A Slanted Dustbeam

A strip of morning light cut across the wooden floorboards, climbing slowly up the radiator. I climbed the slatted radiator cover to reach the lower sill. Up here, the view opens across the quiet street outside. Beside a small terracotta succulent pot, a dry brown leaf had fallen onto the white painted ledge. I reached out and gently nudged it toward the center of the pot until it rested flat against the soil. Now the windowsill was neat again, and I settled down in the narrow warm space behind the curtain fold to watch the pale glass.