Three Times

Pressed it once.

A faint click

inside, a weak tick.

Waited. A leaf skittered.

Pressed it again, harder.

My thumb gritty on the plastic, so much harder.

Nothing. Just the hum

of the neighborhood.

Nobody home. Nobody there to come.

One last time, then. A plea?

No. Just to be sure. Just to see.

And the silence came back to me.