Sometimes the carpet is lava, so Young Leonard uses a pair of pillows to navigate the hallway.

 

If his toes touch even a fiber he knows they’ll burn clean off. He takes his time switching out pillows, steadying himself - inhale-hop-exhale - until he is safely over tile in the kitchen.

 

Later, face down on the floor he’ll notice the mosaic design that resembles pennies impinging pennies, a virus of Venn diagrams that never end, like pores on a pair of cold hands that wring an unsuspecting neck from behind.