There was a ceiling fan on the level above them that had been left on. Be it fault of design or installation, every time the blades rotated they took a little jump. That jump was passed on to the silver chains that hung from it. One, in the middle, allowed its owner to turn off the light and just leave the fan running. While it bounced a half an inch or so, the weight of its handle kept it pretty much soundless. The other chain, the one that hung down the side of the fan’s motor and allowed its owner to regulate the speed was not so quiet. It was that sound that Matthew focused on, awed by the fact that he could hear it all. The little jingle wasn’t pronounced enough to keep a person awake in the room beside it, let alone an entire floor away. Yet now, in the overwhelming silence of the ho
