Chapter Two: The Workshop That Wasn't There

Leo followed the faint hum of ticking into the woods the next morning. Just past the frost-covered stone wall, he found a clearing he’d never seen before—though he’d walked that path a hundred times.

There stood a small cottage with gears embedded in its wooden walls, a chimney puffing out tiny clouds, and an open door that creaked like a whisper.

Inside, everything was moving—pendulums swinging, gears spinning, clocks chiming. And in the center was a table with another watch. Identical to his.

A voice behind him said, “Took you long enough.”

Leo turned. A man with snow-white hair and magnifying goggles stood at the back of the room.

“You’re Mr. Calder,” Leo said.

“I was. But time… played tricks. That watch brought you here, didn’t it?” The old man smiled. “It chooses who sees what’s been hidden.”

Leo held out the watch. “Why me?”

“Because time remembered you,” Calder said. “And now it’s your turn to decide: will you wind the clock… and see what was never meant to be seen?”