I tried to reassure myself that I was only being paranoid, like most children are at this age.

When you're young, you tend to be suspicious with everything and everyone. You tend to get more nightmares as often as you dream. You'd sometimes blame them on the environment, on the things around you. Especially at night.

There are some things that we can't explain. We sometimes don't often notice it.

But it's there.

Ever since the grandfather clock had been brought into the house, I had felt wary of looking at it. I had loved that clock the same as my grandmother but as soon as she passed, I can't help but cover it with a white cloth last night.

My father told me it was my way to cope at some point. Despite the age, he mentioned how people show grief in different ways. He said I was possibly avoiding the feeling and deciding to push the things that reminded me of her.

Maybe he was right. Maybe not.

Even so, I kept walking past that clock. Day and night, the chime would continuously ring at some point and I'd flinch. I just feel like that clock was alive.

I was currently in the living room, on the soft grey leather couch, my fingers brushing over the small key that dangled around my neck. Yes, I wore it like a necklace so I wouldn't lose it. I knew that it was a part of the grandfather clock but I figured I didn't need it at the moment. I was thinking of putting it on a box of some sort. Like a safe, a container, something that was easier to remember and spot.

But, as soon as I saw the grandfather clock wrapped in white sheet, it just felt as if I didn't want to take the key off my neck just yet. There was this lingering feeling that I might need it.

"Amara," my father called me from the other room so I stood up and got inside. I could see him using his laptop, probably working on the emails.

"What is it, papa?" I quietly asked him, almost in a murmur. I already know where this was going. He looked up momentarily before finishing up and faced me.

"Were you the one who fixed the clock? Did you mess with anything inside?" I could tell he was a bit perplexed. Honestly, I couldn't blame him. He was planning to take it to a horologist to repair it but seeing it tick and chime every once in a while, the dial suddenly working and its hands moving was something straight out of a dream.

I shake my head in response. "No, it was fixed when I woke up."

My father only rubbed his temple and nodded, too tired to even question me. He then stood up from his chair, going in front of the clock to remove the cloth covering it. The clock stood tall, still ticking almost mockingly at me. It was still working; I thought I was dreaming all of it last night.

"That's strange..." My father spoke as he checked the clock multiple times from the side and at the back.

A soft hum left my father's lips before telling me to hand the key again to him. I followed, pulling the ribbon off my neck and handed it to him. After a few seconds, as he opened it up, he looked surprised to see it working fine, the pendulum and wheels didn't even have any sort of sign that it was meddled with.

"I guess it's some sort of miracle," I heard him mumble out before going back to his room, taking his briefcase and putting on his shoes. My dad usually goes to the shop after his online meetings, working at home---more likely so in the afternoon so it was no surprise that he'd leave after dealing with client calls. "Look, Amara, I'll be back after I deliver some stuff off the shop. Okay?"

I nodded.

"Take care, papa." I managed to call out to him as he eventually waved goodbye and left. Though, I didn't notice someone coming up behind me until their hand comes up to my shoulder and yelled my name next to my ear.

I swatted them away, thinking it was an intruder and managed to grab the broom laying around but turns out, it was just my cousin, Luna, who had managed to visit us. Noticing her bike and my other cousin's scooter, it just meant they were here for a quick visit. I sighed and put down the broom, eyeing her suspiciously.

"You shouldn't scare me like that. I thought you were robbing our home." My cousin laughed at my remark before she waved her hand in dismissal.

"Uncle had let me in. Besides, the door was open."

"You shouldn't do surprise visits, you know. You should let people know so they can prepare." I left Luna for a bit to get her something to eat. Our houses were only a couple of blocks away from each other growing up so it would make sense that she was used to coming over.

My gaze went back to the living room where I saw her finally settling down on the couch, getting comfortable on the seat. "We don't have much to offer at the moment. Do you want biscuits? Water?"

"Sure, why not?" Luna shrugged and grabbed the remote. I was about to give her the biscuits when she suddenly looked over the front door. When I followed her glance, our other cousin was peeking at the door. I laid the snack on the table before I rushed towards him and greeted him.

He took a look inside and hesitated. "Can I come in?"

"I mean would you rather stay outside, Josh?" I asked jokingly and he took it as a sign to go inside.

With Luna in the living room, Joshua followed but his eyes soon stopped at the grandfather clock---seemingly curious and distracted.

"Is something wrong?" A confused look was plastered on his face when I saw him standing still in front of the clock. Realization hits me and I quickly explained. "Ah, if you're wondering why it's here, it got sent to us along with the key---"

Josh remained silent before he murmured. "It should've remained buried."

"What?" I asked him again, thinking I misheard him but he never repeated it again and walked to the living room as if nothing had happened. My feet didn't leave that spot.

Buried?