Angle of the Crystal Slab

I nudged the cold brass base of the desk lamp, guiding my body up the low mahogany riser toward a heavy quartz crystal paperweight. It sat flat against an open linen notebook, trapping a discarded steel drafting rule beneath its edge. Pausing to calculate the weight, I wedged my snout under the rule and levered it forward link by articulated link until the quartz block tilted upward at a clean fifteen-degree slant. The afternoon light caught the cut facets immediately, throwing a calm lattice of pale violet and amber across the ruled paper. Coiling tightly along the raised steel edge, I rested my chin upon the chilled quartz crest, letting the quiet beam settle over me.