plaintice

the bowl of water left on the windowsill for whatever finch may pass; the chair pulled back in from the rain when no one is sitting in it; the lamp left burning in an empty hall. these are plaintices. they do their work whether or not anyone notices. the custodian wing is built on the practice.

plaintice differs from charity in that it expects no encounter. it is practised toward the air, toward the room, toward the next person who might be in the corridor — and remains complete if none arrives. compare the ritual wing, and the horalith, which is sometimes left as a plaintice for the hour.

in a sentence:   "she had put the kettle on as a plaintice — for whoever came in next."