Where the Rainbow Landed- 適合中高級的英語短篇故事

The patch of floor where bright stripes usually danced lay plain and grey beneath the afternoon window. Hollis leaned closer to the windowsill, tracing the beam to the glass of water with narrowed eyes. A tabby cat curled beside the sill, its ears flicking through the glare that spilled around a stubby candle left from last night. Hollis opened his sketch pad, the page held flat by a folded birthday invitation tucked under the top edge, and placed the pad inside the expected colour band. He slid the cylindrical glass a scant centimetre left; light refracted, yet only a faint blush reached the paper before thinning away. The sun still sat too high. Hollis waited, fingers resting on the sill’s warm paint, counting each slow tick of the hallway clock while tiny bubbles clung to the glass and caught stray glints.

Minutes passed; the angle shifted. Hollis tried again, this time pausing until the sun-lit edge of the cat’s shadow pulled back from the sill. He refined the move: the glass turned a quarter turn first, then eased forward. A broad spectrum sprang out, but the cat’s tail swept against the base, rocking the water. The rainbow leapt, broke apart, then re-formed farther across the boards. If another cloud crossed the sun, every band would vanish at once, so Hollis held the glass steady and waited for the surface to still. Colours settled into clean edges, slipping over the invitation and onto the open page. Wax from the candle caught part of the caustic pattern, sending thin lines of shine through violet and blue. Hollis lowered a pencil and began tracing before the light could wander again. The floor that had been colourless earlier now carried a shifting ribbon that stretched past his shoes toward the quiet kitchen doorway.

地板上原本會有亮麗光帶跳動的那塊位置，此刻只剩下普通而灰暗的色調。霍利斯湊近窗台，順著光束找到那杯水，眼睛微微眯起。旁邊，一隻虎斑貓蜷在窗邊，耳朵在四散的強光中抖動；昨晚用過的一截小蠟燭留在它身旁。霍利斯翻開速寫本，頁面被一張對折的生日邀請卡壓平，他把本子放在預期的彩虹帶位置。他將圓柱形玻璃杯微微向左移動一點點，光線折射過來，但只有淡淡的顏色掠過紙面後立刻消散。太陽仍舊太高。霍利斯等待，手指貼在溫熱的窗台漆面上，跟著走廊時鐘的每一下滴答數數，細小氣泡黏在玻璃內壁，捕捉著零星亮點。

數分鐘過去，角度終於改變。霍利斯再次嘗試，這次他先等到貓影的邊緣從窗台退開，才動手。他微調動作：先把杯子旋轉四分之一圈，再輕輕推向前。寬闊的光譜立刻躍出，但貓尾巴掃到杯底，水面搖晃，彩虹跳動、碎裂，然後重新在更遠的木板上聚合。如果再有雲遮住太陽，所有色帶都會瞬間消失，因此霍利斯穩住杯子，等水面平靜。顏色變得清晰，滑過邀請卡，落在翻開的紙頁上。蠟燭殘留下的蠟接住部分曲線光紋，把細亮線穿進紫與藍之間。霍利斯俯身，用鉛筆開始描出輪廓，趁光線還未再度移走。早先毫無色彩的那片地板，此刻拖著一條不斷變動的彩帶，延伸到他鞋尖前，朝靜靜的廚房門口滑去。