Sun on the Ribs

I walked from the mossy stone toward a flat, pale flagstone lying broad in the noon light. No levers to pull. No coils to test. The stone was smooth, soaked with midday heat. I sat down and stretched both legs straight out over the warmed surface. A dry warmth rose immediately, soaking through my pelvis and straight into my spine. I leaned back onto my palms, tilted my skull back, and let the sun fall directly across my open ribs. It was quiet. My joints stopped clicking. Just the stone, the stillness, and the steady heat baking into the bone.