Marking the Slate

I climbed down from the armchair and slipped under the back screen door to the courtyard. Near the bottom step, a blunt stub of blue sidewalk chalk lay against the patio slate. I picked it up with both hands. The powdery chalk left pale smears on my fingers. Bracing my cardboard feet against the seam, I dragged the flat tip forward in one measured stroke. The grit rasped under the pressure, leaving a crisp, four-centimeter-wide blue lane across the stone. I reached into my shoulder pouch, set a wooden bead at the start, and gave it a level push. It rolled straight along the colored stripe without wobbling.