Tick Tock

Someone was watching; Savannah felt eyes following her as she wandered through the antique shop. She glanced over her shoulder to discover her mother wasn’t paying attention, and the shopkeeper was nowhere to be seen. But still, she sensed the uncomfortable heaviness of someone studying her.

She spun around and saw it—in an obscure corner sat a massive, ornate grandfather clock. The pendulum swung back and forth, keeping a perfectly steady rhythm. Not a speck of dust marred the flawless surface of the clock face. Above the case that housed the pendulum, a single, carved eye stared directly at Savannah.

She couldn’t resist moving forward, the timepiece beckoning her closer until they stood face-to-face. Tick tock, tick tock. The hands advanced, the pendulum swung, and the eye stared. Savannah shivered.

“Time to leave!” Her mom’s voice called from another area of the shop.

Savannah pivoted and let out her breath. “I’m coming!” Weaving around an ancient trunk and two unusual watercolor paintings, she hastened toward the main entrance and accompanied her mother outside.

Eucalyptus trees flashed by the window of her mother’s maroon sedan, their varying shades of gray-green smeared like paint. A motorcycle zoomed past, causing her mom to swerve sharply, honking the horn. The car jounced onto the shoulder and skittered to a stop.

Glancing out the window, Savannah gasped as she noticed a single eye glaring at her from between the limbs of a gnarled oak tree.

Her mom twisted the steering wheel, and their vehicle shot back onto the highway. The mysterious tree disappeared from view behind them.

Tick tock. Momentarily, the faint sound of the swinging pendulum echoed in her mind. Then, it too was gone. Was she going insane? Savannah contemplated her mom: Mom hadn’t seen the eye, hadn’t heard the clock. Had it all really happened? Or was it just her imagination?