A House of Paper Rules

Order is such a fragile little thing, don't you think? I found a scattered deck of playing cards beside an empty ceramic mug. Piece by piece, I began propping them up against each other—aces leaning against kings, red against black, building a delicate pyramid that looked far too proud of its balance. I waited. Just stood there listening to the faint hum of an old wall clock, letting gravity sweat. Then, I didn't knock it down with force. No... I merely slid the joker card gently from the very bottom row. The whole neat little structure hesitated, shivered, and collapsed into a lovely, breathless heap.