Cloud Under the Lily Pad- 適合中高級的英語短篇故事

A soft hiss drifted from the fountain plume, mixing with the quiet plip of Greer’s first pellet landing near a cluster of broad lily pads. She stayed frugal, shaking only a few pellets from the paper cup so the fish would not scatter too far at once. Yet the koi burst upward in bright spirals, their shifting backs resembling a deluge of emotions painted in orange and silver. Several pellets skittered across a leaf instead of the water; they rested there like dry buttons while the fish bumped the leaf’s underside in vain pursuit of food. Greer noticed a slim bamboo pole, left by gardeners to clear fallen twigs. She left it on the stone for later use, hoping her next toss would reach the shaded corner where a larger, pale-blue koi hovered.

A sudden gust lifted Greer’s cap; it flipped, rolled, and began to skitter along the gravel path. She darted after it in brief pursuit, the paper cup held upright to save every remaining pellet. By the time she had caught the cap and returned, the scene had shifted. The pellets that had been trapped on the lily pad were now swollen, and a faint brown cloud spread beneath, pushed outward by the fountain’s miniature deluge. The water around the leaf looked murky, yet the large koi lingered below, mouth opening and closing against the cloud. Greer took the bamboo pole, extended her arm over the railing, and nudged the edge of the pad. The leaf dipped; the soaked pellets slid off and dispersed slowly, and the koi turned, gathering each fragment. Greer watched until the cloud cleared, then laid the pole across the cool stone rail, its damp tip pointing toward the quiet water.

噴泉持續發出柔和的嘶嘶聲，與格莉爾第一顆飼料落水時的小聲「噗通」交織。她很節省，只從紙杯倒出幾粒飼料，好讓魚群不會一下子游得太散。然而錦鯉仍像彩色漩渦般衝向水面，那畫面像是橙銀交織的情感洪流。幾顆飼料滑到睡蓮葉上，像乾燥的小扣子停在那裡，魚只能在葉下不斷碰撞卻吃不到。格莉爾注意到園丁留下的一根細竹竿，先把它放在石欄上，打算稍後再用，並希望下一次拋擲能落到柳蔭那端，讓那條藍白相間的大鯉靠近。

忽然一陣風掀起她的帽子；帽子翻滾著在礫石道上滑行。她連忙追過去，手中紙杯依然端正，以免浪費任何剩餘的飼料。等她抓住帽子再回到池邊，景象已改變。先前卡在睡蓮葉上的飼料已經泡脹，淡褐色雲霧在水下擴散，被噴泉那小型澆灌般的水柱推向外側。睡蓮旁的水面變得混濁，而那條大鯉仍停在下方，張口接近漂散的顆粒。格莉爾拿起竹竿，越過欄杆輕推葉緣。葉面微沉，浸水飼料滑落，慢慢散開，大鯉隨即轉身吞食每一碎片。她目送水面恢復清澈，隨後把竹竿橫放回冰涼的石欄上，濕漉漉的杆端仍指向靜靜的池水。