Preliminary Findings on Candle Final Centimeter
The candle is almost gone, which is why it will not be lit.
SUBJECT: Candle Final Centimeter BACKGROUND: Purchased approximately four months ago. Lavender. Full burn time, 40 hours. STATUS: Active, partial , approximately 1.2 centimeters of wax remaining
WHAT WAS FOUND
The candle has been sitting on the shelf in its original holder since the last time it was lit, which was approximately three weeks ago. At that time, the remaining wax was estimated at 1.5 centimeters. Since then, it has not been used.
The shelf has been dusted around it. It has been moved to allow access to objects behind it and replaced in its original position. It has been looked at on eleven documented occasions, of which at least seven included an assessment of whether it should be lit. On seven occasions, the answer was no. On four occasions, the question was not completed before attention moved elsewhere.
People stop lighting a candle near the end because using the last visible wax feels more final than leaving it unfinished. The remaining wax would produce approximately two hours of burn at current wick length. Two hours is a complete evening session.
It is not being used for two hours.
WHY IT IS NOT BEING USED
The arrangement is called temporary even after daily routines begin protecting it. The candle is not being protected for sentimental reasons. It is not a meaningful object. It is a 12-euro lavender candle purchased from a shop near the train station.
The candle is preserved because using it would require deciding that it is over, and that decision has been deferred. Once the final centimeter is lit, the question becomes what comes next. That question is more complicated than leaving the current centimeter in place.
The 1.2 centimeters of wax represents an absence of obligation.
CURRENT STATUS
The candle remains on the shelf. The wick is in acceptable condition. The wax is stable at room temperature.
One additional candle has been purchased and placed beside it, still in its packaging. The new candle will be opened when the old one is finished. The old one is not being finished. The two candles sit together on the shelf, separated by approximately three centimeters and an unexamined relationship to endings.