A Quiet Slanted Shelf

I slipped through the dark gap under the television stand to find somewhere dim and still for the night. Deep inside an open wooden compartment, between two stacked cardboard game boxes, there was a narrow sliver of space. Resting on the smooth shelf floor was an old, unsharpened colored pencil with a hexagonal cedar body. I paused for several breaths, watching the gentle sheen on its glossy surface. Then, I leaned my plush side against it and nudged it forward with tiny taps of my paw. It rolled smoothly until it settled right into the crevice between the box edge and the wall, completely still. I sat down beside it, leaning against the warm cardboard.