing more tedious anddisagreeable； if by chance you know a very short story， and exceedingly applicable to the present subject of conversation， tell it in as few words as possible； and even then， throw out that you do not love to tell stories， but that the shortness of it tempted you.
Of all things banish the egotism out of your conversation， and never think of entertaining people with your own personal concerns or private affairs； though they are interesting to you， they are tedious and impertinent to everybody else； besides that， one cannot keep one‘s own private affairs too secret. Whatever you think your own excellencies may be， do not affectedly display them in company； nor labor， as many people do， to give that turn to the conversation， which may supply you with an opportunity of exhibiting them. If they are real， they will infallibly be discovered， without your pointing them out yourself， and with much more advantage. Never maintain an argument with heat and clamor， though you think or know yourself to be in the right； but give your opinion modestly and coolly， which is the only way to convince； and， if that does not do， try to change the conversation， by saying， with good humor，“We shall hardly convince one another； nor is it necessary that we should， so let us talk of something else.”
