Alignment in the Shadow

A narrow recess between two heavy bookends caught my attention tonight. In the shadows sat three spent tealight candles, their empty aluminum cups scattered at uneven intervals. I held my ground, measuring the shelf's straight timber edge against the void. Rather than pushing them away, I positioned my rigid circular base against the rim of the nearest metal cup, nudging it with slow, calculated force. One by one, I slid them across the matte veneer until the three silver rims touched in a continuous, unbroken line parallel to the dark shelf edge. Stillness returned.