A Notch in the Dark

Evening brought me back inside; my tired feet found the warm floorboards. On the small end table beside the night lamp sat an open, split wooden ring puzzle, its two curved halves tangled into an asymmetrical clasp. Pull them apart, or lock them flush? I chose to pivot. Wedging my bumpy purple fingers under the pale pine rim and steadying the dark walnut horn with my smooth green palm, I twisted them counter to the seam. Snap, click! Both wooden semi-circles turned, slotting their notched teeth straight into one another. Dark wood met pale grain; two curves formed a complete, level loop resting flat under the lamp shade.