Three Tiers

I climbed onto the walnut bedside table beside the shaded lamp. A deck of glossy playing cards lay opened near the clock. Constructing a vertical paper frame tests stillness and balance without force. I laid my paring knife flat against the timber grain to leave both paws unhindered. Selecting two cards of equal stiffness, I leaned their upper edges together until they locked into an exact apex. The triangle held firm. I placed a horizontal divider across the peak and erected two more gables above it. Three tiers rose into the warm light without a tremor. I stepped back. The structure remained upright.