• There was clock that hung between the living room and the kitchen that Claudia couldn’t stand.

    It sang so sweetly when it was brand new, fresh from the dark wooden box, but now it whined so pitifully that the damned cuckoo almost seemed like it was alive. She remembered her Mother ordering it, her father upset that she was wasting so much money on having the wretched thing shipped and that he wasn’t going to put it together. Luckily for her, when it was removed, all it took was two small screws and a bit of wire to put it on the wall. That is where it will sit too until Claudia can find the time to shatter it into a million pieces. Daddy never once touched it and she honestly couldn't remember if it had ever been wound. The was something inside it, Claudia wasn't sure, that made music or had chimes. It made a small series of noises that would sound almost familiar, so much so that it made memory build up inside your head like colors . It could also act so foreign that it seemed those notes danced to whatever rhythm suited them for whenever it felt like singing. It could be the beginning to happy birthday or it could herald a Chopin classic when ever the moment was right.
    It chimed when Claudia’s brother Ralphie was born in the bathtub to a huge fuss, 9 pounds and 2 ounces with a mouth of teeth. It sang something pleasant when Aunt Gertrude announced she had cancer to a room full of family that were as silent as strangers. It did something when Daddy left them for Tammy Marshall down the road and her house full of girls although if you asked her, Claudia couldn’t remember what it had said or did too well on that occasion, all she could remember was that it made a quick chime and then Daddy ran over her bike on the way out of the driveway, and she heard her bike bell let a tink tink one last time when he had done that. Momma sobbed, Ralphie sucked his teeth and spit while Claudia asked if the bike could be fixed or if they were homeless now. Claudia love ...
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