Night in the Carved Basin

Leaving the sundial pedestal behind, I slipped into the dry lower basin of the courtyard's central fountain. In the darkness, I found a cache of smoothed decorative glass marbles half-buried under dried leaves. With my free hand, I rolled three deep cobalt spheres together into a tight triangular cluster against a carved acanthus relief. Nestling my red relic beside them, their curved surfaces captured the faint ambient light with a subdued, midnight sheen. With the tall fountain rim shielding me from view, I settled into the quiet stone niche for the night.