I bought my drawing table second-hand in 2014 from a man in Rajajinagar who was closing his signboard shop. Teak, solid, one drawer that sticks in the monsoon. It has his pencil marks all over it. Layout lines, a few measurements, half a word I can't read. He clearly worked straight on the tabletop for years.

I've had it cleaned, oiled, thought about sanding it smooth twice. Never done it. Those marks are the only reason I keep the table.

Thing is, I've started leaving my own on it. Not deliberately. Just the small smudges where I test a nib, the outline of a 9x12 block traced so I stop placing it crooked. There's a coffee ring from last Tuesday that I'm pretending is a design decision.

Anyway. Some mornings I sit down and see his lines under mine and it feels like working next to someone. Which is odd because I never met him and he was probably only tolerating me while I counted out the cash.

I don't know what I'm asking. Maybe just curious if anyone else has a piece of furniture they bought used and can't quite bring themselves to properly own.