Apples After the Sneeze- 適合中高級的英語短篇故事

The produce mist drifted in cool bursts above the spinach trays, but the air beside the herb rack stayed unexpectedly warm. Iris nudged a shopping cart whose front wheel ground against the rubber floor strip, giving off a faint burnt-dust smell. She and Cruz had already gathered carrots and broth boxes; now she reached for a feathery bulb of fennel, its anise scent floating over the damp lettuce aroma. The cart resisted every turn, yet the siblings kept sliding it forward, following the store’s maze-like aisle numbers. A freezer door groaned open behind them, releasing chilly breath that felt like a brief sanctuary from the mixed odors. Just then a distant bell at the bakery counter pinged—ticket twenty-four—and their loaf was ready for slicing, an after-school tradition neither wanted to miss.

Iris hurried toward the yeasty cloud rising near the ovens, leaving Cruz beside the weighing scale. While she waited for the serrated machine to finish, Cruz had leaned closer to the fennel, curious about its bright fronds. The sharp scent tickled his throat; an abrupt sneeze burst out and jolted his elbow against the chrome pan of the scale. The metal arm jerked upward, clanging. A toddler at a fruit display flinched at the noise, released a miniature cart handle, and the small trolley rolled downhill along a gentle floor slope. Its rubber bumper nudged the lower edge of an apple crate, and several glossy fruits thudded onto the tiles, releasing a sweet, cider-raw trace into the aisle.

The bakery slice bag still warm in her palm, Iris returned to find apples rocking in shallow arcs. She dipped, slid an empty green basket beneath the tilted crate, and the movement absorbed the next wave of fruit before they could spread farther. Sticky spots already dotted the floor, and she wondered whether the bruised pieces might suit a weekend pie. Without hurry, she gathered the fallen apples into a sack, noting the transition from sugary crust smells at her elbow to the earthy bruised-skin odor rising below. A thin ribbon of apple juice crept across the tile toward the floor drain.

蔬菜區的噴霧在菠菜托盤上空散出涼意，然而香草架旁的空氣卻出乎意料地暖熱。艾莉絲推著購物車，前輪在橡膠地墊上摩擦，飄出微弱的焦塵氣味。她和克魯茲已經選好紅蘿蔔與高湯盒，現在她伸手拿起一顆茴香球莖，茴香的微甜辛香飄過濕潤的萵苣味。車子每轉彎都不聽使喚，但兩人仍設法把它推往標示錯綜的走道。後方冷凍櫃門嘎然打開，送來一陣冰涼氣流，像短暫的避風港。這時烘焙區的鈴聲叮一聲響起——二十四號麵包該切片了——那是他們放學後不變的小習慣。

艾莉絲朝瀰漫酵香的烤爐邊快步走去，把克魯茲留在秤台旁。等待鋸齒切片機作業的同時，克魯茲湊近茴香，好奇地打量翠綠葉梗。辛辣香氣刺激喉嚨，他猛地打了個噴嚏，手肘撞上秤盤，金屬臂一下彈起，鏗然作響。水果區一名幼童聽到聲音嚇了一跳，鬆開迷你推車把手，小車順著微斜的地面滑動，橡膠擋條頂到蘋果箱下緣，幾顆光亮的蘋果滾到地板，釋出淡淡生蘋果汁味。

手中仍帶溫度的切片麵包袋晃動著，艾莉絲折返時看見蘋果在地上晃成淺弧。她俯身，把空綠籃塞到傾斜的箱底，下一波滾動被籃子撐住，不再擴散。黏稠果汁已點點沾上磁磚，她心想或許這些碰傷的果實可以拿來做週末派。她不慌不忙地把掉落的蘋果收入袋中，留意到手肘邊的糖皮香正與腳邊微酸的果皮味交替。一條細細的蘋果汁痕在磁磚上向排水口緩緩延伸。