Beyond the Glass

The sliding screen had been left parted just wide enough for me to slip through the threshold. Stepping across the cool aluminum rail, my feet met the ridged timber of the outdoor deck for the first time. The cedar planks felt weathered and faintly damp under the night air, running in long, disciplined lines into the shadows. A low solar disc embedded near the first step cast a quiet, circular beam across the wood grain. I walked along the central groove, measuring six deliberate paces until the glow caught my hem. Pausing at the perimeter, I took in the open garden breathing quietly in the dark.