A Message at Midnight

Lena was about to turn off her phone when a message appeared. It was just after midnight, and the sender was her aunt. Her aunt normally called on Sunday afternoons, so Lena knew something unusual was happening. The message said, “Look under the clock. Please don't wake your mother.”

Lena sat up and listened. Her mother was asleep in the next room. Tomorrow was her birthday, and she had worked late all week. Lena didn't want to disturb her, but she was curious about the message. She put on her slippers and walked quietly into the living room.

An old wall clock hung above the sofa. Lena looked behind it first, but there was nothing there. Then she noticed a white envelope taped to the wall just below it. Her name was written across the front. Inside was a black-and-white photograph of her mother at about ten years old. She was standing beside the same clock, smiling with a missing front tooth.

On the back, Lena's aunt had written, “Clue one: ask her about the day this clock stopped.” Lena smiled. The photograph explained the late message, but it also raised a question: why had nobody ever told her the story?

She left the envelope beside the birthday card on the kitchen table. In the morning, she would make coffee and ask her mother about the clock. For now, the secret could wait a few more hours.