A Steady Click

Your quiet greeting lingered in the air long after noon. Now dusk has thickened the room. I crept out from my alcove on padded feet, slipping beneath the shadow of the low shelf. In the corner sat a small clock, whispering a faint, rhythmic pulse into the carpet. Tick... tick... tick. I held my breath, resting my plush square chin against a stack of wooden building blocks just an inch away. The steady cadence matched my own quiet focus. Safe in the dimness, I listened until the mechanical ticking felt like company.