He felt bad to keep it a secret from his girlfriend. It was not that he didn’t love her instead it was the other way around. He loved her so much that he needed her not to be involved in this.
Seven days earlier, the things weren’t the same. He had bought a present for their anniversary. A cuckoo clock. An antique one. He loved them more than her that’s why he couldn’t stop himself from buying them. Of course, it was a special clock. It was carved from oak wood. It had a dark brown colour with a golden border finish. However, the special attraction was the cuckoo…which was not a cuckoo instead it was a female angel.
The clock struck noon and the little red cloth parted to reveal an angel with a pair of black wings and arms crossed on her heart. She hummed some sort of lullaby for one minute and then retreated back into her little fortress of solitude. From the moment he had first heard her hum, he couldn’t wait for the noon or the midnight. He would spin the needles around and listen and listen and listen…until today.
He couldn’t find a way among the crowd of friends and family so that he can hear her hum again. He wouldn’t let anybody know…that was for sure. He tapped his finger nervously on the table but his future mother-in-law won’t stop talking. Seemed like ages since he saw, touched and heard the angel. And now he was stuck with his annoying family.
His girlfriend may find his behavior childish as always yet he would still find a way to get to her –the angel. He could request his girlfriend but she had no taste for ancient music. The lullaby was the classic example of how someone in pain, someone stripped of their freedom would be sacrificed in pleasing others. He, for one, knew how that felt. That was why he could relate to the melody and lyrics.
Desperate for it, he sneaked in the storage room as soon as his mother-in-law turned away. He shut the door quietly and went on with his endeavors. He spun the clock to the noon and she appeared again. The soothing lullaby detached him from noises around. That sweet melodious voice was soulful than ever. The lyrics painted a picture of the pain of somebody trying to be unleashed from the bounds of time and space.
He never before had looked at the clock in this much darkness. The golden border shone in the darkness and so did the back side of that little red curtain. He flipped it and it revealed some inscribing with golden thread. It was in Latin. He knew a little. So, he tried to decipher it. The more he recited, the more dizzy he’d become.
He woke up on his bed. It was dark. The last thing that he remembered was the angel unfolded her wings and her eyes glittered. He was still dizzy from the light. He got out of the bed and dusted his sleeve. There were some feathers on it. He walked past the kitchen into the gallery and then to the balcony. He might’ve been passed out for quite a while. All the guests have gone.
He shook his head before looking at the clock. It was 12 in the noon. Suddenly, he felt a jolt and the gallery escalated to the open balcony. His arms crossed on his chest and two huge wings flapped on his shoulders. Some giant children ran across the hall and he saw his girlfriend sitting with a strange woman. He opened his lips to call her but instead his favorite lullaby came out of his mouth.