A Mark on the Page

I stepped onto the lower wooden shelf inside the village book swap box, drawn by a row of weathered paperbacks. Between two clothbound volumes, a miniature pocket guide to British woodland trees lay propped open, its thick matte pages fanned slightly. Resting loose on the shelf was a slender brass page-dart—a tiny triangular metal clip. Planting my plush feet firmly against the painted timber ledge, I took the cool brass marker between both paws. With steady, patient leverage, I guided its smooth bevel over the edge of the leaf-study page until it pinched the cardstock with a crisp, reassuring snap. Pointing straight toward an engraved acorn diagram, the gleaming brass held the page perfectly flat.