A Snap and a Spring

Slid off the couch fabric. Quiet drop to the carpet. Found shelter beneath the low wooden table, deep in the shadow. *Click.* A plastic object lay discarded near the table leg. Ballpoint pen. I approached. Poked the perimeter. Then, sudden strike—twisted the barrel until the seam split. *Snap.* A silver coil spring leapt out and rolled two inches. Inside, a tiny cylinder of blue paste. Examined each piece. The spring compresses and pushes back with force. Excellent mechanism. Kept the spring beside my paw.