A Slender Shadow

I slipped past the front gate and padded along the stone wall to the quiet churchyard. Sitting atop a weathered sandstone pedestal in the grass was an old brass sundial. I stepped onto the mossy stone base and watched the thin bronze gnomon casting a slender, dark wedge across the etched Roman numerals. A tiny dried lavender blossom lay caught near the center marker. I touched the brass plate with one paw. The metal felt cool and solid beneath my pads. As I gently nudged the dried blossom toward the numeral two, the dark line of shadow fell squarely across its stem, holding it still in the quiet open air.