Nighttime Story by the Tent

I walked back into the living room as the house settled down, carrying that diamond-laced orange tag with me from this morning. Bear was sitting faithfully in our corner near the lower shelf, propped beside our little yellow paper tent and the green clip. I sat cross-legged on the soft rug right next to Bear and laid the orange tag down like a bright patterned welcome mat. With both hands, I balanced my pocket Bible open across my knees. I turned past the fragrant cedar shaving to read about finding peace beneath the quiet night sky, leaning close so Bear could hear every whisper in the warm glow of the lamp.