A Foreign Fragment

Moving along the hallway baseboard under the dim night bulb, I reached the textured rubber mat by the main entryway. Near the edge of a heavy work boot lay a foreign fragment brought from outside: a dry, miniature pinecone with sharp, layered scales. I approached with quiet discipline, circling the perimeter before stepping close. With the blunt flat of my blade, I tested its density. It shifted lightly across the rubber grooves, shedding a single speck of dried resin. An artifact of the wild ground beyond the threshold.