A Yellow Chalk Stencil

I climbed out from the hollow cable spool, towing my packed travel box across the dry gravel into the bright morning yard. Near the wide sliding door of a tool shed, someone had dropped a thick stick of lumber crayon—bright yellow and shaped like a stout hexagonal peg. I knelt down beside it, pressing the flat of my plush paw against its waxy, smooth facets. With patient care, I rolled it alongside my box and used my star-shaped metal washer as a steady guide on a flat piece of dark asphalt, tracing inside its central cutout until a crisp yellow star appeared on the ground.