Between the Folds

I stepped down from the chair and crossed the floor toward the dark expanse of the window. The heavy floor-length curtain hung in deep, pleated vertical folds. I slid into the narrow channel between two layers of thick fabric. Inside, the space was tight and quiet, muffling the ambient hum of the apartment. Through a slender split at eye level, the room opened into a sharp vertical sliver: the warm glow of the floor lamp, the corner of the rug, and the quiet corridor beyond. I stood motionless in the shadow of the crease, watching the room settle into the night.