دانلود رمان انگلیسی “یک پاییز در کهربا” – یک سفر صفر ثانیه

Such were my thoughts as I moped my way down the boulevard, wondering why the hell I’d ever agreed to this in the first place. I should have just stayed in Tokyo. Up here in Hakodate, the only thing stretched thinner than the sharp autumn air was my patience. Though the sun was high, any time we rounded a corner and entered into the shadow of the city’s stunted skyline, the biting chill set in so suddenly that it felt like stepping into a walk-in freezer. It was a cold so keen I couldn’t believe it was only late October—yet I could feel the sweat trickling down my sides as my armpits refused to be outdone by the perpetual perspiration on my palms. But this was less a testament to my duffle coat’s heat retention than a symptom of my extreme social anxiety. Just ahead of me, four boys walked shoulder to shoulder, taking up almost the entire sidewalk as they laughed and jostled each other. Beneath their various overcoats and down jackets, they wore the same high school uniform as I did. These were the students I’d been grouped up with for our class field trip—but you wouldn’t know that just by listening in, as I hadn’t said a single word to any of them in almost a full half hour now. At first, I’d made a paltry effort to walk closer behind them and contribute to the conversation with passive one-word answers and nods of agreement. I knew I wasn’t actually engaging with them, though—just trying to pretend I was a part of the club. But after a while, I realized just how pathetically futile the whole exercise was, and I slowed my pace until I’d lengthened the distance between us from a single stride to about two meters. I should have known better than to think I could even perform the role of listener.