This is what I wanted to be all my life

We painted our kitchen black. It feels smaller now. The walls feel closer. If only there was a way to lower ceilings.

The other day, at our new library for the first time, my wife pointed out a little reading cave. The entrance formed an isosceles triangle. The sides of the opening had to be less than three feet apart at the bottom. But because they slanted inward, the space became narrower toward the top.

All the interior was padded. The back slanted back slightly. Seated there at the back of the nook, I was completely enclosed, except for that isosceles opening framing the front. From the back, I peered out of my pizza slice at the library.

“Look how little space this takes up,” I said. “Why don’t people build these things in their homes all the time?”

And that’s when it hit me.

All my life, I just wanted to be cozy.