text: &#x200B; &#x200B; In a small old room with sunlight running through the yellow drapes, a seemingly ordinary clock ticked and tocked. The clock had colorful fur all around it and it was very huggable. A boy then held the clock close towards his chest and he heard his heartbeat match the rhythm of the clock. Walking backwards clumsily, he let his knees fall to the soft embrace of the bed and let go of his arms. The clock remained there in his chest, until the boy’s breathing got deeper and deeper till he was in a deep sleep. By the time he opened his eyes, he immediately caught the scent of grilled steak. He hopped off the bed and took off and down a flight of stairs. ‘You’re awake! Steak’s piping hot and ready!’ It was just the mother and the son sitting on the wooden table. The steak’s size was half of that of an adult’s and there was only one. ‘Go on ahead. I’ve eaten mine.’ The mom was looking him in the eyes with admiration. ‘Say, Jean. What do you think of your new toy?’ Jean mimicked how he hugged the clock and the mother smiled, ‘It’s so fluffy, and it makes the cutest chimes.’ Suddenly, a low tuned chime rang throughout the kitchen and it seemed like it came from upstairs. Jean, visibly frustrated, chewed on his meat faster, gulped it down, and walked quickly to the flight of stairs. Jean’s mother after seeing her son walk out and away from her sight, started sobbing quietly in the background. After climbing the set of stairs, the relentless chiming came to a complete halt. When he peeked inside his room, he found the clock on the bed and jumped up to the bed to hold it once more. Like he always does, he closed his eyes and embraces it. But very quickly, he opens his eyes and places his ears onto his toy. There was no tick tocks left to be heard and the second hand went dead. He then saw his mom peeking on him with concern. ‘I’ll buy you a real toy this time, okay? I promise you’ll like the next one.’ She gently approached the bashful boy and went to bed beside him. ‘You really love the clock?’ She whispered. After a few seconds of silence, he turned towards his mother. Jean spoke, ‘Jean believes the clock will ring again.’ He then felt the warm touch of his mother patting him on the shoulder. She then heard Jean sniffling and saw him holding back his tears. The next day, in the school premises, Jean emotionlessly rummages through his backpack inside the locker and pulled out his fluffy clock. He hid it underneath his shirt and headed back to his seat. Then, he discreetly placed it underneath his desk. He pressed on it gently but got interrupted by a group of cheery students. ‘Jean, come sing with us!’ In response, Jean refused politely, but the other surrounded him instead. The people around him seemed to be searching for something on his body. His friends spoke, ‘Wow is that a musical box I hear?’ ‘What a cute chime.’ ‘Show us. We want to know!’ ‘Ah! Here it is!’ One of the boys picked the clock from underneath Jean’s desk to his surprise. Jean, perplexed, asked his friends. “You can hear it?’ The boy replied, ‘Yes, and everyone else in class! Right?’ The others nodded in unison. He then explained his situation to the 4 students surrounding him. The 4 of them replied in succession. ‘You’re saying that after listening to the chimes yesterday, you can’t hear them anymore?’ ‘There’s no way, it must be that you’re imagining things! Like not being able to listen to it.’ ‘You should go see a doctor.’ One of the girls nudged the mean boy on the shoulder. ‘Don’t be mean. Although it’s most likely that you are hallucinating in reverse.. This really is a cute clock. Mind if we borrow it? Once the hallucination stops and you can hear the chime again, tell us and we’ll give it to you! I swear I won’t bully you or anything.’ She declared quite confidently in the whole class. I nodded in agreement. She then went back to her table and carried her favorite toys in her arms. With outstretched arms and a warm smile, she spoke, ‘Please have fun with these!’ ‘Thanks, Jasmine.’ Day by day went, and every time Jasmine brought out the clock in class, he wasn’t able to hear its melody. One day, Jean was too tired to wake up. His legs felt like jelly and he felt a bit nauseous. He then opens his eyes and sees his mother driving late at night. ‘mom...how did i get here..’ ‘oh dear. Oh dear... we’re going to be there soon, okay? The doctor will make you feel better.’ Rinng. Rinng. The melodious chime that he once heard came back to him. ‘Jasmine gave the clock back to you while you were sick because she knows you love it very much. Thank her later, okay?’ The lovely tune vanquished all the darkness that seemed to clench Jean’s heart and once again, he held the clock close to his chest and hugged it tight. Then, it went quiet again and the second hand stopped moving.. like how it used to be.