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Chapter 23~ Time and Space
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The inside of the clocktower was just as gorgeously crafted as the outside with polished checkered floors and black iron staircases that seemed to lead on forever. The tall windows were frosted and leaked in sunlight that danced across the flooring. The ceiling seemed a hundred miles overhead. They began on the ground floor, full of equipment and weights of all kinds. They continued up past the second level of storage rooms as well as the third and fourth. The many steps had tired them both out, and Kit knew Vicky might not last much longer. Nearing the fifth floor, Vicky stopped.
“This may be our last stop, my dear. I’m not sure I can handle a whole trip—”
“Vicky?” a man’s voice called. Up ahead at the fifth-floor room, a man in a uniform stood by the door. “Vicky, it’s been so long!”
“Oh, Henry!” she answered, powering through and making it up to the fifth floor. “It has, hasn’t it? Frank talks about your work all the time. I’m surprised you’re not home with the kids.”345Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGmAWMACwPa
“Ah, the kids will be there for Christmas Eve. You simply must come in and see the new changes to the infrastructure we’re planning to implement.” He opened the door and ushered Vicky in. Quickly, she turned back to Kit, telling her, “Wait for me here. I’ll be back soon.”
As soon as the door shut, Kit made her break, racing up the nearest stairs and making her way to the Clock Room. She stepped foot into the large stone room, quiet except for a ghostly thumping of the mechanics and gears. The giant clock face, white and intricate, glowed back from all sides of the room. Kit held onto the railing and looked about her. There was no sign of Father Time, no evidence of him anywhere. But, Kit would not accept it. She swung around to the next set of stairs and climbed up to the Belfry where a great grey bell was centered, worn with age. The sunlight glimmered in the many windows and reminded Kit just of how high up above the ground she was. She felt so alone. Something about the space haunted her and ran shivers down her back. She wondered how anyone could ever stand it. She turned against the chill on her shoulder and saw a man on the opposite side of the bell, clutching onto the railing and peering out the glass window. He was dressed in long, deep blue robes with gold and white detail. His long, wavy snow-white hair spilled out behind him and almost danced like water. His fingers, old and shriveled with age, tapped against the railing precisely to the beat of the clock itself. Kit could hardly believe it. She moved slowly and kept her eyes pierced on him so he wouldn’t disappear.
“You’re 157 seconds late, Miss Calvin,” he said, his voice more hearty and benevolent than any she’d ever heard before.
Kit could not speak. Father Time turned to face her, silver moons of eyes sparkling back at her like the night sky. A small smile was tucked under his long, smooth beard. Kit stared in amazement.
“I got…caught up with a friend.”
“I know. And I think it’s important that you know that you’re not going to get what you came here for.”
Kit stopped, not sure she’d heard him correctly over the sound of turning gears below them.
“What?”
“Kit,” Father Time said, approaching her, “did you ever stop to think that maybe all of this was on purpose? That it was somehow meant to happen?”
She furrowed her brow. Her face hardened as she frowned. “There are people out there suffering.”
“No.” Father Time’s eyes lit up and a miraculous smile broke out on his face as he pointed. “There isn’t. Have you ever heard the phrase ‘ignorance is bliss’? Kit, for my entire existence, I have strived to keep the peace, to keep time moving forward despite all the pain it has caused so many. I thought for so long that I was doing the noble thing.” His face darkened as he turned towards the massive historical bell. “But, I was wrong. The world isn’t getting better. It grows darker and more lethal day by day, fostering hatred and fear in each of the humans’ hearts.”
Father Time crossed back to the rail and cast his intense glower down towards the window and the city below. “They would curse my name! Called me evil, heartless, unforgiving! But, not a single one of them knew. So, I’ll give them what they want. If they hate me so much, I’ll give up my name. If they so desire to relive the past, I’ll turn back the clock. I’ve been channeling my energy into the clocktower, casting it out to the rest of the world, shielding myself from the view of others.”
He fell quiet, deep loneliness etched into every wrinkle on his face. “It’s easier that way.”
Kit was stunned. This was a whole new side of Father Time that she’d never seen before. A side that had unearthed all the trauma and misery that had been buried for centuries. He radiated a darkness that Kit knew well—a hatred for being different, for being looked down upon.
She took a step forward. “And Flora Mae?”
His face twitched ever so slightly at the mention of her. His hands gripped the rail tighter. “What of her?”
“You moved time and space for her, too.”
Father Time turned away, bitter and cold. “That was a long time ago. We were different then.”
“That’s not true,” Kit interjected, grabbing onto the rail next to him. “Who says people change? Especially when the world was perfectly crafted for them to be together.”
He scoffed and crossed away from her, a hand stroking his beard, “You live in a fairytale, Ms. Calvin.”
“Yes, I do,” She said, unashamed and unafraid. She threw her arms out around them and laughed. “My grandfather is Santa Claus! I spend my summers in the North Pole! I’m on top of freaking Big Ben! My life is the epitome of a fairytale!” She stepped forward to him, challengingly. “But, I refuse to believe that the world is nothing but shadow and hatred. It is full of magic!”
“Yes—”
“Not your kind of magic but one of love, kindness, friendship. All the things I have believed in my entire life. And when you love someone, you don’t run away when things get real and difficult. You…you stand your ground and you share that love because life is just too goddamn short.” Kit pulled back, a sudden aching and pain in her heart. Her throat closed around the impending sobs. “People don’t hate time because of the pain it causes. They hate it because of the love they feel they will lose. It is love…That’s what matters.”
Father Time watched her, his face blank and entranced. Kit approached him and clutched her trembling hands into herself.
“You have a chance here for everlasting happiness that most humans would kill for. You can’t pull the rest of the world down with you. Go back to her. Return to your domain. If you truly love her, move time and space for her. And who knows? They say time heals all things.”
Father Time stared at her silently, the silver in his eyes shining bright. The very edges of his mouth turned up, and he choked a laugh, grabbing her hands in large ones. His eyes, wet and pure, reflected back like a pool. And, for a second, she saw Flora Mae’s eyes in his own.
“I will. I will.” Father Time sucked in a breath and retreated to the bell. He laid a large, ancient hand upon the metal, and suddenly, a frost that had previously been invisible appeared all over the surface. The frost had spread all over the floor, the walls, and down the stairs—white and invasive. But, Father Time’s hand grew hot, red with magic, and the frost gradually began to melt away. It slipped away into nothing, revealing the world as it once had been. The new air filled Kit’s lungs. Father Time returned to her, placing his still warm hand upon her head and kissing her forehead.
“Thank you, my dear,” he blessed her, “Thank you.”
Kit smiled timidly and nodded back. Father Time looked behind her shoulder. She turned and saw them all. Charlie. Grandpa Scott. Vicky. Bernard.
They stood together, amazed and awestruck with mouths almost hung open. Kit looked at each of them with a new relief and gratitude. But, she stopped at Bernard, her smile falling slightly. He stepped forward, and Kit approached.
“How did you—”
He ushered to the clock in his hand. Flora Mae’s clock. “You left it. At the rink.”
Kit took up the clock and smiled down at the elegant surface. She then put it in the hands of Father Time and smiled at him.
“Maybe you should give this back to her yourself.”
Father Time gazed down at the precious clock, showing the same look that Kit shared with her snow globe. He flipped it over to the inscription and smiled.
ns 15.158.61.44da2
