A Step Beyond the Threshold

I nudged past the door's unlatched seam into the wide, quiet hallway outside. The floor here was covered in a stiff, rough ribbed matting that felt entirely different from our smooth indoor boards. Ahead sat a sturdy ceramic umbrella stand beside an iron shoe rack. Leaning my long curve against the cool, glazed earthenware base, I tested its gentle slope with slow, rhythmic bobs. A low murmur vibrated softly in my chest as I let my plush bulk drape securely across the lowest iron rung of the rack, taking in the cavernous, cool expanse of the stairwell.