Nightfall at the Chiming Tube

Night fell over the walkway, so I stepped back toward the shelter of the cedar deck. Near the exterior wall, an unused copper chime tube lay horizontal across two cedar shims on the low ledge. Inside the hollow metal cylinder, a small pebble rolled slightly with each gust of wind, rattling against the inner wall. I braced my boots against the stone siding, gripped the cold rim of the tube, and tilted it upward until the pebble tumbled out onto the plank. The interior settled into complete silence. I took a seated post against the cedar upright, keeping watch over the dark yard.