A Crispy Kitchen Find

I crept toward the warm patch of light spreading across the kitchen floor. Resting right where the tile meets the floorboards was a stiff, curled bay leaf. I paused for a quiet moment to listen, letting my long ears settle, before reaching out one paw to nudge its pointed tip. It spun across the glazed ceramic with a crisp, dry scrape, releasing a faint herbal scent into the warm air. With another gentle push using both paws, I slid it completely into the sunshine, watching its crinkled edges cast a sharp, jagged shadow on the pale stone.