The Time Keeper's Daughter - Chapter 2

I barely stopped myself before plummeting to an early and unfortunate end. I began my ascent up to the clock’s face. I climbed up the staircase, marveling at its condition. Upon entering the tower I had half expected the stair to give way under me. But no. It was well preserved even though it looked centuries old. How is it possible? It looked as though someone had been maintaining the tower in spite of its near impossible entrance.

            I ascended the staircase, up and up. Upon reaching the top, I gazed at the scene before me, the jewel encrusted clock face staring back at me. I started when I realized how much time must’ve passed! The clock now read 7:42 and the sky was dark, I didn’t notice before, but the bells had stopped ringing and outsides no one was clamoring for escape.

            The bells typically indicated an emergency. For example, invading armies or a large house fire that required all hands. After noticing this change of scene, I walked back down the spiraling stairs. I passed my entry, but the stairs continued downward. It was much easier to climb down, but the further down I went, the less sturdy and up kept the staircase became. This unnerved me greatly. At one point, my foot went entirely through a stair, the wood cracking and falling what seemed to me hundreds of feet. If I fell through, I would die. My heart sped and my head spun. “Hello Lily,” came out of the darkness and I considered falling purposely. “Hello?” came my meek reply.

“I’ve been expecting you.”

“Who are you? How are you even here? Did you come through the hole in the wall too?” said I.  “Oh lily, I have so much to tell you. I live here my dear. One day, you also will live here,” said the unfamiliar man, stepping out of the shadows. Now that I could see him, I trusted him. He had well groomed, albeit long, brown hair and a light dusting of a beard. His eyes though, sealed my trust. They were blue, like mine, with brown flecks that seemed to shine and sparkle in the light, almost like gold. I put aside any ideas of jumping to my death. “But how did you get in?” I asked more confidently. “I’ve always been ‘in’” was his reply, “I’ve only left this tower once, for you.”