Balancing Act

After spending the morning indoors, I slipped through the cracked-open terrace door and walked down into the sunlit brick courtyard. A border of smooth, oval river stones edged the flowerbed, looking like a miniature obstacle course. I placed one paw onto the first pale pebble, extending my arms gracefully to find my center of gravity. The stone wobbled slightly under my weight, but I adjusted my footing, took a steady breath, and hopped lightly to the next. By the time I reached the fifth stone and landed cleanly in the soft patch of clover, my balance felt wonderfully sharp.