The Strangers of Time🔊

There was an old, broken down city named Evergreen, peopled by an assortment of characters all trapped in an interminable dull routine. They were waylaid by the doldrums of the same suffocating schedules, day after day, year after year. Their lives were a smudged gray charcoal drawing, void of vibrancy and color.

Tucked away in one quiet corner of Evergreen was a tiny antique store. This place was run by a man known as Old Man Ebb. Ebb was a craggy, one-eyed man, his persona as weather-beaten as the sundry items that filled his store. Rumor had it that Ebb was a war hero with a past shrouded in mystique, but nobody in Evergreen could really say.

One ordinary day, into this quaint antique store walked Hamilton and his daughter, Daphne. Ebb, always wary of strangers, perked up. Hamilton was a refreshing personality, the lines on his face telling tales of far-off adventures and souls met. Daphne was a delight; her innocent curiosity was as infectious as her lilting laughter.

Hamilton was fascinated with a peculiar, large hourglass on the top shelf. It was more than two feet tall with an unusual wooden base and brimming with golden sand. The grains seemed to sparkle and swirl with a mysterious, ethereal radiance that held him captivated. He asked solid Ebb the price, but Ebb responded with a stern, 'That ain't for sale, mister.'

Over the next few days, Hamilton and Daphne visited the antique store, each visit pushing Ebb to sell the hourglass but was met with the same hard-nosed denial each time. The pair, however, added spark to the dreary monotony of Ebb's existence with their stories and laughter, lighting up his cobwebbed world.

One day, their visit was preceded by an ominous stillness, a heavy sense of foreboding that hung in Evergreen’s air. Hamilton, with a sterner demeanor, demanded why Ebb objected to selling the hourglass. Touched by Hamilton's graver tone and Daphne's unshed tears, Ebb sat them down and unraveled the story of his prized possession.

Ebb revealed that the hourglass bore a strange power – it could allow a single person to time-travel, once in a lifetime. However, it came with a catch - the journey could be treacherous and even fatal if the traveler weren't strong of will. Hamilton, upon hearing this, spoke of an illness that was fast consuming Daphne. The doctors in Evergreen couldn't help. But a doctor, Dr. Harvey, renowned for pioneering a cure lived nearly a century ago. It was him, Hamilton needed to find.

Moved, Ebb passed on the hourglass to Hamilton. For the sake of his daughter, Hamilton braved the perils of time travel, meeting Dr. Harvey and securing the cure. On his return, Daphne was treated and started reviving. Word of Hamilton’s courageous journey and Daphne's recovery spread through Evergreen, breathing life, hope, and color into the once lifeless town. As for Ebb, he was left with an empty shelf, a burning loneliness, and tales even more obscure than the relics in his store.