text: This is a story that I haven't told many people yet. In fact, I find as much mystery as I do solace in the story to this day. This is the story of Giselle. My aunt once told me a story about the boutique fashion store she worked at in the 70s. As a stylist, she frequently dressed the store mannequins for the window displays. On a cold summer afternoon, she recalled dressing up Giselle, a mannequin that many customers complemented. Giselle was not like other mannequins. She had a beautifully sculpted face with eyes that peered deep into your soul. Deep, deep into your soul like the vastness of the blue ocean. Apparently, Giselle was a relic of bygone days before the store changed ownership. No one knew of her origins. She had no tags or labels anywhere on her, but everyone who worked there agreed that she was too beautiful to give away and loved seeing her in the store window. Some nights when my aunt closes up the store, she could almost swear that Giselle was a real girl- watching and listening to her amidst the tranquility of the after hours. My aunt had told me more, a lot more. Oh yes. My aunt had told about a soft clicking noise behind the wig one time while cradling Giselle to another display window late in the evening. She said that you would not normally be able to hear this, but it was perfectly quiet with no one around. When she studied the wig further, she discovered a small glass window at the back of her head through which a beautiful mechanical watch movement was in perfect view, with the initials P.v.L. inscribed. Apparently, to her amazement, the watch was still ticking away. One customer was the wife of a passionate watch collector, who gladly asked his husband Vlad about the mechanical movement. The husband was in complete awe and explained that the person she wanted to talk to was James the watchmaker, the son of Pierre. Two weeks later, my aunt got hold of James the watchmaker (son of Pierre) and showed him the photos of the mechanical movement. “I have never known my father. In fact, everything I knew about him was from my older sister Stephanie, with whom he was around until she was 6 years old. My sister vanished one day 2 years ago, and I have never heard from her since.” “The only thing I can tell you is that the watch movement was made by my father. He was a talented watchmaker known within some niche circles of collectors during the 50s and those were his initials - P.v.L.” Legend has it that his watches kept precise time that was accurate to 30 seconds after 25 years. That was his ultimate achievement and there were photos of him with the prominent figures wearing his watches. It was the most accurate wrist-worn timepiece at that time, but many thought it was just a story designed to drive attention. One thing is for sure though -for whatever reason the timepiece was installed in Giselle, it had great significance. Much greater than a simple memento left by a passionate watchmaker. One day, my aunt invited James to the store to take a look at Giselle, and what they discovered changed her world. Nothing was the same after that. \[to be continued.\] Part 2 continues .