The Clock That Stopped Time

Ellie lifted the magnificently gilded timepiece in her hands; its shining casing seemed chilling and overpowering. The complex carvings of vines and blossoms caught the slight dim light of her grandfather's storage room. She had discovered it buried under heaps of dusty diaries, its moving arms at 12:00.

"Pay attention to it," her granddad had whispered with a bizarre knowing grin when he gave it to her in the last days.

There was a flare of interest inside her. Why would he leave her a broken clock? She had tried to wind it the day she brought it home, but it was completely immovable. Now, weeks later, she simply gazed down at it as she sat on the edge of her bed.

"One more try," she murmured, bending the key.

This time, the gears clicked.

The clock awoke with a loud, unnatural clang that resounded and then became quiet.

Ellie looked around. Her bedside light flashed suddenly and was then frozen in mid-glow. Outside, a bird hung suspended in space. The downpour splash she'd heard all night now hung every single drop in place like a beaded curtain. The ticking clock in her hands felt obscenely loud.

Her chest locked. "What... happened?"

Outside she ventured. The neighborhood in her vicinity fell very still, almost paralyzing. The air felt stiffer, heavier. Ellie waved her hand in front of a neighbor who was frozen amid a lawnmower thrust. Nothing. She called aloud, all the while her voice got swallowed by the calm. For a short moment, she was alone. A boy almost his equal stood at the edge of her street. He moved liquid like against the background of the solidified world.

He noted her as he walked nearer, an expression of interest and caution on his features. "You wound it, didn't you?" he asked.

Ellie grasped the clock tighter. "What are you cruel? Who are you?"

"My name's Theo," he said while gesturing to the clock. "That thing isn't typical. It controls time."

"Control time?" Ellie reiterated, her voice trembling.

Theo nodded. "My granddad had it some time before yours. I've been stuck in this... ageless domain for a long time now. I thought I was the only one." "Stuck? What do you mean?"

Ellie's stomach dropped. "This world isn't real," Theo explained. "It's like a mirror of time, only frozen. The clock connects to it. Once wound, it traps you unless..." He paused.

"Unless what?"

Theo scowled beneath his brow. "Unless you reset it. But it's not as easy as turning back the hands. You have got to find the core- what's controlling it. And that's in here some place." He motioned to the frozen world all around them.

Together, they started their expedition, shuffling through what seemed to be an incredible landscape of illusory stillness. It was almost as though their feet were dragging, even the air was giving resistance.

In the town square, they came across what Theo referred to as "time echoes"; scenes and objects dimly glowing-things of people's lives turned to stone at significant moments. This one particularly caught the attention: a bright shining swing set where a woman was frozen mid-laugh, while a tiny boy stretched out his hand to her.

"That's my mother," whispered Theo, breaking a little.

Ellie realized then just how long Theo had been trapped from returning to a world where his mother was waiting.

They pressed on until at last they came to that clock tower in the middle of the town. Inside, they found a pendulum like a gold giant, vibrating with pulsating energy.

"This is it, Theo said.

The pendulum swayed every so lightly, and it sent out ripples that seemed to drag at Ellie's chest with each swing. She thought about her grandfather's chuckle, his warm hugs, the day when he gave her the clock, and memories came flooding back.

"It's your connection now," Theo said. "You have got to let go."

"Let go of what?"

"The memory. They cherish them. Anything that connects you to the power of the clock. It won't discharge time until you are." doing

Ellie's hands shook. Her grandfather's face appeared to her mind, clearer than ever. Earwigs.

But then she looked at Theo and thought about his mother.

Taking a deep breath, Ellie moved to step forward. Hand on the pendulum, heat spreading through her palm. "I won't forget you," she whispered to her grandfather. "But it's time to move on."

The pendulum shivered, then stopped. The world erupted in bright, blinding, and all-encompassing light.

When Ellie opened her eyes again, she was back in her room, the clock lying on her bed, its hands ticking softly. Outside, the rain continued to tap at the window.

Ellie raced outside and found her neighbors, each waving their own hand again, the bird floating above. Around herself, she turned looking for Theo, but he was nowhere to be seen.

Clutched hard in her palm, she held on to a note that previously hadn't existed:

"Thanks. You set us free.-Theo"

Ellie smiled, and tears streamed down her face. Still, the clock ticked, but she was wise enough not to wind it again. Some mysteries were simply meant to remain.

Letting go of the past doesn’t mean forgetting—it means making room for growth and new possibilities. Cherish memories, but don’t let them hold you back from living fully in the present.