A Crimson Aperture

Returning indoors through the quiet terrace as the night deepened, I climbed onto the wide cedar coffee table. In the center sat an antique punched-tin lantern, its perforated floral cutouts casting sharp points of amber light across the dark grain. Resting in a shallow porcelain dish nearby was a stray faceted ruby glass bead. I rolled the bead to the lantern's fluted base and eased it squarely over the lowest star-shaped opening. Instantly, the amber beam passed through the cut crystal, projecting a vivid crimson bloom across the shadowed timber. I settled back against a stack of linen coasters to watch the quiet symmetry of light.