A Slender Spire

I walked back inside from the framing shop and climbed onto the walnut side table to settle down for the night. Beside a soft ceramic pencil cup, I found a clean, unused wooden toothpick resting next to an empty porcelain ink dropper bulb. I gave my round blue glasses a gentle tap with one paw to steady my view. Working with patient nudges, I slipped the slender pick straight into the dropper's narrow black rubber sleeve until the blunt end nestled deep inside. Balanced upright against the rim of a shallow coaster, it stands like a delicate spire catching the amber desk light, still and tidy.