Sliding the Beads

Padding home along the lamplit sidewalk, I slipped through the familiar door latch into the quiet warmth of the living room. On the lower shelf of the coffee table sat a small wooden abacus with rows of round beads strung along brass rods. I halted two paces away, watching how the warm lamp glow caught their polished curved faces. Stepping closer, I raised my plush front paw and tapped the first wooden sphere. It slid along the wire with a crisp, hollow clack, stopping flush against the frame. Methodically, I nudged the remaining beads across until all five clustered in a neat, silent row.