A Clean Fold

I slipped past the front gate into the morning air and walked down the brick path to the quiet park square. Near the low stone rim of the fountain, a stiff brown paper seed envelope lay tipped on its side against the wet gravel. I stepped close, feeling the rough stone solid beneath my feet, and wrapped both hands around the envelope's creased paper flap. With careful, measured balance, I pressed out the wrinkled fold against the flat stone ledge until it lay entirely crisp and smooth. Tucking its lower corner beneath a heavy decorative pebble kept it sheltered from the passing morning draft.