The Clock Opens

Václav and Polly run fast. They want the clock tower. The streets are wrong today. They walk the same street. They walk it again. Prague is different now. The windows show stars. The windows show space. The air is hot. The square has many people. The people look scared. Their machines do not work. The woman in black waits. She looks worried too. The clock tower glows bright. The clock hands move backward. Václav and Polly run up. They run to the clock room. The big clock moves alone. It moves backward through time. Václav takes the brass pieces. The pieces do not fit. The clock changed its shape. Polly sees old papers. The papers glow with light. She reads the old words. The grandfather took the pieces. He wanted to stop something. The floor breaks open. Gold light comes up. They hear old Prague sounds. They hear horses and people. The clock is not just time. The clock is a door. The brass pieces fly away. They go into the clock. The clock moves faster backward. Through the floor they see. They see old Prague times. Many different times together. The grandfather knew the secret. He closed the dangerous door. But now the door opens. The clock waits seventy years. Now it starts its real work.