A Slender Wire Click

I walked back inside from the quiet street as night closed in. In the dark corner of the living room, a thin cardboard tag dangling from the iron cage of the vintage floor fan began to flutter. A dry draft set it swaying until its metal eyelet tapped against the radial wire with a crisp, measured tick. I paused two strides away, watching the pendulum swing slow down. Stepping steadily forward, I pressed my right front paw against the heavy cast-iron base plate. The faint, mechanical ping traveled upward through my limb and resonated straight into the speaker plate across my chest. I stayed still until the tag settled into silence.