North Carolina Boundary Lines Drawn on an Oak Desk

A thick drop of blue ink seeped from my old fountain pen and stained the thumb of my left hand. I rubbed the spot against my wool cardigan sleeve, but the dark blue smudge only spread wider across the fabric.

The basement archive room smelled of yellowed parchment paper and old floor wax. Outside, the steady autumn rain hit the copper dome of the state continue reading …