We awake to a burst of static from the baby monitor. This is not uncommon. It seems like almost anything can set it off, if we don’t put the damn thing in just the right spot.
I reach over and shift the monitor on the nightstand, hoping to move it out of whatever signal is causing the disruption. The noise subsides and I lay back.
The room is dark. I run through the usual late-night fears and paranoia in my head: Home invasion, ghosts, something worse than either of those…
It occurs to me that the static had structure, a vaguely familiar rhythm.
Not musical. Not a heartbeat. I can’t quite place it.
I’m just about asleep when it screeches again.
That rhythm. I recognize it now.
Three short bursts. Three long bursts. Three short bursts.
I grab the monitor and head downstairs. I won’t be sleeping anymore tonight.
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