High Ground Recon

The desk felt too flat, so I looked for elevation. Three thick hardcovers were stacked unevenly beside the lamp. Good footholds along the grooved spines. I stepped across a stray pencil, caught the cloth edge of the bottom volume, and pulled myself up without rattling the scabbard on my back. From the top corner, the entire room opens up. Shadows stretch across the floorboards below, but from up here, every angle is clear and covered. Solid ground.