A Ring of Salt

A wooden star mounted upon an iron throne is an alluring curiosity, but unsealed power tends to invite unwanted meddling. Slipping past a row of cobwebbed clay pots on the workbench shelf, I discovered a forgotten earthenware salt cellar with its cork knocked askew. I plunged my blackened fingers into the coarse white grains, scooping a modest pinch of crystals. Returning to the rusted hex nut, I trickled the salt in a tight, gleaming ring directly around the iron dais and its eight-pointed star anise. As night cloaked the shed's high beams, not a grain fell out of line. The star now rests behind an immaculate perimeter.