Noon Crucible

The midday glare hit the scraped tin like liquid iron. A dry wasp, aggressive and drawn by the heat, dropped onto the taut steel wire and began stinging the aluminum baffle. I did not step aside for an insect. Striding forward, I caught the copper lug from the deck and tapped the steel wire with measured force. The vibration hummed through the line, snapping the wasp off into the hot desert air. Leaning my arm against the conduit horn, I watched it spiral away into the dust. My post remains unbothered.