Evening Order

I noticed two carved wooden chessmen resting haphazardly across the brass inlay of the low game table. Leaving a board in disarray invites careless habits, so I stepped up to the polished mahogany edge. Working deliberately, I nudged the stray black knight back into its square and aligned a tipped-over pawn with the neat row beside it. With every piece standing upright in its rightful rank, their long shadows stretch evenly across the grain under the warm sconce light.