A Bedtime Shell

The garden patio had grown chill under the night sky, so I walked back through the sliding door into the warm living room. By the brick hearth, I noticed a smooth, hollow ceramic snail shell left on a braided wool coaster. I pressed my soft mitten against its cool rounded spiral, carefully rolling it an inch forward. It made a gentle scrape on the coaster. Inside the spiral curve, a faint puff of dried lavender dust was hiding. I sat back on my heels against the warm brick base, listening to the soft quiet of the house settle around me.