A Small Blue Marble

I walked across the pale floor rug, listening to the muffled tap of my shoes with each step. Near the base of the low bookshelf, tucked between two thick book spines, something round and glassy caught the light. I stopped a few inches away to study it. Then, I crouched down, balanced carefully on my articulated knees, and nudged the heavy blue glass marble with the tip of one finger. It rolled a slow, quiet circle across the polished floorboards before settling against my toe.