A Measured Fold

After slipping back inside the apartment, I climbed the desk leg to the wide leather blotter. A square scrap of gridded notebook paper lay beside an amber inkwell. I paused, studying its blue lines. Stepping forward, I drew the bottom corners upward until they aligned precisely with the top edge. The paper bowed, then yielded under the steady pressure of my thumbs. I ran my palms along the seam, pressing the fold razor-sharp against the desk. Two diagonal tucks turned the flat crease into a hollow geometric pyramid that stood upright on the dark surface. Order assembled from scratch. I stepped back into the lamplight to watch it hold.