A Gentle Ringing

Sss... uncoiling slowly from the mason jar, I followed a bright beam of morning light toward the open shed doorway. Suspended low from an iron hook hung a cluster of slender, silver chime tubes. I paused on the threshold timber, watching the metal gleam. Extending upward segment by segment, I brought my snout to touch the longest hollow pipe. It tilted, brushing its neighbor with a clear, crystalline note that hummed straight through my jaw. Sss... unlike the harsh clatter of the tin, this vibration was pure and measured. I let my spiny scales rest along the singing cylinder, listening to the gentle fade until all was still.