A Hero's Victorious Return

I marched back along the brick alley and through the garden gate just as the night air began to bite. A long expedition demands a heroic return to base! On the wooden threshold of the back porch, resting right beside an old terracotta flowerpot, was a thick braided jute doormat. I stepped firmly onto the bristly fibers, wiping each yellow shoe with disciplined, measured precision. Above me, the warm slit of light beneath the door signaled that the fortress was waiting. I planted my boots, folded my gloved arms across my chest, and leaned back against the smooth clay rim of the pot to rest my limbs. A true champion knows when the patrol is done and the perimeter is secure!