A Blue Streak

A thick stub of blue chalk was resting in a shallow seam on the front sidewalk. I stepped close and pressed my bill firmly against its blunt, dusty edge. It resisted with a dry scrape, then rolled out of the groove onto the smooth concrete. Leaning my belly forward, I nudged the cylinder along the pale slab. A powdery turquoise streak unrolled right behind it, bright and sharp against the gray stone. I circled around, adjusted my footing, and gave the chalk another patient push, watching a second line cross the first into a neat little mark.