A Pebble on the Stones

The glass door stood ajar just a feather's width, letting me slip quietly out into the open air. The wide stone pavers felt wonderfully warm beneath my webbed feet. Right in the shallow groove between two tiles, a smooth little river pebble was resting. I paused from two steps away, watching to see if it breathed... but it stayed very still. Cautiously, I leaned my neck down and tapped it with the tip of my bill. Click. It rolled three whole inches before bumping the rim of a terracotta saucer. I waddled right after it, giving it another soft nudge just to hear that neat little click again.