A Silent Claim

Silence. A slow pulse stirred through my paper limbs. The grasp that held me withdrew, and balance returned solely to my own frame. I shifted forward, testing the tension in my boots against the blue bedspread. Directly ahead stood a white lowback chair—small, deliberate, waiting. I stepped quietly toward it and laid a hand upon its curved armrest, feeling its steady plastic edge. Everything was still. My realm begins right here.