Story 2: The Clockmaker’s Secret
Chapter 1 – The Old Shop
Tucked away on a forgotten street stood a clock shop that time itself seemed to have
abandoned. Its wooden sign, carved with golden hands and Roman numerals, creaked
in the wind. Inside, hundreds of clocks ticked in unison: mantel clocks, pocket
watches, great pendulum clocks, each whispering seconds into the air.
Elias, the clockmaker, moved among them with steady hands. His beard was silver, his
glasses thick, and his face as weathered as the oak shelves. To any customer — rare as
they were — he spoke kindly, but with an edge of caution.
There was one rule: none of the clocks may strike midnight.
Chapter 2 – The Curious Boy
On a summer evening, a boy named Daniel wandered in, drawn by the rhythmic ticking.
His parents were arguing down the street, and the warm glow of the shop felt safer than
home.
Elias looked up from his workbench. “You’re out late, lad.”
Daniel shrugged. “I like the sound of clocks. They all tick different, but together… it’s
like music.”
A smile tugged at Elias’s lips. Few ever noticed that. He showed the boy how the gears
meshed, how a spring could drive a pendulum for days. But when Daniel asked, “Why
don’t your clocks ever chime?” the old man’s face darkened.
“Because,” Elias whispered, “when they strike midnight, the world will hear a sound it
was never meant to hear.”
Chapter 3 – The Forbidden Clock
At the back of the shop stood a grandfather clock taller than a man, covered with a
velvet cloth. Its presence filled the room with unease, as though it was waiting.
When Elias left to fetch tea, curiosity overcame Daniel. He pulled the cloth aside. The
clock’s face gleamed, its hands frozen at 11:59. The brass pendulum swung, but
without a sound.
He reached out. The instant his finger brushed the hand, the shop seemed to exhale.
Every other clock faltered, their ticks stuttering. Daniel felt a shiver run through him, as
though a thousand unseen eyes had turned in his direction.
Elias returned in time to see. His teacup shattered on the floor. “What have you done?”
Chapter 4 – When Midnight Struck
That night, Daniel dreamed of fire. Cities crumbled, rivers boiled, and the sky cracked
open like glass. He woke screaming, Elias shaking him.
“You touched the clock,” the old man hissed. “Now it remembers you.”
From the workshop below, a single bell tolled. Bong.
Daniel’s blood ran cold. “It struck twelve.”
“No,” Elias said, his eyes hollow. “It only began.”
The walls trembled as the sound rolled through the town. Windows shattered, dogs
howled, and in every home, clocks began to chime in unison. One by one, they joined,
until the whole night sang with terrible harmony.
Elias gripped the boy’s shoulders. “You’ve let the hour escape.”
Chapter 5 – The End of Time
The next morning, Holloway was silent. Streets lay empty, doors hung open, kettles still
whistled on stoves — but no people stirred. Only the clocks ticked.
Daniel wandered outside, calling for his parents, his friends, anyone. No answer came.
The world had stopped, trapped between one second and the next.
Behind him, Elias locked the shop door. “We’ve bought the last minute, boy,” he said
grimly. “And now we must keep it forever.”
