A Slender Prism

I walked through the open arched doorway of the neighborhood succulent greenhouse, where the afternoon warmth collected beneath tall glass panes. Along a raised timber trestle, a gardener had left an uncoiled copper watering wand resting beside a shallow terracotta saucer of water. I stepped onto the moist cedar boards with measured poise, noting how the surface of the pool reflected the ribbed greenhouse frame. Rather than stepping past it, I extended my right forepaw and placed the flat of my pad against the saucer's clay rim, tilting it just enough to break the surface tension. A quiet ripple traveled across the basin, catching a stray beam of afternoon light and casting a slender, trembling lattice of amber along the pale green leaves beside me.