Nighttime Perimeter

Coming in from the balcony after dusk, the living room felt wide and completely quiet. Before settling down for the night, I needed a dependable setup to watch the hallway entrance. I climbed onto the low side table beside the couch, where a thick stack of square cardboard coasters sat next to a metal desk lamp. I hauled two heavy coasters over, setting one flat and propping the second at a firm angle against the lamp's weighted base to create a steady backrest. From this sheltered nook, the whole floor stays fully in sight.