Silence Between Two Gusts- 適合中高級的英語短篇故事

A pale circle of dust ringed the cairn’s peak, yet the top stone was missing. Ben bent closer, gravel crunching under his boots as he checked the ground for the runaway piece. Beside him, Suki listened; the hillside carried only the hush of wind and the soft hum of insects. Aunt Ilsa, re-tying her boot laces on a nearby rock, said nothing. Ben had noticed a flatter shard near the slope-face outcrop earlier, so the pair walked there, each step sending loose pebbles rattling downhill. He levered the shard free with his hiking pole; it landed on the earth with a dull thud. They hurried back and placed it on the cairn, but the shard rocked and slid, clacking onto the path in utter confusion when the next gust arrived.

Another try: Suki fetched a broad, speckled stone whose surface carried a streak the colour of a carnation petal. The stone landed on the third layer with a firm clap, yet the column now leaned downhill, groaning as grit shifted beneath. A patch of dry moss on one lower stone peeled away like an old rug, and the whole stack sighed apart. While they gathered the scattered pieces, a striped beetle burst from beneath a pebble, its tiny legs tapping a rapid rhythm that startled Ben. “Hold your horses,” he whispered to himself, freezing until the insect scuttled off. An innovative idea sparked; he tapped a wedge-shaped pebble free from the outcrop. The pebble had been trapped under the second layer, already shaped like a shim and thin as a coin.

They rebuilt: base, second, third. Suki crouched, ear tilted toward the scrub. Silence stretched; even the insects paused. During that brief lull, Ben slid the wedge under the leaning side and, together, they lowered the carnation-streaked capstone. Wind returned with a sharp whistle, but this time the five stones stayed upright, only a muted vibration traveling through the pile. Ben laid the hiking pole across the flat stone beside the stack, then stepped back to watch the column hold its breath.

石堆頂端的灰色圓痕顯示原本放著一塊石頭，但那塊石頭如今不見蹤影。班彎下腰，鞋底壓碎砂礫發出喀喀聲，尋找逃跑的頂石。蘇琪站在一旁聆聽；山坡上只有風的低語與昆蟲的細嗡。伊爾莎阿姨坐在近處的石塊上重新繫鞋帶，沒有開口。班先前在山壁突出的岩面旁看見一片較平的石片，兩人走去取它，每一步都讓鬆散的小石子叮噹滾下坡。他用登山杖撬下石片，石片落地發出沉悶聲。他們趕回去把它放到石堆上，但下一陣風來時，石片搖晃滑落，在小徑上撞擊成一片混亂。

第二次嘗試：蘇琪拿來一塊帶有康乃馨色條紋的寬石。那塊石頭落在第三層時發出清脆聲，可是整座石堆向下坡傾斜，底層砂礫移動時咕嚕作響。一層乾苔像舊地毯般從下方石頭剝離，整堆石頭嘆息般散開。他們收集散落石塊時，一隻條紋甲蟲從礫石下竄出，用細腿敲出急促節奏，嚇得班停住動作。「等等別急，」他默念，直到昆蟲離開。一個新點子冒出；他從岩面撬下一枚楔形薄石。那塊薄石原本卡在第二層下，形狀剛好充當墊片。

他們重建：底層、第二層、第三層。蘇琪蹲下，將耳朵靠向灌木，四周陷入寂靜，連昆蟲也暫停振翅。在那短暫空檔，班把薄石塞進傾斜側，兩人合力放下帶有康乃馨色條紋的頂石。風帶著尖銳呼嘯再次掠過，這回五塊石頭依舊挺立，只傳來微弱震動。班把登山杖橫放在石堆旁的平石上，然後退後一步，看著那座石柱屏住呼吸般地站著。