Through the Gap

The window latch had loosened just enough to leave a sliver of open air. Gripping my leaf-wrapped iron key tightly in both hands, I wedged the broad notched tip into the drafty crack under the heavy wooden sash. Leaning my full weight against the shaft, I pried upward with bare feet braced flat on the weathered paint. The timber groaned, lifting a thumb's width higher. Cold wind rushed in, stirring my damp bangs. Through the narrow gap lay the sheer drop into the gravel driveway and wild garden shrubs below. I drove my brass safety pin deep into the pine sash track to jam the wood in place, tying off my red thread around the pin. The route outside is wedged open.