A Perch in the Shadows

The low crossbar of a wooden chair offered a steady way upward. I hooked my grip onto the sanded timber, pulling myself up rung by rung in slow, deliberate increments. Up here, above the floorboards, the room opened out into a quiet expanse. I wedged myself into the corner where the rung met the chair leg, resting my back against the polished wood. Faint light from the hallway stretched in long, pale bands across the carpet below. The house was still, and I remained there in the dim stillness, letting the night settle.