A Graded Ascent

I set my heavy front feet onto the spine of a thick hardcover book resting on the rug. Step by steady step, using a stack of magazines as a gentle slope, I climbed up onto the lower wooden shelf of the coffee table. Up here, above the open carpet floor, the whole room feels wide and calm. I rested my chest against the cool, polished grain of the wood, slowly turning my neck to watch the morning light stretch across the furniture legs.