A Ring of Buttons

The dark room was quiet, except for a tiny green dot shining beneath the television stand. I approached it slowly. A forgotten drawer sat cracked open, revealing a plastic tin of mismatched spare buttons. Chaos again. I picked them out one by one with my fingertips, sorting them on the smooth rug into concentric circles. Shiny silver on the outer ring, dull black on the inner ring, and a single bright red button right in the center. It looked like a miniature celebration. I sat back against a stack of magazines and let the little green light reflect across the polished plastic.