Colors Behind the Wall- 適合中高級的英語短篇故事

Thin dust hovered in the former station canteen, and a faint scent of damp wood clung to the air. Outside, vines clutched the brick like a small jungle, their leaves tapping the cracked window whenever wind slipped through. Marco had been told that the wall-length mural would be covered by fresh tiles tomorrow, so he carried a ladder and an old camera, hoping to record every brushstroke before it disappeared.

The first obstacle arrived quickly. When he tried to bring up the camera app, the screen stayed dark; the battery had drained on the walk. He placed the phone on a crate, fetched his spare camera from the bag, and climbed. Rust shifted under his boots, and flakes of paint snowed down. A passing cloud dimmed the room, forcing him to wait until sunlight returned. If the caretaker had arrived earlier, the mural would have vanished under bright new ceramic, yet the delay granted Marco another attempt. He rubbed a cloth along a gray patch, and a brighter band surfaced: a dinner table crowded with bowls, one bowl brimming with soup still captured a swirl of red and gold.

Curiosity pushed his hands lower. Each swipe widened the hidden scene. Chairs, plates, and candlesticks appeared, all painted beneath the top layer. Near the center, the wood felt hollow; a loose plank shifted and dropped, revealing a narrow cavity. Through the gap he spotted tangled branches, tall grass, and a broken swing—an interior courtyard overtaken until it resembled thick jungle. Marco raised the spare camera, but the shutter stuck halfway and refused the shot. Evening slid across the tiles as he stepped down, and dust lay across the new colors while evening light rested on the quiet ladder.

薄薄的灰塵在舊車站餐廳裡漂浮，空氣中帶著微弱的潮濕木頭氣味。窗外，藤蔓像一片小叢林般抓住磚牆，風吹進來時，葉片輕敲破裂的玻璃。馬可聽說這面牆上的大型壁畫明天就要被新磁磚覆蓋，所以他帶來梯子和舊相機，希望在它消失前記錄下每一道筆觸。

阻礙很快出現。他試圖打開手機的相機程式，螢幕卻保持黑暗；電池在路上已經耗盡。他把手機放在木箱上，從包裡拿出備用相機，爬上梯子。鏽蝕在靴底下移動，油漆碎屑像雪般落下。一片雲遮住陽光，房間變暗，他只好等光線回來。如果管理員早一步到來，壁畫早就被亮麗的新磁磚覆蓋，然而這遲到給了馬可再次嘗試的機會。他用布擦拭灰色區塊，更明亮的色帶浮現：一張擺滿碗盤的餐桌，其中一碗湯仍帶著紅金相間的漩渦。

好奇心讓他的手向下移動。每一次拭擦都擴大這幅隱藏畫面。椅子、盤子、燭台接連顯現，全都畫在表層之下。中央附近，木板感覺中空；一塊鬆動的木條滑落，露出狹窄空洞。透過縫隙，他看見糾結的樹枝、高草和壞掉的鞦韆——內院被植物佔據，已成濃密叢林。馬可舉起備用相機，但快門卡在半途，怎樣也按不下。傍晚的光線滑過磁磚，他走下梯子，灰塵覆在新顏色上，而晚光停留在靜止的梯子上。