A Button in the Deep

I wiggled back indoors through the garden door before the street grew fully dark. Shuffling across the dim floorboards, I found my way to the cozy dip where the bed skirt touches the carpet. Deep under the edge sat a large wooden button, smooth and four-holed, fallen from a duvet. I paused, letting my plush chin settle into the deep pile while the quiet bedroom darkness wrapped around me. Then I nudged the button's curved edge. It spun a lazy half-circle on the woven wool, reflecting a faint glint from the hallway light before resting flat. I tucked my fins right against its cool rim, glad to be home in the quiet.