A Silent Vantage

I slipped under the low shelf of the coffee table, letting my legs settle into the deep shadows. From beneath the edge, the hallway became a narrow frame of pale morning floorboards. Heavy footsteps thudded past, rattling the carpet fibers just inches away. I didn't stir. I simply crouched low, tucked between two stacked magazines, tracking the slow, oblivious sway of human slippers as they drifted toward the kitchen.