That night, a strange sound wakes you: a light chiming, like little bells shaken far away, or like glass clinking very gently. You open one eye, then both. You wait, still under the covers, sure it will stop. But the sound goes on, patient, steady.
You push back the covers and go to the window, the cold tiles under your feet. And there, you notice something utterly impossible: stars are missing from the sky. Great black gaps have opened where they shone only last night. It looks like a smile with several teeth missing.
You rub your eyes. You count the gaps: one, two, three, and maybe a fourth further off. The sky looks hurt, unfinished, and it tightens your chest a little without your knowing why.
The chiming starts again, clearer now, and you are sure of one thing: it does not come from outside, but from within. From somewhere in the sleeping house... or perhaps from the garden, just below. You hesitate a second, heart pounding, then decide to go and look.
Where do you look first?
