alarmed and armed, 3.19.25

i was reading an older national geographic on dogs when i heard a loud beep followed by a voice. i thought i was hearing things because who could be in the house at unannounced at this time of night? i opened my door, turned the lights on, and walked to check the living room. my heart was racing. i heard the beep again and another voice. it was coming from ta’s room. i opened the door and waited. it was the fire alarm. it wouldn’t stop beeping because of low batteries, so i took them out. still, it was beeping. i was tired so i tried to unscrew it as a temporary fix but was unsuccessful. when i went to observe the alarm closer, it had a button that said ‘push to silence’. when i pushed it, it scared bagel and i because it began beeping louder. then it said carbon monoxide detected, which alarmed the rest of the alarms in the house. after the carbon monoxide warning, it said there was a fire. i was so stuck, i kept pushing the button to silence the alarms, but it actually did the opposite. bagel was scared so i took him out. when he came back in, he refused to go upstairs as the beeps were still there. i scoured the house for 2 aa batteries and had to find the right way to orient them. safe to say after 15 minutes, everything was back to normal with the exception of my heart rate. bagel ended up sleeping on the couch and i fell asleep about 30 minutes or so after. i’m glad i wasn’t already asleep because the voice and beep combination would’ve given me a heart attack. it’s 8:04am and i’m waiting to give my auntie some dried shrimp my mom ordered for her before heading work. i’m definitely feeling the lack of sleep, but at least i know the alarms are working.

which is peace of mind and although that should help me sleep easier, it didn’t last night whatsoever.

-ratha, 8:07am, 3.19.25