The Plank Against the Gust- 適合中高級的英語短篇故事

Kira hauled a narrow plank up the swaying rope bucket, biceps taut against the downward pull. As she stepped onto the damp platform center, the boards flexed under her weight and revealed glimpses of grass. She angled the plank across an open gap, aiming for the branch junction two paces away. A turbulent gust rocked the entire tree; the loose plank slid, its slick edge knocking her knee. She caught the piece before it dropped, but the sudden jolt bent the first nail halfway over. Fingers aching, she pried the warped nail free and leaned the troublesome plank against the trunk.

She shifted toward the rope-ladder passage, shoulders brushing leaves that flipped silver side out each time the wind returned. At the tool-hoisting point she lowered the bucket, then hauled up bolts someone would galvanize tomorrow and a stubby wrench. She crouched, wrists braced, and twisted each bolt through a pre-drilled hole until threads bit firmly into wood. Moving to the trunk backside, she slid stray nails into the hollow and wiped sap grains from her palm. During a calm spell she knotted a safety line around the outward branch, thighs burning as the limb dipped again. Her pocket held an academic sketch of the platform, edges smudged, yet the page stayed folded while her hands kept moving. Moist bark ridges foster tiny ferns along the junction, and her boots pressed flat spots into the mossy strands.

While she tightened the last knot, the rope bucket thudded against the trunk and rose heavier than before. Someone below had placed the narrow plank inside and given the line a casual tug upward. Kira balanced her feet, drew the plank free, and braced it along her thigh for steadier control. She slid the inner edge under the existing board, then levered the end into the branch fork. The wood wedged tight without a rattle, and she sank one fresh nail with three measured blows. On the lawn, a sheet of paper slipped from the academic notebook and fluttered toward a puddle. A gust pressed it flat against wet grass, where droplets gathered along the ink in silent rows.

Kira用力把一塊狹長木板順著搖晃的繩桶拉上來，手臂肌肉緊繃著對抗下墜的重量。當她踩上仍帶露水的臨時平台，幾片木板在腳下輕彎，縫隙露出下面的草地。她將木板橫放對準一處開口，想讓它卡在兩步外的枝叉結點。亂流突襲整棵樹，鬆脫的木板滑動，光滑的切邊撞到她的膝蓋。她在木板掉落前抓住它，但猛然的衝擊把第一根釘子折成彎曲的半片。手指酸痛中，她拔出彎釘，把這塊麻煩的木板斜靠在樹幹。

她轉到繩梯通道，肩膀擦過翻出銀白背面的葉片，每當風再度吹來就刷動一下。在吊料點，她放下桶子，又拉上一串預計明天要去做熱浸鍍鋅的螺栓和一把矮扳手。她蹲低、手腕撐穩，把每顆螺栓轉進預鑽孔，直到螺紋牢牢咬住木料。接著走到樹幹背面，把零散釘子塞進樹洞，再抹掉掌心的樹脂顆粒。風歇時，她在外側枝條繫上安全繩，枝條再度下沉時，大腿肌肉發熱。口袋裡的樹屋設計草圖帶著學術式標記，邊緣被汗水弄糊，但紙張始終摺好，雙手不停動作。厚實的樹皮脊縫促生小蕨類，她的靴底在苔蘚上踩出平滑的痕跡。

她收緊最後一個結時，繩桶撞了下樹幹又帶著加重的感覺升起。有人在下面把那塊狹長木板放回桶中，隨手拉了繩子。Kira穩住雙腳，抽出木板，靠在大腿上保持平衡。她把內側邊滑進已固定的板下，再把另一端撬進枝叉。木頭緊緊卡住沒有發出聲響，她用三下均勻的鎚擊釘下一枚新釘。草坪上，學習筆記本裡的一張紙被風帶出，飄向水窪。陣風把紙片壓在濕草上，水珠沿著墨跡排列成靜默的行列。