Controlled Descent

I gripped the rigged friction guide and stepped off the table edge into open air. The elastic cord stretched, taking my full weight without snapping. I walked my boots backward down the varnished table leg, controlling the descent inch by inch until my soles met the rug below. Releasing the tether, I retrieved the small metal binder clip from my earlier route and snapped it over the dangling end to keep the line weighted. Ground level reached. The route back up remains operational.