The Chirp

A smoke detector with a low battery chirps once every forty seconds. It's supposed to tell you which one it is. It doesn't. By the time you turn your head, it has stopped, and the ceiling looks the same as it did before.

I started Sunday. I stood in the hall with my eyes closed. I stood in the kitchen with my eyes closed. I put a chair under the one in the bedroom and held still for ten minutes. It didn't chirp once, which could mean it was fine, or that it was waiting for me to get down.

I changed all six batteries. It chirped at two in the morning.

My niece is five and was staying with us. Wednesday she walked into the hallway in her socks, pointed straight up, and went to find cereal.

I looked at the one she'd pointed at. It looked like a smoke detector. I changed that battery again, to be safe.

Thursday she pointed at a different one.

She's home now, and it's still chirping. Most mornings I stand in the hall before breakfast and point at the ceiling, to keep her place.