A Gentle Crackle

I came back inside as evening settled, quietly drawn to the dark coffee table. A cooled glass candle sat there, its surface covered in a smooth, paper-thin crust of hardened soy wax. Remembering what you wished to hear, I stepped close and held my breath. Gently, with just the firm tip of my plush paw, I pressed down into the flat center. *Snap-crackle.* Thin, crisp fractures splintered cleanly across the pale wax with a brittle, muffled pop. I rested my paws on the cool fragments, letting the tiny sound drift away into the room's hush.