A woman was gossiping with a friend about a man she hardly knew.

That night she had a dream.

A great hand appeared over her and pointed down at her.

She was immediately seized with an overwhelming sense of guilt.

The next day,she went to confession.

She got the old parish priest,Father O'Rourke,and she told him whole thing.

"Is gossiping a sin?" she asked the old man.Was that the hand of God Almighty pointing a finger at me?Should i be asking your absolution?Father,tell me,have I done something wrong?"

"Yes!"Father O'Roerke answered her.

"Yes,you ignorant,badly brought-up female!You have borne false witness against your neighbor,you have played and loose with his reputataion and you should be heartily ashamed!"

So the woman said she was sorry and asked for forgiveness

"Not so fast!'Says O'Rourke.

"I want you to go home,take a pillow up on your roof,cut open with a knife,and return here to me!"

So the woman wen home,took a pillow off her bed,a knife from the drawer,wen up the fire secape to the roof,and stabbed the pillow.Then she went back to the old parish priest as instructed.

"Did you got the pillow with the knife?"he says

"Yes,Father.And what was the result？Feathers."she said.

"Feathers?"he repeated."Now I want you to go back and gather up every last feather that flew out on the wind!"

"Well,"she said,"it can't be done.I don't know where they went,The wind took them all over."

"And that”said Father O'Rourke,"is gossip!"

这是“虐童疑云”里面的一个小故事

神父讽刺暗中妄自中伤她的修女在礼拜时说的

认真的听了一遍，一遍。把这个故事打了下来

回想自己，也曾被流言中伤，无辜，失落，却没有神父那样的勇气。

只能默默的承受，悄悄的舔舐伤口，待时间去弥合。

不经意间，却看见曾几何时，我也曾参与那些无谓的流言。

那个被伤害的心灵，被我刻意的忽略。

受到伤害，然后将伤害再转嫁给他人，以满足自己小小的虚荣？

从心底深深的谴责自己。

如果我也这么做了，那我与当日那个伤害我的无知的人有什么区别呢？

当人们因流言而疏远，因流言而践踏他人的时候

我是否能付得起这个责任呢？对自己口中的话，也对人们之间的关系。

或许流言有一日会同那些羽毛一起飘散的无影无踪

但带给他人的伤痕却永远的存在。