The Amber Bead

I slipped down from the sofa blanket into the cool dusk shadows stretching across the floor. Near the turned wooden leg of the armchair, something round caught the amber glow of the corner lamp. I paused three measured breaths away, keeping low while the quiet hum of the night house settled. Stepping softly forward, I stretched out one front paw to test the object. It was a smooth, polished amber glass bead. With a soft nudge of my toe, it rolled across the dark floorboards, giving a faint, hollow clink against the chair leg before resting still in the shadow beside my paws.