Who’s Making That Noise?

At Maya’s house, bedtime always went the same way. Bath, pajamas, two stories, one big hug. Then Dad switched on the moon-shaped night-light, turned off the big light, and left the door open just a crack, about as wide as a hand.

“Good night, Maya. Good night, Caramel.”

Caramel was Maya’s stuffed bunny, with ears worn extra soft from all the hugging. Maya snuggled under her comforter with Caramel tucked under her arm. The night-light made a golden circle on the ceiling. Maya closed her eyes.

Tap… tap…

Maya opened her eyes again. “Did you hear that, Caramel?” Caramel didn’t say a word, but his long ears looked like they were listening.

Tap… tap-tap… The noise was coming from the window. At night, noises always sound bigger than they do in the daytime. Maya felt her heart beat a little faster. She squeezed Caramel tight. “Dad?” she called.

Dad came right away and sat down on the edge of the bed. “What’s up, sweetheart?” he asked. “There’s a noise,” Maya whispered. “Over there, at the window.” Dad didn’t laugh. He tilted his head. “Let’s listen together.”

They both got very quiet. Tap… tap… Maya looked at the flashlight on her nightstand. She had an idea. “Can I look with my flashlight?” “Good thinking,” said Dad. “You’re the detective.”

Maya grabbed her flashlight. Click! A circle of light wandered across the wall, over the dresser, onto the curtains. Dad pulled the curtain back just a little. Behind the glass, a branch of the lilac bush was swaying in the wind. It leaned over… and touched the window. Tap-tap.

“It’s the lilac bush!” Maya said. “It’s knocking on the window with its branch fingers!” “Maybe it wants to say good night,” said Dad. Maya shined her light on the branch. “Good night, lilac bush.” The wind blew, and the branch answered: tap, tap.

Dad closed the curtain and kissed her forehead. “If you hear another noise, you know what to do?” “Yep,” said Maya. “Investigate.”

Maya lay back down with her flashlight beside her. She listened. The house was full of quiet… well, not quite.

Hoo… hoo… It was soft and round, and it came from far, far away, from the big oak tree at the back of the yard. Maya listened closely. That sound was familiar: she had heard it one summer night, snuggled in Mom’s arms. “It’s the owl,” she whispered to Caramel. “She wakes up when we go to bed. Good evening, owl!”

Glug… glug… glug-glug… This time the noise was very close, right under the window. Maya pointed her flashlight. It was the old radiator! It was warming up for the night, and the hot water was making bubbles in its pipes. “You sound like my straw when my juice box is almost empty,” Maya giggled.

Hummmmm… A long, low sound was purring way down in the kitchen. For this one, Maya didn’t even need her flashlight. “The fridge,” she said with a yawn. “It keeps the yogurt cold, even at night.”

Maya smiled. Tap, tap: the lilac bush. Hoo, hoo: the owl. Glug, glug: the radiator. Hummm: the fridge. The night wasn’t quiet at all. It was playing a little song, and now Maya knew every single musician.

Jingle… jingle… A little bell tinkled in the hallway, closer and closer. Maya would know that bell anywhere: it was Mocha the cat, with the little bell on his collar. Flump! Mocha hopped onto the foot of the bed. The comforter sank down a little. Four small paws came padding closer, one, two, one, two… Maya switched on her flashlight. Mocha blinked in the light, as if to say, “What? It’s my bed too.”

“There you are, you silly cat,” Maya whispered with a laugh. Mocha turned around three times and curled up in a ball against her feet. Soon he began to purr: rrrr… rrrr…

Maya switched off her flashlight. Click. She listened a little longer. Tap, tap, went the lilac bush. Hoo, hoo, went the owl. Glug, glug, went the radiator. Rrrr, rrrr, went Mocha. So Maya added her own small voice to the music of the night: “Good night, everybody.”

Then she closed her eyes, with Caramel tucked under her arm, and drifted off to sleep while the house went on singing, very softly.