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101 Word Short Stories

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The Clockmaker’s Secret

September 19, 2025 6 Comments

By Varman

The village clock struck midnight. No one heard it except for Elias. He had built it sixty years ago, placing one secret inside: a ticking heart from his late wife’s locket. Every hour, it whispered her name, just for him. Tonight, Elias sat beneath it, cane resting by his side. He looked up at the glowing hands. “I’m ready.” The clock chimed twelve. Then stopped. Morning came. Villagers found Elias still, eyes closed, smiling. The clock never ticked again. No one could fix it. They didn’t know about the locket or the heart that waited sixty years to stop with his.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Kelly Louisa balliu says

    September 24, 2025 at 8:55 am

    A superb piece of writing with a poignant story at the (clockwork) heart 🙂

    Reply
  2. Toni Brayer says

    September 24, 2025 at 10:14 am

    Really lovely. So much in a few words.

    Reply
  3. dlherrmann says

    September 24, 2025 at 11:54 am

    So sweet!

    Reply
  4. Jo Gatenby says

    September 24, 2025 at 4:24 pm

    Reminds me of that song… ‘then the clock stopped… never to go again, when the old man died…’

    Reply
  5. Jennifer J says

    September 25, 2025 at 2:33 pm

    Beautiful!

    Reply
  6. Pamela Cartlidge says

    October 4, 2025 at 9:44 am

    wonderful. Welldone!

    Reply

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