Lantern Before Dusk- 適合中高級的英語短篇故事

Yellow light slanted across the courtyard when Milo balanced on a narrow stool beside the west wall. He had planned to hang twenty paper lanterns above the paving stones before dusk painted them grey. The hooks had been hammered into the brick earlier, and a long cotton string waited, curled around his wrist. A soft murmur, thick with anticipation, drifted from neighbors arranging tables below but did not reach his unsteady perch. If he had measured the courtyard correctly, the string would have crossed to the opposite balcony without a twist.

His first throw arced high; the line brushed a gutter, snagging on a hidden nail and refusing to slide back. An abrupt awareness of the height pinched his stomach when the stool wobbled. He shifted, knees shaking, yet the stubborn knot ignored his tug, so he lowered the coil and searched another approach. A second attempt used a bamboo pole, but its tip slipped, and the lantern fluttered like a teasing bird. Down below, an elderly observer leaned on a cane, watching the dance of fabric while giving no comment or advice. Milo wished he had brought a taller ladder; still he refused to descend without completing his imagined canopy.

He wrapped the remaining string around the pole once more, angled the stick, and flicked it with sharper intention. The nail finally released; however, the sudden freedom whipped the coil sideways, and the top lantern tore loose. Gasps rose as the bright sphere drifted above the fountain, bumped a breeze, and settled, glowing, on the water. Milo steadied the line, fastened the remaining lanterns, and then stepped down, shoes scraping the stool with measured care. Ripples widened around the stray light, yet its reflection painted a trembling ribbon across the courtyard stones. A single paper lantern now rested on the calm, silver water beneath the darkening sky.

黃澄的光線傾斜在院子裡，米洛站在西牆邊一張窄凳上保持平衡。他原本計畫在黃昏把二十盞紙燈籠掛在石板上方，免得暮色將它們染成灰色。掛鉤較早前已經敲進磚牆，長長的棉線盤在他的手腕上等待。樓下鄰居正擺桌子，一陣帶著期待的輕聲騷動飄過來，但沒有碰到他搖晃的立足點。如果他當時量得準確，這條線就能不打結地跨到對面陽台。

他的第一次拋擲劃出高弧，線碰到雨槽，被隱藏的釘子勾住，怎麼拉都不肯回來。當凳子晃動時，突如其來的高度意識讓他的胃收緊。他移動身體、膝蓋微抖，可倔強的結仍無動於衷，於是他放下線圈，尋找別的方法。第二次他用竹竿挑線，但竿尖一滑，燈籠像逗弄人的鳥一樣拍動。下面，一位拄著手杖的老人靜靜觀看這段布料的舞蹈，沒有給任何評語或建議。米洛真希望自己帶了更高的梯子，但他仍不願在完成心中的天幕前爬下去。

他再次把剩下的線纏在竿子上，調整角度後，用更決斷的一甩拋了出去。釘子終於鬆開；然而，突然的解放使線圈猛地甩向一旁，最上方的燈籠被扯了下來。當明亮的球體飄過噴泉，被微風推了一下，最後在水面發光停住時，驚呼聲四起。米洛穩住繩線，固定其餘燈籠，然後踩著凳子下來，鞋底在木面發出刮聲。漣漪沿著那盞迷途的光擴散，倒影在石板上畫出顫抖的緞帶。一盞紙燈籠此刻安靜地躺在變得銀亮的平滑水面上，頭頂天空已逐漸變暗。