Sunflowers Behind the Brick Wall- 適合中高級的英語短篇故事

Mariel had previously balanced houseplants on every windowsill, yet space still felt cramped. She measured a rectangle of dusty ground behind her building with a length of string. The plan had been approved by the landlord during winter, when no one cared about the forgotten courtyard. Now spring coloured the air, and she aimed for a modest expansion of green beyond the bricks. A neighbour’s cat watched from the fence while she scattered carrot and lettuce seeds. Her aspiration pulsed in the quick movements of her hands and the careful press of her knees into the soil. A final shake of the watering can darkened the earth, then the spout clogged with rust.

On the first afternoon the hose she hoped to use for steady watering split along its side, spraying her jeans. If she had known the rubber had grown brittle, she would have tested it before turning the tap. Undeterred, she carried buckets from the kitchen, but the handle snapped and water seeped under the back door. While she searched for another tool, clouds drifted away and the bed cracked again. At dusk she discovered an old rain barrel hidden behind ivy; its rim had been dented by a storm, yet it still held cool water. Using a metal ladle, she managed to irrigate thin channels between each row.

Three weeks passed, and pale shoots pricked the surface. She leaned closer, eyes narrowing, because the leaves looked broad, nothing like carrot tops. The packet had been mislabelled by the shop; instead of carrots, towering sunflowers began their sudden climb. Rather than curse the mistake, she tied sticks for support and let the taller stems nurture the baby lettuces beneath their shade. Children from the ground-floor flats appeared, marveling at the rising wall of yellow that now blocked their view of the bins. Light bounced from petal to window until the courtyard quieted. Tall heads rested above the fence, stable against the evening breeze.

Mariel 先前把各種盆栽排滿窗台，但室內仍然顯得擁擠。她用一條繩子在大樓後方的灰土上量出一塊長方形。冬天時房東已經同意她的計畫，那時沒有人在意被遺忘的院子。如今春意上升，她想在磚牆外增添一小片綠意。鄰居的貓趴在圍欄上看著她撒下紅蘿蔔和萵苣種子。她跪在地上動作俐落，渴望從手指間散發；最後一搖澆水壺把土壤染暗，然而壺嘴卻被鏽塞住。

第一天下午，她打算用來持續澆水的水管沿側面裂開，水花濺濕牛仔褲。如果她早知道橡膠已經變脆，就會先測試再開水龍頭。她不氣餒，從廚房提桶來，但提把斷裂，水滲進後門。她尋找其他工具時，雲層散去，畦面再次乾裂。黃昏時，她在常春藤後找到一只舊雨桶；桶緣雖被風暴撞凹，裡面仍存著涼水。她用金屬勺子舀水，在每行種子間挖出細溝灌溉。

三週過去，淡色嫩芽刺破表面。她湊近瞇眼，發現葉片寬大，完全不像紅蘿蔔。原來商店把種子標錯，冒出的竟是高聳向日葵。她沒有抱怨，而是綁上支架，讓高莖庇護幼小萵苣。住在一樓的孩子跑來，驚訝於逐漸抬頭的金黃色牆面遮住垃圾桶。陽光在花瓣與窗戶間跳動，院子隨之安靜。高高的花頭倚在圍欄上，在傍晚微風中靜靜站立。