First Step Up

I grabbed the lowest rung of the wooden ladder with both hands. It was round, smooth, and much thicker than my grip, but solid. I hitched my right boot up onto the curved wood, tested the friction, and pushed upward with my knee. My head rose past the baseboard into the cool shadow under the bed frame. Looking down, the floorboards had already dropped away by half a body length. I locked both feet onto the rung, leaned back slightly against the vertical side rails, and caught my breath. From here, the bedroom looks completely different.