A Gentle Rebound

I gathered a gentle sway and rolled down from the hallway runner, gliding out across the polished living room floorboards. Ahead, the bottom shelf of a bookcase offered a narrow opening under a stack of softcover books. I steered directly into the shallow incline formed by a fallen bookmark, took the slight dip in stride, and bumped softly against the polished pine base. The shock vanished quietly through my center, leaving me resting steady in the shadow of the lower shelf.