crisp and helpful folds

[launderedlace]

I couldn't be certain, but I believe the woman had pulled her plain white handkerchief from a coat pocket. She was sitting close by on a train which had just left its first stop, and was now holding a fully unfolded medium-sized handkerchief in her hands. It seemed as though she might have gently used the handkerchief before boarding the train; it possessed a full set of neatly-ironed folds, and in no way looked crumpled or messy. Very likely it was made from a polycotton material rather than pure cotton, as this would explain the apparent immaculate appearance, even though it had probably been discretely used and hastily pushed into her pocket as she boarded the train. What had it just been used for, I wondered: a delicate dab; a demure sneeze; cleaning her glasses? - it could have been any of these. Holding her handkerchief near the centre of two opposite edges, the woman gave it a quick and skilful flick: obligingly, it re-folded itself along its original, crisp, central fold. With a similar sudden motion, the woman then re-arranged her handkerchief into tidy quarters; two more adept folding actions, and it was back into a compact square format. She then slid it into her bag, ready for its next deployment as a seemingly unused, spotlessly clean, handkerchief

[Hankysneeze]

As always wonderful description, thanks for sharing