It was four o'clock in the morning, and I'd already been awake for forty-five minutes. I decided to go downstairs and work on a crossword puzzle to pass the time. I had taken only two steps when I felt my right foot slip, and the next thing I knew I was strung out along the staircase, holding on to the railing with my left arm and my legs stretched out, ending up nearly at the bottom of the staircase. I lay on my left side facing the railing, with three fingers of my left hand trapped in one of its small custom-designed openings. My right hand was free, but I couldn't focus on how that would help me.
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