Colours That Vanished in the Wind- 適合中高級的英語短篇故事

Sam lowered a star-shaped wire into the bucket and lifted it in one smooth pull; a cool, slippery film stretched across the frame while jasmine-soapy aroma curled around his face. Sun-warmed grass gave off a sweet, haylike note, and the wooden fence added a faint resin tang. Beside the dipping station, Nina—his patient mentor from art club—watched without comment, her hands smelling of mint leaves she had rubbed earlier. The bucket still reached near the rim, and frothy islands drifted on the surface. Feeling bold, Sam chose the dinner-plate hoop next, letting its metal twirl through the mixture until the floral scent almost seemed to overwhelm the lighter grassy breath of the garden. He stepped toward the open display zone, careful not to splash about in the soapy puddle beneath the table.

Halfway across the lawn a whisper of wind rocked the hoop; the rainbow skin snapped, and droplets peppered his shirt with a sugary taste. The solution, already lowered by two wide dips, now barely covered the hoop’s bottom edge. A trapped bubble had been flickering inside the previous film, and its memory made his arms flail in tiny circles as he hurried back. The square frame, smaller and lighter, waited near a faint medicinal scent rising from the wet grass. He had planned a grand sheet for photographs, yet the shrinking level forced a choice. The square tip slid under what remained, and the film rose again—thicker, duller, but stable. Sam carried it to the wind-shadow wall where sunlit stripes of green and amber crept downward. Colours faded after a slow count of ten, leaving a wobbling clear pane that collapsed without sound; a single bead of soap clung to the frame and caught the spice-sweet smell of marigolds drifting in from the border.

山姆把星形鐵圈沉入水桶，再穩穩舉起；涼滑的薄膜拉在框上，茉莉皂香繚繞鼻尖。被太陽烘暖的草地散出乾草般的甜味，木籬笆透出淡淡松脂氣。浸泡區旁，來自美術社的耐心導師妮娜靜靜看著，雙手還留著先前搓過薄荷葉的清涼氣息。桶裡的液面幾乎與邊緣齊平，泡沫小島在表面漂移。山姆心生膽氣，選了餐盤大的圓圈，讓金屬在液中旋轉，花香幾乎壓過園子裡較淡的草氣。他小心避開桌下那片滑膩肥皂水，走向展示區。

走到草坪中央，一縷微風搖動大圈，彩膜啪地碎裂，糖味微微的水珠濺上襯衫。兩次大幅浸泡後，溶液已降到僅覆住圈底。上一片膜裡曾閃現的小泡仍在腦中晃動，他匆匆折返，手臂打一陣小圈。較小、較輕的方框躺在帶點藥味的濕草旁等待。他原想製作可拍照的大片薄膜，卻因液面下降而不得不縮小計畫。方框沿著僅存液面滑入，再抬起時，膜較厚也少了炫彩，卻更穩定。山姆把它移到擋風牆前，陽光在膜上留下綠與琥珀的條紋緩緩下移。十下呼吸後，色彩消退，透明薄片無聲收攏；一滴肥皂珠黏在框邊，沾上花壇萬壽菊飄來的辛甜香。