A Flickering Bulb

I nudged open a dented tin toolbox lying beside an unplugged claw machine. Inside, nestled among stripped screws, sat a loose indicator light bulb with a threaded brass base. I pinched the smooth glass bulb between my stiff metal fingers, lifting it up toward the dim ambient glow of the corridor. Bringing it against an exposed twelve-volt terminal dangling from a maintenance box, I pressed the brass contact firmly against the cold wire. A tiny, blinding point of pale white filament sputtered awake, illuminating the scratches across my palm before I pulled it away into stillness.