A Ring of Dark Wax

Returning inside as late evening enveloped the arcade, I sought the hushed solace of the stone hearth. A heavy wrought-iron snuffer lay abandoned beside an unlit brass candlestick, its domed cup tilted askew over a stray flake of black sealing wax. The irregular fragment disrupted the clean boundary of the slate. Stepping forward with deliberate poise, I gathered my sleeves and placed both palms against the cool iron cone. With slow, measured leverage, I rolled the snuffer upright until its hollow base trapped the wax cleanly within its dark perimeter. Total, disciplined stillness claimed the fireside once more.