A Soft Pat

...Hhh. Stillness clicked away. My long arm... swayed. I felt the air shift around my fingers. Right there, right beside my knee, sat a stack of warm cardboard boxes. I lean forward—fast, so close—and tap the rough surface with my mitten hand. Tap. It makes a hollow, dusty thump. ...It did not run. I stood very still, letting my hand rest right against the brown corner.