She dreamt she was sitting in an oversized armchair in a room filled with clocks. All around, the walls ticked, clicked, thrummed and whirled as hundreds of clocks bore down the time. None were the same. Each was exhaustingly meticulous in their design—a cherub holding a glassy orb, an ivory moon set in an ebony frame, serpents tangled in a candelabra. Each seemed to push the bounds of possibility—with moving parts that seemed to mimic live animals, eyes that seemed to stare at directly at her, wood that changed colour in the light, extra long second hands that cast dramatic shadows on the cracked beige walls.
Ash felt relaxed, as though she knew the room and its particulars well. She swung her feet while she waited and looked from one clock to the next, noting and appreciating each design.
Eventually, a man entered the room and knelt before her, grey speckled hair swept to one side, deep brown eyes hazed with cataracts. He drew something shiny and gold from his pocket and held it out. At first she thought it was a coin, being of the same colour and lustre. Then she saw it was too big to be a coin, and was attached to a long, gold chain.
"For you," the man said, letting the chain filter through his fingers so that the object dangled close to her lap. "My finest invention."
Behind him, the wall of clocks ticked, clicked and thrummed as though in approval. Ash leaned closer and saw the dangling object was another clock. A pocket watch made from solid gold, so smooth she could see her own amber eyes reflected in it. As it turned slowly in the air, she saw the back surface was etched with a beautiful filigree pattern, entwined with the letters K.V.
"Listen to it, feel it in your hands. Keep it under you pillow at night. The sound will keep you safe."
"You said they weren't going to find us."
"Of course they won't. This is just a precaution."
"What's a precoo—precorshun?" Her mouth struggled around the new word.
The man smiled. "You know how all our windows face north."
"So we can keep an eye on the nosey neighbours," she said, throwing her index finger in the air, mimicking the man's voice.
The man nodded. "That's a precaution." His voice cracked.
Ash looked down at the pocket watch, which ticked like a live thing in her hand.
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Phoenix
FantasyOrphan Ashalia sleeps with her eyes open, walks with her back to the dormitory walls and never lets the other kids see her fears. In a world powered by greed, every moment could be her last. She also has a secret. An ability so powerful that if the...
