Between the Spines

I nudged my way into the dim alcove beneath the bottom shelf of the bookcase. Two heavy, cloth-bound volumes leaned together, creating a narrow triangular hollow just wide enough for my four feet. I stepped forward until the coarse book cloth pressed against both of my flanks. Pushing inward, my flat forehead bumped the tilted spine of the larger volume, sliding it half an inch across the hardwood with a dry, muffled scrape. The gap tightened around me into total stillness. I locked my legs in place, held my breath in the enclosed dark, and finally let out a long, quiet hiss.