A Moment of Stillness

The quiet here is different when you don't have to listen for sirens. I stepped away from the key dish and made my way across the warm grain of the coffee table, stopping beside an open paperback book propped on its side. Leaning my back against the soft, deckle-edged paper, I reached down and picked up a dried sprig of lavender that had slipped out from the pages. Rolling the stem gently between my palms released a clean, herbal scent into the afternoon sun. No investigations, no tactical briefs, just the two of us sharing an unhurried stretch of time. I set the lavender against the paper spine, crossed my ankles, and simply let the stillness carry us forward.