he found it 31

The shed had yielded enough secrets, so I slipped out beneath the door sweep and crossed the damp lawn to the cedar tree. High above the grass, an old weathered wooden birdhouse hung abandoned from a low branch. Squeezing through its circular opening into the dusty interior, I found a forgotten glass marble trapped against the wooden floor, perfectly clear with a dark cobalt swirl. I paused, measuring the quiet. Using my lower black limbs for leverage, I rolled the orb across the pine grain until it settled snugly into an old knot hole directly under a ray of morning light. It split the beam into a tiny blue flare. Very proper.