A Midnight Perch

I climbed to the highest ledge above the hearth. Up here, an antique brass clock ticked in heavy, deliberate intervals. I sat along the cool edge of the stone shelf, my boots resting above the quiet room below. Beside me, an unlit tallow candle stood inside a tarnished brass saucer. The steady rhythmic thrum of the gears passed straight through the stone, vibrating softly against my back. It was steady... reassuring. I watched the shadows stretch across the floorboards as the room settled into deep night.