Chapter 3: The Clock Tower If you are wondering whether going to the old clock tower at night was a good idea... It wasn't. But curiosity is a powerful thing. By 11:30 PM, I was standing outside the tower with the photograph in my pocket. The huge clock tower stretched into the dark sky above me. The wind whispered through the trees. Everything felt still. Almost too still. I took a deep breath and stepped inside. The wooden door creaked softly. Moonlight shone through the tall windows. The tower was dusty and quiet. My footsteps echoed across the floor. Tap. Tap. Tap. Then a voice spoke from the darkness. "Aria." I froze. The voice was calm. Not loud. Not frightening. Just unexpected. "Who's there?" I whispered. A figure stepped forward. A red hood. Black clothes. Just like the stories. My heart raced. The Red Hood Boy. I tried to see his face. I really tried. But the hood covered it completely. The shadows seemed to hide every feature. I could only see a pair of eyes watching me. "You came," he said. "You left a letter," I replied. "You read it." "Of course I read it." For a moment, neither of us spoke. The silence felt heavy. Then he pointed to the photograph in my hand. "Did you bring it?" I nodded. "Good." He took a small torch from his pocket and shone it on the back of the photograph. Words slowly appeared. Hidden ink. My eyes widened. The message read: LOOK BENEATH THE OLD OAK. "The oak tree outside?" I asked. "Yes." "What's there?" "A clue." "A clue for what?" The boy gave a small laugh. Oddly enough, the laugh sounded familiar. Not enough for me to recognise. Just enough to make me wonder. "You ask a lot of questions," he said. I blinked. Something about those words felt strange. Like I had heard them before. Many times. Maybe at school. Maybe somewhere else. But before I could think about it, a noise echoed outside. Crunch. Crunch. Crunch. Footsteps. The boy immediately turned toward the window. "They're coming." "Who?" No answer. The footsteps grew closer. Crunch. Crunch. Crunch. The mysterious boy reached into his pocket and pulled out a small metal box. A rose was carved into the lid. He handed it to me. "Keep this safe." "What is it?" "You'll understand soon." "That's not much of an explanation." "I know." I looked down at the box. When I looked up again, the boy had already started climbing the staircase. "Wait!" I called. The figure paused at the top. For one second, moonlight touched the edge of the hood. I thought I was finally going to see who he was. But the shadow covered his face again. I saw nothing. Not even a glimpse. Then he disappeared into the darkness. Gone. I stood alone, holding the metal box. My hands shook slightly as I looked at the lid. Beneath the rose symbol was a number.1. The first clue. The first secret. The first piece of a mystery that was much larger than I had imagined. And somehow... I knew this was only the beginning.
