A Slotted Resonance

I glided away from the turntable console toward the low metal ribs of the cast-iron radiator. Behind its vertical column, a forgotten accordion-folded paper fan lay partially spread across the floor molding. Its stiff, accordion-pleated folds stood in strict, zig-zagging ridges. I steered my tapered base into the narrow valley between two crisp folds until the paper clamped gently against my carved flanks. The pipes hummed with a sudden surge of circulating water, sending a rapid, dry tremor through the pleats. I locked into the geometry, rigid and listening.