Before the Light Faded- 適合中高級的英語短篇故事

The rectangle of sunlight lay bright on the carpet, but the rest of the room stayed dim and cool. Janet knelt in the adjustment zone, mirrors clinking as she slid them from the supply box; each edge left a faint scrape on cardboard. Lyle crouched by the first-bounce table, his sleeve brushed the curtain with a low hush while Delia, reading near the window, turned a page that fluttered like dry leaves. The beam shot through the narrow gap, struck the first mirror, and jumped to the chair back. Every time Janet set another mirror, the reflections seemed to multiply, landing for an instant on a shelf before skating away again.

Outside, tyres rolled along the boulevard in a soft hiss, but inside only short clicks marked their progress as plastic backs touched wood. Janet had planned to ring the white card with seven bright spots, copying the circle of a pressed zinnia she kept in an old atlas used now as a stand. When she opened the heavy book for more height, the dried flower slid forward and one fragile petal drifted soundlessly onto the carpet. A sudden cloud muffled the source beam; the lively spot on the chair back dulled to a pale blur, and the chair leg creaked as the mirror loosened and shifted a finger’s width away from its mark.

Time and brightness were thinning together, and more clouds slid in line. Janet and Lyle uncovered two spare wedges from the supply box, their rubber faces giving a faint squelch as they pressed them under the nearest mirror. Instead of chasing the full ring, they aimed for one steady circle at the card’s centre. Lyle’s knee nudged a book; a muffled thud ran through the stack, yet the tightened pathway held. The cloud curtain drifted aside, the beam sharpened, and the single spot glowed as true as a coin. A distant bicycle bell chimed beyond the boulevard while dust motes spun quietly inside the narrow shaft.

一道陽光在地毯上形成亮矩形，然而房間其他角落依舊暗且涼。珍娜跪在調整區，把鏡子從箱子裡滑出，鏡框發出叮噹聲，塑膠邊在紙板上摩擦出輕微刮音。賴爾蹲在首跳桌旁，衣袖擦過窗簾發出柔和沙沙，而坐在窗邊閱讀的德莉亞翻頁時響起乾葉般的撲撲聲。光束穿過窄縫，擊中第一面鏡子後跳到椅背。每放上一面新鏡，反射點便像增生般四處閃躍，僅在書架停留一瞬又溜走。

窗外，大道車輪帶來柔和嘶響；室內則只有塑膠背碰木面的短促嗒聲。珍娜原本想用七個亮點在白卡紙上排成環形，仿照她夾在舊地圖集中的百日菊形狀，現在那本書正當鏡座。她為了墊高打開沉厚書冊，乾花滑出，一片脆瓣無聲飄落到地毯。一片突來雲層削弱主光束，椅背上的亮點變得模糊，椅腳也在鏡子鬆動時嘎吱移開小半寸。

時間與亮度一同減少，更多雲層陸續遮光。珍娜與賴爾從箱中重新取出兩塊備用楔片，橡膠面被壓入鏡子下方時發出輕輕「啵」聲。他們不再追求整圈光點，而是瞄準卡紙中央的一個穩定亮圈。賴爾的膝蓋碰到書堆，悶鈍撞擊沿堆疊傳開，但收緊的光路仍維持住。雲幕滑離，光束變得銳利，單一光點亮得像硬幣。遠處自行車鈴聲越過大道傳來，塵粒在細長光柱中靜靜旋舞。