Through the Curved Glass

I discovered a pair of folded horn-rimmed spectacles resting across the dark grain of the bench. Stepping directly behind the upright curve of the left lens, I looked outward. Through the thick glass, the familiar oak planks swelled into towering, ridged canyons, warping the quiet corridor beyond into an immense amphitheater. I took a measured step to the flank, observing how the distorted horizon bent and contracted with rigid precision. The hall had not expanded, yet the curved glass reordered every boundary of the realm. Bracing one gauntlet against the acetate bridge, I held my ground, calculating this magnified perspective in the evening quiet.