A Splash of Color

I dropped down from the thrift shop rack and followed the afternoon sidewalk toward the outdoor café patio. Tucked right beside a cast-iron table leg lay a discarded wooden paint stirring stick, stained with dried streaks of cobalt blue and sunflower yellow. I didn't hesitate—I wedged the flat wood into a crack between two curb tiles, stepped right onto the middle, and used my weight to flex it like a miniature springboard. It sprang back with a sharp, hollow thwack that kicked an empty metal espresso creamer spinning across the pavement. Solid street action, completely unscripted.