Why Does This Tiny Ritual Feel Both Necessary and Weirdly Urgent?

I stand at the edge of the kitchen sink, my hand hovering over the tumbler. It’s late afternoon on a humid Friday, just hours before I lock up the apartment and head to the airport for a week’s vacation.

On a hunch I picked up from a neighbor’s old advice, I place the glass upside down in the sink and wedge a folded piece of paper beneath it.

It feels like such a small, almost silly thing to do—but for some reason, it’s stuck with me.