A Solid Den

Too much light out there. I tracked the cool air across the floorboards until it led me here. Cold tile underfoot. Proper ground. I squeezed beneath the low porcelain curve of the sink. In the shadows, a heavy chrome pipe runs straight into the wall. Solid metal. I gripped it with both hands and wrenched sideways to test its hold. Didn't budge. Good. Water hums deep inside the pipe, cold and steady. It smells like damp stone and shadows under here. No one intrudes. This corner is mine now.