The Clock of Miss Fortune ✔

Chapter - 3

The wind felt a little heavy as if it carried something heavy, something that the eyes of a human can't see. It was different. Another thing that comes to mind are the tentacles swirling around abnormally hitting every human walking on their own path. Indeed, It was a new day. A different day. Hannah finally managed to move out of her bedroom. She felt the wind even inside this closed living room. "It is different today." She thought.

Hannah quickly showered, ate toast and drank coffee. She randomly picked her outfit. She wore a light white sleeves blouse and light blue jeans and left to meet Cristal. The back of her hair stood up when she closed the door to her house. Chill went down her spine and gradually disappeared before she had a moment to think about it.

The bell on top of the store door rung. Cristal and Hannah exchanged smiles. Cristal wore a red short sleeved t-shirt and black shorts. She was chewing gum which she threw in the trash can and made some coffee. They had some coffee as they chatted for a while. Hannah took the letter and came back home. She made some coffee and sat down on a chair in the kitchen. The letter was safely wrapped in a thin plastic sealed on all sides. She was instructed to wear gloves before handling it. She picked the letters that she had carefully placed in a small case. There were several pages. Some still clear as a newly written letter and some words had almost or entirely disappeared.

Hannah sighed at first. She felt uneasy. This had never happened before. There was this disguised feeling squirming from those pages and entering her skin like worms eating the skin and getting inside. She sighed again and started reading...

09-12-1810

Mr. Howard Fortune, I am writing this letter to inform you about the present condition of your wife, Mrs. Balentine Fortune. I am well aware of the situation between the two of you and I am desperately trying to keep the situation under control. Yet, I only find myself in a position where I can convey the situation to you. She has no one else to go to. Despite her health and breakdown, she is your wife. It is my duty to see to it that her belongings and last wish is delivered to you before it is too late.

Mrs. Fortune, despite our regular treatments after a certain incident has been knitting a sweater and carved a doll from the dough while thinking of it as her daughter. She has attached herself to this doll of no life. There is a very thin gap between reality and her imagination which seems to be disappearing with each passing day. We have no other choice but to put her down to sleep. She was behaving well for the past three months and we were hoping for a full recovery. This was all before we discovered that she, even with our eyes on her all the time, got herself pregnant. This was three months ago. She was close to one of our patients and they had physical relationship during their free hours. How she managed to sneak out is still a mystery to us. Her disappearance from her room seemed almost unrealistic at the moment. It was a different matter when we heard the result days later. Unfortunately, the baby died inside her. It was a girl. She thinks that she still lives in the form of a doll she had carved and has been knitting sweaters ever since.

It might take awhile before we give you any conclusive answer. Mrs. Fortune might not be able to meet you this month. Her condition will only harm your feelings. I am aware how much she wishes to have a child but she never can. I am well aware of how much you want to hold your child but you never will. Please forgive me for such negative words. However, that is the undeniable truth that I am speaking of. I will write you when Mrs. Fortune's condition changes for better or worse.

- Dr. Edward Alder

23-05-1811

Mr. Howard Fortune, we are happy to inform you that your wife is making steady progress. Her mind is stable. Her health is stable. Her thought process of living in the present is stable. There are consequences to knowing the oneness of the world. It can lose all the joy of definition and bias. Mrs. Fortune knows it is not real. Her illusions are not real. Her images of her daughter are not real. She has gained consciousness of her present self. She is forming a room of acceptance outside of her imagination.

Mrs. Fortune yearns to see you. She asked for you. It will be a pleasant time if you could take some time from your busy schedule to meet her. For her sake, and for yours.

- Dr. Edward Alder

02-08-1811

Mr. Howard Fortune, it is very unfortunate for us to inform you that Mrs. Fortune's health has taken a turn for the worse. Vivid images appear even in a conscious state, as per Mrs. Fortune's examination. She says that she sees things. Things that call out to her. And sometimes those things are not things but little girls dancing around her wearing the frock and ribbon around her waist that Mrs. Fortune knitted for her first child. It almost feels like someone else's memory, she says. Someone else who resides within her.

I very well understand the complexity of losing a daughter. However, her unconscious dreams are merging with her consciousness and reality. She is unable to differentiate between reality and dream. Mr. Fortune, time is precious and unfortunately coming to an end for her. She might lose herself in a world that doesn't exist. It is a ghost world inside her mind.

Mr. Fortune, I urge you to pay a visit. It might be the last one. There will be no reality to go back to once she submerges into her dreams. She wishes to see her grandmother's clock. I do not know the reason behind it. My conclusion is that she wishes to add something to the clock. Like a memory. Or maybe her dream. It could be much more complicated than that. "I want to see the clock. I want to leave a part of me in it. I want to save my daughter with it." Is what she said to me. Time doesn't stop for anyone but for her it might. Even if it is in a form of her dreams. Time might stand still for her withering soul.

- Dr. Edward Alder

12-09-1812

Mr. Howard Fortune, I hope you are in your good health. My condolences for your loss. Once again I feel a need to tell you that it was the right decision to be with her in her last moments. Those few months she spent with you must have been precious to her. I have also kept your precious memories in this painting that Mr. Celic had made. A memory on this cavas of Mr. Howard Fortune and Mrs. Balentine Fortune.

- Dr. Edward Alder

Hannah kept the letters back inside the case and pulled out a photograph of the painting of Mr. Howard Fortune and Mrs. Balentine Fortune. The painting was old and Hannah didn't see it in the shop. Maybe someone had already bought it. But the photograph was clear to describe it. Mr. Howard wore an elegant walking dress also with a slight fullness at the shoulder and a waistcoat with lapels. He wore tight pantaloons and a higher 'top' hat. His skin was light brown with brown eyes, black and grey short hair, no beard or mustache, and held a long cane in his right hand. He was standing while Mrs. Balentine was sitting on a simple wooden chair.

Mrs. Balentine Fortune wore a high waist, straight skirt unsupported by petticoats and very short sleeves. The material is light and striped. For warmth she has a shawl, wears long gloves and carries a muff. She was light brown as well, blue eyes, and very slender body. Her hands rested on her lap and her smile had all but vanished. Her completely grey hair were long and resting on her left shoulder as she looked in front while her consciousness seemed to have faded.

And behind them was the clock that Hannah now owned. The walls were royal red. Hannah couldn't recognize the exact materials used. That's it. Two people, no kids as Hannah realized after reading the letters, and a clock behind them. It was pretty generic, she thought. She placed everything inside the case and made some more coffee. "That was a bit too much." She said. "O'lim's last name is a coincidence after all." She concluded.