-Music: Eda's Requiem & Raine's Rhapsody -Background: Google Enjoy^^ [CONTINUED IN NOTES AND CREDITS] Clockwork The sun rose above the many skyscrapers in the area, though one household was still fast asleep. A freelance artist, asleep on the floor, paintbrushes and papers strewn about. There was an alarm blaring, and a loud knock at the door. The artist awoke to these sounds, sleepily she turned the alarm off and trudged to the door. She opened it. “Hello?” “Oh my, you look dreadful, darling.” The voice on the other side of the door spoke, slight amusement in it. “I just woke up, not that you need to know that. Come on in, Kade.” The door opened wider, inviting him in. “Oh and do not call me that, bad habit” “Whatever you say, doll.” He chuckled, strolling in and slumping down on the beige couch. “That, I can manage.” With an eye roll she left for another room. Kade glanced around the floor, his eyes trailing to every individual art piece. Though, his gaze froze at a certain piece. It was a watercolor painting, a blue and green mesh of colors creating a figure. A couple, dancing in the rain. Although there were a few warm colors, a clock in the background, consisting of a handful of browns and reds. This painting was set out from the rest, there was no signature, although it was clearly finished. “Hey Dahlia! Who is this painting for?” Kade hollered to the other room. “Which one?” She shouted a reply. Kade once again looked at the watercolor painting. “The painting that displays the two dancing.” He paused, then added, “with the clock in the background.” For a few moments all was silent, though soon enough an answer emerged. “I just made that one day when I was bored, nothing more to it.” Dahlia came out from the other room, looking more refreshed. “You would not have said it was nothing more if that is true.” Kade looked at her crossly. “Is something wrong? Is somebody bothering you, doll?” His angered expression was now full of concern. “No, nothing of the sort. I am just very, very busy. That piece was sort of, an escape.” She paused between her last words. Kade let out a sigh, pushing some of his hair back out of his face. “Well I have the day off today. Want to go do something fun?” Dahlia stood there staring blankly at the various paintings, drawings, and sketches all over the floor. She glanced up at Kade’s grinning face. “Sure, why not?” Dahlia cleared the floor of anything art related and grabbed her bag. “Lead the way.” Kade left the apartment, Dahlia following after him. He led them to the bustling streets of the city. Vendors selling food, the aroma of street food filling the air. They went to countless shops though bought only a few things. Kade bought a new wristwatch and a fancy ballpoint pen. Dahlia only purchased a new pack of paintbrushes. Soon enough the day was coming to a close, the street shops all closing for the night. Kade, still in front of Dahlia, was muttering something unhearable. She blindly followed him, the two turning a corner into an alleyway. He sped up, so did Dahlia, again they turned a corner only to be faced by a wall. “Kade, there is nothing here. Why are we in an alley?” “Not an alley, an entry.” Kade said, “go on.” He stepped aside from where he was standing, revealing a large door, it looked like an old fashioned elevator. Dahlia opened the door and stepped inside, it was not an elevator, just a lot of stairs. Kade excitedly followed Dahlia inside, pushing past her. “Don’t dally, you’ll miss the best part!” Dahlia made her way slowly up the stairs, pausing every now and then. By the time she was at the top, Kade was already there, looking out at the city below. Dahlia now knew where they had gone, an old clock tower. It was still functioning though everyone who lives in their city barely noticed, they had grown used to the ticking noise of the old clock. “Ah you finally made it. Come look at this.” Kade ushered her next to him. She looked out at the city, the sky, and the many tall buildings. The sky was now turning from a golden sunset to a dark blue night, with only the moon to keep the darkness from overcoming all that could be seen. The city was now mostly dark with only a few restaurants and hotels lit up.
