A Little Sugar Ring

My beads clicked against the wooden edge of the coffee table as I checked on a tiny square ceramic dish. Inside lay three pastel pink sugar cubes from morning tea. My fingers were feeling that jumpy, restless flutter, so I wanted to build something sweet and neat with them. Stacking the first cube on top of another was slippery, and when the powdery corner crumbled and slipped sideways, that quick hot spike flared in my chest. I stopped, pressed my plush palms flat against the smooth table grain, and took four slow, steady breaths. Once my shoulders dropped, I gently nudged all three cubes into a tiny triangle, crowning the center with a loose pastel star bead from my bag. It stands so peaceful, sweet, and still now.