Glass Hour

Untitled Part 1

There was once a telescope that hangs in the sky for the king to spy on the lives of his subjects. Unfortunately, he could only keep track one of them for one day. Then there came a time when he was caught off guard by what he saw in the lens, so he peered closely. Instead of showing a day of a person's life, he was surprised to see an extraordinary happened...

In a town named Glass Hour, time is an essential element. It is where people view time like a glass that is impossible to be piece together again. Every tick of the clock is precious because a second, a minute, or an hour cannot happen twice. It is a place that is brimming with trade and businesses that people rarely worry about leisure. One of them is a young man who sells any kind of book on the sidewalks near the Great Bridge. It is always a lucky day for him whenever many have bought his books, well, except today when the sun is suddenly sad for a while that the grayish and angry clouds steal the sky. With this weather, Glass Hour stills for a moment and it makes the man furious so he decided to take a walk towards the Great Bridge. He often wonders why it is called the Great Bridge even though there is apparently nothing great about that piece of architecture. He guesses that it's probably just the calmness of the river or how the bridge becomes alive with busy merchants but he doesn't know exactly. While walking, his thoughts will wander to the people who cross the bridge, and then he will convince himself that there is absolutely nothing special about these people for what they only seek is money. Just the exchange for an earning and no more and no less. Yet, the man knows that this day is going to be different and something tugs at him. It is a pull that compels him to search for a lone star to glimmer in his life so he calls the light and an accident answers him.

A sunny morning greets the people of Glass Hour and somewhere in a balcony that faces its crowded streets; an old woman sews something that makes her thoughts wander. The threads intertwine to create a curve that is actually the half part of a bridge and at its end show rows of storefronts and silhouettes of people that makes it a colorful embroidery. A feeling rises within her and she seeks for something to escape her miserable life after the death of her husband who was a great man who had lived with peace and hope. Her blurry thoughts then become clearer as she goes back to a moment, or rather, towards a day of her life that she will never forget. Suddenly, the old woman's age takes a turn. She becomes a young lady once more who is the eldest of five children. Her parents do nothing except arguing on nonsense things so she decided to leave their home temporarily and take a refuge in the Great Bridge. She feels like a lonely fisherman who is cast away in the wilderness of sea and desperately searching for a salvation. Then, she calls for a beacon in the darkness and death answers her.

Something wonderful is about to happen as the lady attempts to jump over the railing of the bridge but it is not death that welcomes her to the afterlife but the worried expression of a beautiful grim-looking man who is about her age. They both called for one thing but it gave them two different answers. Yet, it didn't stop the stars to shine proudly in the skies because Glass Hour stood still again when the eyes of the young man and the lady meet for the first time.