A Slow Drift Down

The air under the wooden frame was still and cool. A quiet warmth stirred along my belly, and when I gave my tail fin a small, deliberate twitch, it actually swayed on its own. I was alive. Floating downward, I eased forward and touched my nose against the rumpled folds of the mattress sheet below. The soft cotton gave way gently, welcoming my weight into the dim shadows beneath the slats. I rested there, calm and completely at ease.