The Clock Tower That Remembered

At the center of a fog-soaked city stood an ancient clock tower. Its chimes had stopped a century ago — yet every midnight, someone claimed to hear it ringing.

A young historian named Ada arrived to restore it. When she climbed the stairs, she found the gears still turning, powered by faint blue light instead of machinery.

She wound the clock, and suddenly the air shimmered with voices — laughter, conversations, music from eras long gone. Each bell toll revealed a memory of the city itself.

The climax: At the thirteenth chime, Ada saw her own reflection in the glass — older, smiling, whispering: “You’ve kept time alive.”

When morning came, the tower was silent again. But every night, one window glowed faintly, as if time itself were still awake.