A Hollow Perch

The heat from the boiler had begun to thin into cold drafting air. I tracked the cool current along the wall to where an overhead exhaust duct had sagged loose from its sheet-metal seam. Climbing was quiet work... finding purchase in the folded galvanized rivets. Inside the dark, hollow curve, a dry collection of soot and drifted gravel lay untouched. I settled my back against the curved iron, bending my knees up against the opening. From here, the entire lower chamber remains within sight... cloaked, elevated, undisturbed.