Annotation

In his apartment on Duke Street, Poirot found a small parcel neatly tied with twine on his writing desk.

Inside was a freshly printed pamphlet entitled, Annotations on the Crimson Folio, Ethical Considerations for Modern Writers, authored by none other than Geraldine Marsh.

She had taken her experience beyond mere commentary, crafting a thoughtful exploration of how editors, critics, and proofreaders share collective responsibility for the stories they shepherd.

Poirot read her introduction by lamplight, admiring the clarity and compassion of her prose.

For two hours, we turned that archive upside down.

Annotating, matching pen pressure, bending to the sickly hum now constant in the air.

My own letters, my own diagrams, seemed to blur and reform at the edge of sight under the strange overhead fluorescence.

Issa grows, agitated, snapping at me, then apologizing, as though afraid I might break.