Chapter 22 What Lay Within Your Heart

• The brass handle turned gently in my hand, and the wooden door creaked with age as it opened. Inside the entire clock tower was dimly lit, but I could still make out the long wooden spiral staircase in the center.
• Taking down the lantern hanging outside the clock tower, I lit it softly, casting a faint glow on the small area of floor beneath my feet.
• "Creak..." I held the lamp, carefully stepping on the dust-covered wooden steps of the spiral staircase. They groaned under my weight, making me hyper-aware. I feared that if these boards broke, I'd be stranded.