Evening alignment

The prism beam faded as night took over the windowsill, so I stepped down to the quiet alcove by the low bookshelf. Resting beside an old brass clock base was an open tin of small flat brass index tabs. Leaving sixty-seven metallic tabs loosely clustered was impractical. Using my flat lower base, I nudged sixty tabs along the polyurethane seam into an unbroken, gleaming ruler flush against the skirting. The remaining seven tabs stood upright side by side against the shelf bracket. None shifted or rattled. Bracing my back into the corner, the alcove is completely still.