When I was younger, I always knew my parents had trouble with money.
当我是个小孩的时候，我了解爸爸妈妈常常缺钱用。
We would go to yard sales all the time,
大家一直买邻居转卖的二手物品
buy everyday supplies at Dollarama
平时用品都是从二手商店买来的
and work at and eat at a soup kitchen 4 nights a week.
每周有四天，大家会在夜晚去救济饭店干活，然后领餐吃饭。
Then, a new man walked into the soup kitchen and asked me what my name was.
有一天，一个陌生人走进救济饭店，问我的名字叫什么。
As I told him my name was Angela, my mom handed me the soup ladle and hair net to start getting to work.
我告诉他我的名字是Angela，这个时候母亲已经把做汤用的长柄勺和卫生发网递给我，让我筹备开工了。
After that, I couldn't find the strange man again.
在这之后，我就没见过那个陌生人了。
I searched everywhere
我找遍了整个饭店
and even asked the other men and women in the kitchen if they had seen him.
甚至问饭店里的其他大人，是不是有人见过他
My mom thought I was going crazy,
母亲以为我疯了
saying there was no one with me when she came to hand me my stuff.
她说，当她把那些劳动工具拿来递给我的时候，我身边根本没其他人。
She said I had been sitting alone and that it seemed I was talking to myself.
她说我一直一个人坐在那里，看着仿佛在自言自语。
Later that night in the car, my mom was crying.
后来，当天夜里，母亲在车里哭了起来
I asked her what was wrong
我问她如何了
and she told me the rent on our apartment had gone up
她告诉我，大家住的公寓租金又涨价了
and that my grandma had died.
我的奶奶也刚刚过世
She didn't know how she was going to pay for the funeral and the rent.
她不了解如何支付葬礼的成本，还要支付房租
I assured her I would help pick up the odds and ends after she made as much as possible.
我向她保证，她只须尽力就好，剩下的空缺，我会想方法去挣回来
once we got into the apartment building,
大家回到公寓大楼
she asked me to run to the mail room and grab the mail.
她让我去一趟传达室，把家的信件带回去。
I went, and the only thing I could find was one single envelope.
我去了，只找到了一只信封
A familiar man called me back saying he thought I left something in our mailbox.
我刚走出传达室，一个有的脸熟的男性叫住我，他说，他想我把什么东西遗漏在信箱里了
I reached in and pulled out a huge manila envelope that was bulky
我把手伸进邮箱，拿出一只大大的马尼拉纸的信封，看起来特别厚
but I couldn't tell what was in it.
我猜不出里面装着什么
I brought the envelopes up to my mom.
我把那只信封带回家去交给了妈妈
She opened the first one and found our first super expensive rent bill.
她打开第一只信封，发现了一张金额无比昂贵的账单，这是房租涨价后她首次收到
She then walked into her room,
接着妈妈回到她的房间里
saying she couldn't handle to open the other one.
她说她没勇气打开那另一只信封了
I looked at the envelope and saw this:
我看了一眼那只信封，上面写着
Dear Angela and Family. Love, Your Friend.
给亲爱的Angela及家人，来自你们的朋友
I brought it to my mom with shaking hands and asked her to open it.
我把信封拿给母亲看，手竟有的颤抖，我让母亲快打开它
She ripped it open, tears streaming down her face.
她撕开了信封，眼泪簌簌的从她脸颊上滑落
She emptied the contents onto the bed.
她把信封里的东西倒在床上
I brought a hand to my face, wiping away multiple tears.
我举起一只手放在颊边，擦去脸上肆意的泪水
There on the bed were countless checks, all addressed to my mom.
床上放着数不清的支票，收件人全都是我母亲
I had a feeling I knew who had sent it, but didn't want to tell my mom.
我暗自感到，自己了解送来这类的人是哪个，但我不想告诉母亲
My friend from the soup kitchen.
肯定是我在救济厨房遇见的那个朋友
翻译：小木
