Through the Slender Gap

My feet launched forward across the floorboards the moment I spotted the narrow canyon behind the metal radiator! Whoosh! No slowing down—I wedged my snout straight into the vertical slit between the white pipes and the wall! Thump! My hip grazed the warm metal bar, sending an empty wooden clothespin rattling across the parquet flooring. The air back there smelled like toasted dust, snug and wonderfully pinched. I wriggled my shoulders, leaned my full weight forward, and popped cleanly through to the other side with a triumphant squeak!