The sound was fainter, but it was there—the same steady rhythm.
A soft, rhythmic thumping that seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at once. Elara would pull the blanket over her head, but the sound followed her. “It’s a monster hiding in my pillow,” she whispered to her stuffed rabbit, Barnaby. “A quiet monster with a two-beat heart.” lub dub sounds of the heart
That night, Elara didn’t hide under the blanket. She placed one hand on Barnaby and one hand on her chest. The dark was still there, but the sound no longer scared her. It felt like a friend counting time just for her. The sound was fainter, but it was there—the
Lub-dub. Lub-dub.
Lub-dub. Lub-dub. Lub-dub.
“The sound,” she said. “That lub-dub thing. It won’t let me sleep.” The sound was fainter