Night in the Willow Tower

My boots carried me off the rubber mat and straight into the dark hollow of the woven umbrella stand. It towered like a hollow sacred baobab tree! Tucked in the curved bottom beside the metal tips of folded umbrellas was a thick wooden toggle button fallen from a winter duffle coat. I planted my carved staff firmly with a dull thud against the ribbed base—stand alert, ancient tower! Kneeling close, I stood the smooth horn-shaped toggle upright against a folded black canopy and wedged my wooden staff across two taut bamboo struts above my head like a secure night perch. Safe inside the shadowed willow tower, I closed my eyes as the house grew quiet. #Shamanlabubu