A Grid Above the Floor

I climbed higher, leaving the windowsill to reach the tallest shelf in the room. Up here, the room below looks small and helpless, ready to be devoured. A row of heavy rectangular books stands upright, their spines aligned in perfect vertical stripes. I stepped up to the edge of the shelf and dug my three prongs into the crisp right angle where two dark bindings meet. I am perching above everything now, waiting for something small to wander into my sight.