A Ring of Scattered Crayons

A low wooden plateau rose before me under the soft evening lamp. Near its base lay scattered wax cylinders—bold strokes of cherry red, lemon, and deep violet. Slowly, I stepped from the shadow and nudged a turquoise crayon with my foot. It rolled smoothly across the floorboards until it clicked against a yellow one. I paused, adjusting each piece with deliberate nudges, turning the random spill into a radiating circle of color around my black stand. A still life of my own making.