Split Shadows Over the Pond- 適合中高級的英語短篇故事

"See that shadow under the willow."

Lucia pressed both palms against the cool, gritty railing, feeling faint moisture gather along her fingertips. Greenish water formed a smooth skin, yet a gentle bulge disturbed it just below the drooping leaves. A dry smell, close to late chrysanthemum petals, slipped over the stone rim and mixed with the damp pond scent. Each time Lucia shifted, the pellets rattled inside the paper cup with a sandy shiver against the thin wall. The shade kept the creature unclear, but an orange glint flashed whenever sunlight leaked between narrow gaps in the branches. Floyd leaned closer, the rough stone scratching his elbows, while his eyebrows knit in an effort to judge the hidden size. Lucia let the cup tremble and one pellet slid from her thumb, dropping with a quiet plip near the lily pads.

Concentric rings widened, and Lucia suddenly hoped the shadow would leave its corner so the bright body could be seen. The ripples made her reminisce about afternoons when her grandfather fed fish with slow pinches that never wasted a crumb. She copied that motion, but moisture soaked the rim, the paper softened, and a sudden tear let several pellets tumble out. Pinching the soggy edge, she tried to fold it over itself, hoping the fresh crease would stop the leak for a while. The clumsy repair held, yet crumbs still escaped and dusted the rough railing, leaving a thin, dark line across the stone. When she tossed again, a gust bent the arc, and most pellets landed on a broad lily leaf instead of the water. Lucia crouched, lowered her wrist nearly to the surface, and let single pellets drop straight through the still patch beside the shade. Two koi glided from beneath the willow and separated, revealing that the supposed monster had only been their overlapping backs. Copper scales winked in the moving light, then the pair drifted toward the fountain zone where stray pellets dissolved into pale clouds. Lucia placed the torn cup beside the dispenser post, its damp rim printing a dark half-moon on the rough stone.

「看那片垂柳下的影子。」

露西雅用雙手按住冰涼又粗糙的石欄，指尖能感到細小的水氣。湖面像塗了一層綠色薄釉，但垂枝下方卻有一道微隆的水脊緩緩移動。帶著乾爽氣息的菊花殘瓣味隨著噴泉的水霧飄來，和池水的清涼氣味交雜。她一挪動，紙杯裡的魚飼料就像細砂一樣沙沙滾動。柳蔭擋住了生物的輪廓，只在陽光透縫時閃出橙色亮片。佛洛伊德靠得更近，粗石磨著手臂，他緊皺眉想判斷那隱形生物的大小。露西雅讓紙杯微微顫動，一顆飼料從拇指邊滑落，在睡蓮旁發出細小的「啵」聲。

同心圓漣漪擴散，露西雅突然希望那道影子能離開角落，好讓她看清魚身。水紋令她想起跟祖父餵魚的午後，他總是慢慢捏食，從不浪費。她照著動作撒料，但杯口受潮變軟，一道裂痕突然開啟，多顆飼料滾了出去。她捏著濕邊，把紙口對折，盼望新的摺痕能暫時止漏。臨時修補勉強奏效，卻仍有碎屑逃逸，給粗石欄添上一道淡黑線。再撒時，風改變拋物線，多數顆粒落在寬大的荷葉上。她蹲低，將手腕貼近水面，讓顆粒筆直落進陰涼水面。兩尾錦鯉自柳下滑出並分開，原來那「巨魚」只是牠們背鰭重疊的錯覺。銅色鱗片在光影中閃爍，隨後牠們游向噴泉區，遠處的飼料已成淡淡雲霧。露西雅把破杯放在投幣機旁，濕滑的杯口在粗石上留下一道深色半月痕。