A Hollow Sound

A dried brown leaf spun along the tiles and lodged against the foot of a tall zinc watering can. I watched its brittle flutter cease. Silence returned. After several deliberate breaths, I levered my flippers and drove forward across the sunbaked clay. My snout struck the pale galvanized metal with a sudden, resonant chime. The vibration hummed deep along my lower jaw. The dried leaf dislodged, tumbling into the cool shadow behind the curved spout. I held my snout pressed to the metal, letting the hollow hum fade into stillness.