The Tale of Amaretto

Fifth Grain

In which Amaretto meets with a Time Keeper named Tempus and not much is revealed...

They left the jeans store at brisk walk. Five minutes and twenty three seconds were spent searching for Katherine's next destination. Down one of the mall corridors Katherine led them to another store. This time Amaretto eyed her aunt suspiciously as they entered. It was a watch shop and clock store. Not the most fancy, but the large grandfather clock in the center of the floor was a gesture of how expensive the place could have been. The finest in watches were in large glass cases along the floor and the largest case was along a back wall.

Inside, there was an old man sitting on a stool behind the largest counter. Katherine smiled at him almost immediately. He simply smiled when he saw Katherine and Amaretto. He had on horn-rimmed glasses with lenses so thick that one could have thought them magnifying glasses. His hair was a stark white and ringed his head in a fluffy white thinning cloud. His back was a little stooped and on top of that, he wore the ugliest cardigan sweater that Amaretto had ever seen in her life.

"Well Katherine, is this the girl that you were talking about to me so adamantly? She seems rather nice." The old man adjusted his glasses and then smiled as he stood up off of his stool. He motioned them towards the back of the store where a curtain hung. As Katherine smiled at him she nodded her head and then walked straight through into the back of the store past the ugly curtain. The man then motioned for Amaretto to follow.

Her aunt poked a head out of the curtain for a moment and then said, "Don't worry. He doesn't bite. He really is harmless." She then vanished behind the curtain. The old man smiled a rather crooked smile.

Amaretto had no choice but to follow her aunt behind the curtain. As she followed behind the curtain, there was a whooshing sound near her and then her stomach jumped. She felt as if she was transported to a whole other location. She stumbled past the curtain and found herself in a rather large darkened room. In front of her, a small round table had been set for the equivalent of tea time and a single spotlight seemed to shine on it from the gloom up above. Katherine was being seated by a young man with strong dark hair and piercing eyes and a rather deep smile. Behind the table, a single lever was seen settled into a wooden box. Above them, infinite darkness seemed to seep through the air. Situated next to the table was a small wooden podium that looked to have a rounded plug at the top for something small to fit inside.

As soon as Katherine was finished being seated, the young man turned to Amaretto. He pulled a chair from the table and motioned for Amaretto to sit. She frowned at the man when he did so.

"Oh come now," Katherine said with bluster. "I told you that he doesn't bite. That would hardly be cordial for him to do. To be honest, it is downright rude." Amaretto looked at her aunt and then back at the man and then back again to her aunt's exasperated expression. As she turned back to look at the man a second time, she realized that he was wearing the hideous cardigan sweater that the old man had been wearing outside.

Ameretto's voice came out a squeak of disbelief. "This is that old man that was sitting outside? That's impossible!"

The man shook his head and then frowned. "In the worlds of time and space, nothing is impossible Amaretto. I do hope that I am allowed to call you that and that there is no problem with me doing so."

Amaretto gawked at the man. Her mouth had initially dropped open when he spoke, but then it closed and formed into a frown. There were many things she wanted to say, however, she settled with the most obvious. "What are we doing here then Aunt Katherine?"

Her aunt was busy pouring tea into a simple bone china teacup with a beautiful print of blue flowers and green ivy on the side. She finished pouring the tea before she answered the question. She spoke as she poured a little milk into her tea. "He is a Time Regulator. He is here to explain the basics of your Hourglass for you. Lucky, lucky me, I did not have to deal with your usage of the glass except for that initial time when you were eight." She placed a lump of sugar into her tea and then as if upon second though added another one. She then pulled out her palm pilot and poked around at it.