Russell Thayer

Rusty removed the plastic outer wrapping and lifted the lid off the box. With a pair of scissors, he snipped the top of the inner bag and poured out the contents. The satisfying scent of die-cut cardboard filled his nose as he dug into the ground meat of the puzzle, his fingers darting like a lizard’s tongue while his eyes hunted for straight lines. He’d assemble the outer wall first, as always, before dumping the remaining pieces onto the folding table and turning them all over to expose each one’s unique part in the beautiful painting. The process was routine. Jigsaw puzzles made life bearable in his barren studio apartment. They kept him on the straight and narrow.