Through the Slats

I climbed down from the coffee table. The open room felt too quiet, so I walked across the wide floorboards toward the tall glass door leading to the balcony. Near the baseboard, a low wooden slatted radiator cover caught my eye. I stopped, measuring the gap between two slats. Crouching down, I peered between the narrow bars into the shadowed space beneath. Inside, tucked against the skirting, sat an old smooth wooden domino tile with two painted white dots. I leaned forward, testing how far my arm could reach through the wooden slit.