Clockwork Chapter 1
Tick.
Backwards and forwards, left to right, side to side it went. To and fro, turning and returning, engines turning, energy loading and releasing. The essential balance is found, a circular pendulum switching direction with clockwork regularity, opposites finely tuned and equally-opposing, and yet – edging forwards.
Tock.
He put his foot down, lifted the other up, shifted his weight from one side to the other. The wind rushed past his ears as one millimetre of steel carved a curve through the smooth ice underfoot. Forces perfectly balanced, falling to one side yet steering and pushing at the same time. His other leg traced a circle through the air, shifting his weight still further.
Tick.
The edge flipped, one steel edge swapped for another, a glide turned into a fall. A pendulum returns. He saw her out of the corner of his eye, and continued to fall hard. The edge sank into the ice as the line from his shoulder to his toes coiled up like a spring, ready to release.
Tock.
The pressure built up to the point of almost being unbearable. Potential energy is invisible to the eye; it is only with the heart that one can see clearly, so having it in his mouth should have afforded a great view, agape as it was at her intimidating presence.
Tick.
Turn; the view changed. Pressure translated to movement, past his ears went the wind. Too much wind, the mainspring coiled tightly, a compact position to avoid the wind. Levers moving back and forth, pivoting around jewelled bearings, a gem to hold rotating forces straining to escape while he lost his bearings. The levers flip again, energy escapes.
Tock.
To and fro, a rhythm and regularity hung in the balance. Spring changed the scenery, gems shone brightly in the stillness among clockwork movement. Suddenly, a chime sends a message through the mechanism, a minute repeater – a sign of the time. Excitement, then silence, pressure then release; a lever strains, a pendulum floats through a pregnant pause, momentum changes.
Tick.
The movement starts anew, the wheels change direction, turning and returning. Back and forth, near and far, but many complications. So many levers, directing the forces into speed, still he continued to fall down, sideways, around a corner. Some cogs engaged every second, others only on leap years – a perpetual calendar to direct colliding stars.
Tock.
He rushed to her defence. Too quick; the springs wouldn’t return, cogs teeth missed, but the levers held the force, and controlled their escape. Temporarily unbalanced, the cycle strained to return to regularity, the temperature rose and the pendulum lengthened but the weighted wheel expanded inwards to compensate, and balance was restored. She saw him, and moved in time.
Tick.
The metal bent and buckled under equal and opposing forces. The edges dug in, and sideways movement turned forwards. She drew closer to him, carefully controlling the pressure. He signalled, so did she, back and forth it went while the pressure built with the wind, but neither knowing whether their directions had aligned.
Tock.
Energy moved through complications; mechanisms clap shut to reset the cycle. Movement, turning forces, he turned towards her. Levers latched on cogs, energy returned, then escaped, time was kept, as were faces, concealing the movement beneath. If one met another on an island, would they be in time?
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