Clara stayed in the village for a week, intending to sell the shop, but the unfinished watch haunted her. She began digging through her father's meticulously labeled drawers.
As she worked, she found more than parts. She found sketches of her as a child, tucked behind a box of mainsprings. She found a logbook where Elias hadn't just recorded repairs, but memories: "Tuesday. Replaced the escapement on Mrs. Gable's clock. Reminded me of Clara's laugh—bright and constant."
Tears blurred her vision as she realized her father hadn't been a man of cold machinery, but a man who used gears to bridge the gap between his hands and his heart. She decided she wouldn't sell the shop until she finished his final gift. But no matter how she searched, the central wheel—the piece that connects the power to the hands—was nowhere to be found.