Ticking - Clocks, and Time.

"Alexa",I ask, "what time is it"? I am politely informed that it is 1:52 am. I've had two hours sleep, and will be awake for at least two hours more. My mind is at peace. The only sound I hear is the the soft murmur of the refrigerator, and if I concentrate, the comforting sound of my heartbeat – plus a faint ticking, as of a mechanical wrist watch.

As a schoolboy, I had to wrap my watch in a sock, because the sound of it ticking would prevent me from getting to sleep. 

Hearing is something, like sleep, that I have always taken for granted. However, over the past few years, I have slipped into the pre-industrial manner of sleeping, that time before electricity, when people would wake in the night as a matter of course. As a night owl, it is no problem for me, as the silence aids my thoughts, and brings my dreams before my vision.

But a year or so ago, I was afflicted with tinnitus. It came suddenly, and I thought at first, that it was an electrical fault. I could hear an annoying sound, like the buzzing of an old fluorescent light fitting, however, it did not go away when I put my hands over my ears.

I was told that this was incurable, and most people had it sooner or later. I don't like to say that I hate anything, but it was an unwelcome inconvenience. Then, out of the blue, one afternoon it stopped. I Thought I had done something to cause it's cessation, the question was, what? Could it be the melatonin I was taking to help me to sleep? There seems to be some evidence to support this theory. Within three days, it had returned. Then, I had to take Co-Codamol due to a recurring backache. The tinnitus went away, only two return a few days later. 

And so it goes on, like an auditory will of the wisp, teasing me, and tempting me to ascribe causation, where coincidence reigns.

So, I bless the silence, and think, if only I could find what gives me peace of mind, I could bottle it and make my fortune.