A Story in Status (aka The Beep)

I'm going to be honest.  This isn't going to have the same impact as it did when I was first writing it.  Between the dates of Nov. 15 and Nov. 19, 2011, I posted the following lines of text as my status updates on my Facebook account as an experimental form of storytelling.  The narrative that is implied is that I'm being driven insane by a smoke detector beeping just outside my apartment door.  I did not tell my friends beforehand that this was fictional.  I received some genuine notes of concern from many of them as well as some interesting comments and suggestions on how to deal with the problem. 

I have recently concluded the experiment and have shared the collection with them.  Everyone was a good sport about it and thought it was entertaining in retrospect.  Some noted a small bit of regret that I wasn't actually going insane.  I have gathered the status updates here with the dates and times at which they were posted.  I hope you enjoy them and it inspires you to have a little fun with your friends as well.

A Story in Status

Nov. 15, 2011 12:00am

BEEP.

If they ever change the battery in the smoke detector in the hall outside my apartment, I'll be thrilled. It's been giving the dying battery warning for three days.

BEEP.

Nov. 15 1:05pm

BEEP.

I think this will be a recurring theme until that battery either dies or gets changed.

BEEP.

Nov. 15 8:25pm

BEEP.

That battery's on day four. It sure is a fighter.

BEEP.

Nov. 15 11:04pm

BEEP.

Yup. It's still going strong, as if a relentless pink bunny were beating away at some electricity-producing drum to keep that smoke detector alive and beeping.

"Eh, what's up, Doc? Tonight, it shall be you...every five minutes or so when you hear the..."

BEEP.

Nov. 16 9:11am

BEEP.

Welcome to day number five. Should I be worried that I'm starting to chuckle every time I hear it make a noise?

BEEP.

Nov. 17 12:35am

BEEP.

I had actually forgotten about that smoke detector. Then, like some excited puppy anticipating its master's return, the thing greeted me as I got home from work tonight with an enthusiastic...

BEEP.

Nov. 17 5:34pm

BEEP.

Ha.

BEEP.

Nov. 17 10:30pm

BEEP.

I think...no, yeah...I think every other one is shorter. There's a beep, four minutes later another. One minute and another, followed by a four minute space of silence. Interesting. A minute later and...

BEEP.

Nov. 17 11:35pm

BEEP.

Seriously.  No Joke.  It's like beep......beep...beep......beep...

BEEP.

Nov. 18 12:04am

BEEP.

I tried praying for a good night's rest tonight, but I heard it again and couldn't help but chuckle. Then, I forgot what I was talking about with God and got lost in a game of Tetris instead.

BEEP.

Nov. 18 6:23am

BEEP.

So tired. I couldn't sleep. I got out of bed a half an hour earlier than I needed. I'm starting to see it in my dreams, you know. Can you imagine what it's like to see a sound? It's weird.

BEEP.

Nov. 18 10:33am

BLINK.

I noticed the smoke detector in the office at work today. It doesn't make any noise. It just sits there in the ceiling, watching. I wonder if it even works. Oh, a little light blinks. That's something, I guess.

BLINK.

Nov. 18 3:56pm

BEEP.

Like the eternal tide, the sound washes over me as I return home from work and I can't help but chuckle that it's still going.

BEEP.

Nov. 18 5:32pm

Beep.

Whoa. The pitch has changed. The tone is lower now and takes a little longer as if it's a struggle to sound. It's as if that infernal battery is nearing its final...

Beep.

Nov. 19 1:26am

Beep.

It's dying, yet it seems to try all the harder to subsist with another labored...

Beep.

Nov. 19 12:24pm

Beep.

Wait...Listen...Where once was quietness metered by that almost heartbeat of a tone, there remains a vast chasm of unconstrained silence.

It is gone.

Perhaps the battery died. Maybe the building manager finally found the devilish thing and put it out of its misery. Either way, a void of sound has consumed my home once again. Strangely, it as if a part of my world has been stolen from me. I can't help but sit and listen for it, futility awaiting one more...

Nov. 19 8:11pm

THE END.