26. Fifteen years ago, I drove a taxi for a living. One day I went to pick up a passenger (乘客) at 2:40 am. When I arrived there, I walked to the door and knocked. After a while, the door opened. A small woman stood before me. She was more than eighty years old. By her side was a big bag.
When we got into the taxi, she gave me an address (地址), and then asked, "Could you drive through the city?"
"It's not the shortest way, " I answered quickly.
"Oh, I know, " she said, "I'm on my way to a hospice (临终关怀医院). I don't have any family left. The doctor says I don't have very long. "
I quietly turned off the meter (计程表). For the next two hours, we drove through the city. She showed me the building where she had once worked, the neighborhood where she had lived.
We drove to the address she had given me.
"How much do I pay you?" she asked.
"None, " I said.
"You have to make a living, " she answered.
"Oh, there are other passengers, " I answered.
Almost without thinking, I gave her a hug. She said, " You gave an old woman a moment of happiness. "
(1) I was a taxi driver ago.
(2) One day I picked up an with a big bag.
(3) When we got into the taxi, the woman wanted me to the city.
(4) I the meter and drove to the hospice.
(5) The old woman felt at that moment.