Branch Over Quiet Water- 適合中高級的英語短篇故事

The entrance gravel crackled under every boot, but just three steps inside the maze the air fell strangely quiet. Greer and Sam moved along, their shoes producing a steady crunch that bounced off the boxwood like short drumbeats. They aimed for the bench in the central clearing before their older cousin finished buying lemonade outside the hedge. Earlier drizzle had left scattered puddles, and the lingering dampness carried a sharp green scent each time gravel shifted. A faint buzz from a hidden trimmer flickered somewhere beyond the hedges. At the narrow passage, a cut branch had been left across the track, its thick weight groaning whenever the wind pressed leaves. Sam gripped one end and heaved, yet stones rolled and the log grated only a fingerspan before dropping back. Greer tried pushing from the other side; splinters pricked his palms and a dry rasp warned the bark would tear loose.

They left the branch untouched and soon faced a wide puddle where a sparrow kept wading, scattering rings across the glassy surface. Sam lifted a plastic bag; two finger-long fish still flashed inside, and he hoped the aquarium water at home would stay warm. A sudden groan behind reminded Greer of the branch’s length, and the idea landed as sharply as that wooden cry. They gripped both ends, pivoted the trunk, and laid it across the puddle until each tip bit gravel with a dull thud. The same weight that had blocked them now pinned the bridge, keeping splashes low while trainers tapped safely from bark to bark. Mid-span their boots struck a buried tile; a bright clink revealed an arrow carved long ago, pointing straight through the living wall. Nearby a cooled ember cracked once, and a low wooden hum lingered in the branch after their departing crunches faded.

入口的碎石在每一步下都劈啪作響，但才走進迷宮三步，空氣便意外地安靜下來。Greer 與 Sam 並肩前行，鞋底發出的穩定碎響像短促鼓點，在黃楊牆間來回回彈。他們想在堂兄買好檸檬汽水前抵達中央空地的長椅。先前的細雨留下零散水窪，殘存的濕氣每當碎石移動就帶起尖銳的青草氣味。遠處某處傳來修剪機微弱的嗡聲。轉入狹窄通道，一截被砍下的粗枝橫放在路中央，厚重身軀隨風壓葉時發出低沉呻吟。Sam 抓住一端用力拖動，卻因石子打滑僅移開一指寬便又落回。Greer 改從另一側推，木刺扎手，乾澀摩擦聲警告再用力會把樹皮扯碎。

他們沒再動那截枝條，不久便遇到一片寬闊水窪，一隻麻雀正涉水而行，水面像玻璃般被牠的波紋切開。Sam 抬起裝著兩尾小魚的塑膠袋，水光閃動，他擔心帶回家水族箱的溫度必須保持。身後又一聲木嚯提醒了 Greer 枝條的長度，靈光隨那聲音一同落下。他們各握一端，轉動樹幹，將其橫鋪到水面，兩端扎實咬進礫石。曾經阻路的重量此刻壓穩臨時橋面，水花被按得很低，鞋底安全地從樹皮踏向樹皮。走到中段，他們的靴子碰到埋在水下的石片，一聲清脆撞擊顯露出久遠前刻下、指向活樹牆內側的箭頭。旁邊一粒冷卻的餘燼再度裂響，低沉木質嗡鳴在枝橋裡回盪，直到他們遠去的碎響消失。