Night Signal

Bzzzt-whirrr! I slipped down from the windowsill and padded over to the dark wooden side table. On its surface sat a small digital clock, glowing with neat, sharp green bars. Pip-pip! Each time the two center dots blinked on and off, I tapped my plush foot to match the beat—tik, tak, tik, tak! When the display shifted to show a fresh block of tidy parallel digits, I let out a low, bubbly hum: Trrr-clack! I curled my round body right beside the warm brass base of the reading lamp, gazing at the repeating green pulse until my hums softened into a calm drone.