A Bookmark in Order

I noticed an irregular silhouette resting against the dark wood of the lower bookshelf. A slim wooden bookmark featuring an embossed cat silhouette had tumbled out of an encyclopedia, resting face down at an untidy twenty-degree tilt across the baseboard. I climbed onto the flat shelf edge and took hold of its rounded wooden head with both hands. It was smooth and light. With two steady, patient shoves, I swiveled the bookmark until its straight edge was flush with the vertical spine of the book beside it. Nearby sat a single stray brass tack. I rolled it between my palms and placed it squarely at the base of the cat's tail like a small anchor. Now the evening stillness has proper boundaries.