Here you go — an original story written for you, with a title 😊
The Clock That Forgot to Tick
In the small town of Alderwick stood an old clock tower that no one really looked at anymore. Its stone was cracked, its gold hands were faded, and its bell hadn't rung in years. Most people walked past it without a second glance.
But twelve-year-old Mara noticed everything.
Every afternoon after school, she sat on the steps of the tower with her sketchbook, drawing the birds that perched on its roof. She liked quiet places, and the clock tower was the quietest of all.
One day, as the sun dipped low, Mara heard something strange — a soft, shaky tick.
She froze.
The clock hadn't worked in decades.
Curious, she climbed the narrow spiral staircase inside the tower. Dust floated in the air like glitter, and the walls smelled like rain and rust. At the top, she found the giant clock mechanism: a maze of gears, wheels, and chains.
One tiny gear was stuck.
Mara gently touched it with her finger. It wobbled — then began to turn.
Suddenly, the entire clock shuddered to life. The hands began moving backward instead of forward, and the bell rang one slow, echoing note.
When Mara looked out the window, she gasped.
Below, the town was moving in reverse. People walked backward. A spilled cup of milk lifted itself off the ground and back onto a table. A broken bicycle rolled itself together again.
The clock ticked — but time was rewinding.
Mara realized something important: the clock wasn't broken. It was tired. It had been holding the town's mistakes for too long.
She reached out and stopped the small gear again.
Everything below froze.
Then, carefully, she turned the gear forward.
The clock began ticking normally — steady, gentle, alive.
Outside, life resumed as it should. No more rewinding. No more stuck moments. Just ordinary time, moving ahead.
When Mara climbed back down, the townspeople finally looked up at the clock tower — and smiled. Its hands gleamed like new.
From that day on, Mara didn't just draw the tower.
She took care of it.
And every evening, when the bell rang clearly across Alderwick, she knew she had given the town and the clock a fresh start