The Sound｜聲響
Right after a four-hour class, my classmates and I were starving and eagerly to have lunch, so we went to the student dining table. When I was about to buy something for lunch, a low voice from the grooming dark warned me to take the picture back. "What picture?" I asked. I don't understand what you mean, and certainly sure that I have never taken any of your pictures!" I shouted furiously to make myself get rid of the scare. The voice did not reply to me. I looked around, but somehow it seemed like nobody heard this voice. Everyone was chatting cheerfully and enjoying the meal. Confused, I assumed what just happened as I was not getting enough sleep. As I was going to have my food, someone from the unknown dragged my hand to the tiny room where we put our cleaning tools. In the room, several little strawmen were on the shelf of the sink. Some were dancing while others were staring at me, all seemingly unreal. Beside the sink, a man in black appeared in front of me. He held my hand and took me under some dashing brightness. I could barely open my eyes; all I could see was white. The man who brought me here was gone, and I stood there speechless. I had no idea where I was, nor where the picture was. All I could do was stand there for a moment until the fog dissolved. Then, I did know that I was at a department store.
在四小時的課程之後，我同學與我飢腸轆轆且渴望著享用午餐，因此我們便去學生餐廳。當我正要買點什麼當作午餐時，一個來自黑暗中的低沉聲音要我還回照片。「什麼照片？」我問。「我並不理解你說的，且我確信我從未拍下任何有關你的照片！」我狂怒似地大喊著以試圖驅趕我的恐懼。那聲音並未回應我。我環顧四周，但看似無人發覺這聲音。所有人歡欣地聊著天並享用著餐點。真使人困惑，我猜測那可能僅是我睡眠不足罷了。當我要開動時，不知從何而來地攫著我的手，並將我帶到我們放置掃具的斗室。在房間裡，些許稻草人在洗手台架上。有些正與他人舞蹈著而有些正注視著我，全看似好不真實。在洗手台旁，一襲全黑的男人在我面前出現。他抓著我的手並帶我到某處刺眼明亮的地方。我幾乎無法張開雙眼；張眼所見皆為一片白。帶我至此的男人消失了，我不發一語地佇立在那。我對身處何處毫無頭緒、也不知相片道地是什麼。我能做的僅剩佇立在那等待謎霧散去。接著，我才知道原來我在百貨商場。
My junior high school teacher was standing in front of the apparel shop, waving her hand toward me “Wendy!” Hollered my teacher, jumping up and down. “Come here! Look at these fine dresses. You should try them on.” Then, she put a stack of clothes in my arms and pushed me to the apparel room. I stood in the apparel room, looked around, and started to change my outfit. I remembered holding something, maybe it was a picture, but I left it in the apparel room. My teacher was still shopping, but I felt like wandering around. Just in a moment, I found myself was transformed into a male without reason. Then, I encountered a group of teenagers. Some of them were my junior high school classmates. They were playing at the corner next to an elevator. I joined them. We were shouting, making some shrilling sounds, and having fun as if we were just born yesterday. However, an ugly and grumpy woman came toward us. “WHAT ARE YOU GUYS DOING HERE!” Her croaky voice filled the department store. “All of you are responsible for what you have done. Here is the chance for you to avoid punishment from the owner of this store. Memorize these vocabularies in thirty minutes and draw a picture where all these words can be well hidden!” After finishing, she then stood beside the list with those words. Everyone was forced to memorize as many vocabularies as possible. However, shame on me—I could hardly remember any words on the list.
我的國中老師站在服飾店前，揮舞著她的手：「溫蒂！」她喊著，上下跳動著。「過來！看這些好看的裙子。你真應該試試。」接著，她塞了一堆衣服到我手裡，並推我進入服飾店。我站在服飾店裡，四周環顧，並開始喚起我的穿著。我記得我手握著什麼，可能就是那張照片，但我將它留在服飾店。我的老師仍在購物，但我開始四處閒晃。在須臾之間，我發現我自己無來由地變成了男性。接著，我遇到一群青少年。他們之中有些人是我的國中同學。他們在電梯旁的角落玩耍。我加入他們。我們大喊，發出一些尖銳聲響，一同享樂宛如初生。但，有位醜陋兇悍的婦人向我們走來。「你們在這做什麼！」她低沈且沙啞的嗓音迴盪整間百貨。「你們要為你們的所作所為負責，這有個機會讓你們逃離商場主人的懲罰：在三十分鐘內記下這些單字並將這些可以被隱藏的字詞畫下來！」結束後，她仍站在那些字詞列表旁。所有人開始盡可能地記憶這些單字。然而，真丟臉，我卻記不得表上的任何字。
Time was up, and the list was gone. Each of us was forced to stand in front of the wall. "Don't ever dare to look at others' works, or you will die," said the woman. Clapboards separated us right after she finished her words. Everyone began to draw things on the wall. I knew everyone did as commanded since I heard the rustling sound. The woman was pacing back and forth behind us while the ticking sound started to speed up. I knew I had no time to waste, and I needed to draw something so that I wouldn't get punished. Yet, the harder I tried to refresh the words, the fewer words I could recall. Feeling frustrated and hopeless, I decided to peep at others’ works as long as the woman was not looking. I thought I made it perfectly, and I was confident that she wouldn't notice. Whereas things didn’t go my way, I got caught. I saw her eyes look directly at me. Fear seized me, for I knew what would happen because those who got caught would vanish in a second. I saw her walking toward me, but I didn't want to die. My heartbeat pumped as if it wanted to break through my chest, and my face turned red like a pomegranate. My hands started to get cold, and my mind drew a blank. I was about to shake like jelly, but I had to pretend there was nothing wrong with me. As she came closer to me, the only phrase that came into my mind was “I DON’T WANT TO DIE!”
時間到，單字表也跟著消失。我們被迫站在牆前。「別肖想看其他人的答案，不然你就死定了。」女人說道。在她說完後隔板便將我們分離。所有人開始在牆上畫東西。我知道所有人皆依照要求做事，因為我聽見了沙沙作響。我知道我沒有時間蹉跎，我需要畫點東西才不會被受到懲罰。然而，我愈是要回憶起單字，我愈想不起字詞。在絕望失意之下，我決定在女人沒發現的情況下偷看其他人的作品。我以為我能完美做到，且我有信心我不會被她發現。但事情並非如我所想，我被抓到了。我看見她雙眼直視著我。恐懼佔據了我，因我知道再來會發生什麼事：那些被抓到的都會在轉瞬間消失。我看見她向我走來，我的臉變得如石柳一樣紅。我的手開始發冷、心轉為一片空白。我開始如果凍一般顫抖，但我得裝出什麼事都沒發生過一樣。當她接近我時，浮現在我心中的一句話只有「我不想死！」