The Clock That Ticked Backwards

Once upon a time, in a quiet old town, there was a small clock shop everyone whispered about.

The clockmaker — an old man named Elias — never spoke, but people said his clocks didn’t

just tell time… One night, a curious girl named Sara sneaked into his shop.

With trembling fingers she wound the largest clock in the corner. At the stroke of midnight,

the room shook. Elias appeared from the shadows, his eyes glowing faintly.

“You wanted to know why time stops here,” he whispered, “but once it starts again… you can’t

leave.” Sara tried to run. The walls blurred… Then the clock struck twelve again — and

she woke up outside, covered in dust, no memories of how she got there — only a ticking sound