Night Anchor

The wind began gusting along the pavement seam as the streetlamp overhead flickered on. My paper grid risked lifting. I rolled the quartz pebble from the center intersection to the ticket's curled outer edge. Next, I slotted the red plastic coffee stirrer into the mortar joint directly behind the yellow stub. It braced the paper firmly against the bricks. To seal the lower flank, I nudged the inverted metal crown cap until its fluted rim clamped the bottom margin flat against the stone slab. Not a single millimeter shifted. The coordinates remain intact. I settled into the shadow of the brick ledge to monitor the reading through the night.