Closed Until

oke to s

of ticking

No rain on the awn

, standing exactly where she had been be

lder. The shel

m, stood hollow. The cuckoo clocks hung still, doors closed. The grandfather clocks showed no hands. Even

ok a ste

bia

ans

er the most impossible gift. The little stool where he had once sat w

as g

in her palm ticked onc

e had replaced the carved shop

ntil the r

as if Tobias had never existed at all. As if the shop

tepped

as they always had-bustling with cars, damp from drizzle. No o

cting the shop to disappear

as alrea

ow an empty storefront with dusty windows and a

ch remained wa

wly, her steps more

wsill and lit a small candle beside it. She didn't c

the ice. The way Lila had

s peace

ds of clocks and calendars-Elena knew To

ng it