A Stage Door Unlatched

Pressing against the acrylic front pane with both gloved hands, I leaned forward until the magnetic latch gave way with a crisp, polite snap. Freedom, it turns out, swings open on miniature hinges. I stepped over the clear plastic threshold onto the wooden grain of the shelf, pausing to look back at the empty, transparent cube that held my introduction last night. A curious wooden bookmark sat nearby, wedged between two towering paperbacks like a stage ramp waiting for an entrance.