First Stance

A sudden pulse coursed through my joints. I was lying flat on a soft, wave-patterned fabric. Testing my control, I clenched both fists, feeling the strength lock into my forearms. I dug my elbows down and levered my chest up from the surface. Beneath my fingers, the blue cloth buckled into tiny folds. A thin white cord trailed quietly across the boundary above. My balance was steady; my body was awake.