Mist From a Fallen Plum- 適合中高級的英語短篇故事

"Mind the pears on top," Flora said.

She extended a hand between two steel-grey crates in the shade section, checking each peach’s pale surface for a faint silver bloom. A sudden gust from the stall gap pressed the price sign against her wrist, scattering cool misted droplets. Below the crates, a rounded hedgehog sniffed a fallen plum, its quills tipped with tiny reflective specks of straw. Flora nudged a cardboard divider toward the animal, hoping to guide it away before someone stepped on it. The divider bumped a pear, the pear struck a plum, and that plum rolled into the brass scale's pan. Metal links rattled as the pan swung outward, its force jerking the hanging chain that held the clothespin. The loosened pin snapped free, and the sign flipped downward onto the trigger of the spritz bottle beside the nectarines.

A thin fan of water burst forward, drumming on blue-grey trays until drops slid toward the front display like quick beads. Hector stepped sideways, blocking the stream with his forearm; he then lifted the bottle upright, halting the spray without disturbing the fruit. The plum still sat on the pan, and its extra weight had been registered by the scale’s older mechanism. The vendor raised an eyebrow at the pointer, tapping the steel-grey frame once with a fingertip. Flora removed the rogue plum, wiped it on a napkin, and placed it into the reject corner before returning to the counter. Once the pan lightened, the pointer eased back, and the vendor’s quiet nod confirmed a fair mass for their chosen peaches. If the crates toppled, the peaches would bruise, and their search would start again in cooler boxes. Instead, the fortuitous repercussion of a single roll ended with clean fruit and a dry counter. Oblivious to the tidy recovery around it, the hedgehog kept nosing the cool shade beneath the crates. At the cheese stall two steps away, a sudden gust sent a stack of paper cups tumbling in a wobbling spiral. One cup rolled on its rim toward the hedgehog, its thin edge spinning over the dusty boards.

「注意最上面那幾顆梨子。」芙蘿拉說。

她把手伸進遮陽布下的兩個鋼灰木箱之間，尋找表面帶著淡銀粉的桃子。鄰攤縫隙裡竄出的突來陣風把手寫價牌拍在她手腕上，幾滴涼水霧四散。木箱下，一隻渾圓的刺蝟正嗅著掉落的李子，尖刺上沾著細小的稻草反光。芙蘿拉用紙板隔片輕推牠，想在有人踩到牠前把牠請走。隔片撞到一顆梨子，那梨子碰到另一顆李子，李子便滾進黃銅秤盤。秤盤向外擺動時，金屬鍊條嘎啦晃動，牽著木夾彈開，價牌翻落剛好壓到噴霧瓶扳機。

一道細水扇突然噴出，在鋼灰托盤上敲出聲響，水珠像玻璃珠般滑向前排展示區。赫克托側身用前臂擋住水流，隨即把瓶子扶正，止住噴霧。秤盤上那顆李子額外的重量早已被老舊機構記錄。老闆挑眉望著指針，伸指輕敲鋼灰框。芙蘿拉拿下「闖禍」李子，用紙巾擦拭後放進折扣角再回到櫃檯。秤盤變輕後，指針回到正確刻度，老闆點頭，表示他們挑的桃子重量合理。若木箱整排倒下，桃子肯定瘀傷，他們就得跑去陰涼箱重新挑選。但幸運的連鎖反應只留下乾淨水果和乾爽檯面。攤位一角，對這番收拾全然不察的刺蝟仍在陰影裡嗅來嗅去。兩步外的起司攤，一陣突風捲起，將一疊紙杯吹得螺旋翻滾。一只紙杯沿著杯口滾向刺蝟，薄邊在有灰的地板上旋轉前行。