The Studded Slope

The bright yellow tile set into the concrete ramp was covered in neat rows of raised round studs. I stopped right where the smooth sidewalk ended and observed the grid. Then I lifted one foot and set my purple clog directly across four studs at once. They did not flatten or shift. They pressed hard through the rubber sole, solid and level. A bicycle whirred past along the street asphalt, but I held my ground without turning. I brought my other clog forward to join it. The studs locked under my weight. The ramp is mapped.