Svengali

In this particular case the event is singular: something observed through a hallway door by accident, something explicit and precise, something momentary and with a secret, non-obvious purpose, the pointing of a mirror that reflects back the sunlight cascading in through the closed window. ###

On this specific day and at a specific time the young girl takes the mirror from the wall where it normally hangs and places it on the sill, facing the street so as to catch the sun. She removes a small anonymous wooden device from her dress pocket and pivots the wooden blade open as if it were a knife. Thrust gently between the base of the mirror and the window pane, the sharp wooden tip forces the two glass surfaces into a precise, offset angle, tilting acutely at 65⁰, redirecting a small, illuminated square from the wide sunlit shaft onto the high up shadowed facade across the street.###

She seats herself quietly in the chair next to the window observing the second hand on her watch following it sweep, once around, from twelve to twelve. She rises quickly to grip the mirror and rehang it on the nail. The surprisingly precise wooden device is gently closed and dropped back into her dress pocket as she smiles and exits the office.###