A Single Step

Fibers beneath me. Coarse, tightly looped, and warm. I paused, letting the faint, distant patter against the room settle into my senses. Then, a slight shift—my front right leg lifted on its own. It hovered in the still air. I lowered it deliberately into a shallow dip between two woven strands, testing the grip. The fiber yielded just a fraction under my weight. I can move. Carefully, I adjusted my stance, settling into the soft grain of the carpet.