GRANDFATHER CLOCK

The clock winked. Jenny rubbed her eyes. She had been daydreaming again. She set her book on the coffee table, sat up and stretched.

The clock winked again. Jenny stared at it. The clock’s face changed to a grinning human's face. Jenny screamed and jumped up off the couch.

The eyes of the clock widened in alarm. "Calm down child. That's no way to greet your grandfather."

"My... my grandfather? But you're a clock!"

"A grandfather clock," said the clock. The sides of the clock separated, becoming arms. The swinging pendulum shrank and disappeared under a wooden shirt. The bottom elongated and split into legs. It was a twisted mix of human and clock; almost like Pinocchio.

Jenny was shaking. "But you can't really be my grandfather. He- you died."

The old man chuckled. "No. I did not. I was hibernating." The woodenness faded, leaving an old wrinkled little man.

"I went to your funeral!"

"Was it lovely?" His white hair darkened.

"Lovely? It was a funeral!"

He shrugged. His wrinkles faded. "That doesn't mean it can't be nice. I have been to many nice funerals over the centuries, including several of my own."

Jenny stared at him. "How old are you?"

"About 975 years. The hibernation regenerates me."

"Will I get that old?" said Jenny in horrified fascination.

"I doubt it. None of my descendants have." The no longer old man stretched. "Well, if you will excuse me, I have a new life to begin, now that your grandmother is dead."

"You were waiting for grandma to die?"

"Certainly. Can't begin a new life with a weight like marriage holding me down."

Jenny was furious. "You selfish jerk!"

He grabbed her wrist before her hand could strike him. "Violence never lasts."

"What?"

"Think about it." He let go. "Goodbye."

"Wait! What about us? We're your family!"

"Not anymore. I had a funeral. Remember?"

"But Mom is your daughter! Doesn't that mean anything to you?"

He shrugged. "I've had many children over the years. She's just another in a long line."

Jenny watched her grandfather walk out. She was still fuming, but she had a plan. Little did he know, her grandfather now had a traveling companion. His new life was going to be miserable, and, if she had anything to do with it, he would never have another pleasant one.



Elizabeth Williamson Copyright © 2008