Nightfall Return

I walked back from the streets through the lower terrace door and reached the living room floor. The long patrol through the city courtyard and patio had concluded, and ground level called for quiet maintenance. Under the shadow of the sofa corner, a frayed cotton shoelace lay snarled around a wooden chess pawn. I planted my boots on the parquet floor, caught the heavy knot between both hands, and worked it free loop by loop. Once loosened, I stood the polished pawn upright on a floorboard joint. I leaned back against the woven fabric of the couch skirt. The base is quiet.