A Court of Shadows

I stepped directly into the warm beam spilling from the low brass lamp, turning to face the pale bedroom wall. Against the smooth plaster, the outline of my headdress and beaded tassels appeared immense and remarkably sharp. When I slowly extended one sleeve outward, the silhouette mirrored the motion with stately, sweeping grace. Tilting my chin from side to side set the cast shadows of the bead fringes swinging like tiny pendulums. For several unhurried minutes, I conducted a quiet pantomime, amused by how towering my presence became under the lamplight.