The Vanishing Clock

The day started just like any other day. Dan was given the job of working the candy apple station at the carnival. His favorite. He always smelled like caramel at the end of the day and Dan loved caramel. The only downside was that his wrist hurt from all the twirling of the apples, but it was still better than any other job. He would never forget the time that he sprained his ankle after falling off the ladder while cleaning the elephants.

After the day was over, he decided to go to his favorite bar. He was in a good mood and believed that this would keep his good mood going strong. Dan loved this piano bar. He was older and preferred to drink his green tea at home after a long day, but on a good one he allowed himself a beer.

Dan walked into the bar, bumping into a peculiar man with a ponytail. Dan didn’t give it much thought as he walked to an open table. He ordered his pilsner and waited for the music to start, but what ended up happening was even stranger. A woman walked up to the microphone and asked if anyone had seen any strange people tonight. The piano player was hit over the head by, what he said, a man with a ponytail.

Dan froze. He did not want to get involved, so he continued to sit there while the rest of the room started to turn into a bit of frenzy. Well, there goes my night, Dan sighed to himself. He hadn’t even gotten the chance to sip that refreshing beer that was just placed in front of him. But it was probably not meant to be, so the older man got up, leaving a large tip, and went to leave the piano bar.

He grabbed the coat that he placed behind his chair and walked toward the door, thanking the hostess, and into the night. It was not a cold night, so Dan didn’t think that it was necessary to put his jacket on just yet. He just wanted to find something that could help him hold on to the joy of the day. Dan was a simple man, he enjoyed simple pleasures, so if it was just the warm breeze that would bring him joy, then so be it.

But Dan could not enjoy his walk home. He could not get the man that bumped into him out of his head. He may have been the man that hit the piano player over the head, but what Dan could not get out of his head was this man’s eyes. He got a good quick look at them and there was nothing scary or creepy about them. Shouldn’t a person that just did something as heinous as bashing someone over the head, have malice behind his eyes? Dan did not see anything like that. And why bash the piano player over the head? What use did that hold?

Dan was so focused on this man that he didn’t even notice where he was going. He missed the turn for his street. Dan never did that. He loved his walks home. He loved his city. He loved every new thing that jumped out at him while he took his simple stroll home, even on the bad days, especially on the bad days. But this night, he was distracted. He missed his turn and he had to turn around, making his walk longer and feel a lot cooler. Dan put on his jacket and stuck his hands in his pockets to keep his hands warm, but there was something different there. Dan did not remember putting anything in his pockets, especially something that felt like a book. Dan did not take his nightly journaling with him on the road. The older man preferred to write about his days while sipping on his tea. Dan knew deep down that this book was not his as he remembered the look in the eye of the main with the ponytail. He hurried home.

It was not a long trip, but it felt longer than he had wanted. Once finally inside his house, behind the locked door, Dan felt safe, or at least safe enough to take out what was in his pocket. Like Dan had thought, it was a book. It was a little black book, small enough to fit into a pocket, but big enough to fit what a person could want in it. What was it doing in his pocket? Dan did not own anything like this book and he did not want to believe that he was now involved in any bigger scheme. He did not want to open it, so he placed it on the table by his door and went about his normal nightly routine.

Dan looked at the time. It was only half-past 7. He put the kettle on and prepared for his night in with his tea and his cat. Pebbles should be around here somewhere, Dan thought, she usually meets me at the door to say hello. He did not let it bother him. Things were normal and he was not going to accept anything less. He grabbed Pebbles’ food and her dish and began to scoop out her dinner. Right as the first kernel of hard food hit the bowl, Dan heard the jingle of the collar. Thank goodness, Dan breathed a sigh of relief. See, I told you that nothing strange is happening, Dan scolded himself. He was just getting riled up over nothing. His night was still going well and he will enjoy the joy of sipping his tea with his cat and writing about his day, avoiding the little bits with the book of course.

