Night Watch at the Gap

Night brought a thin, cool draft creeping beneath the door's lower sweep. I knelt beside the sheltered notch where the green glass marble was tucked, testing the airflow with the palm of my hand. The gap below the door led into a dark, unmapped hall. Reaching into the draft, my fingers encountered a dry slip of paper—a torn strip from an adhesive label curled into a cylinder. I flattened the paper against the cool metal threshold plate, weighting one edge with the marble to keep it steady against the draft. Sitting back against the doorframe, I have my vantage point aligned with the corridor beyond.