A Ring of Pebble Candles

I walked over to the neighborhood park to see the wide sandbox beside the swings. On the smooth wooden border, someone had left an overturned red plastic sand mold shaped like a star. Holding my cookie tin securely against my ribs with one arm, I gathered seven smooth gray river pebbles from the dry sand. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven. I nudged each pebble into place along the star points, pressing them firmly into the warm wood until they stood upright like sturdy party candles. The grains of sand crunched softly under my fingers, making the little sandbox corner feel like a grand celebration.