[READ INSTRUCTIONS FIRST] “I do say, the view is very stunning. Though I would hate to climb up here to start up the clock every morning.” Dahlia stretched her arms out in front of her as she spoke. “Really, seeing this every day would be amazing. Except that no one does it anymore, it is done mechanically now.” Kade explained, looking up into the churning gears above them. As Dahlia and Kade did not have any more thoughts to speak out, the two just stood in silence. The last of the flourishing light hit the clock, leaving a golden glaze on everything seen. Still silent, the clocks ticking grew loud. Kade turned to Dahlia, his voice sounded expectant. “You know, a clock ticking seems to drown out so much…do you think it will drown out the whole world someday, doll?” “I believe that clocks will be lost, only to be heard again once your time runs out.” Dahlia said, relaying a quote from a book she read as a child. Kade glanced down one more time at the city, now no sunlight remained. “Come on, let’s get you home. I have work tomorrow.” They left the clock tower and walked in silence back to Dahlia’s apartment. When they got there the silence was broken. “We should do this again sometime. It was fun.” Dahlia warmly smiled. “Of course, anything for you, doll.” Kade said, with a goofy looking grin on his face. “Next time, let’s watch something. I do not want to walk around the city again.” Dahlia said, opening her door and throwing her bag on a table. “I’ll be off then, goodnight doll. Rest well.” Kade gave a farewell and left for his own home. Within the next few weeks Dahlia was extremely busy, completing many paintings at a very fast rate. Some customers disliked the sloppy work and wished for their money back. Others thanked Dahlia and gave her extra money, realizing she had a lot of work. She had to drop some of her orders, and finish some she had yet to get done. Kade had come to her apartment a few times with food. He tried to get her to take a break, though she didn’t. The business did not end, and Kade eventually stopped coming by. Of course, he left a text almost every day. He was working for an infamous criminal organization. He usually refused jobs, though he was still roped into the group due to his mothers debts. Dahlia did not know this, he told her he worked for a government force. She was suspicious, but did not ask. Another late night and Dahlia was sound asleep, it was still dark outside when she woke up. Immediately she started working on a painting, a yellow painting of a stray cat in an alleyway. The direct depiction of a gruesome event shown in bright colors, like shielding the world from the truth. Soon enough the piece was complete, yellow paint was all over Dahlia when the phone rang. She picked up the phone to hear Kade’s voice. “Doll.” His voice was full of desperation, his voice was raspy, like his throat was hurt. “Please, come to my place.” He did say anything else, not that he didn't want to, he couldn’t. Dahlia placed the phone shakily back on the stand and left her apartment in a rush. The city flew by in colors, the street shops offering sweet scents, Dahlia ignored everything and just kept going. She turned a corner onto a street with a row of small houses. One of the houses had a door wide open. As Dahlia approached the house she noticed something, there was blood staining the driveway to the doorway. Inside the house was dark, Dahlia could only see one light on, a trail of blood leading to it. She walked to the source of light to see Kade. He was sitting on the floor, pressing a towel onto his leg. There was a wound on his throat, it looked deep. Kade whipped his head up, his alerted gaze turning calm when he saw that it was her. Dahlia quickly knelt down beside him, surveying if he was hurt anywhere else. There were a few bruises but nothing that looked major. Kade opened his mouth to speak but couldn't, Dahlia helped him up, hauling them both to Kade’s car. The driver seat was covered in Kade’s blood, Dahlia ignored it. She helped Kade into the passenger seat and drove off to a hospital. The second they got there Dahlia was inside and getting Kade a room, the staff immediately called a doctor. Dahlia stayed in the hospital all night long, and into the morning. Kade had gone into emergency surgery, he had lost too much blood, and the wound in his neck was quite severe. The surgery was a success and Kade was allowed to go home. Dahlia dropped everything to be there for him. Though, a few weeks into Kade’s discharge from the hospital, he passed away peacefully in his sleep. Dahlia arrived the next morning seeing a note on the stand next to Kade’s bed. “Doll, if you are reading this the worst has come. I could not speak to you due to my throat, as you know. Thank you for taking care of me in my final days. I regret not watching that play with you one more time…so just, watch it for me, okay? Please move on. Keep in mind, the clock keeps going, as should you.”
