The clock was ticking, tick tock, tick tock. Water was dripping from a leaky faucet, and a low murmur came from the TV. But John heard nothing. It seemed to him that God had hit the mute button, but it didn’t bother him at all.

He had slept none at all the night before, and now he felt like a zombie. His I. is wouldn’t stay open, and his head wouldn’t stay up. He was slumped in a chair by himself and everything was blurry.

Across the room on the couch, his wife Lauren was sitting quietly, staring blankly the TV. John saw her turn it off and stare attendee screen. She seemed frozen in time, and if it weren’t for the slight rise and fall of her shoulders as she breathed in and out, John would’ve thought her fake. He saw her shift uncomfortably.

He slumped back down again and allowed his head to hang below. Sleep would not take him, but he would rest. Unable to function, he just sat in the chair, dazed and relaxed.

MEOW!

The sound blasted through the silence and resonated in his head. Echoing back and forth… and fading. MEOW, MEOW, meow, meow… other sounds invaded his ears. Tick tock, tick tock, drip, drip, drip. He looked up. The cat hissed and ran into another room.

The cab bumped a table lead on its way out. John leaped up with sudden alertness as he saw a vase begin to wobble and then head for the ground. He seemed to be moving in slow motion as he reached out further and further, and then caught a right before it shattered on the ground.

John replaced the vase and then shuffled back to his chair, where the dazed feeling overtook him. He saw Lauren holding her chest and breathing faster than before; he had obviously startled sudden burst of energy. The now that he was aware, all this sounds seemed amplified. TICK TOCK, TICK TOCK, DRIP, DRIP… He could hear his heart beating, and he could hear his breathing. He also heard Lauren breathing in her heart beating. Sound, everywhere, trying to keep him awake.

The sound began to fade. Tick tock, tick tock, Drip, drip, breathing, beating… until silence was the only sound left.

3/23/98