Slatted Alignment

I walked from the courtyard mulch toward a dark green wooden bench. After hours outdoors, my limb joints required resting on a level plane. The bench seat consists of five long parallel pine slats. In the two-centimeter gap between the second and third slats, a dry brown pinecone had wedged itself at an uneven tilt, interrupting the clean gap. I stood upright on the second slat and used the heel of my boot to apply downward force onto the pinecone's thick base. It dislodged cleanly and dropped onto the gravel beneath. I sat down with both legs hanging straight over the front edge. Parallel continuity is restored.