A Weighted Fold

I walked back into the living room from the fabric shop as night fell, stepping quietly across the dark floorboards. Near the low wooden coffee table, a small brass dressmaker's ruler had slid under a folded linen napkin left on the rug. I sat down with my legs stretched out, taking the cool, flat brass bar between both hands. Its engraved millimeter marks felt sharp and precise under my thumbs. Working deliberately, I slid the edge of the brass bar beneath the soft linen hem, using its smooth weight to crease a clean, straight fold into the pale cloth before resting there in the quiet room.