The Gap in the Apple Line- 適合中高級的英語短篇故事

Every third apple along the branch shone scarlet under the sun, but the two between remained dull green. Finn steadied the three-rung ladder, his calf muscles tightening while he climbed and tried to grasp the nearest red globe. The ladder had been placed on turf that looked firm, yet its left foot sank and pitched him sideways. He sprang down, ankles absorbing the jolt, as two pears tumbled from a higher twig and thudded into grass. No amount of shifting could persuade the wooden legs to stay level on the damp patch beside the trunk. Finn exhaled through clenched teeth and lifted the light ladder clear, his shoulders tingling from the sudden torque.

He carried his half-filled basket along the aisle, thighs burning as the woven rim bumped against his knee. At the sorting table near the gate, he rolled each apple across the boards to judge bruises by their wobble. Soundless concentration crept into his shoulders; the heavier pieces slipped into the ripe section, the spotted ones toward a dented dustbin. A heron glided above the hedgerow, long wings beating slow arcs, then landed near a shallow ditch beyond the fence. Finn paused, forearms tingling from steady weight, and watched the bird spear a flickering minnow with one deliberate thrust. Wind rustled the leaves overhead, scattering dry whispers, and another picker called a greeting while passing with an empty wheelbarrow. Finn answered with a nod, flexed his fingers, and returned the basket to the row end before stepping back toward his tree.

The ladder lay exactly where he had set it aside, yet now the sun had dried the soil beneath. Finn gripped both rails, shifted his stance onto the firmer patch, and eased the feet until they held steady. He climbed again, spine lengthening with each rung, and this time the platform stayed level while the branch swayed within reach. With a lighter grip and bent elbows, he twisted the red apple free without jolting its green neighbours. The branch that had displayed a perfect rhythm now showed a single gap where colour once repeated. Finn eased the final red apple from the once-neat sequence into his basket.

那條枝幹上每隔三顆就掛著一顆鮮紅的蘋果，但中間的兩顆仍舊青綠。芬恩把三階木梯扶穩，爬上去時小腿繃緊，伸手想摘那顆紅果。梯子看似放在結實的草皮上，左腳卻突然陷下去，把他整個人傾向一邊。他跳下來，腳踝吸收了衝擊，上方另一根枝條抖落兩顆梨子，撲通掉進草裡。怎麼調整都無法讓木腳在濕地上保持平衡。芬恩咬緊牙關，把輕梯抬離泥 patches，肩膀因猛力扭動而發麻。

他提著半滿的藤籃走過樹行，籃緣撞到膝蓋，大腿一陣酸燒。在靠近閘口的分揀桌前，他把每顆蘋果在木板上輕滾，從晃動判斷有無瘀傷。專注無聲地攀上雙肩；較重的果子進了「熟」格，帶斑點的掉向凹凹的鐵垃圾桶。遠處，一隻蒼鷺掠過樹籬，長翼畫出緩弧，然後落在柵欄外的小溝邊。芬恩停下，前臂因持續負重微顫，目送牠用一次俐落的戳擊捕起閃爍的小魚。風翻動頭頂樹葉，發出乾燥的沙沙聲，另一位採果人推空手推車經過打了聲招呼。芬恩點頭回應，甩甩手指，把籃子放回行尾，又朝自己的樹走去。

梯子仍躺在他先前放置的位置，但陽光已把底下土壤曬乾。芬恩抓住兩側扶手，挪到較硬的地面，慢慢壓穩梯腳。再次攀上時，脊背一節節拉長，這回梯面平穩，枝條就在他手邊搖晃。他微曲手肘、放輕力道，輕巧扭下那顆紅蘋，不帶動旁邊的青果。原本節奏整齊的枝條如今因少了一點鮮紅而出現空隙。芬恩把這顆最後的紅蘋果輕放進籃裡。