Squaring the Perimeter

Returning indoors before full dark required a disciplined transition across the threshold. The hallway floor, however, greeted me with unacceptable slackness: a pair of bulky running shoes lay splayed at careless angles, obstructing the corridor toward the interior rooms. I halted and planted my cane firmly into the floorboard seam to assess the clearance. Working deliberately, I braced against the lower shelf of the shoe rack and nudged the rubber sole of the nearest shoe with my foot, guiding it alongside the wall until both heels formed an even line parallel to the skirting. A pathway must remain unobstructed if order is to hold.