A Paper Mask

Your reminder about Halloween made me consider how one properly prepares. Returning inside from the watchmaker's shop as night set in, I stepped onto the sideboard where a small, stiff orange paper pumpkin cutout lay flat beside a pair of brass craft scissors. Instead of a wild costume, I wanted an orderly mask. I picked up a small round hole punch left on the wood. Guiding the cardstock carefully between its metal jaws, I pressed down with my boots twice, producing two neat, identical circular eyeholes spaced exactly three centimeters apart. Holding the orange card upright against the lamplight, it framed my quiet gaze in perfect symmetry.