But while he was jotting everything down, Dan could not get his mind off of the book. His eyes kept glancing at it. Pebbles could tell that something was off in Dan as well. She refused to sit on his lap because of how jittery he was. The clock kept ticking, open it open it, it seemed to say. Dan could not take the pressure. He finally opened the first page of the book. Inside it read:

Hello Daniel Benet,

Yes, we know your name and yes, we knew where you would be spending your night tonight. We have been watching you for the past couple of weeks and you live a very scheduled life. We decided that you are the best person for a very simple job to be accomplished by a very simple man.

I know that all of this will come as a surprise to you, but it is necessary that you accept this job and our offer of compensation: $20,000.

The next pages will explain exactly what needs to be done for you to receive this reward. We believe that you will be a perfect fit for this job and once concluded you will never hear from us again unless you want to. You have 24 hours to respond.

-The Forever Sun

What in Gods Good Heaven is The Forever Sun, thought Dan, and why would they want someone simple, that is the word they used, like me? He almost slammed the book down right there out of disgust, offense, and fear, but the twenty thousand dollars kept it open. Twenty thousand dollars... I have never received that much money in my life. But I like my life. I like my job. I like my house. I like my cat. I have never wanted anything more. But the idea of maybe a little more joy? I have been feeling old at the carnival…Dan was beside himself with the back and forth of it all. Just see what they want. There is no harm in seeing what they want, Dan decided.

Good, you have chosen to accept.

Shit, Dan mumbled, and Dan rarely cussed.

Your assignment is as follows…

And then the book went on to explain that The Little Wood was a vigilante group that took in very simple men and women who believed that there is a simple joy in this world. The goal was to keep the kindness in people and get rid of the evil. Evil, Dan scoffed at this. He did not believe himself to be a person of this kind. He did not want to rid the world of evil. He just wanted to go about his daily life, enjoying all of the bits that he can. But twenty thousand dollars will make that so much easier, a little voice in his head reminded him,

Dan kept reading. The book went on to tell him that they were not going to give everything away if he was only going to do a simple job for them, but if he decided to stick around, all would reveal itself. Dan rolled his eyes. Then the task was finally stated:

We would like you to give us one book that you have in your possession. We could have taken it ourselves, but we would prefer to handle this nice and easy, and exchange it with monetary benefit. The book we require is The Vanishing Clock.

Dan knew exactly what they were referring to. This book, along with this house, was the only thing passed down through his family. He never really knew what was so important about the book, but he kept it away in a secret place anyway. He read it once or twice. It was a story about a simple man, wanting to live his life for each moment, enjoying the simple things, working for the people, and wanting to bring joy. The man even worked at a carnival, just like Dan did. The older man had not thought of this book in a long while and forgot that the man also worked at a carnival. He became confused, but read further about this assignment that he had technically already agreed to.

They wanted him to just put the book in his mailbox, and then he would receive the cash in his bank account the next day. They told him not to question it.

But, the book wrote finally, if you do decide to continue to work with us for more benefit, rip the next page out and tape it to your door. We would love to have a man such as you join our mission.

Dan decided to do what they asked and did receive the $20,000 in his bank account the next day.

Dan continued to live his life the same way that he always did, but this time something felt missing. He went to work but was more tired than ever. He drank his tea, deciding not to go back to the piano bar. He wrote in his journal, hiding the little black book deep in his drawers. The older man felt out of place for the first time in his life. $20,000 did add more joy to his life. It gave him ease, but even without the stresses of everyday life, Dan still felt lacking.

Weeks went by and nothing changed, so he did the only thing he could think of. Dan took out the little black book and found the page that he needed to rip out, a picture of a tree, and taped it to his door.

Less than an hour later, Dan’s telephone rang. An unrecognizable voice said, hello Daniel, we have been waiting to hear from you.

They gave him an address, a date, and a time to attend a meeting that would explain everything he needed to know.

They were about to hang up, but Dan stopped them. Wait, he started, why was the piano player at the bar knocked over the head?

The voice on the other end laughed and hung up.