Ceiling Light Rebounds Off the Press Bed - 適合中級的英文短篇故事，含中譯與發音

“What made that bright oval up there?” Ella pointed at the ceiling above the press.

Troy lifted one inked hand in a small wave and kept the lever steady. A low clunk from the press met the sweet smell of ink in the warm room. Trays of tiny reversed letters lined the table like shallow steps. A magnifying glass waited beside them, its rim clean and cool. Blue pigment rested in a glass jar near the rollers and looked thick in the light. On the windowsill, a clay pot sat with dry soil ringed around its saucer.

Ella picked up the magnifying glass and slid it into a stripe of sun on the table. The lens felt cool against her fingers, and the bright oval on the ceiling bent and slid. She inflated her cheeks and breathed on the glass until a thin fog spread. For a moment, soft colors edged the oval like a narrow rainbow, then the fog cleared and the colors went. A small cloud crossed the sun and faded the spot; when the cloud passed, the oval brightened again. Ella held a dry sheet under the stripe; its rough edge rasped her thumb, and a sharp shadow cut the oval’s lower side. She tilted the ink jar a little; the window light glanced off it and rebounded from the press bed. A thin bright line ran across the ceiling and touched the oval’s edge.

The plant’s leaf stood between the beam and the wall, and a leaf-shaped slice appeared inside the oval. “I see it,” Troy said, with the lever paused and his shoulders easy. Ella tried to steer the bright shape by lifting the jar higher, then by sliding the paper back. The patch slipped away each time and found nearly the same spot on the paint. A pale blue smear marked Ella’s cuff. Above the press, the same oval of light still shone.

「上面那個亮亮的橢圓是怎麼來的？」Ella 指向壓印機上方的天花板。

Troy 抬起一隻沾墨的手輕輕揮了揮，槓桿保持穩定。低低的一聲咔噠和著甜甜的墨香在溫暖的房間裡相遇。成排的小小反字母把字盤桌排成淺淺的階梯。放大鏡躺在旁邊，邊框乾淨又冰涼。藍色顏料在玻璃罐裡靜著，在光裡看起來濃稠。窗台上放著一個陶盆，乾燥的土壤在托盤邊緣圍出一圈。

Ella 拿起放大鏡，滑進桌面上一道陽光裡。鏡片貼著她的手指感到冰涼，天花板上的亮橢圓就彎了一下又移動。她鼓起雙頰向鏡片哈氣，薄薄的霧鋪開來。短短一刻，橢圓邊緣閃著細窄的彩色，接著霧散去，顏色也不見了。小小一片雲遮住了太陽，亮斑變淡；雲走開後，橢圓又亮了起來。Ella 把一張乾紙放到那道光下，粗糙的邊緣磨了一下她的拇指，一道利落的影子切過橢圓的下緣。她把墨水罐微微傾斜；窗光掠過罐身，又從壓印平台反射回去。一條細亮的線跑過天花板，碰到了橢圓的邊。

花盆的葉片站在光路中間，橢圓裡出現了一塊葉形的切片。「我看到了。」Troy 說著，槓桿停在半空，肩膀放鬆。Ella 試著把亮形用抬高罐子來帶走，又用來回移動紙張。亮斑每次都滑開，最後幾乎回到牆上同一處油漆。淡淡一條藍色汙痕留在 Ella 的袖口。壓印機上方，那個亮橢圓依舊發光。